In these turbulent economic times there is little that can be relied on for stability – especially the price of food! But we’ve decided not to let this get us down and instead provide you with some steadfast suggestions that can help you to save some of your hard earned cash for much more exciting things.
1. Bulk buy.
In this day and age it definitely pays to bulk buy, especially since supermarkets seem to have scrapped all other ploys and now focus mainly on targeting families. Even if you’re not part of a larger household you can still benefit from this if you have enough freezer and cupboard space, so keep your eyes peeled.
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2. Cook meals in larger quantities and freeze.
Speaking of freezer space, it also makes a huge amount of sense to cook in larger batches and freeze the remainders to minimise waste. This is also great for people who don’t have a lot of spare time to cook during the week. Why not make Sunday your weekly cooking day?
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3. Freeze fresh fruit and vegetables.
Unbeknown to many, fruit and vegetables can actually work out better for you if they’re frozen early on in their life. So don’t be afraid to buy up as many as you can from the offers in the fresh food aisle and make them last for weeks. This is especially relevant to all of you out there who love smoothies and juices!
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4. Add grains to bulk up meals.
There are so many grains out there available to us that we don’t always think of when putting together our favourite meals. Some of the more affordable options include cous cous, lentils, brown rice and bulgar wheat and they can all make a very welcome addition to meat and vegetable-based dishes. This will not only stop you needing as large a portion, but will also save you spending money on more costly ingredients.
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5. Consider using sand to store certain products.
Yes this might seem a little odd but if it’s good enough for farmers it’s good enough for us. Root vegetables such as carrots and swedes are especially susceptible to the joys of a prolonged life in sand.
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6. Or paper bags.
When it comes to onions, garlic and shallots you’d need look any further than a paper bag (with several holes punched in it) to assist you in prolonging their shelf life.
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7. Whip butter to make it go further.
This is an especially good tip for those of you who like your toast in the morning because, not only does whipping butter spread it out literally (so there’s more of it), but it also makes spreading it a whole lot easier. No more unevenly buttered bread for us!
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8. Pay close attention to ‘use by’ dates.
We spend enough money on food in the first place these days, so the last thing we need is to be losing track of use-by dates so that we’re forced to throw things out. However, it is worth bearing in mind that there are some foods that can last a little longer depending on your judgement such as fruit, vegetables, milk and eggs.
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9. Be aware of places in the supermarket where you are targeted to spend money.
Ok, so we’re not saying you can avoid these places – we all need to shop after all – but hopefully if you’re aware of the potential ‘high risk’ spending areas in your local store you can be a bit more savvy. These include eye-level ‘seemingly cheap’ products, confusing store layouts (so you come out with more than you planned), confectionary by the cash register and misleading signage that implies a sale but actually isn’t.
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10. Grow your own!
This one is a no-brainer and still very relevant to this day and age. With prices growing higher every day, hopefully people will start to catch on to the fact that for the price of a packet of seeds you could be harvesting your own fruit and vegetables for the next few years. If that’s not saving at its best I don’t know what is. If you want to take it to the next step, you could even invest in some farm animals too.
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