When I talk about it paying for itself, I think I mean more the fact that I use it often enough for things I wouldn't have been able to do without it.

Having the thermy has made my meals much healthier. I no longer use pack sauces, except for bolegnaise sauce occasionally when I'm being super lazy. I whizz up veggies (like carrots, zucchini, mushrooms, pumpkin, sweet potato....) and can sneakily add them to everything because my kids will not eat them.

I've been more creative with cooking because of all of the recipes and the fact that it's easier to make sauces and cook them. I've made my own mince from chicken thighs and beef steaks, not always, but when I feel like it, or when I don't have any in the freezer. My muffins always have things like flax seeds or oats or whizzed up nuts in them to make them a little healthier.

It saves time because the recipes are often chuck it all in sort of things. I bake more often because it's less effort than doing it soley by hand. I can make bread and scrolls and it doesn't send my 7 year old bananas to eat it because it hasn't got additives in it. The kids snacks are more likely to be smoothies, slushies, dips and home made things. I know what is in the foods I'm cooking more often than not.