Tuesday 10 January 2012

Nice rice

It's very comforting to eat something sweet and scrummy, we have all got our favourite treats. They melt in the mouth and tickle our tastebuds, and for a few moments make us happy, and gives us a sense of well being.

How convenient that the little puddings come in these plastic pots, it is so easy to slip one or a dozen into your trolley when passing the chiller cabinet. They are a handy size for taking to work in your lunch packup, or picnic, or you can just pick one up and eat it straight away if you fancy one.

Years ago you could only buy creamed rice in tins, then Mr Muller came along and decided plastic pots were the way to go. They were another alternative to yogurt. When they first came out I couldn't understand what all the fuss was about. Rice pudding in a pot, so what, I've been eating rice pudding out of a tin for years. So how come this is different? It may be flavoured but you can add all kinds of things to rice pud to make it taste fruity and sweeter.

The little pot above costs 61p. You can get a whole tin of Ambrosia for that, a lot more cost effective. You might need to carry a tin opener in your bag though if you want to eat it straight away.

Here is a cheap way to make your own Muller Rice at a fraction of the price. I have used four Tupperwear pots with lids that seal. I must have had them for about forty years, remember Tupperware parties? You can use any small pots with tight fitting lids. One tin of Value Rice Pud cost 13p. One tin of Value Peach Slices cost 29p.

Decant the rice into the pots, I could have got five out of it but I only have four pots. Chop up three peach slices for each pot and add to rice. Seal and put in fridge untill required. And there you have it, fruity rice for a lot less than buying it ready made.


You can use any kind of fruit. If you have children make these up in advance, they will keep a few days in the fridge. A cheap treat without breaking the bank, and you can use the pots over and over again.

23 comments:

  1. We always have tinned fruit on hand because it is so much cheaper then fresh.Those little pots are really handy!
    Jane x

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  2. Brilliant idea and it made me smile! Soon to be copied.

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  3. I make fruit and jelly for our pud. Make up a sachet of sugar free jelly, share a tin of fruit into 4 glasses and pour the jelly on top, stir it up and put in the fridge to set. Costs about 30p each and about 40 calories :0)

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  4. I bought some small plastic pots in packs of 4's. They were much cheaper than tupperware but do the same job. They were meant for the caravan for taking small amounts of jam, pickles etc. They are so useful they havent made it out of my kitchen yet. I find them good for all sorts of things, and like you I make up puds and treats in them. An added bonus is that the portions are controlled and cheaper than shop bought. Sally

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  5. Now why didn't I think of that???

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  6. rice pudding in cans over here are at least $2 a can, I love rice pudding though,

    Gill in Canada

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  7. In my working days I had small tupperware and other plastic containers for taking such things to work. Now I seldom use them. If I go out and need a snack, I've usually got a piece of fruit in my bag.

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  8. Yes, those Tupperware snack containers are about 40 years old. I have identical ones. About five years ago, I bought another 20 of the containers for $5. They were new and on sale by someone who needed the money and was leaving Tupperware business.

    I use my T to divide things like you do and keep them in the refrigerator, take them with me when I go out. The 4 oz, what you and I have, is such a handy size.

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  9. Brilliant tip for all the young mums who are sending children off to school with a packed lunch.

    If they were to get the little ones to choose which flavour fruit or jam etc they wanted each day they would be sure to eat it up too, a much healthier pud than a chocolate bar.

    It's on par with those 'fridge packs' of Heinz baked beans that cost twice the price of a tin of ordinary Heinz beans (and ten times the price of value beans) I've always opened a large tin and then decanted leftovers into a little plastic tub for the fridge.

    If we 'let' manufacturers 'do' things for us we have to pay for it.

    Sue xx

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  10. I find making my own rice puddings with milk and pudding rice even much cheaper. A bag of pudding rice costs about 1.09 and you can make at least 50 portions out of it. Then I add chopped nuts and freshly steamed pears or apples with some raisons and cynnnamon, plus a tsp of honey.

    If you have the time and love to cook this is the way to go.

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  11. Nothing pleases me more than seeing a muller rice priced at 5p in Morrisons reduction chiller. Yum. But I do like their value rice pud too, perfectly acceptable especially with your serving suggestions Ilona, cheap and filling. ;) Debs x

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  12. I love this idea Ilona, and think of all those little plastic pots that will not be going to landfill.

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  13. Brilliant idea, I'll try that. I used to have the identical Tupperware bowls, very useful, bought them about 34 years ago, but I took them to Africa and they eventually got ruined. But I could look for something similar, which would save money in the long run.

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  14. w, c'mon! Make it fresh -homemade! Cheapest yet and tastes the best! THEN you can put it in the smaller containers! Also love tapioca pudding- do you eat that in the UK, too???

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  15. You must be a mind reader Ilona. Value peaches with value rice pud is just what DH and I had for pudding last night. Actually, Lynda, I would probably argue that value rice pud at 13p a 400g tin is probably just as cost effective as making you own. If you take in the price of rice, milk and sugar or sweetner and add the cost of gas or electricity for cooking
    I think the value pud is just that...pretty good value for money and not nearly as weak and watery as I feared it might be the first time I bought it from Morrisons.

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  16. The cost of prepared rice pudding or tapioca here in Canada is horrific. Where I live the cheapest I've seen it is $2.39.

    Don't even start me on custard powder. A tin of Birds is over $5. The canned custard (Walmart's own brand) starts at $2.49.

    Our knockdown bargains are nowhere near the UKs.

    We grow the wheat here and bread is over $1.75 a loaf. That's the cheap white stuff. The multigrains are well over $3/loaf.

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  17. Well said about the Muller Rice-it's the same with those individual jellies. So overpriced and cheap and easy to do yourself.

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  18. Great minds, eh, heleng. I'm happy to pay 13p for tinned rice, from what I remember real rice pud cooked in the oven takes a whole lot of gas. I don't know of a quicker way to do it.

    Hi Sue, When I first saw those fridge packs of baked beans, I thought people must be nuts to buy them. Little plastic refillable pots are the way to go, saves loads of dosh.

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  19. I have bought tapioca pudding in the store. It claims it is just like homemade- it was VILE! I ALWAYS make mine and it is not that expensive for what tthe difference is! I must confess I don't like rice pudding- all of those little bits of rice are not my thing in a dessert (yes- I eat rice, and even keep it in the fridge once cooked to heat up as a leftover, with no ill effects!)

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  20. Rice pudding is one of my favorite things to make in the crockpot (slowcooker)! I use whatever rice is on sale, and usually mix up powdered milk as there is rarely fresh milk in my fridge. Making a batch of rice pudding this way is very inexpensive, no work at all, little energy to cook, and the house smells lovely for hours and hours :)

    Then I dish it into small containers - usually small glass jars I can stick in the fridge or in my backpack.

    Rice pudding for breakfast is a lovely way to start the day with a treat!!

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  21. I used to have some of those pots, they must have got lost in one of my house moves. You can make rice pudding on the hob, just like risotto without the savoury things.

    Lynda has taken me right back to school dinners with that awful tapioca pudding they used to serve up - frog spawn we all called it - it was vile.

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  22. Enjoy your rice pudding and fruit, Ilona. What other milk puddings do you like? Used to get semolina with a blob of jam on it when I was little. Not had it in years. You may be able to get a blade in the camping equipment section of an outdoor store somewhere, shouldn't cost too much and very small, and light. Have one on my swiss army knife, handy when the big can opener gave up on me. Cheers, Christy.

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