It is a commonly held belief that you need to spend loads at the supermarket each week if the goal is to eat lean, fresh and unprocessed foods. While there are plenty of ‘healthy’ foods that cost more than regular products, when it comes to eating for both health and weight control, spending less on key foods can actually reduce your weekly grocery bill. And at this time of year this is music to many families’ ears.
Here are the simple steps to take when it comes to your weekly shopping and menu planning that will leave you with plenty more cash in your pocket.
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Plan for one vegetarian meal
The protein component of any meal is what bumps up the cost dramatically, with red meat in particular a significant expense for families. An easy way to help buffer this weekly cost is to commit to cooking a vegetarian meal at least once throughout the week. Here you will save at least $8-$10 per meal, whilst increasing the family’s intake of fibre rich vegetables and legumes, which is a win in itself nutritionally.
Think pasta with cheese and vegetables, Mexican beans, vegetable pies or warming soup or you could even stretch this saving to two meals a week if you opt for an quiche, frittata or spinach pie.
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Plan for one bulk meal
There is significant expense associated with cooking a recipe from scratch, with a number of different ingredients purchased for the sake of just one meal, many of which are not entirely used and ultimately wasted. A much more efficient way to cook is to opt to bulk prepare more intensive recipes such as lasagnas, pies, stir fries and curries so that you get at least two meals each time you cook.
Here you can buy the protein such as mince or chicken breast in bulk when it is on sale, utilise all the specialty ingredients and get a number of meals and lunches at the same time. Committing to one of these each week will go a long way in slashing your protein spend over the course of a few weeks.
Get savvy with your veggies
In busy lives we often find ourselves picking up food on the run, and think nothing of dropping into the shop and dropping another $50 on food. What you may not have noticed is that supermarket fruits and veggies are generally $1-2 more expensive per kilo compared to local growers and independent retailers. This means that taking time to go to specialty grocer, or even getting out to the markets occasionally will save you a lot of money on seasonal produce. Even better, embrace frozen varieties of veggies, which are just as good nutritionally as fresh, as long as you do not overcook them.
Use some different staples
We all have our favourite proteins and recipes we go to each week for both convenience and familiarity but simple swaps to some nutrient rich, yet cheaper core ingredients in recipes can result in significant savings. Turkey and chicken mince, for example, are roughly half the price of lean beef and pork mince, while tinned fish can be used very easily to make burgers and pasta bakes. In addition, bulking up recipes with extra veggies and legumes such as kidney beans will stretch many a family meal to several extra serves.
Go online
One of the easiest ways to save money is to simply spend less time at the supermarket in general.
Supermarkets are designed to encourage us to buy far more than we need, with 2 for 1 specials, appealing items positioned at the end of each aisle and popular foods shelved at eye level. When you have to take the time to put an online order in each week, not only can you clearly see how much you are spending as you add items to the cart, but you are forced to take stock of what you already have at home, and to meal plan in advance. Here you are in a much stronger position to make smart choices both nutritionally and from a cost perspective.
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