A Week of Thrifty Deskfests Begins Here…

Hey, check out my fancypants tiffin:

It splits into three pots with lids, and was sent to me by Alpro, along with some other bits and pieces and a challenge: to create a week of tasty breakfasts to eat at my desk, aka deskfests.

They had me at “Hello, tiffin”, but I was also keen to rise to the challenge. Since Thrifty Baby came along and started nursery, getting us all out of the house on time in the mornings is an inevitable dash. I usually eat breakfast at my desk and, although it’s certainly cheap (budget cornflakes from Morrisons: 31p a box), I don’t think it’s a good habit. This week, I am raising the game: if I’m going to eat breakfast at my desk, then hot damn, there is going to be some good thrifty deskfesting.

I was also interested in this challenge for another reason. Alpro sent a collection of cartons, so this is what my fridge looks like right now:

If you are a longtime reader, you may recall that I spent much of last year on a dairy-free diet. This was because a poorly Thrifty Baby had been placed on a dairy-free diet by the docs – and, because I was breastfeeding, I had to forgo dairy too. It was really hard, much harder than I thought it would be. We tried various substitute dairy products in various dishes, with mixed success, but it does mean that I am already familiar with the Alpro lines: soya milk, soya yoghurt, almond milk and so on. The milk substitutes are relatively expensive (up to £2 a carton), so if you are dairy intolerant – and a surprising number of people are – you want to eke the stuff out. But there is also a surprising amount you can do with them, over and above drinking the milk straight..

That said, for my first thrifty deskfest I went for an easy, cheesetastic option:

At the weekend I’d picked up a chunk of brie, a wedge of comte cheese and some muesli bread from the supermarket discount shelf, for £1.50. The cheeses were absolutely fine, and the bread went straight in the freezer so it didn’t go stale. We had some left over after the weekend, so for my deskfest I decided to go continental: cheese, bread, butter and fruit. The total cost was approximately 75p, including the special offer satsumas and blueberries, and I enjoyed every mouthful.

I also had a glass of Alpro hazelnut drink, but to be honest I didn’t like it very much. (Sorry Alpro.) It was too… hazelnutty. Which I suppose is the point, but there you go. Others seem to like it.

Tomorrow’s thrifty deskfest dish: Bread Bhurji!

P.S. The week of thrifty deskfests is still very much a work in progress, so if you have any ideas about what I can put in my breakfast tiffin, please let me know…