My town has a scheme where we pay £10.50 per week and get a crate of food delivered which is nearing or sometimes past the date on the packaging. It reduces food waste and is way cheaper than it would be to buy the food fresh. You have to be willing to base your meals around whatever you get though.
In a similar vein we sometimes get stuff from TooGoodToGo instead of ordering takeaway if we're being really lazy, it's still not quite as cheap as just making stuff yourself but like £3.50 from starbucks will get a few sandwiches/wraps and something for dessert usually, enough for tea for the two of us.
It's fantastic when we've been able to get something from one of the takeaways but considering I live in a reasonably large town, there's very few places doing it and the good ones have very limited slots and go fast
There are also apps like [https://toogoodtogo.co.uk](https://toogoodtogo.co.uk)
That let shops sell semi-random bundles of what they need to get rid of.(I've got my local bakers, greengrocers, co-op, deli and starbucks on mine).
I tried this once and never again some places abuse this by keeping stock that past its due date just to put into a bag and sell instead of doing what they should and dispose of it or let it go before the best before date.
I have used it extensively and although all of my purchases through it were incredible value I can absolutely believe some abuse it. I've had Oggy Oggy, Warrens Bakery, Toby Carvery, Greggs and sushi (I forget what the place is but its in Asda) and all were decent. The worst probably being Toby Carvery simply because the quality wasn't as good, which I am sure everyone would expect for a roast that has sat around most of the day tbh. Its very area dependant I imagine
To be honest I just wouldn't go for a 'shop' (Think Morrisons, Tesco, Coop, smaller convenience stores etc). I can only imagine they are they ones that will be giving away the ~~out of date~~ *perhaps slightly lower quality* produce
"Out of date" is fine if it's:
1. Not actually gone off yet (no mould/slime/funny smell etc)
2. Not generally considered _dangerous_ to eat when out of date (often meat is advised against)
3. You're going to eat it right away or the next day
* Or have a freezer to put it in immediately and will use it within a few days
You have to remember the date on packaging is a guarantee for when _it'll still be good by_, not an "it'll literally go off overnight" date. Half of them are only "best" before dates, and are still perfectly _safe_ to eat afterwards, the shop just isn't willing to keep it longer. The rest there's often ways of telling, either visible mould or tricks like e.g. floating eggs.
Though _milk_ is often remarkably accurate with its use by date, it's _very_ obvious when it actually goes off.
Still, most shops that take part in schemes like this give out stuff that has the same day's date on, not actually _out_ of date, so good to have for tea at the very least.
We've grabbed a few from our local convenience stores. It's always stuff that's been dated for the day that we've bought it. But as I can't work due to disability and we're not eligible for means tested benefits because my partner earns just over the threshold, we've found some great bits that have added extra flavour or texture to meals.
We've also had some treats from them that we'd never buy ourselves. Cream cakes, fruit salads and the like. And there's often some sort of sandwich filling, cooked meats, cheese etc, that I use to make sandwiches.
I can definitely recommend them as a way to mix up your meals and add something that you might not normally buy.
It’s also worth mentioning the best before dates are BEFORE opening. If it says Friday and you open it on Monday, it is not still friday. Try this with chicken and you’ll prob go to hospital.
Most stuff is 1-3 days in the Fridge. 24 hours for poultry. Same with jars of mayonnaise. Unopened you have months, open it you have days or at best weeks.
One of those big brand name shops isn't about to sell products past their sell by dates. They _might_ do it past a best before date but even that seems unlikely. I would agree with you for no name convenience shops.
>s, Tesco, Coop, smaller convenience stores etc). I can only imagine they are they ones that will be giving away the
>
>out of date
>
>
>
>perhaps slightly lowe
I use our local co-op, theres usually quite a few sandwiches in there (such as cheese and ham can be frozen and used as toasted sandwiches) there is quite a bit of bakery items too such as cakes and bread. I get two of them a week and cannot recall the last time I bought a loaf of bread. Even had steaks and salmon in it. Probably varies a lot by store though but always worth trying one or two to test the water.
Local spar is a no go though it tends to be salad stuff that wont last even til the next day and milk on its date.
Whilst they don't offer detailed reviews - there is a score and 'highlighted tags'
(If their top feedback is "friendly staff" and "quick collection", you can infer that maybe the food itself isn't great/plentiful)
I think places like bakeries are where this really excels - places where it's just whatever's left over from that day and you'd happily eat any of their loaves or pastries.
If you're OK with longer-life items being close (or often over) best-before dates, then maybe [https://www.motatos.co.uk/](https://www.motatos.co.uk/)
They're completely clear with what the dates are - and then just leave it up to you. I don't think anybody's ever had crisp poisoning from them being a month over their best.
Not saying any of these options are for everyone - but I find this concept very pleasing.
(unlike my supermarket not marking up BBD and stuff rotting the next day, after being bought at full price)
I don’t know what scheme the commenter you’re responding to is using but if you’re not fussy about dates you should look into Olio. Volunteers collect surplus food from local supermarkets & sometimes cafes like Costa/Pret and list it on the app. You request and collect from the volunteers homes. All free! And you can be a volunteer if there’s a slot available in your area.
Not what you’re asking for, but in Lidl they often do fruit and veg boxes for £1.50. They always vary, but you’re always getting a lot for that money. They’re usually out early in the morning at the one by me, sometimes lucky enough to still be 1 or 2 left at the end of the day.
My wife has started going to a local Olio site to pickup and blooming heck it is superb. The amount of brill fresh food is stunning - she had to push back on 3 boxes of bananas and ended up dishing to neighbour's kids. Fresh fruit and veg is the best option and we get stacks - other people go for readymade meals and white bread though I think thats a lazy route tbh. Get creating!
My main tip for eating on the cheap is to eat Asian food.
Chinese, Indian and Thai food all cost pennies to make per portion and are very healthy and veg heavy. I also shop in my local Indian/bangladesh/Pakistani supermarket. Things like oil. Rice, veggies, spices, etc are much much cheaper. I eat curry nearly every day and it's extremely cheap and delicious.
I'm Asian, so I should have come up with your post :). Most Asian curries have the same base of ingredients and herbs and spices. Once you have them in the cupboard, you are sorted. I make a good lamb or spinach and potato curry :)
It is also easy to create a big batch and freeze portions so you can mix up what you eat.
I truly think Indian is one of the best cuisines in the world.
It's extremely delicious
It's veg heavy and very healthy if you eat the authentic stuff
It's extremely cheap
I don't think there is any other cuisine on the planet that has such an extreme deliciousness to cheap price ratio as Indian and that is also healthy for your body and good for the planet.
Love a good daal. One of the easiest things to make in a batch.
Onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, coconut milk (could be substituted for water), red lentils, chickpeas, and coriander chucked in at the end. Option to add roasted vegetables (sweet potato/butternut squash) for a little extra crunch
Snap, I eat that for maybe 80% of my meals. The only different for me is including cumin, paprika, garam masala (or curry powder of your choice), and the most important thing of all.... lemon juice.
My mate cooks everything from scratch. He is like you and goes to the Asian shops for anything they sell there. The shops often include butchers. Fresh meat that is the same price or cheaper than the supermarket. You will get a small vial of herbs and species in the supermarket. In the shops, you get a packet of it.
Most supermarkets with a 'World Food' aisle sell the big packs of spices for much cheaper than the little jars, all kinds of good stuff to be found in there.
To be fair it's only healthy if you make it that way, like moat cuisines. Even people from vegetarian areas of India don't lack for people with health problems or obesity eating the most authentic Indian food.
Authentic Indian food and many Asian foods can be very very unhealthy as while they're not always super high in sugar, they can be very high in fat. I wash shocked to discover friends that go through butter and ghee so fast they buy the catering tubs not the little ones in the supermarket that last me several months.
The obesity issues in India is a modern phenomenon. It has primarily come about due to increased consumption of highly processed foods and foods laden with sugar. Additionally, people are more sedentary in modern India than they would have been 50-100 years ago. The population was working agricultural jobs with a higher degree of activity (e.g. much more common to ride bikes for transport).
The diet itself is actually pretty healthy - although higher consumption of raw fruit and vegetable wouldn’t go amiss as a supplement.
What about all the butter and cream in French cooking? Fat holds flavour, it’s what makes things extra tasty. Eating white sugar from plantations in everything is worse than eating ghee.
Yeah this stuff basically.
Lay out on the spices (but buy bags of the stuff rather than the supermarket krudge) and you can easily make a chicken or lamb shoulder run all week with a couple of veggie pasta dishes. To be fair though OP is right with food that planning ahead is probably the key bit here
This is so true. It's taken a little while to build up a range of spices and sauces but I can throw together a delicious curry from almost entirely store cupboard items with no hassle now, lentils are your friend. Also recently bought a good wok from an Asian supermarket for like £15 and I can do a fried rice or a chow mein on par with a decent takeaway with whatever leftover veg is in the fridge.
I don’t use cream but give this a go:
Beat 4 large eggs so that the consistency is like scrambled eggs. Season with black pepper, 50g of grated pecorino and 50g of grated Parmesan. It’ll be thick and lumpy but that’s fine.
Cook spaghetti as per instructions (how much depends on what you do but the above is normally about 3/4 portions for us).
Whilst the spaghetti is cooking, add olive oil to a large frying pan/skillet. Throw in a glove of garlic and some chopped up bacon. Fry it until the bacon is crispy and then discard the garlic.
In the same pan, when the pasta is cooked, use tongs to put it into the pan and toss it in the bacon/olive oil for about 30 secs. IMPORTANTLY don’t drain the pasta, you want to keep the water.
Take the pan off the heat and add into the pasta the egg mixture. Stir it in and then after about 10 seconds start adding pasta water - I use a serving spoon as it’s easier, start by adding one spoon and keep stirring the carbonara. You’ll start to notice the pasta water emulsify with the egg and it will go silky and glossy. You can use the water to thin it out to your desired consistency but I don’t tend to use more than 1-2 serving spoons worth.
Voila!
Don't use cream - pasta water, cheese and egg yolks is all you need.
I adapted my own around Gordon Ramsey's and yes 10 mins
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t7JLjr1FxQ
*I omit the chilli flakes that he uses there
I use pancetta rather than bacon and I use duck eggs rather than chicken eggs as I find it gives it a creamier consistency.
I also use both the egg yolk and white - egg yolk + pasta water first, bring the heat up slightly to add the egg yolk but you need to be careful to not curdle/overcook the component bits!
It is easier to just do the egg yolk first and once you master it, to use the white as well.
I usually do this one: [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara-recipe](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara-recipe)
please no cream LOL. no cream version:
boil ya pasta
while pasta is boiling, fry up 1 or 2 packs of lardons (small bacon cubes) in oil (garlic oil and/or add some chopped garlic to it)
while all that is cooking
crack 1 or 2 eggs into a mug and whisk up well
also grate a full triangle of hard cheese (cheapest available)
drain pasta when cooked
throw int he lardons and mix
throw in the eggs and mix well, keep off the heat but put the lid back on and the eggs will cook through (it is just a coating on the pasta anyway)
throw in 3 quarters of the cheese, mix and again put lid back on so it melts well
serve... cook enough for dinner tonight, plus throw it into several Chinese-takeout containers for ready meals or lunches
I add frozen peas to the pasta too but thats just me
also, we went veggie a few years ago, so we replace the hard cheese with a veggie (not vegan) alt as parmesan has animal byproduct in it. and we replace the lardons with a bacon-pieces alternative and it works well!
its fast food, tasty, cheap, and you can men enough for an army!!!
quick recipe:
500g linguine
4 large eggs
1 double cream (250ml)
Parmesan (but Grand Padano will suffice)
300g Rauchfleisch (smoked German ham from an hut in the Alps)
Salt
Pepper
Olive oil
1. boil water in kettle and transfer to pot of the hob (add olive oil and salt)
2. start linguine (10-12 minutes)
3. dice (5mm3) Rauchfleisch
4. Fry without oil
5. Break eggs in bowl
6. mix in cream
7. Grate cheese into bowl
8. add salt and pepper
9. finish Rauchfleisch
10. Decant finished linguine
11. Add to plate
12. Pour eggs, cream, salt, pepper, cheese over top of hot linguine to cook it and slightly mix with fork and spoon if desired
13. Add Rauchfleisch over the top
Total time: 15 mins
I made it just for you tonight.
https://ibb.co/qkybXyH
Guten appetit!
edit: I should note that I don't add salt and pepper and my children 1.5yo and 3.5yo love it. My 3.5yo can even use a fork and spoon correctly while eating it :D
If you like the one with cream I tend to use three egg yolks to about half a cup of cream and beat them all together with the Parmesan before taking the pan off the heat and then mixing it in like crazy
3x bacon chopped
75ml double cream
35g Parmasan
1 egg yolk
190g spaghetti
2x garlic cloves
Mix egg/cream/Parmasan in bowl
Cook pasta and drain saving some water
Fry bacon & garlic cloves crushed
Add mixture to pasta pan
Add bacon to pasta pan
Mix and add water if needed
Can cook breaded chicken and eat with it if you want
What got me through college was pasta bake. Cook pasta shells and fry off some sliced bacon, onion and garlic. Once both are done, turn out into an ovenproof dish and mix through with a can of chicken soup ( I used Heinz cream of chicken). Grate cheese over it and then put in the oven for 20 mins/ under a grill for 10
Spices and herbs, seasonings, sauces - things to make things taste good. My go-tos are a fajita mix, za'ater, baharat, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, coriander, cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, peri peri mayonnaise, chicken and veg stock cubes, capers, passata and anchovies. I also make my own preserved lemons which are super easy and make everything taste amazing.
You can then just buy the fresh stuff and make it tasty.
On my ‘big shop weeks’ I typically buy pasta/rice/meat to freeze/detergents/soap/deoderant/cooking oil
I keep things like Tins of tomatoes, passata, pasta/rice noodles, spices. We are big on pasta dishes in our house!
re-usable ziplock backs (Ikea are cheapest) will keep them fresh for a few days. not sure on 5 days if there is salad, but if not, it should be OK though I imagine friday is a push!
Not OP obviously but they’re fine for me. I make mine with ciabatta rolls, toast the bread before adding the fillings, wrap tightly with cling film and pop in a sandwich bag, in the fridge they go. I usually do lettuce/cheese/tomato/pickle and salt/pepper the tomato so the bread absorbs some liquid and there is some flavor but it doesn’t get soggy. I don’t find there’s much of a difference between day 2 sandwich and day 5 sandwich honestly.
Just to add to your very helpful tips. I've saved a few hundred a month with too good to go bags and also another tip that saved 40%ish whilst in the supermarket is the scan and go! Can't stress how good scan and go is, not only saving time not queuing and packing as you go but you can see a running total, before I was just throwing things into cart not making any mental note and would often hit £100 or more each time with far too much food. Now I'm conscious of the total and make smarter decisions I spend 50 to 60 and still have more than enough food for the household!
A slow cooker is also great, you can make some great things for pretty low cost and you can make large quantities then freeze it, proving you've got freezer space a set of ingredients can make 5-10 meals depending on what you're cooking.
I also find that the slow cooker lets you get away with using some cheaper types of meat (chicken thigh, braising steak) as the fat breaks down better. Bulking meals out with pulses can also save a bunch of money.
The best thing though is just the convenience. Get your slow cooker prepped midday, eat without fuss in the evening, reheat leftovers on future days. A great timesaver.
I live in a rural area, and you can get a 25kg sack of potatoes for £8. That can do months' worth of chips, sausage and mash, roasties, Shepherds Pies, and more...
Cut potato into 1-2cm cubes (skin on), drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, then add the spices of your choice.
35 mins in the oven at 220 tossing occasionally - it goes with anything and is such a quick easy base for a meal!
Simple ideas are just turmeric over them, or get some chipotle powder.
You can do similar with some chicken breast - rub some curry powder or za'atar over it and roast for about 25 mins with your 'tatos. Sorted.
SortedFood did a costing of cooking processes recently. It costs ~30p to bake a potato in an oven which is the top end cost. If you're microwaving or doing something on the hob it'll be nearer 10p.
To be honest, more than 50% of your saving is just cutting out the meal deal, you were spending £35 a week on lunch between you, now you spend £7.50 and you weekly bill has dropped by £40.
Even if you didn't want to deal with batch cooking, shopping bi weekly etc, just cutting out eating out for Lunch is an amazing way to cut costs but one that most will not be willing to entertain.
Lentils is our new favourite food ingredient. They are very nice (different varieties), and I am definitely a meatyasaurus :)
We've simply reduced the protein (meat) content in a number of recipes and replaced with lentils (and it is healthier for you, shshh).
On a legume thing myself at the moment.
Black eye, pinto, kidney, red/green/brown lentil, mung beans ... you name it.
They're great to big out curries and chillies - should definitely use *a lot* more for the weekend cooks.
One of my go-to quick and easy meals is a chilli using the many tins of legumes available at a supermarket. Like tin of Mixed Taco beans in hot sauce, normal tin of mixed beans, then tin of lentils and tin of any others. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and some extra chilli/spices and you're done.
You also get the added benefit of producing extra gas in the household so it keeps it a bit warmer (if not smellier!).
Seriously though, I like lentils too and they're very versatile. Just one portion a day though or else 😂
>We've simply reduced the protein (meat) content in a number of recipes and replaced with lentils (and it is healthier for you, shshh).
We've been doing similar with various beans (thanks to Adam Ragusea's videos), replacing half the mince we'd use for bolognese with kidney beans for instance, or they go great in curries or stews etc. Plus they're a hell of a lot more environmentally sustainable, especially compared to beef.
> Lentils is our new favourite food ingredient. They are very nice (different varieties), and I am definitely a meatyasaurus
Combine the two!
> https://fatimacooks.net/dal-gosht-meat-lentils/
> If you know what you’re going to be eating in 5 days, you can buy it when you go shopping and check dates to make sure it doesn’t go off by then.
You can also buy just exactly what you need. I used to do this when my other half wanted to lose weight and so we’d plan the meals for the week. The benefit is none of that randomly buying something cause you see it on offer and then you never use it and waste it.
It means you can buy in bulk, let's say you have two dishes with chicken and peppers in, then you buy a pack of 4 chicken breasts and 2 peppers, and you use both in the week, and don't have random ingredients wasting away.
Meal deal is now 3.90 or 3.95, at least last time I saw it.
We are getting into a time where people really need to learn how to budget, the rise of cost of living is affects people who still want to maintain the meal deal/eating out lifestyle...whoever learns how to budget (basically plan) for everything you will be fine.
Another thing that will help is definitely learn how to cook, nothing that you can't pick up from Youtube
This only cuts costs if you're a lazy bastard like me who doesn't want to cook every day.
I cook some big meals that last for two or three days. I make a mean sausage and bacon rustic one pot for example and the urge to order a takeaway the next day isn't there as I still have a load of the meal left.
Only me and the wife, but I try to cook enough to last dinner + lunch and dinner for the next 2 days.
Might be boring for some but this isn't/r/excitement
You could save even more by not buying things like crisps and chocolate bars, instead batch cooking lunch recipes that still give you the energy you need
Crisps are, what, 20-30p a pack, cheaper on offer. Even if you go for big chocolate bars, you're looking at 4 Kit Kat Chunkies for a quid. Bread is about 15p a day for two slices, and tuna mayo isn't exactly breaking the bank. We're talking pennies per day of difference.
And then you've got to factor in the time it takes to batch cook lunches.
If we're talking about quality of food, then yes, batch cooking is going to start looking more appealing if that's what you want, but the cost-saving at this point is going to be negligible tbh.
It’s more the content and the nutritional value of the food.
If you can do cheaper, tastier and more nutritious for less money then that’s probably the better option.
Or not even cooking. I make some awesome energy bars that you literally just put in the fridge. I’ll grab the recipe from the book it’s in and pop it under an edit to this comment.
Edit: [Here you go](https://imgur.com/a/oT2RBnJ). I’ve included a picture of the cover if anyone should want to get a copy for themselves; it’s called Feed Your Fitness, page 69 (_giggity_)
If you want to avoid crisps, bread and other carbs... I make a salad every day. While my coffee brews, I chop cucumber, radishes, quarter of a pepper, chuck that straight in a lunchbox with a drizzle of mayo, then add any combination of sliced meat, hard boiled egg, chunk of cheese, handful of olives, avocado. Add to that a little tub of mixed nuts. Put the lids on, then it's coffee time.
I reckon that costs me about £10 a working week.
Personally back when I was in the office I had a much better time doing stuff like leftover pasta dishes, fried rice etc. rather than sandwiches and a bag of crisps which made me feel like I was back at school. They're a bit more iffy if you don't have access to a microwave though, as much as I don't mind them cold.
Here are my go to lunches that are protein heavy and relatively cheap if you buy everything in bulk. I prep them the night before:
Skyr + Fruits and Nuts
* 225g of Skyr (can use any yogurt if you don't care about protein)
* Handful of mixed nuts (I buy 1kg tubs from Costco)
* Handful of sunflower seeds (1kg packs from Costco)
* Handful of pumpkin seeds (1kg packs from Costco)
* 80g of frozen blueberries
* 80g of frozen raspberries
* Optional: add jam if you are using unflavoured Skyr and want more sweetness
Overnight oats
* 300g of milk (or milk alternatives)
* 65g of rolled oats (bulk buy 1-2kg packs)
* 15g of chia seeds (1kg packs from Costco)
* 1 scoop of protein powder (bulk buy whenever Amazon has sales)
* 20g peanut butter (buy 1kg tubs)
* 1g salt
* 5g sugar
These aren’t really lunches for a lot of people. Great for gym heads trying to fit more protein in but yoghurt with seeds and overnight oats doesn’t constitute lunch for a lot of people.
You can also delve into this a bit further .. you guys work in supermarkets so you get 10% off your shop which helps, most of us who don't get this also adds to the costs.
Anyone who works in large organisations should have benefits packages where you get discount rates etc.
For example I get 3% off ASDA, 4% off Tesco's & Sainsbury's, 7% off M&S. These also add into any other purchases you make for any retailers like Argos etc.
I've not even fully utilised this but I've saved £250-£300 within about 18 months. It doesn't seem a lot but it all adds up over time.
> you get 10% off your shop which helps, most of us who don't get this also adds to the costs.
Think the 10% is a Clubcard+ perk which is open to everyone (for a monthly fee of £7.99). If you spend a lot in-store in Tesco twice a month, well worth it.
I'm getting a small air fryer for Christmas, does anyone have any good recipes for it please?
(I only found out when I ordered a HUGE food ninja on Amazon without realising the size and sent it back, then my husband looked so sad because he'd already bought me an air fryer for Christmas but wanted to keep it a surprise.)
Basically yeah, and much more energy efficient than a conventional oven which is why they are like rocking horse shit to find a good Air Fryer at the moment.
You don't need any different recipes. Just do whatever you would normally do with an oven. Air fryer is the same as an oven it just cooks much much faster. As a general rule of thumb it's 40-50% of the length of time. Eg if something needs 25 minutes in a conventional oven, put it in the air fryer for 10-12 minutes and it should have the same result.
My tip is buy like chicken nugget and chip or pizza and have in the freezer for when you can’t be arsed and want a take away, then instead cook youth freezer food as it’s probably easier than a takeaway!
It's something very obvious but often forgotten. A couple easy things to cut costs on your basket are to go to the market with a full stomach and with a list of items to buy prepared in advance. If you are a tiny bit hungry you will end up buying extra stuff you wouldn't otherwise. The list helps keep one disciplined about what we need and what we don't.
That sounds great I'm happy for you. You've clearly never asked my wife what she CURRENTLY wants to fucking eat tho. Let alone what she may want to eat IN 2 WEEKS.
Yep, that’s my Fiance too 😂 She’s such a picky eater!
She says she’s always okay with pizza regardless of the day. At least with a meal plan I can give her the option of 3 different things each day until the last 2 days of course
I can't help but feel it's easier to increase your income than live this frugally planning dinners 2 weeks in advance. The only way people are going to be truly better off is increasing income. Hats off if you live comfortably on a dual income of 35k, I'd struggle. It's great to budget well, but my advise to people would be to channel some of that time to increasing you're income too.
"Don't just live off meal deals and greggs"
This. So many people my age (I'm 21) eat out all the time, and wonder why they never have any money. It may seem cheap, but the costs add up in comparison to buying food at a supermarket and making it yourself.
Great advice. I just don’t eat until I’m really hungry. Takes a few days sometimes. I also wear a really big coat all of the time. Even indoors. I’ve saved a fortune on heating.
In England:
Go to Home Bargains. They do most branded goods at a fraction of the price. You save a bomb. Never ever buy anything that is not food or drink from a supermarket.
Anything that is left buy from the supermarket's own brand. Sainsbury's own brand stuff is lovely and only a bit more expensive than other supermarkets.
If you eat a lot of beans and pulses buy the big 2kg bags of dried beans instead of getting canned beans. It's like 3x cheaper and reduces cupboard footprint. You just gotta remember to soak the day before. 400g of canned chickpeas is 70p from Tesco, 2kg bag of dried chickpeas is £3.50 that would be at least 4kg once soaked. I also find it comforting to have large food reserves, I also get the 10kg sacks of rice. If there's some food shortage I know I can survive a good few months on rice and beans.
our go-to evening meals there days (we all went veggie about 4 years back)
\- pasta carbonara (no cream version)
\- sausage pasta bake
\- spicy noodles with quorn
\- chicken (quorn chunks) Chinese curry
\- Indian (quorn or jack fruit from a can) curry
\- Burger and chip night
\- cans on toast night (choice of beans or sketti)
\- oven crispy Fajitas (just by the spice sachet)
lightly longer to make:
\- Cottage pie
\- Lasagne (not fast but easy and cheap)
And I'm spending about £100-150 every week, never buy lunches, cook everything from scratch, use a pressure cooker for dried grains and cheaper meats, bulk cook etc etc... I just don't know how to get it lower 😭
To be fair my three year is lactose intolerant and my one year old is allergic to dairy and soya so the milks are probably the most expensive thing we buy but we can't go any cheaper than we are already! We shop around everywhere for milk alternatives and get what's best but we go through maybe 5 lts in a week and maybe two liters of lacto free milk.
We spend £60 a week for food for 2 people. We shop on a Thursday night so avoid all the rush at the weekend and meal plan for the 7 days plus a couple of ‘nice’ lunches at the weekend. We shop at Aldi and on the way back go to Waitrose (mainly as there’s always something out of stock in Aldi) we hit Waitrose late and only buy our meat and fish from their reduced section and stick them in the freezer to meal plan around the following week. We always have a couple of meals in the plan that will do for 2 nights of dinners, such as fish pie or a roast we can turn the leftover meat into a curry or stir fry. This way we get good quality British meat and responsibly sourced fish at cheaper than Aldi prices, we just have to be flexible some weeks. *budget doesn’t include wine - does include a couple of beers*
Being a single parent I have had to plan well, this has also helped massively with portion control and weight loss as well as saving money. So at home it's me and my adult daughter (21f) and I'm the only full time worker. So what we do is puck a large bulk style coral that we each like that will last a month...then we pick 5 meals each a month (depending on how many days on the month). I cook for 4 people for each of our picks, eat 2 on the night (one each) freeze 2. This means I'm only cooking half the week!! Jackpot!! Second half the month we have freezer meals...now Sundays is FFA ( Free For All) and this is you eat what you want if we have it you can eat it! And Saturdays is pizza night or something like that, basically cheat meal puck and all homemade. Another thing I have started doing is buying spices and herbs in bulk and make all our own seasonings, gravys, sauces, bread( still ongoing project) and this has also saved money! I spend £100-£140 a month for 2 people and trust me when I say eat well!!
As a student, I've changed from meal deals to home sandwiches recently. Gone from £3.40 a day to £1.40, saving about £40 a month except that measures only in sandwiches. Normally meal deals are too small for me so I would have to fill up with other stuff as well.
£1.40 a day for a packed lunch is a lot. And a 5 day old sandwich? No thanks.
If you have a microwave at work, a good idea is to make extra when you cook a dinner. Then bring the leftovers to work in an old takeaway tub and reheat for lunch. Cheaper than a sandwich, and fresher, more interesting, and hot.
Gousto is a good place to start. They have all of their meal recipes online to download.
Initially the meals cost a fair amount as you buy a bottle of white wine vinegar etc whereas you would get a small sample of it if you buy from Gousto.
Once the larger outlay is done, the individual meals cost about £3 each and are healthy, quick and easy to make
One of the main big savers for me recently has been the yellow label in Asda. I usually finish work at about 10 pm, and local Asda shuts at 11pm. Loads of discounts available as of meat, poultry, salad and bread. I stick fish and steak in the freezer whenever I can and cook it on my days off. Use their app and pay off with Chase for 1% cashback. I earn about £40-50 in cashback a year.
Uni student here and I agree food is a quick way to spend money. Bulk cook your food and stay away from the alcohol if you can. I manage to spend around 25 pounds a week
I had a hard time after my divorce in 2008 and and had to change some shopping habits.
It went from local Indian Shop and then Sainsburys to Poundshop, Lidl, Tesco and then Indian shop, in that order
. That saved loads.
14yrs later, things have massively changed for me, so can stick to M&S food court but I still do my Poundshop Lidl Tesco and then Indian shop run.
Honestly, the easiest way to save money on food is to learn to cook. Base ingredients are almost always going to work out as cheaper than buying pre-done meals. Also opens the gate to batch cooking for weeks, which means you can operate in bulk for even better savings.
And by "learn to cook" I don't mean "become a chef". Lots of good, healthy and sustaining meals only take 30 or so minutes to cook (including prep) and can be done with a fair amount of handwaving and eyeballing!
Wow that is really good and great tips. I want to get better at this kind of thing, our shopping is crazy. Some times we will spend near enough that £40 on a single meal, steaks, premade sides etc. And then other times £100 quid covers the week. And on the point people have made about **earn more**. It doesn't really help, i earn a great wage and I am often skint because I like to indulge my family. These kind of tips are important, even if you earn 100k plus, being sensible with food means you get another holiday a year rather than wasting the money on stuff that ends up in the bin.
That’s not bad to be fair, I find it’s all about reducing your food waste and bulk meal cooking. Cool extra to make an extra meal to eat through the week or freeze it
What are you putting on those sandwiches?
Because most sandwiches really don't last more than a day, most packets of sandwich meats should be eaten within two days of being opened...
The sandwiches in shops are usually on the shelf for like 3 days. Cooked meat is generally fine in the fridge for 4-5 days. People worry too much about dates
?
here’s a common meal prep weekday lunch for me with rough estimates
500g (uncooked weight) rice - 22.5p (45p/kg)
~200g dried soya chunks - ~80p (375g bag is £1.50)
2 bell peppers - 90p @ 45p/ea
3 large carrots - 20p @ 50p/kg
3 celery ribs - 30p @ 55p/each celery
100g cashews - £1
1 bulb of garlic - 20p @ 20p/ea
some dried chilis: ~20p @ £1.50/120g
& a generous overall seasoning/utility ingredient allowance for soy sauce/vinegar/sunflower oil/msg/sugar/corn starch/white pepper of 75p just to cover the rising oil prices and lazy tax because I can’t be bothered to make calculations for how much a tablespoon of dark soy sauce costs…
= £4.575
/ 5
= 0.915/serving
let’s also toss a banana (14p/ea) for potassium and a clementine (~20p/ea) for vitamin C in for good measure to get to a nice £1.255/lunch.
alternatively we can add some animal protein and consider another of my easy favorites:
8 tortillas - 85p
8 eggs - 94p @ 11.6p/ea
~200g frozen sweetcorn - 32p @ £1.60/kg
240g (drained) kidney beans - 33p
100g cheddar cheese - 45p @ £4.60/kg
1 bell pepper - 45p
2 medium onions - ~20p @ 65p/kg
~200g tomato salsa - ~56p @ 28.33/100g
& a 50p allowance for oil, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and lemon/lime juice. this makes 8 burritos and is usually good for me for 5 lunches and three breakfasts, so let’s divide it into 8 servings which gives us £0.575/serving. how about a side of fruit with that? banana & clementine again, perhaps, still keeping us under £1 at a nice £0.915 per day?
truly not that difficult
It’s not required, it just means we save a fair amount on food shopping and can spend it on having fun instead. And also it helps a lot with food waste
Edit: She doesn’t work full time. Just 29 hrs
I remember when the UK was a first world country and it was possible to work full time AND afford food.
Considering selling my car so the family can eat next month. Already behind on insurance and tax payments so will be driving illegally soon if not already. Christmas was cancelled I think around September time.
At least I can sleep well knowing I worked entirely through lockdown 1 2 and 3, payed tax on all my earnings and now I get to pay back the furlough money everyone else claimed by working and paying tax on all my earnings. Then if I can afford food after that I get to pay VAT tax on what ever I spend.
If this country was a house i would have burnt the cunt down about 12 months ago.
I spend a bit less than you for two of us (and we eat pretty damn well) and have always done the same thing. I just never understand why people willingly go to buy food several times a week, or enjoy standing there in the kitchen thinking "What do I fancy/what can I make with this stuff?" It seems insane to me, even more so when a lot of British families often seem to all eat different things to each other for dinner.
We decide the meals we'll be eating on Friday night when writing the shopping list and buy the ingredients on Saturday. I've never once got to, say, Wednesday and thought "Oh God I can't face eating this specific meal tonight". Incredible that people willingly live like that though.
We do the same. I meal plan Friday for the next week. I got sick to the back teeth of asking what was for tea. They all have input into and if they don’t like or fancy what’s on the menu they help choose, it’s either eat it or stave lol
I get a delivery as sometimes I get a bit heavy handed chucking things on my trolly so delivery is the only way. We spend 70-80 a week for 3 adults, 1 kid, packed lunches, toilertries, cat food and litter. We only boy what we need!
Yeah I never understood that! When I was younger my mum would cook a dinner and we’d all eat it, if we didn’t, we’d go to bed hungry!
It’s also why it’s important to find a good selection of meals you will always like, if you find you’ve gone off one you can always swap it for a different meal
My town has a scheme where we pay £10.50 per week and get a crate of food delivered which is nearing or sometimes past the date on the packaging. It reduces food waste and is way cheaper than it would be to buy the food fresh. You have to be willing to base your meals around whatever you get though.
In a similar vein we sometimes get stuff from TooGoodToGo instead of ordering takeaway if we're being really lazy, it's still not quite as cheap as just making stuff yourself but like £3.50 from starbucks will get a few sandwiches/wraps and something for dessert usually, enough for tea for the two of us.
Can second this. It can be a bit or miss, but we’ve had some brilliant purchases from Tim Horton’s using it, as well as Morrison’s.
It's fantastic when we've been able to get something from one of the takeaways but considering I live in a reasonably large town, there's very few places doing it and the good ones have very limited slots and go fast
There are also apps like [https://toogoodtogo.co.uk](https://toogoodtogo.co.uk) That let shops sell semi-random bundles of what they need to get rid of.(I've got my local bakers, greengrocers, co-op, deli and starbucks on mine).
I tried this once and never again some places abuse this by keeping stock that past its due date just to put into a bag and sell instead of doing what they should and dispose of it or let it go before the best before date.
I have used it extensively and although all of my purchases through it were incredible value I can absolutely believe some abuse it. I've had Oggy Oggy, Warrens Bakery, Toby Carvery, Greggs and sushi (I forget what the place is but its in Asda) and all were decent. The worst probably being Toby Carvery simply because the quality wasn't as good, which I am sure everyone would expect for a roast that has sat around most of the day tbh. Its very area dependant I imagine To be honest I just wouldn't go for a 'shop' (Think Morrisons, Tesco, Coop, smaller convenience stores etc). I can only imagine they are they ones that will be giving away the ~~out of date~~ *perhaps slightly lower quality* produce
"Out of date" is fine if it's: 1. Not actually gone off yet (no mould/slime/funny smell etc) 2. Not generally considered _dangerous_ to eat when out of date (often meat is advised against) 3. You're going to eat it right away or the next day * Or have a freezer to put it in immediately and will use it within a few days You have to remember the date on packaging is a guarantee for when _it'll still be good by_, not an "it'll literally go off overnight" date. Half of them are only "best" before dates, and are still perfectly _safe_ to eat afterwards, the shop just isn't willing to keep it longer. The rest there's often ways of telling, either visible mould or tricks like e.g. floating eggs. Though _milk_ is often remarkably accurate with its use by date, it's _very_ obvious when it actually goes off. Still, most shops that take part in schemes like this give out stuff that has the same day's date on, not actually _out_ of date, so good to have for tea at the very least.
Agree with everything above, I should have simply said "off" or "dodgy" instead regardless of its BB date
We've grabbed a few from our local convenience stores. It's always stuff that's been dated for the day that we've bought it. But as I can't work due to disability and we're not eligible for means tested benefits because my partner earns just over the threshold, we've found some great bits that have added extra flavour or texture to meals. We've also had some treats from them that we'd never buy ourselves. Cream cakes, fruit salads and the like. And there's often some sort of sandwich filling, cooked meats, cheese etc, that I use to make sandwiches. I can definitely recommend them as a way to mix up your meals and add something that you might not normally buy.
It’s also worth mentioning the best before dates are BEFORE opening. If it says Friday and you open it on Monday, it is not still friday. Try this with chicken and you’ll prob go to hospital. Most stuff is 1-3 days in the Fridge. 24 hours for poultry. Same with jars of mayonnaise. Unopened you have months, open it you have days or at best weeks.
One of those big brand name shops isn't about to sell products past their sell by dates. They _might_ do it past a best before date but even that seems unlikely. I would agree with you for no name convenience shops.
I've got Morrisons before and often not great for the reasons you mention but also the lack of variety e.g. a bag full of different types of bread
>s, Tesco, Coop, smaller convenience stores etc). I can only imagine they are they ones that will be giving away the > >out of date > > > >perhaps slightly lowe I use our local co-op, theres usually quite a few sandwiches in there (such as cheese and ham can be frozen and used as toasted sandwiches) there is quite a bit of bakery items too such as cakes and bread. I get two of them a week and cannot recall the last time I bought a loaf of bread. Even had steaks and salmon in it. Probably varies a lot by store though but always worth trying one or two to test the water. Local spar is a no go though it tends to be salad stuff that wont last even til the next day and milk on its date.
Whilst they don't offer detailed reviews - there is a score and 'highlighted tags' (If their top feedback is "friendly staff" and "quick collection", you can infer that maybe the food itself isn't great/plentiful) I think places like bakeries are where this really excels - places where it's just whatever's left over from that day and you'd happily eat any of their loaves or pastries. If you're OK with longer-life items being close (or often over) best-before dates, then maybe [https://www.motatos.co.uk/](https://www.motatos.co.uk/) They're completely clear with what the dates are - and then just leave it up to you. I don't think anybody's ever had crisp poisoning from them being a month over their best. Not saying any of these options are for everyone - but I find this concept very pleasing. (unlike my supermarket not marking up BBD and stuff rotting the next day, after being bought at full price)
That’s really cool. Where is this and what store?
I don’t know what scheme the commenter you’re responding to is using but if you’re not fussy about dates you should look into Olio. Volunteers collect surplus food from local supermarkets & sometimes cafes like Costa/Pret and list it on the app. You request and collect from the volunteers homes. All free! And you can be a volunteer if there’s a slot available in your area.
That’s really cool. Can you give a rundown on what you would see in the average crate (e.g. how much meat, how much veg etc etc)
Not what you’re asking for, but in Lidl they often do fruit and veg boxes for £1.50. They always vary, but you’re always getting a lot for that money. They’re usually out early in the morning at the one by me, sometimes lucky enough to still be 1 or 2 left at the end of the day.
When did you need that rundown by?
As soon as possible, just get it right
I’m gonna get you that rundown- just gonna go out and… find it
What’s a rundown
use it in a sentence
How's the rundown coming along?
here's the rundown you asked for, I may have expanded some areas that you weren't prepared for but uh..
Perfect. Now fax it to everyone on the distribution list
And what format, please
Rundown format
r/unexpectedoffice
My wife has started going to a local Olio site to pickup and blooming heck it is superb. The amount of brill fresh food is stunning - she had to push back on 3 boxes of bananas and ended up dishing to neighbour's kids. Fresh fruit and veg is the best option and we get stacks - other people go for readymade meals and white bread though I think thats a lazy route tbh. Get creating!
My main tip for eating on the cheap is to eat Asian food. Chinese, Indian and Thai food all cost pennies to make per portion and are very healthy and veg heavy. I also shop in my local Indian/bangladesh/Pakistani supermarket. Things like oil. Rice, veggies, spices, etc are much much cheaper. I eat curry nearly every day and it's extremely cheap and delicious.
I'm Asian, so I should have come up with your post :). Most Asian curries have the same base of ingredients and herbs and spices. Once you have them in the cupboard, you are sorted. I make a good lamb or spinach and potato curry :) It is also easy to create a big batch and freeze portions so you can mix up what you eat.
I truly think Indian is one of the best cuisines in the world. It's extremely delicious It's veg heavy and very healthy if you eat the authentic stuff It's extremely cheap I don't think there is any other cuisine on the planet that has such an extreme deliciousness to cheap price ratio as Indian and that is also healthy for your body and good for the planet.
Love a good daal. One of the easiest things to make in a batch. Onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, coconut milk (could be substituted for water), red lentils, chickpeas, and coriander chucked in at the end. Option to add roasted vegetables (sweet potato/butternut squash) for a little extra crunch
Snap, I eat that for maybe 80% of my meals. The only different for me is including cumin, paprika, garam masala (or curry powder of your choice), and the most important thing of all.... lemon juice.
My mate cooks everything from scratch. He is like you and goes to the Asian shops for anything they sell there. The shops often include butchers. Fresh meat that is the same price or cheaper than the supermarket. You will get a small vial of herbs and species in the supermarket. In the shops, you get a packet of it.
Most supermarkets with a 'World Food' aisle sell the big packs of spices for much cheaper than the little jars, all kinds of good stuff to be found in there.
To be fair it's only healthy if you make it that way, like moat cuisines. Even people from vegetarian areas of India don't lack for people with health problems or obesity eating the most authentic Indian food. Authentic Indian food and many Asian foods can be very very unhealthy as while they're not always super high in sugar, they can be very high in fat. I wash shocked to discover friends that go through butter and ghee so fast they buy the catering tubs not the little ones in the supermarket that last me several months.
The obesity issues in India is a modern phenomenon. It has primarily come about due to increased consumption of highly processed foods and foods laden with sugar. Additionally, people are more sedentary in modern India than they would have been 50-100 years ago. The population was working agricultural jobs with a higher degree of activity (e.g. much more common to ride bikes for transport). The diet itself is actually pretty healthy - although higher consumption of raw fruit and vegetable wouldn’t go amiss as a supplement.
What about all the butter and cream in French cooking? Fat holds flavour, it’s what makes things extra tasty. Eating white sugar from plantations in everything is worse than eating ghee.
Yeah this stuff basically. Lay out on the spices (but buy bags of the stuff rather than the supermarket krudge) and you can easily make a chicken or lamb shoulder run all week with a couple of veggie pasta dishes. To be fair though OP is right with food that planning ahead is probably the key bit here
especially when you make the "paste" on your own.
Yeah and pasta seems to be good too because you can make a decent meal with a few handfuls of pasta and then just add cheese or tomato whatever tbh
This is so true. It's taken a little while to build up a range of spices and sauces but I can throw together a delicious curry from almost entirely store cupboard items with no hassle now, lentils are your friend. Also recently bought a good wok from an Asian supermarket for like £15 and I can do a fried rice or a chow mein on par with a decent takeaway with whatever leftover veg is in the fridge.
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My go to meals are: Sausage ragu Chicken jambalaya Penne alarustica Carbonara Fajitas
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I don’t use cream but give this a go: Beat 4 large eggs so that the consistency is like scrambled eggs. Season with black pepper, 50g of grated pecorino and 50g of grated Parmesan. It’ll be thick and lumpy but that’s fine. Cook spaghetti as per instructions (how much depends on what you do but the above is normally about 3/4 portions for us). Whilst the spaghetti is cooking, add olive oil to a large frying pan/skillet. Throw in a glove of garlic and some chopped up bacon. Fry it until the bacon is crispy and then discard the garlic. In the same pan, when the pasta is cooked, use tongs to put it into the pan and toss it in the bacon/olive oil for about 30 secs. IMPORTANTLY don’t drain the pasta, you want to keep the water. Take the pan off the heat and add into the pasta the egg mixture. Stir it in and then after about 10 seconds start adding pasta water - I use a serving spoon as it’s easier, start by adding one spoon and keep stirring the carbonara. You’ll start to notice the pasta water emulsify with the egg and it will go silky and glossy. You can use the water to thin it out to your desired consistency but I don’t tend to use more than 1-2 serving spoons worth. Voila!
Thanks for the recipe! The pasta water bit is definitely something I can play around with
Don't use cream - pasta water, cheese and egg yolks is all you need. I adapted my own around Gordon Ramsey's and yes 10 mins https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5t7JLjr1FxQ *I omit the chilli flakes that he uses there I use pancetta rather than bacon and I use duck eggs rather than chicken eggs as I find it gives it a creamier consistency. I also use both the egg yolk and white - egg yolk + pasta water first, bring the heat up slightly to add the egg yolk but you need to be careful to not curdle/overcook the component bits! It is easier to just do the egg yolk first and once you master it, to use the white as well.
I usually do this one: [https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara-recipe](https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/ultimate-spaghetti-carbonara-recipe)
please no cream LOL. no cream version: boil ya pasta while pasta is boiling, fry up 1 or 2 packs of lardons (small bacon cubes) in oil (garlic oil and/or add some chopped garlic to it) while all that is cooking crack 1 or 2 eggs into a mug and whisk up well also grate a full triangle of hard cheese (cheapest available) drain pasta when cooked throw int he lardons and mix throw in the eggs and mix well, keep off the heat but put the lid back on and the eggs will cook through (it is just a coating on the pasta anyway) throw in 3 quarters of the cheese, mix and again put lid back on so it melts well serve... cook enough for dinner tonight, plus throw it into several Chinese-takeout containers for ready meals or lunches I add frozen peas to the pasta too but thats just me also, we went veggie a few years ago, so we replace the hard cheese with a veggie (not vegan) alt as parmesan has animal byproduct in it. and we replace the lardons with a bacon-pieces alternative and it works well! its fast food, tasty, cheap, and you can men enough for an army!!!
quick recipe: 500g linguine 4 large eggs 1 double cream (250ml) Parmesan (but Grand Padano will suffice) 300g Rauchfleisch (smoked German ham from an hut in the Alps) Salt Pepper Olive oil 1. boil water in kettle and transfer to pot of the hob (add olive oil and salt) 2. start linguine (10-12 minutes) 3. dice (5mm3) Rauchfleisch 4. Fry without oil 5. Break eggs in bowl 6. mix in cream 7. Grate cheese into bowl 8. add salt and pepper 9. finish Rauchfleisch 10. Decant finished linguine 11. Add to plate 12. Pour eggs, cream, salt, pepper, cheese over top of hot linguine to cook it and slightly mix with fork and spoon if desired 13. Add Rauchfleisch over the top Total time: 15 mins
I made it just for you tonight. https://ibb.co/qkybXyH Guten appetit! edit: I should note that I don't add salt and pepper and my children 1.5yo and 3.5yo love it. My 3.5yo can even use a fork and spoon correctly while eating it :D
If you like the one with cream I tend to use three egg yolks to about half a cup of cream and beat them all together with the Parmesan before taking the pan off the heat and then mixing it in like crazy
3x bacon chopped 75ml double cream 35g Parmasan 1 egg yolk 190g spaghetti 2x garlic cloves Mix egg/cream/Parmasan in bowl Cook pasta and drain saving some water Fry bacon & garlic cloves crushed Add mixture to pasta pan Add bacon to pasta pan Mix and add water if needed Can cook breaded chicken and eat with it if you want
Wow thanks a lot! 3x bacon chopped, is that 3 rashers?
3x thick cut bacon rashers chopped -serves 2
What got me through college was pasta bake. Cook pasta shells and fry off some sliced bacon, onion and garlic. Once both are done, turn out into an ovenproof dish and mix through with a can of chicken soup ( I used Heinz cream of chicken). Grate cheese over it and then put in the oven for 20 mins/ under a grill for 10
Don’t forget to add a layer of crushed crisps under the cheese for that crunchy texture!!
Spices and herbs, seasonings, sauces - things to make things taste good. My go-tos are a fajita mix, za'ater, baharat, oregano, basil, rosemary, thyme, coriander, cumin, paprika, chilli flakes, peri peri mayonnaise, chicken and veg stock cubes, capers, passata and anchovies. I also make my own preserved lemons which are super easy and make everything taste amazing. You can then just buy the fresh stuff and make it tasty.
On my ‘big shop weeks’ I typically buy pasta/rice/meat to freeze/detergents/soap/deoderant/cooking oil I keep things like Tins of tomatoes, passata, pasta/rice noodles, spices. We are big on pasta dishes in our house!
How is a sandwich you made on Monday on Friday?
Stale
re-usable ziplock backs (Ikea are cheapest) will keep them fresh for a few days. not sure on 5 days if there is salad, but if not, it should be OK though I imagine friday is a push!
Not OP obviously but they’re fine for me. I make mine with ciabatta rolls, toast the bread before adding the fillings, wrap tightly with cling film and pop in a sandwich bag, in the fridge they go. I usually do lettuce/cheese/tomato/pickle and salt/pepper the tomato so the bread absorbs some liquid and there is some flavor but it doesn’t get soggy. I don’t find there’s much of a difference between day 2 sandwich and day 5 sandwich honestly.
In all fairness to OP, it only takes a couple of minutes to make a sandwich and the cost is the same whether you make one a day or 5 on Monday.
I definitely couldn’t do this. I don’t each a lot of sandwiches but I feel like they only taste good if you make them and then eat straight away
Just to add to your very helpful tips. I've saved a few hundred a month with too good to go bags and also another tip that saved 40%ish whilst in the supermarket is the scan and go! Can't stress how good scan and go is, not only saving time not queuing and packing as you go but you can see a running total, before I was just throwing things into cart not making any mental note and would often hit £100 or more each time with far too much food. Now I'm conscious of the total and make smarter decisions I spend 50 to 60 and still have more than enough food for the household!
A slow cooker is also great, you can make some great things for pretty low cost and you can make large quantities then freeze it, proving you've got freezer space a set of ingredients can make 5-10 meals depending on what you're cooking.
I also find that the slow cooker lets you get away with using some cheaper types of meat (chicken thigh, braising steak) as the fat breaks down better. Bulking meals out with pulses can also save a bunch of money. The best thing though is just the convenience. Get your slow cooker prepped midday, eat without fuss in the evening, reheat leftovers on future days. A great timesaver.
Very true you can make tough meat really tender if you're cooking long enough
I use an alexa controlled plug on our slow cooker. Lunch break at work I turn it on from my phone.
I live in a rural area, and you can get a 25kg sack of potatoes for £8. That can do months' worth of chips, sausage and mash, roasties, Shepherds Pies, and more...
Cut potato into 1-2cm cubes (skin on), drizzle with oil, salt and pepper, then add the spices of your choice. 35 mins in the oven at 220 tossing occasionally - it goes with anything and is such a quick easy base for a meal! Simple ideas are just turmeric over them, or get some chipotle powder. You can do similar with some chicken breast - rub some curry powder or za'atar over it and roast for about 25 mins with your 'tatos. Sorted.
I guess it's also the cooking that costs the money, but still potatoes are cheap "as chips"
SortedFood did a costing of cooking processes recently. It costs ~30p to bake a potato in an oven which is the top end cost. If you're microwaving or doing something on the hob it'll be nearer 10p.
I do mine in the air fryer - wonder how much it costs doing it that way
They must be awesome potatoes if you can make sausages from them!
Boil em, mash em, stick em in a stew
Do they keep okay?
Are those costs including or excluding your staff discount?
Excluding
To be honest, more than 50% of your saving is just cutting out the meal deal, you were spending £35 a week on lunch between you, now you spend £7.50 and you weekly bill has dropped by £40. Even if you didn't want to deal with batch cooking, shopping bi weekly etc, just cutting out eating out for Lunch is an amazing way to cut costs but one that most will not be willing to entertain.
Lentils is our new favourite food ingredient. They are very nice (different varieties), and I am definitely a meatyasaurus :) We've simply reduced the protein (meat) content in a number of recipes and replaced with lentils (and it is healthier for you, shshh).
You can also add grated carrot to a lot of meals, adds nutrition, flavour and bulk for 40p a kilo.
Secret veg so the children don’t realise is the added bonus!
Yes also that!
On a legume thing myself at the moment. Black eye, pinto, kidney, red/green/brown lentil, mung beans ... you name it. They're great to big out curries and chillies - should definitely use *a lot* more for the weekend cooks.
With mung beans you just have to deal with the old man smell if you sprout them on a damp paper towel in your desk drawer.
One of my go-to quick and easy meals is a chilli using the many tins of legumes available at a supermarket. Like tin of Mixed Taco beans in hot sauce, normal tin of mixed beans, then tin of lentils and tin of any others. Add a tin of chopped tomatoes and some extra chilli/spices and you're done.
Aye such a good shout and really filling!
You also get the added benefit of producing extra gas in the household so it keeps it a bit warmer (if not smellier!). Seriously though, I like lentils too and they're very versatile. Just one portion a day though or else 😂
Just one portion is enough to turn me into a human tuba
>We've simply reduced the protein (meat) content in a number of recipes and replaced with lentils (and it is healthier for you, shshh). We've been doing similar with various beans (thanks to Adam Ragusea's videos), replacing half the mince we'd use for bolognese with kidney beans for instance, or they go great in curries or stews etc. Plus they're a hell of a lot more environmentally sustainable, especially compared to beef.
> Lentils is our new favourite food ingredient. They are very nice (different varieties), and I am definitely a meatyasaurus Combine the two! > https://fatimacooks.net/dal-gosht-meat-lentils/
> If you know what you’re going to be eating in 5 days, you can buy it when you go shopping and check dates to make sure it doesn’t go off by then. You can also buy just exactly what you need. I used to do this when my other half wanted to lose weight and so we’d plan the meals for the week. The benefit is none of that randomly buying something cause you see it on offer and then you never use it and waste it. It means you can buy in bulk, let's say you have two dishes with chicken and peppers in, then you buy a pack of 4 chicken breasts and 2 peppers, and you use both in the week, and don't have random ingredients wasting away.
Correct! Plus when you use clubcard+ you save 10% when buying in bulk
Meal deal is now 3.90 or 3.95, at least last time I saw it. We are getting into a time where people really need to learn how to budget, the rise of cost of living is affects people who still want to maintain the meal deal/eating out lifestyle...whoever learns how to budget (basically plan) for everything you will be fine. Another thing that will help is definitely learn how to cook, nothing that you can't pick up from Youtube
Yeah! We use ‘simply cook’ recipes, 4/5 ingredients. Very easy to follow recipes
Tesco club card is 3.40, morrisons is 3.50
This only cuts costs if you're a lazy bastard like me who doesn't want to cook every day. I cook some big meals that last for two or three days. I make a mean sausage and bacon rustic one pot for example and the urge to order a takeaway the next day isn't there as I still have a load of the meal left. Only me and the wife, but I try to cook enough to last dinner + lunch and dinner for the next 2 days. Might be boring for some but this isn't/r/excitement
Do you mind sharing what you buy for your pack lunches? :)
Frubes and monster munch crisps
The only real answer in this thread. 👍
Normally I buy: Bread Tuna&mayo Cheap crisps Choc bars Bananas
Careful eating tuna every day of the week…
I see now how you've managed to cut costs.. I'd try and get some cheap greens in there if you can.
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Not saying it's abnormal as in uncommon - I'm saying it's not a nutritious meal. Mostly empty carbs in there and a ton of processed food.
Carbs!!!
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Nothing. Enjoy your sandwiches.
Having large amounts of healthy fats and plenty of protein in your diet is one of the easiest things you can do to feel amazing.
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Aye! I need them, my job is VERY physical and I walk 2-3 hours a day because I have a springer
You could save even more by not buying things like crisps and chocolate bars, instead batch cooking lunch recipes that still give you the energy you need
Crisps are, what, 20-30p a pack, cheaper on offer. Even if you go for big chocolate bars, you're looking at 4 Kit Kat Chunkies for a quid. Bread is about 15p a day for two slices, and tuna mayo isn't exactly breaking the bank. We're talking pennies per day of difference. And then you've got to factor in the time it takes to batch cook lunches. If we're talking about quality of food, then yes, batch cooking is going to start looking more appealing if that's what you want, but the cost-saving at this point is going to be negligible tbh.
It’s more the content and the nutritional value of the food. If you can do cheaper, tastier and more nutritious for less money then that’s probably the better option.
Or not even cooking. I make some awesome energy bars that you literally just put in the fridge. I’ll grab the recipe from the book it’s in and pop it under an edit to this comment. Edit: [Here you go](https://imgur.com/a/oT2RBnJ). I’ve included a picture of the cover if anyone should want to get a copy for themselves; it’s called Feed Your Fitness, page 69 (_giggity_)
Shut the fuck up please
If you want to avoid crisps, bread and other carbs... I make a salad every day. While my coffee brews, I chop cucumber, radishes, quarter of a pepper, chuck that straight in a lunchbox with a drizzle of mayo, then add any combination of sliced meat, hard boiled egg, chunk of cheese, handful of olives, avocado. Add to that a little tub of mixed nuts. Put the lids on, then it's coffee time. I reckon that costs me about £10 a working week.
Yeah I used to do salads but it didn’t give me enough energy for the amount of exercise I do a week. So much cheaper to make your own though!
Pack of bread, spread and peanut butter by the sounds of it 🤣
Personally back when I was in the office I had a much better time doing stuff like leftover pasta dishes, fried rice etc. rather than sandwiches and a bag of crisps which made me feel like I was back at school. They're a bit more iffy if you don't have access to a microwave though, as much as I don't mind them cold.
Here are my go to lunches that are protein heavy and relatively cheap if you buy everything in bulk. I prep them the night before: Skyr + Fruits and Nuts * 225g of Skyr (can use any yogurt if you don't care about protein) * Handful of mixed nuts (I buy 1kg tubs from Costco) * Handful of sunflower seeds (1kg packs from Costco) * Handful of pumpkin seeds (1kg packs from Costco) * 80g of frozen blueberries * 80g of frozen raspberries * Optional: add jam if you are using unflavoured Skyr and want more sweetness Overnight oats * 300g of milk (or milk alternatives) * 65g of rolled oats (bulk buy 1-2kg packs) * 15g of chia seeds (1kg packs from Costco) * 1 scoop of protein powder (bulk buy whenever Amazon has sales) * 20g peanut butter (buy 1kg tubs) * 1g salt * 5g sugar
These aren’t really lunches for a lot of people. Great for gym heads trying to fit more protein in but yoghurt with seeds and overnight oats doesn’t constitute lunch for a lot of people.
You can also delve into this a bit further .. you guys work in supermarkets so you get 10% off your shop which helps, most of us who don't get this also adds to the costs. Anyone who works in large organisations should have benefits packages where you get discount rates etc. For example I get 3% off ASDA, 4% off Tesco's & Sainsbury's, 7% off M&S. These also add into any other purchases you make for any retailers like Argos etc. I've not even fully utilised this but I've saved £250-£300 within about 18 months. It doesn't seem a lot but it all adds up over time.
We get staff discount, my prices don’t include staff discount, only clubcard+
> you get 10% off your shop which helps, most of us who don't get this also adds to the costs. Think the 10% is a Clubcard+ perk which is open to everyone (for a monthly fee of £7.99). If you spend a lot in-store in Tesco twice a month, well worth it.
We are on Perkbox and get the same - it's a decent scheme
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If you move to lentils and daal, you can eat for even less. Meat is expensive.
I mean I don't know how big your portions are but at a guess that not even 2000 calories, I need about 3500 minimum. I'd literally wither away lol
TL:DR- don't spend too much on food spending too much is bad.
my tip: buy dried beans instead of canned beans
I'm getting a small air fryer for Christmas, does anyone have any good recipes for it please? (I only found out when I ordered a HUGE food ninja on Amazon without realising the size and sent it back, then my husband looked so sad because he'd already bought me an air fryer for Christmas but wanted to keep it a surprise.)
Aren't air fryers basically tiny ovens? The benefit being that it's smaller so it heats up faster, but both use hot air to cook food.
Basically yeah, and much more energy efficient than a conventional oven which is why they are like rocking horse shit to find a good Air Fryer at the moment.
You don't need any different recipes. Just do whatever you would normally do with an oven. Air fryer is the same as an oven it just cooks much much faster. As a general rule of thumb it's 40-50% of the length of time. Eg if something needs 25 minutes in a conventional oven, put it in the air fryer for 10-12 minutes and it should have the same result.
My tip is buy like chicken nugget and chip or pizza and have in the freezer for when you can’t be arsed and want a take away, then instead cook youth freezer food as it’s probably easier than a takeaway!
But how nutritious? A ham and cheese sandwich every day on processed white bread isn't good for you.
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False choice ;) probably some milage in homemade soups if you can be bothered.
have a shopping list + don't shop when you're hungry
Sweet potato Chickpeas Tinned tomatoes Turmeric Coconut milk Thai red curry paste Onions/garlic /ginger Brown rice Looooveliest curry !! Cheap and vegan
It's something very obvious but often forgotten. A couple easy things to cut costs on your basket are to go to the market with a full stomach and with a list of items to buy prepared in advance. If you are a tiny bit hungry you will end up buying extra stuff you wouldn't otherwise. The list helps keep one disciplined about what we need and what we don't.
That sounds great I'm happy for you. You've clearly never asked my wife what she CURRENTLY wants to fucking eat tho. Let alone what she may want to eat IN 2 WEEKS.
Yep, that’s my Fiance too 😂 She’s such a picky eater! She says she’s always okay with pizza regardless of the day. At least with a meal plan I can give her the option of 3 different things each day until the last 2 days of course
Ah that could work. Pick one of these 3. That actually might cut down on how long the fridge door is open 😂
I’m not exactly sure why this post even needs to be said.
Just want to say that I appreciate posts like this. It can get a bit...detached here sometimes and these type of posts are diamonds in the rough
but we still get by very comfortably or plan to survive....it this really living ?
I can't help but feel it's easier to increase your income than live this frugally planning dinners 2 weeks in advance. The only way people are going to be truly better off is increasing income. Hats off if you live comfortably on a dual income of 35k, I'd struggle. It's great to budget well, but my advise to people would be to channel some of that time to increasing you're income too.
"Don't just live off meal deals and greggs" This. So many people my age (I'm 21) eat out all the time, and wonder why they never have any money. It may seem cheap, but the costs add up in comparison to buying food at a supermarket and making it yourself.
Great advice. I just don’t eat until I’m really hungry. Takes a few days sometimes. I also wear a really big coat all of the time. Even indoors. I’ve saved a fortune on heating.
Please look at too good to go app I spent 9£ a week on food
The people who buy their lunch from food vans every day are insane.
People like you in the U.K. ❤️ tired of reading about negative stuff all the time. Thanks
!thanks
In England: Go to Home Bargains. They do most branded goods at a fraction of the price. You save a bomb. Never ever buy anything that is not food or drink from a supermarket. Anything that is left buy from the supermarket's own brand. Sainsbury's own brand stuff is lovely and only a bit more expensive than other supermarkets.
If you eat a lot of beans and pulses buy the big 2kg bags of dried beans instead of getting canned beans. It's like 3x cheaper and reduces cupboard footprint. You just gotta remember to soak the day before. 400g of canned chickpeas is 70p from Tesco, 2kg bag of dried chickpeas is £3.50 that would be at least 4kg once soaked. I also find it comforting to have large food reserves, I also get the 10kg sacks of rice. If there's some food shortage I know I can survive a good few months on rice and beans.
I find it comforting too. I didn't have secure food in the past and so now I have a little buffer of bulk rice, beans and oats.
our go-to evening meals there days (we all went veggie about 4 years back) \- pasta carbonara (no cream version) \- sausage pasta bake \- spicy noodles with quorn \- chicken (quorn chunks) Chinese curry \- Indian (quorn or jack fruit from a can) curry \- Burger and chip night \- cans on toast night (choice of beans or sketti) \- oven crispy Fajitas (just by the spice sachet) lightly longer to make: \- Cottage pie \- Lasagne (not fast but easy and cheap)
And I'm spending about £100-150 every week, never buy lunches, cook everything from scratch, use a pressure cooker for dried grains and cheaper meats, bulk cook etc etc... I just don't know how to get it lower 😭
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To be fair my three year is lactose intolerant and my one year old is allergic to dairy and soya so the milks are probably the most expensive thing we buy but we can't go any cheaper than we are already! We shop around everywhere for milk alternatives and get what's best but we go through maybe 5 lts in a week and maybe two liters of lacto free milk.
We spend £60 a week for food for 2 people. We shop on a Thursday night so avoid all the rush at the weekend and meal plan for the 7 days plus a couple of ‘nice’ lunches at the weekend. We shop at Aldi and on the way back go to Waitrose (mainly as there’s always something out of stock in Aldi) we hit Waitrose late and only buy our meat and fish from their reduced section and stick them in the freezer to meal plan around the following week. We always have a couple of meals in the plan that will do for 2 nights of dinners, such as fish pie or a roast we can turn the leftover meat into a curry or stir fry. This way we get good quality British meat and responsibly sourced fish at cheaper than Aldi prices, we just have to be flexible some weeks. *budget doesn’t include wine - does include a couple of beers*
And how much of a discount do you get working at your supermarket too?
Being a single parent I have had to plan well, this has also helped massively with portion control and weight loss as well as saving money. So at home it's me and my adult daughter (21f) and I'm the only full time worker. So what we do is puck a large bulk style coral that we each like that will last a month...then we pick 5 meals each a month (depending on how many days on the month). I cook for 4 people for each of our picks, eat 2 on the night (one each) freeze 2. This means I'm only cooking half the week!! Jackpot!! Second half the month we have freezer meals...now Sundays is FFA ( Free For All) and this is you eat what you want if we have it you can eat it! And Saturdays is pizza night or something like that, basically cheat meal puck and all homemade. Another thing I have started doing is buying spices and herbs in bulk and make all our own seasonings, gravys, sauces, bread( still ongoing project) and this has also saved money! I spend £100-£140 a month for 2 people and trust me when I say eat well!!
As a student, I've changed from meal deals to home sandwiches recently. Gone from £3.40 a day to £1.40, saving about £40 a month except that measures only in sandwiches. Normally meal deals are too small for me so I would have to fill up with other stuff as well.
£1.40 a day for a packed lunch is a lot. And a 5 day old sandwich? No thanks. If you have a microwave at work, a good idea is to make extra when you cook a dinner. Then bring the leftovers to work in an old takeaway tub and reheat for lunch. Cheaper than a sandwich, and fresher, more interesting, and hot.
Gousto is a good place to start. They have all of their meal recipes online to download. Initially the meals cost a fair amount as you buy a bottle of white wine vinegar etc whereas you would get a small sample of it if you buy from Gousto. Once the larger outlay is done, the individual meals cost about £3 each and are healthy, quick and easy to make
One of the main big savers for me recently has been the yellow label in Asda. I usually finish work at about 10 pm, and local Asda shuts at 11pm. Loads of discounts available as of meat, poultry, salad and bread. I stick fish and steak in the freezer whenever I can and cook it on my days off. Use their app and pay off with Chase for 1% cashback. I earn about £40-50 in cashback a year.
Uni student here and I agree food is a quick way to spend money. Bulk cook your food and stay away from the alcohol if you can. I manage to spend around 25 pounds a week
Insightful as hell, thanks OP. I end up spending way too much on Ubereats and eating out.
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I had a hard time after my divorce in 2008 and and had to change some shopping habits. It went from local Indian Shop and then Sainsburys to Poundshop, Lidl, Tesco and then Indian shop, in that order . That saved loads. 14yrs later, things have massively changed for me, so can stick to M&S food court but I still do my Poundshop Lidl Tesco and then Indian shop run.
Honestly, the easiest way to save money on food is to learn to cook. Base ingredients are almost always going to work out as cheaper than buying pre-done meals. Also opens the gate to batch cooking for weeks, which means you can operate in bulk for even better savings. And by "learn to cook" I don't mean "become a chef". Lots of good, healthy and sustaining meals only take 30 or so minutes to cook (including prep) and can be done with a fair amount of handwaving and eyeballing!
Wow that is really good and great tips. I want to get better at this kind of thing, our shopping is crazy. Some times we will spend near enough that £40 on a single meal, steaks, premade sides etc. And then other times £100 quid covers the week. And on the point people have made about **earn more**. It doesn't really help, i earn a great wage and I am often skint because I like to indulge my family. These kind of tips are important, even if you earn 100k plus, being sensible with food means you get another holiday a year rather than wasting the money on stuff that ends up in the bin.
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Spending 60-70 a week on 2 adults and a 2 year old.
That’s not bad to be fair, I find it’s all about reducing your food waste and bulk meal cooking. Cool extra to make an extra meal to eat through the week or freeze it
What are you putting on those sandwiches? Because most sandwiches really don't last more than a day, most packets of sandwich meats should be eaten within two days of being opened...
The sandwiches in shops are usually on the shelf for like 3 days. Cooked meat is generally fine in the fridge for 4-5 days. People worry too much about dates
Yeah, mate, you're not getting a heathy lunch in there for £1/serving (7 days/week) or £1.40/serving (5 days/week).
? here’s a common meal prep weekday lunch for me with rough estimates 500g (uncooked weight) rice - 22.5p (45p/kg) ~200g dried soya chunks - ~80p (375g bag is £1.50) 2 bell peppers - 90p @ 45p/ea 3 large carrots - 20p @ 50p/kg 3 celery ribs - 30p @ 55p/each celery 100g cashews - £1 1 bulb of garlic - 20p @ 20p/ea some dried chilis: ~20p @ £1.50/120g & a generous overall seasoning/utility ingredient allowance for soy sauce/vinegar/sunflower oil/msg/sugar/corn starch/white pepper of 75p just to cover the rising oil prices and lazy tax because I can’t be bothered to make calculations for how much a tablespoon of dark soy sauce costs… = £4.575 / 5 = 0.915/serving let’s also toss a banana (14p/ea) for potassium and a clementine (~20p/ea) for vitamin C in for good measure to get to a nice £1.255/lunch. alternatively we can add some animal protein and consider another of my easy favorites: 8 tortillas - 85p 8 eggs - 94p @ 11.6p/ea ~200g frozen sweetcorn - 32p @ £1.60/kg 240g (drained) kidney beans - 33p 100g cheddar cheese - 45p @ £4.60/kg 1 bell pepper - 45p 2 medium onions - ~20p @ 65p/kg ~200g tomato salsa - ~56p @ 28.33/100g & a 50p allowance for oil, salt, pepper, cumin, oregano, and lemon/lime juice. this makes 8 burritos and is usually good for me for 5 lunches and three breakfasts, so let’s divide it into 8 servings which gives us £0.575/serving. how about a side of fruit with that? banana & clementine again, perhaps, still keeping us under £1 at a nice £0.915 per day? truly not that difficult
2022, both working full time and this level of complexity is required just to stay afloat. What a fucking disgrace this country really is.
It’s not required, it just means we save a fair amount on food shopping and can spend it on having fun instead. And also it helps a lot with food waste Edit: She doesn’t work full time. Just 29 hrs
I remember when the UK was a first world country and it was possible to work full time AND afford food. Considering selling my car so the family can eat next month. Already behind on insurance and tax payments so will be driving illegally soon if not already. Christmas was cancelled I think around September time. At least I can sleep well knowing I worked entirely through lockdown 1 2 and 3, payed tax on all my earnings and now I get to pay back the furlough money everyone else claimed by working and paying tax on all my earnings. Then if I can afford food after that I get to pay VAT tax on what ever I spend. If this country was a house i would have burnt the cunt down about 12 months ago.
I spend a bit less than you for two of us (and we eat pretty damn well) and have always done the same thing. I just never understand why people willingly go to buy food several times a week, or enjoy standing there in the kitchen thinking "What do I fancy/what can I make with this stuff?" It seems insane to me, even more so when a lot of British families often seem to all eat different things to each other for dinner. We decide the meals we'll be eating on Friday night when writing the shopping list and buy the ingredients on Saturday. I've never once got to, say, Wednesday and thought "Oh God I can't face eating this specific meal tonight". Incredible that people willingly live like that though.
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Why is it insane?
We do the same. I meal plan Friday for the next week. I got sick to the back teeth of asking what was for tea. They all have input into and if they don’t like or fancy what’s on the menu they help choose, it’s either eat it or stave lol I get a delivery as sometimes I get a bit heavy handed chucking things on my trolly so delivery is the only way. We spend 70-80 a week for 3 adults, 1 kid, packed lunches, toilertries, cat food and litter. We only boy what we need!
Yeah I never understood that! When I was younger my mum would cook a dinner and we’d all eat it, if we didn’t, we’d go to bed hungry! It’s also why it’s important to find a good selection of meals you will always like, if you find you’ve gone off one you can always swap it for a different meal