Black Friday 2017

It seems that Black Friday has come early this year, in the sale sense of the event! Retailers everywhere are trying to get your custom in the run up to the festive season.

With all the sale events already happening already, it shouldn’t be too hard to find something you have been looking for or for that perfect prezzie for someone else.

There have been a few items that I have been looking at getting, and Black Friday sales seem the perfect time to push the boat out and finally get those items I have been after.

Having recently moved back to campus to complete my Masters degree, there are somethings that would definitely make my life a lot easier – especially as I am also working full-time, my hours to myself are limited and precious.

I have been trying to stock up on meals, so that I can just come in from work and get some good food in me rather than getting something expensive on the way home, ordering a takeaway, or eating random junk that doesn’t really fill me up. On my way home from work yesterday, I popped into a supermarket to get some new potatoes as I fancied making some potato soup. I found some other bargains and ended up getting 500g of beef mince, 500g diced beef and a boneless chicken joint, plus the new potatoes and only spent a grand total of £8.16. That will do me easily a weeks worth of meals – both lunches and evening meals.

I had to cook it all when I got home from work last night, and on top of being ill, I was exhausted. I put the chicken joint straight in the freezer as that will be easily cooked from defrosted later in the week. The mince I turned into savoury mince with onions, mushrooms, and stock to make a gravy. The diced beef I browned with some diced onions and added some mushrooms and also some stock once it was cooked a little as the diced beef was casserole beef, meaning that it tastes best when cooked slowly allowing it to tenderise and basically melt in your mouth.

I also needed to eat, so before cooking any of those bargains I made myself some vegetable soup – from a freezer drawer full of frozen, pre prepped veg! Along with some toast and pâte while I was waiting for the goodness to combine (I only have one small saucepan!) Aside from needing a larger saucepan, there is also a product that I would love right now that would make this cooking session so much quicker, some of you may already have one, some of you like me might want one but not have one yet – what is this magical product I hear you ask?
It is an Instant Pot! It is similar in looks to a slow cooker, however instead of slowly cooking your food all day, it pressure cooks your food so that a meal, like a stew, that would have taken all day to cook in a slow cooker, takes minutes in an Instant Pot!
I had been holding out for the new smaller version (the Mini) but it seems it’s not being released over here in the UK until next year 🙁

So, there are a few options available on Amazon UK for their Black Friday Deals at present, the main difference the size, there is a 6 litre and an 8 litre version, as well as different versions.

I only cook for myself but there are recipes about cooking a whole roast chicken in one! Yes, you read that correctly a WHOLE Roast Chicken!!!

Last nights meal cooking would have taken about 30 minutes instead of 2 hours. You can even get spare internal pots so I could have literally finished one dish, taken the pot out, put a fresh pot in and got on with another dish!

I am so going to get myself one!

You can do so many awesome things in one as well, not just for stews and such, you can cook a CHEESE CAKE in them! Plus other cake items as well! So move over the oven that currently has no selves in it (I moved in to find no shelves in it, not that I have lost them!), give me an Instant Pot and I will whizz up breakfast, lunch and dinner in it – and eat so much better than I have been. I have been eating whatever, whenever, so I have put some weight on, I was none to impressed when I was weighed at the Doctors last week when I went in to get some antibiotics for my sinus infection, I am hoping with a bit of a change in eating, pre-cooked goodness made by myself, will not only help me save money but lose weight and make me feel so much better as well.

The only thing that will then need to be done, is some advanced meal planning so I can shop and prep meals in advanced. There are plenty of recipes across the internet, for a variety of tastes, there is also a massive meal planning and prepping community out there so I know I have loads of resources to get me up to speed. I also have my trusty Filofax to keep notes and plans in so hopefully I can keep on track with my studies and eat better and lose that extra weight I seem to have accumulated.

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