I thought I'd try...

[hellymedic]

... some Sainsbury's 'Basics' Chocolate Mousse.
4 pots cost 28p.

They quite palatable and no worse than other pricier chocolate mousses (not the premium or luxury sort).

Not suitable for vegetarians, 93 kCal per pot, quite a lot of plastic packaging per portion. I might just stretch to this again...

[Snakehips]

Does your Sainsbury's have a section for items at or about their sell by date ?
I have just returned from my local store and had a rather unusual , but inexpensive , combination of items  for tea


 

[hellymedic]

Does your Sainsbury's have a section for items at or about their sell by date ?
I have just returned from my local store and had a rather unusual , but inexpensive , combination of items  for tea

Snake

I buy only online as I am no longer mobile enough to do my own shopping. They have some good bargains in Stanmore; one of my Edgware CTC chums goes there just before our monthly clubroom meet.

[TimO]

Some of the Basics stuff is pretty good, some is naff.  You have to experiment a bit to work out what's OK, but at least the failures are cheap!

Off the top of my head, chocolate coated digestives, washing up liquid, chocolate mouse, creme caramel, kitchen roll, tinned carrots, and pork pies are all OK.

Weetabix (equivalent), dehydrated noodles, and pasties are a bit naff.

[hellymedic]

Plums were very naff.
Strawberries were fine.
We prefer the cornflakes to the pricier offerings as they are crisper and more substantial.
Tinned chopped tomatoes are fine as is rice pudding.
Some Basics offerings do not represent better value for money than other comparable products,

[Snakehips]

 and pork pies are all OK.

Funnily enough pork pies did feature in my evening meal , along with some turkey and cranberry thingy.
Mrs Snake is away this weekend so I have been driven to the four corners of the fridge , and beyond. I have found a packet of sponge fingers which seems to have a best before date of sometime in 2002 ! Either the packet is a bit faded or my eyesight is not what it used to be. Can it really be that long since we had home made tiramisu ?
Anyway , they are going to be dunked in my coffee tomorrow morning.
I am not sure how I am going to get through that great bag full of partially decayed 'managers special' bananas that I bought on a whim though

[TimO]

I am not sure how I am going to get through that great bag full of partially decayed 'managers special' bananas that I bought on a whim though

Banana milkshakes, bananas on cornflakes, banana sandwiches...

[Gandalf]

... some Sainsbury's 'Basics' Chocolate Mousse.
4 pots cost 28p.

They quite palatable and no worse than other pricier chocolate mousses (not the premium or luxury sort).

Not suitable for vegetarians, 93 kCal per pot, quite a lot of plastic packaging per portion. I might just stretch to this again...

Why unsuitable for vegetarians? Have they felt the need to put gelatine in them?  Just curious.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

I am not sure how I am going to get through that great bag full of partially decayed 'managers special' bananas that I bought on a whim though

Snake

Banana cake.

[hellymedic]

... some Sainsbury's 'Basics' Chocolate Mousse.
4 pots cost 28p.

They quite palatable and no worse than other pricier chocolate mousses (not the premium or luxury sort).

Not suitable for vegetarians, 93 kCal per pot, quite a lot of plastic packaging per portion. I might just stretch to this again...

Why unsuitable for vegetarians? Have they felt the need to put gelatine in them?  Just curious.

Yes.
Contains pork gelatine.
Almost all mass-produced mousse products do.

[Snakehips]

Banana sandwiches , good idea , especially for breakfast.
That just leaves me 14 , all just about to go critical. I have had to empty the food waste container because the skins from the ones I ate yesterday were beginning to pong.

Banana cake sounds great but I think it would be beyond the limit of my culinary talent.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Honest, it's dead easy. I can post a recipe for you tomorrow if you like. MAke sure you have a loaf tin and you're good to go.

[bikenerd]

Chocolate banana cake:

~270g of self raising flour
~30g of cocoa (make sure the cocoa + flour adds up to 300g)
2 eggs
175g sugar
100g of butter
3 over ripe bananas, mashed up
1 tsp of baking powder

Really easy to make:
Cream the butter and sugar together
Add the eggs and whisk until light and fluffy
Add the banana and stir
Add the cocoa, flour and baking powder and stir together gently but well

Bake in a pre-heated oven (150C for a fan, 175C for a conventional) for about 1.5 hours.
Use a loaf tin.

[Snakehips]

Ahhhh thanks guys , I can smell it cooking.
It does seem simple but sadly things like loaf tins , whisks , self raising flour , baking powder are all a mystery to me , and I wonder how anybody has the time to learn about them.
I couldn't claim to do roast vegetables in a consistent manner , and you can't get much simpler than that.
If there is a simpler dish I'd like to hear about it

[Julian]

Simpler dish?  Angel Delight. 

[teethgrinder]

Fried bananas!
Very easy, peel em, dump em inna frying pan with butter, slosh em around a bit and wait a little while.
Very filling

[Snakehips]

So many good ideas , thanks to all concerned.

bananas on cornflakes - sadly I finished off the stale old cornflakes before I bought the bananas
banana sandwiches - excellent , I had that for breakfast
banana cake - if only !
fried bananas - I might try that for lunch tomorrow

Actually that last one reminds me of a guy I used to work with who claimed he could order a complete meal in Indonesian ...

tikus goreng (fried rat)
nasi goreng (fried rice)
pisang goreng (fried banana)

Oh well , we laughed at the time.



P.S. update on the bananas , I am almost down to single figures.

P.P.S. Helly , sorry I seem to have hijacked your thread. My manners are on a par with my cooking skills I'm afraid

[harrumph]

...Off the top of my head, chocolate coated digestives, washing up liquid, chocolate mouse, creme caramel, kitchen roll, tinned carrots, and pork pies are all OK...

I like the chocolate mousse - it seems more chocolatey than the excessively sweet expensive ones, even if the "chocolateyness" is probably some E number or other.

The pork pies fill me with non-specific loathing, though.

And I haven't tried the chocolate mouse yet.

[TimO]

...And I haven't tried the chocolate mouse yet.

Only made with the best quality British mice, as supplied by Talisker purveyor of small creatures that go squeak ... crunch.

[Eccentrica Gallumbits]

Simpler dish?  Angel Delight. 

Butterscotch Angel Delight with sliced bananas in it is the best pudding ever.

[hairyhippy]

Bananas with brown sugar on grilled and then served with ice cream.

[Cunobelin]

Does your Sainsbury's have a section for items at or about their sell by date ?
I have just returned from my local store and had a rather unusual , but inexpensive , combination of items  for tea

Snake

My MiL used to live of these items  - she had her shopping timed so that she could get the pick as the prices were reduced at the end of the day.

Now they are 24 hour this does not happen, and the cost of her shopping has increased.

[Snakehips]

Now they are 24 hour this does not happen, and the cost of her shopping has increased.

Good point. I must remember to complain loud and long if they ever try to make my local Sainsbury's 24 hours

[pcolbeck]

I raid the bread counter when they are marking it down and then freeze it. You can usually get the really nice loaves that cost £1 + for 30p

[hellymedic]

Now they are 24 hour this does not happen, and the cost of her shopping has increased.

Good point. I must remember to complain loud and long if they ever try to make my local Sainsbury's 24 hours

Snake

Surely food must still reach its 'use by' date whatever opening hours are kept by the shop? If that's the case, don't they ever mark prices down?