Fridge has just packed up. Any food/meal ideas for the coming week (s?) until our notoriously slow moving landlord gets round to replacing it?
Posted by esiotrot_@reddit | AskUK | View on Reddit | 60 comments
Have just lost a full weeks shop so in a state of mourning right now. Freezer is still working. Any/all ideas appreciated
fmeupdad@reddit
Ours packed up last month, also had to wait for the landlord to fix it, we ending up just eating out every day (our bank accounts hurt)
AdaandFred@reddit
Please don't eat rice that hasn't been properly stored, especially if it was cooked more than 24 hours ago.
Sincerely, someone who had terrible food poisoning from rice.
SubstanceOdd6287@reddit
You can freeze rice and then reheat it using a steamer, tastes so much better than microwaving
AdaandFred@reddit
Microwaving rice is just asking to spend 2 weeks shitting yourself inside out.
Ok-Rain6295@reddit
Raw rice is fine but cooked rice really should be kept in the fridge (below 7°C) as it’s high risk for food poisoning. In fact, all cooked starches should be kept cold. Bacteria LOVES the sugars.
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
This is my fear- my bank account honestly can’t take it! I struggle to survive to the end of the month as it is with my weekly aldi shops
HankHippopopolous@reddit
Depending on how far away the Aldi is I’d drop to doing smaller daily shops and buying just enough for that nights dinner.
Less ethical but what I would actually do in your situation if money is that tight is buy a mini fridge from Amazon. Then return it before 14 days for a full refund.
GlitchingGecko@reddit
Download 'to good to go' and see what's being offered in your area.
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
Great shout, thank you! I already have too good to go so definitely a fab idea to utilise!!
GlitchingGecko@reddit
btw if you have Contents Insurance you might have fridge insurance with it. You can claim for the contents of the lost food if you do.
Mission-Sound9493@reddit
Tinned veg, long life milk, fruit cocktail from a can. Live like you're back in the Second World War. Make it an experiment rather than an inconvenience.
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
Haha I love this outlook!! Let the games begin
BakeMaleficent8104@reddit
Pasta Jacket potatoes and beans Soup & bread Noodles
wine_n_mrbean@reddit
Trying to make sense of this comment is irritating.
Zal_17@reddit
What, you've never had beans soup with bread noodles before?
thehonestchild@reddit
Nah where do I get bread noodles from? Is it bread that’s made from noodles or noodles made from bread?
thehonestchild@reddit
Right that sounds like a very heavy carb filled meal 🤣
ServerLost@reddit
Just buy a fridge and take it with you what you leave.
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
Dude my disposable income is non-existent haha. Plus, most places to rent in London come furnished so then I would, in theory, have two fridges at the next place
SubstanceOdd6287@reddit
Could you buy a second hand one with your roommates ? And then maybe sell when you move out ?
nathderbyshire@reddit
Happened to me right after I did a full shop. Emptied it through the week, turned it off for a deep clean and defrost, turned it back on and went shopping and a few hours later I noticed all the food was going warm and it hadn't been making any noises.
Most things got tossed, I took what I could to my friends house but their freezer and fridge was already full anyway.
Lots of takeaway and shopping trips trying to make meals with as little fresh waste as possible
Took about a month for them to get a new one in, cost a bomb and the shopping bill to refill wasn't pretty either. Worst of all they installed the cheapest fridge in existence and it has less shelves, the door storage is crap and it can't even store a 2l bottle properly anymore
Billy_Rizzle@reddit
Beans on toast (sad no butter or cheese)
Pasta, tuna, and sweetcorn
Tinned food
Buy a ready meal for the day
If you have a local butcher, just buy your meat for the day.
chuchoterai@reddit
If your freezer is working - can you make some meals from your shop and store them? Batch of mince, cooked rice, cook vegetables/sauces?
Ok-Rain6295@reddit
Most raw vegetables will be fine out of the fridge- leafy greens might go manky a bit quickly.
iburntbakedbeans@reddit
Is it a fridge freezer or are they separate appliances entirely? If it's a fridge freezer it's unusual for one half to stop working because they're the same cooling system. The more complex components run the freezer, then the fridge bit is controlled by a vent and a fan.
If just the fridge stops, something is blocking this vent
Murka-Lurka@reddit
One of my favourite ‘cheat’ meals is bean casserole. Basically a couple of cans of baked, kidney or other beans (if in water drain off the water others use the sauce) and a can of tomatoes. Season to taste and simmer for 20 mins. add herbs and service with crusty bread and its french casserole. Add spice and serve with rice it’s a vegetarian chilli. Serve with hotdogs and you’re a cowboy.
mhoulden@reddit
You could freeze a load of ice packs and put them in the fridge to keep the temperature down. Open the door as little as possible and use it to store things that can cope with being slightly warmer than standard fridge temperatures. Have a few ice packs on standby in the freezer so you can swap them over when they start to defrost.
pullingsneakies@reddit
We went months without a fridge, and it honestly wasn't that hard, Asda being 5 minutes away helped though, went there most days and used them as our fridge. Ended up saving some money by finding more yellow sticker items too.
For food you aren't wanting straight away but later that day, use freeze blocks and a cooler bag, should be less than £5, 2 blocks in the bag and put food in and add the other 2, zip it up and put it somewhere dark and cool so it lasts a bit longer.
Other than that it's cupboard and freezer food, you can pretty much make any thing without a fridge it's just less choice and possibly worse quality.
My main advice is make sure to have frozen/tinned vegetables and things that will go with them, and try to get high nutrition in smaller sizes, mainly to free up space for meat and chips, frozen meatballs take up very little space for example and are easily portioned out compared to a frozen joint of meat.
Oh and milk, you're going to want uht cartons or glass bottles, they should last a day out of the fridge after being opened (it's not recommended though but just make sure it's in a cool dark place) just make sure you check it the longer it's opened.
Anything else, don't be afraid to ask.
ActFuzzy9738@reddit
Pasta and bread is your friend. Butter can be stored out of fridge.
Canned soups with bread and butter. Pasta with veg and butter. Bean salad with veg tuna Toasties
Buying smaller portions that last a day from your local.
Can you create make shift cool zones for daily groceries. Like a cool bag with ice packs to store your daily veg and maybe block of cheese.
I'd just stay away from dairy altogether.
Fit-Holiday-5263@reddit
Could buy some clearance meats and freeze them, come out better than you’d have thought it an air fryer from frozen, they don’t overcook in the middle and get a good sear.
Bluerose1000@reddit
Chickpea curries Tinned beans in a stew with chopped tomatoes/some veg. Tinned tuna wraps
HeverAfter@reddit
Can you batch cook and ask your neighbours to freeze/freeze yourself until you get sorted?
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
Definitely plan on doing some batch cooking but unfortunately freezer is quite small and I have two roommates who will also be competing for space!
miffyonabike@reddit
Could you cooperate with housemates at all and maybe share meals given the circumstances?
lacksfocusattimes@reddit
Do some batch cooking & freeze it in portions.
Top_Violinist4161@reddit
Pasta with sauce Corned beef hash Tuna pasta Potato bake
Not much variety but it gives a bit
miffyonabike@reddit
I'd need to take fibre supplements to eat like this for a week, be prepared for the effects on your digestion!
andrew0256@reddit
Could you agree with the landlord to buy a fridge of your choice up to £x value and he refunds you?
miffyonabike@reddit
Tinned fish (there are some nice cheap fancy flavours of mackerel), boiled potatoes, tinned sweetcorn.
Cabbage lasts a while out of the fridge, as do sweet potatoes, onions, and maybe iceberg lettuce because the outer leaves protect the inside for a while.
Fibre supplements if you suddenly find yourself eating much less fresh fruit and veg than usual, and don't forget to make the first two days after you've been shopping full of all the short life stuff you won't have later in the week because it won't last.
This is assuming you can't just go shopping every other day for fresh stuff, which is what I'd do. But I know in some places this isn't practical.
barejokez@reddit
go to the shop and buy stuff that isn't in the chiller cabinet.
eggs, bread, fruit, veg, dried meat (chorizo for example). all things that people put in the fridge, but don't strictly need to be there.
if you need stuff cool, put it in a cooler and cycle ice packs between there and the freezer every 6 hours or so.
Melendine@reddit
If you can put anything in the freezer, do so. If there’s anything very cheap in the freezer you can chuck/ eat asap and replace with fridge stuff, do so.
Foundation_Wrong@reddit
Tinned food is healthy and doesn’t need a fridge. Go and look at that section of the supermarket.
RebeccaCheeseburger@reddit
Jars of pasta sauce or curry sauces and boil in the bag or microwave rice and dry pasta, you can even get hard cheese that’s ambient. Also noodle pots. Fish and chips, burger and fries, jacket potatoes and various toppings.
johnbobk@reddit
If you're looking for recipes ideas would be a good idea to list perishable contents.
Otherwise some smart arse will suggest lobster thermidor...D'oh!
HighOnOnionFarts@reddit
Most whole fruits and vegetables are fine to keep outside the fridge if you use a bit of common sense. They just won't last as long as they would have in the cold.
Meat you can easily freeze.
Icy_Pear1694@reddit
Tins and noodles, I quite like tuna dumped on a bowl of noodles.
Serious_Escape_5438@reddit
There are lots of tinned foods you can use, for just a few days I'd do stuff tinned soup, baked beans, even tinned macaroni cheese or ravioli, tuna and sweetcorn with rice or pasta, and when you fancy something fresh just buy on your way home. Quite a lot of fruit and veg will be fine without a fridge too.
OkRefrigerator107@reddit
When this happened to us I did a lot of tinned beans/tomato/veg chilli and had it on wraps. Also beans and jacket potatoes, those ready meal stir fry bags with peanuts and rice (a bit sad but quite healthy)
Appropriate-Roof1422@reddit
Well, firstly your landlord should find a way of replacing it the next day.
The other option is to communicate with them and see if you can order one for same day delivery and the landlord can pay for it or give you the money back.
No need to make it complicated.
Asleep_Garage_146@reddit
Hi OP, is the fridge listed as part of your tenancy agreement? If so the landlord has up to 72 hours to replace it.
If they are not in the contract but in the inventory then you can request for them to replace it, or notify them that you are replacing the fridge and it will remain your property when you move out and the old fridge can be kept in a shed, attic, or other storage space.
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
Thank you, this is so helpful!! Our landlord really drags his feet on repairs so I’ll definitely be sure to look in to this.
stillanmcrfan@reddit
Worth getting a cheap second hand one the sell in on when the landlord replaces?
BDbs1@reddit
Realistically it will be much cheaper to the shop each day after work rather than get a takeaway
waggers5@reddit
Depending how far away your nearest convenience store / supermarket is, you could buy something from there every day and cook it straight away. I know it's a bit of a faff.
Failing that, the obvious answers are canned and frozen foods, and dried stuff like pasta.
There are some good pasta sauces that you don't need to keep in the fridge. Canned sausage casserole is really good too. And there's always soup.
FewAnybody2739@reddit
How many of you are there, and can you cook together?
Realistically you can buy fresh meat daily (or freeze it), fresh veggies daily (or frozen), and there are plenty of carbs you can store in a cupboard.
Tinned meat especially fish also works.
gse2026@reddit
Sounds like a good week for a takeaway marathon
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
I was planning a big Chinese! But then realised that I can’t store the leftovers 😭
hakz@reddit
not ideal, but tesco may have frozen ready meals that you microwave. https://www.tesco.com/shop/en-GB/products/312351821
esiotrot_@reddit (OP)
This is a good idea, thanks! The only thing is that freezer space is quite limited but I’m sure I can squeeze a couple in!
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