Frugal February

On the subject of carrots both grandsons put me to shame, they both asked for a whole raw carrot each (peeled) for after their sandwiches
They love them cold out of the fridge

Jalima; the S.O.'s brother has been suffering from cancer and his oncologist told him to avoid non organic carrots, and a friend of mine who usually poo poo's my eating fads also agreed. Unlike a lot of things, they don't seem to be much more expensive than non organic. The dog likes them, too. I'm going to have a long hot bath and an early night after eating a bit more than I planned to tonight. Can't eat much in the bath...

Corned beef hash and bread and butter for dinner, 460 calorie pizza and a huge salad with balsamic and olive oil for tea. Several teas, one coffee, 2 nectarines, 4 plums, 2 apples over the day. And for Call the Midwife I'm planning a large glass of the low alcohol wine. No breakfast today, and no exercise to speak of either. Could do better.

I am taking note Tegan.
You're right, there is not much difference in cost, a few pence a week in fact.

I cooked some apples which we had stored - lovely, but DH wants custard with them

You should peel carrots unless their organic. Most of toxic residue in the skin and yes, they are sprayed against carrot fly.

Breakfast yoghurt
Lunch Slimfasr Cafe au Lait Milk Shake
Dinner at DD’s a small salmon steak and glass of ?

Diet not so good today. Breakfast was fine but then phone call to go to elderly mum, had no lunch. Everything ok until,evening meal but then I had a glass of wine after the stressful day and just finished a bowl of sugary cereal.

Oh dear.

I never knew that about carrots. They're one veg that won't grow in our allotment and I never peel them. You live and learn!

To peel (carrots) or not to peel - it's hard to know what to believe!

The Carrot museum recommends you just need to scrub and rinse carrots really well to get rid of the dirt or blemishes. Some people think that pesticides are concentrated in the peel of conventional carrots, but that's not the case. Since carrots are grown underground, the chemicals get into the soil and can seep into the entire vegetable, so peeling won't necessarily prevent you from consuming pesticides.

www.carrotmuseum.co.uk/nutrition.html

'As mentioned above, one of the primary benefits of eating organic is lower levels of pesticides. However, despite popular belief, organic farms do use pesticides. The difference is that they only use naturally-derived pesticides, rather than the synthetic pesticides used on conventional commercial farms. Natural pesticides are believed to be less toxic, however, some have been found to have health risks. That said, your exposure to harmful pesticides will be lower when eating organic.' googled this but forgot to note the source...

Our home-grown ones got a bit of carrot fly so I just cut those bits out.

Wouldn't they add a bit of protein....?

Free as well
No, I think they just chew away at a bit of carrot then go elsewhere. Actually, I think it is the maggots which nibble at the carrot, they could be quite nutritious.
They haven't been too bad this year - DH sowed them a bit later than usual.

MamaCaz there is much evidenced based reasearch to back up the claim that there is concentration of pesticides in the skins of root vegetables despite the claims to the contrary.

Foe example Sugibayashi et al. (1996) compared the effects of washing, peeling and cooking on the residue levels in white potatoes and carrots. Chlorfenvinphos-E, S-benzyl diisopropyl phosphorothiolate and monocrotophos-E were efficiently removed by washing alone. However, peeling was found to be the most effective way to remove the pesticide from the vegetables followed by frying. Boiling was effective in reducing the level of water-soluble pesticides.

And Lee and Lee (1997) revealed that 45% of organophosphorous pesticide (OP) residues were eliminated when root vegetables were washed in water, 56% with detergent washing, 91% with peeling 51% with blanching-boiling and 90% in milling and processing

Which I why I always buy organic carrots.

OldMeg

I remember us all being advised to peel carrots for the reasons you give. It was probably about the time of the research you mention (mid/late 90s), though I can't be sure, as you know how time flies. However, the topic was raised on a gardening forum in the last couple of years, and a very respected forum member said that this was no longer a problem, that the chemicals in question were no longer used, or something along those lines. I have no idea whether that was true or not, but at the time, I chose to believe it.
That said, my carrots are home-grown and chemical free, so a quick scrub is all they get.

Back on it today, Ryvita, banana and yogurt for breakfast, soup for lunch. Trying to be alcohol free during the week but another ghastly meeting of the charity this afternoon so it may be head down in a bucket of wine later.

Just off to M&S to stock up with their ready meals; the S.O. has got a £5 off voucher that I can use.

MamsCaz I think the confusion arises because the European Protection Agency banned most residential uses of organophosphates in 2001. However, they are still used in UK agriculture. Nick Mole, policy officer, Pesticide Action Network UK, said: “OPs are still in use in the UK, albeit to a much smaller extent than they were.

However I agree growing our own is definitely best ????

Are you all still on track?
This is day 5 without chocolate,so far have not craved it.
Tonights' dinner is salmon fillet with bulghar wheat salad.
What are fellow frugaleers having?

I am on track so far today.

So grilled bacon and poached egg for breakfast
Ham and cheese salad for lunch
Fish curry with possibly a small spoonful of rice for supper
Weight up and down a lb or two because I have had a few days when I didn’t do so well.

Is your fish curry homemade whitewave?
Whilst loving fish and (chicken or vegetable) curry I have never eaten a fish curry. Don't know why !

Yes! And very quick 191 calories without rice.

So fry onion and garlic, add curry paste of choice a fish stock cube and then tin of chopped tomatoes cook for a bit then add pieces of white fish fillet. Takes about 10-15 minutes.

You can go posh and add coconut milk and prawns, but I’ve kept it low calorie

Just had three crackers and butter

I'm still on track. Had an egg sandwich a little while ago, and I think I might have tomatoes or beans on toast tonight. (Or both!)

Thanks whitewave Sounds right up my street.

MissA Have you considered keeping chickens?

it'd probably work out cheaper! Free range eggs are on special offer at the shop near me at the minute, so I'll probably be eating something different once that ends. I wish cheese was low calorie. I love cheese!