The era of cheap food is over and the start of the food crisis has just begun. In Britain, a standard white loaf costs more than £1, grocery bills are rising steeper and steeper: milk prices up, egg prices up, meat prices up. But steep rises in the price of staples such as wheat and rice are having an even bigger impact on us in Britain and in poor countries around the world.
So is there really anything you can do about the current food crisis? Should you just accept that grocery bills are what they are and that you have no choice in the matter?
Well we think not; Here are inflation-busting top tips for battling food bills -- every one tried and tested!
Plan Ahead When you shop, try to base your shopping list around a planned series of meals. That way, you lessen the odds of impulse-buying food that you don't need, might go off. What's more, planning ahead increases the chance that you'll deliberately seek out a cheap meal.
Eat the Seasons Eat seasonal food they are ususally cheaper than food which is off season and which has to be imported. Make big savings on 'in season' produce by buying from a greengrocer or market stall, not a supermarket. That way you get fresh produce and it will be cheaper.
Cheap Meat Buying cheaper cuts of meat can make a real difference to the weekly shop. Breast of lamb is normally the cheapest cut of meat you have available. Cheaper cuts of meat typically need to cook for longer, and you might like to look at slow cookers
Buy in Bulk Bulk buying can offer lead to genuine savings, especially if you share out the produce among friends and neighbours. Sacks of rice, for example, are absurdly cheap from Asian grocers -- simply divvy up the sack to make substantial savings. The single most effective way to cut your grocery shopping bill is to do the bulk of your shop at cheap supermarkets. Lidl, KwikSave, Aldi and the like. Buy your basics there. Many items cost about half or a third of the 'normal' price in these shops for example: Lidl sell salt at 12p, large bags of flour, both self raising and plain at 12p, baked beans are 9p, bread 19p, 12 rolls for 19p and so on. They also often have all their vegetables (which are usually class 1 so get rid of any notions of poor quality produce) at half price. Alcohol and household goods are also exceptionally cheap here. One little tip: we have found the extremely cheap tea/coffee and household cleaning/laundry products these shops sell to be...well...not good - other supermarkets own makes are a much better buy with these items
Certain products have a very large mark-up when bought in tiny quantities such as dried herbs, spices, seeds, nuts and beans. If you have a whole food co-operative near you you could save a lot by buying in bulk. To give you an example: a typical 5g. jar of mixed herbs costs 80p - and & Barrett (wholefood chain, have some food for sale online now) sell 100g bags for 99p - co-operatives do them even cheaper. Most deliver over a very wide radius - see the for some good ones. If you can get together with friends and family on this, even better Grow Your Own Our greenhouse and garden keeps us supplied with runner beans, broad beans, tomatoes, chillies, beetroot, radishes, courgettes and squashes. The gardening board is a good source of advice for novices and experts alike
Deep Discounters In these shops such as "Lidl" and "Aldi"The prices are generally excellent, and the quality surprisingly good. German housewives, where both chains hail from, won't put up with poor quality! If you're an Aldi or Lidl fan, you'll know what I'm talking about -- if not, check it out
And if you can't get to a deep discounter, be adventurous at the main chains and check out their "value" ranges -- especially for staple foodstuffs where the 'value' has been created by pitting suppliers against each other, rather than through low-cost recipe engineering
Rice, butter, tinned tomatoes; basic commodities like these are often just as good in the value range, and the savings can be considerable
Cheap Organic If you want to buy organic produce the cheapest supermarket for this is Asda followed by Tesco. Some areas have excellent box schemes in operation - ask at your local health food shop
Farm Shops and Markets Farmers' markets offer good quality food at better prices than you'd pay elsewhere. If you can't get to a farmer's market, at least buy a sack of potatoes at the farm gate. (Hint: most farms sell half sacks, too -- and if you don't pass many farm gates, you'll sometimes see sacks of spuds offered for sale at places like truck stops, country petrol stations and the like.) Farm shops or markets can be very economical - a sack of potatoes for a few pounds can be the basis for many meals for a couple of months
Use Appropriate Substitutes Soya mince is a lot cheaper than meat minces, a good source of protein and free of any disease or antibiotics. Health food shops and co-operatives typically have very reasonable bags of dried soya mince and chunks. Frozen vegemince is more pricey but available in supermarkets and still cheaper than meat
Use Leftovers It’s amazing how many meals you can get from one chicken! If you enjoy a roast on Sunday, the remains of the joint would make a great curry or a delicious risotto later in the week and you’ll always find enough for a sandwich. If you have time, the carcass can also be boiled up for stock and soups. If you have some dinner left in the pan, bag it and pop it in the freezer as a ‘ready meal’ for one. Even the smallest amount could be pureed up for the baby or served as a kid’s portion for lunch the next day. Crusts and stale bread can be blitzed in the food processor to make breadcrumbs which can be stored in the freezer. The same can be done with cake or biscuits and used as a topping for crumbles and puddings. The last dregs of wine or beer can be frozen in ice cube trays and popped out into stews and casseroles when cooking. Cut the bruises off old apples and toss into the pan with your sausages. Don’t throw out those black bananas - mash them up and add cream for a super-quick pudding the children will love.
Being crafty with your food is the clever way to save those pennies – and it really just means thinking before you throw away. With a little bit of thought, you can create some delicious surprises from your leftovers - they don’t have to mean second best. Making the most of every bit of food makes perfect financial sense – we need to become more creative with what’s in the fridge.
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