When you’re counting the pennies, cutting down on your favourite
food seems a tough call. But get familiar with these basic
strategies and there’ll be no shortage of comfort and good eats1
GET A PEN AND PAPER
Even if you do nothing else,
meal planning will guarantee
reduced bills: you won’t waste as
much food. A clear head is essential
when shopping, says Miguel Barclay,
author of Storecupboard One Pound
Meals (Headline Home). “Check
what you have in the fridge
and freezer. Then buy the
extra ingredients you need
to turn them into meals.”
Simple but effective.2
FACTOR LEFTOVERS
INTO YOUR PLAN
We reckon most of you are
pretty good at being creative with
leftovers. According to Love Food
Hate Waste, a family of four can
save £60 a month by using up
leftovers instead of throwing them
away. Incorporate them into your
meal plan (ie roast chicken pilaf on
Monday to use up the Sunday roast).3
LOVE YOUR SIMPLE STAPLES
Freezing straight after harvesting
helps preserve vegetables’
nutrients, and frozen peas +
stock = 5-min soup. Throw
in some broccoli stalks, mint
leaves, wilting spring onions ora swirl of cream and your soup is
starting to get interesting.4
CHECK BEFORE YOU CHUCK
Last nub of cheddar looking
gnarly? Don’t give up on it. Grate,
then freeze it. Sprinkle it over pasta
or homemade pizza straight from
the freezer. Fellow ‘I didn’t know
you could freeze that’ foods include
soft herbs (in ice-cube trays), lemon
slices, yogurt, milk, bacon and eggs
(cracked into a container first).5
SAY ‘WELCOME BACK’ TO THE TIN
Tinned food is inexpensive,
versatile and nutritious (beans
and canned fruit, for example,
count towards your five-a-day). If
it makes you think granny rather
than gourmet, seek inspiration
from cookbooks Take One Tin by
Lola Milne (Kyle Books) or Tin Can
Cook by Jack Monroe (Bluebird).6
FORM YOUR OWN CONSORTIUM
Team up with friends to start
a food buying group. When you
order from a co-operative like
Suma (suma.coop), which sells bulk
quantities of everything from
Fairtrade coffee to tinned tomatoes,
you’ll get wholesale prices.7
CLEAR A CUPBOARD
FOR STORAGE
Buy certain items
in bulk to save money.
Pick up a 5kg bag of
rice from the world
foods section of major
supermarkets, or your nearest
Asian grocer.8
HAVE YOUR FINGER ON THE PULSE
Use beans and lentils to pad out
meat dishes: try a 50-50 mix of
meat and green lentils in a ragù,
or white beans in homemade beef
burgers. Dried pulses go even
further than tinned (a 400g tin
of chickpeas works out at 27.5p
a serving; a 500g bag of dried
chickpeas at 9p a serving*).9
INTRODUCE YOUR EYES
TO YOUR STOMACH
We’ve all done it: chucked rice or
pasta into the pot without measuring
it first (erring on the side of too
much). Use the portion calculator
on lovefoodhatewaste.com or invest
in an spaghetti measure. After you
weigh out quantities a couple of
times you’ll soon get to know what
the right amount looks like.10
LEARN CHICKEN
ECONOMICS
Buy a whole chicken
instead of pieces. Two free-range
chicken breasts plus a packet of...and still feast your
way through winter
20 smart ways
to save money
on your food bill
96 deliciousmagazine.co.uk