10 foods that will save you a fortune
We round up a host of nutritious and delicious foods that are also budget lifesavers!
The price of healthy food is rising, according to recent data from the Office of National Statistics. The research showed that the prices of vegetables, fruit and fish are all shooting up - whilst unhealthy treats such as chocolate and confectionery have actually fallen in price.
Eating a nutritious, balanced diet on a tight budget can be a real challenge. However, certain types of food are versatile, tasty and good for you - as well as being extremely good value!
Here's are my top ten foods to save you a fortune.
Oats
Oats are versatile, filling and a great source of fibre. To find out about all the health benefits, visit the Eat More Oats website.
They can be used in dozens of dishes - everything from porridge and muesli to crumble, bread, flapjacks and even fish dishes.
You can find an enormous list of oat recipes in this section of the BBC Food website. Everyone should keep a bag of oats in their store cupboard!
A whole chicken
A good-quality chicken isn't necessarily cheap - but it is a great value purchase, as long as you make the most of it.
Many people roast a whole chicken, eat what they want and throw the half-finished carcass away. This is a real waste, because one chicken can go a long way!
For example, it could provide a roast dinner, a curry, a risotto and soup for at least two people. This set of recipes from Jamie Oliver provides pointers on how to use a whole chicken, without any wastage.
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Pulses
Kidney beans, lentils and other pulses make an excellent frugal alternative to meat. They're cheaper, rich in protein and fibre, lower in fat, and can be used as a substitute for meat in many recipes.
Check out this guide to cooking with beans and pulses, put together by the Vegetarian Society. And of course, you don't need to ditch meat entirely. Try swapping meat for pulses in one or two evening meals a week, and see how the savings mount up.
Cheap cuts
If you do eat a lot of meat, you could save a packet by choosing cheaper cuts and cooking them in a slightly different way.
For example, various cuts of meat on the bone are delicious when prepared in a slow cooker, and turned into stews and casseroles.
Take a look at these slow cooker tips on the MumsNet website - or ask your local butcher for advice on how to prepare his cheapest cuts of meat.
Eggs
It's always worth having a box of eggs in the fridge: They're filling, nutritious, affordable and can be prepared in hundreds of different ways.
Check out the British Lion egg recipes website to find out just how versatile they are.
Wholegrain foods
Do you eat white rice, bread or pasta? Switching to their wholegrain equivalents could benefit your wallet as well as your waistline.
That's because wholegrain products make you feel fuller for longer. They're a better source of fibre, and you're less likely to fancy an expensive snack an hour or so later.
Rachel Robson rounds up five ways to cut your food bills.
Frozen vegetables
Fresh vegetables can taste fantastic - but they can also be fairly pricey. To shave pounds off your grocery bill, substitute frozen vegetables for fresh ones a couple of times a week.
Modern freezing techniques mean that the nutrients are properly preserved, as is a lot of the flavour. Frozen veg is a great standby if you have an unpredictable schedule, too, as it's far less likely to go off and be wasted.
Canned fish
Oily fish contains many important nutrients, including the Omega 3 essential fatty acids not found in many other foods. Unfortunately, fresh fish is usually rather expensive.
However, many types of oily fish (such as sardines and mackerel) can be bought much more cheaply in cans - and the nutritional content is virtually identical. Another good store cupboard staple, try swapping fresh fish for canned once every couple of weeks.
Home-grown herbs
How often do you use a whole packet of fresh herbs once you've bought it? Very often, you take a little for the recipe you need, and end up throwing the rest away because it's become limp and tasteless.
It costs next to nothing to grow herbs on a sunny window sill - and they'll liven up lots of frugal dishes. At the moment, for example, you can buy four mix-and-match packets of herb seeds for just 99p, at 99p Stores.
Leftovers!
According to the Love Food Hate Waste campaign, Brits throw away around 8.3 million tonnes of food and drink every year. Imagine how much money we'd be saving if we put that produce to good use!
No matter what your leftovers are, there's a way to use them. Check out these leftover recipes for some frugal inspiration.
Frugal Recipes
Don’t forget that, here at lovemoney.com, we have our very own chef who publishes his original Frugal Recipes for free every Friday. Each meal costs less than than £1.50 per person, but doesn’t compromise on either the ethics or the quality of the ingredients. And trust me when I say, the meals are delicious!
More: Dining out is cheaper than a takeaway! | Throw a posh dinner party on a budget
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Family of 4 on £60 or less: 1. Wholemeal Organic Pasta/spaghetti/penne etc - this fills you up no end and is good for preventing bowel cancer. organic is good for the earth. sauces are usually the end of sell by date veggies chopped up and cooked in tomatoes from garden, or tinned tomatoes, with plenty of herbs to pep it up. Other sauces are chicken with pancetta, garlic and cream, bolognese - HOMEMADE!! 2. Cottage/Shepherd's pie. Make a double amount - 1lb mince, 150g lentils, 2 large onions, 1 tin plum tomatoes, 3 large carrots cubed, peas, lots of herbs and 2 stock cubes (or you could use a Co**mans mix) and 5 lb potatoes turned into mash (cut small to improve cooking efficiency and cover your pan) cheese and butter and milk to make the mash and topping. Feeds the family of 4 twice at least 3. Mutton stew or beef stew. Make either of these with lots of onions, carrots and mushrooms in your slow cooker. Choose cheap mutton or the cheapest cut up steak in your local butchers and cook it long and slow. Then you can bulk it out with potato and use it as a stew or as a pie filling. Black pudding also makes a lamb stew 10 X better! 4. Cauliflower cheese with smoked mackeral. Get a big cauliflower OR a bag of frozen cauliflower - and broccoli for variety. Make a basic white sauce and add cheddar cheese and a teaspoon of mustard. Serve with seasonal veggies from the end of sell by shelf and the smoked mackeral from the end of sell by shelf that you bought on impulse and froze coz you didnt know what to do with it! 5. Wraps. Take your basic homemade bolognese sauce and add a tin of veggie chilli (or make your own, if you're good enough!) Fill wraps and put in an oven dish. pour over tin of chopped toms, a bit of grated cheese and bake. Dont buy a kit! 6. Beans on toast!! Wholemeal toast of course. 7. Baked potatoes. DON'T BUY A PRE PACKED PACK OF "BAKING POTATOES"!! GET A MIXED BAG AND USE THE BIGGUNS FOR BAKING AND SMALL ONES FOR MASHING - far cheaper. that's one week. breakfasts include toast and cereal. lunch includes sandwiches and wraps, salads and smaller portions of the mains. other ideas are homemade soups, pizza, lasagne, porage, rice pudding, cakes galore. we do also have treats, such as icecream, crisps and biscuits, cheeses and wine, but these are paid for by making the everyday food much more economical. happy economising!
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I too feed a family of 4 on around about £60-70 per week, and that includes all snacks, fruit, crisps, juice cartons, and fizzy pop. I must argue with all the advice I've ever seen to go shopping with a list. If you've planned your meals and taken a list and rigidly stick to it, then you're committed. I list only the things I need to remember and that allows me to be flexible and take advantage of special offers at the supermarket. I always look to see what's on special offer, mark-down items etc. and work my meals around that. Most meals I make are definitely less than£5 for four people, including veggies/carbs, and usually include recognisable cuts of meat or fish, though cooking with mince, stews and veggie dishes can be very economical too, as other posters have mentioned. My best advice is never go shopping hungry, check Lidl's fresh veg and other special offers, and cut down on the un-necessary extras/in-between meal snacks - your waist will thank you as well!
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Don't forget that home made wine can be as good as the bought stuff, and as you improve you can make it to your own taste. Using rhubarb, apples or hedgerow fruits you can get 5 gallons for under a tenner, and even orange wine 5 gallons for £16 is achievable. Red wines contain anti oxidants, and a moderate intake of alcohol can give some protection from rheumatism/arthritis as well as improving the cardio vascular system. Remember £2.25 per litre of wine is excise duty, which is not paid if you make your own. However you cannot sell this once made, or you will fall foul of the tax man!
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28 October 2010