Eat well for less

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Glitz

Sorry if there is already a thread for this, I have not been able to find one.

I thought it might be useful to share tips for eating well for less money in this climate, and I don't just mean buying the cheapest stuff possible (like the new Asda budget range that everyone is talking about).

At risk of sounding like a snob, I would really struggle to buy cheap, gristly meat or caged eggs and would love ideas on how to adapt our weekly shop without cutting quality too far.

I will be starting to wean my little one soon and am keen to do baby led weaning but am already nervous about the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables etc. We currently just buy frozen peas and tinned sweetcorn as we have found Lidl/Aldi veg goes off too quickly. Any tips welcomed!

We have been adopting an approach similar to that on eat well for less, and seeing where we can swap to cheaper items. So far Lidl's answer to belvita stuff is a hit, but we are yet to find a cheap coffee we like.

We also eat a lot of halloumi in place of meat as it keeps well and is still relatively cheap.
 
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H

Happy35

Glitz said:
Sorry if there is already a thread for this, I have not been able to find one.

I thought it might be useful to share tips for eating well for less money in this climate, and I don't just mean buying the cheapest stuff possible (like the new Asda budget range that everyone is talking about).

At risk of sounding like a snob, I would really struggle to buy cheap, gristly meat or caged eggs and would love ideas on how to adapt our weekly shop without cutting quality too far.

I will be starting to wean my little one soon and am keen to do baby led weaning but am already nervous about the cost of fresh fruits and vegetables etc. We currently just buy frozen peas and tinned sweetcorn as we have found Lidl/Aldi veg goes off too quickly. Any tips welcomed!

We have been adopting an approach similar to that on eat well for less, and seeing where we can swap to cheaper items. So far Lidl's answer to belvita stuff is a hit, but we are yet to find a cheap coffee we like.

We also eat a lot of halloumi in place of meat as it keeps well and is still relatively cheap.
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I also struggle with cheap coffee so buy Kenco or Douwe Egbert in Home Bargains or B&M, less than £5 for a large jar.
 
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D

DLMM4129

I do a freezer filler pack from the butchers which is good value and good quality. I also find that I use less chicken because it doesn’t seem to shrivel as much in the pan.

I sometimes use lentils to bulk out mince dishes. Or if I make a chilli or something, I’ll add an extra tin of kidney beans to make it go further.

I get frozen fruit like blueberries and raspberries as they are handy to add to porridge or defrost to have with yoghurt.

Also try to meal plan in advance to avoid waste.

When I was weaning my little one I used to batch cook lots of snacks like pinwheels, sheet pancakes etc. There are a couple of good weaning books with lots of freezer friendly recipes.
 
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Cantthinkofausername

Lidl do a really nice columbian coffee for £2.11. I'm sticking to that one for now.
For fresh vegetables, broccoli, carrots, and cabbage/greens are pretty good value. I buy most of my fruit in the yellow sticker section, apart from bananas which are always pretty cheap.
As for the essential/basic ranges I think it's worth trying them. I bought some baked beans for 21p in Sainsburys and they were fine. Couldn't really tell the difference. Most of my shopping is the supermarkets own brand, no way am I paying heinz prices.
 
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D

dollparts

Paneer is great and about half the price of halloumi, decent for curries or popping in wraps etc.
 
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Snippysnips

Snippysnips

I get most of my fruit an veg from asda, they do the aldi an lidi price match on most

I also bulk out my mashed potatoes with sweetcorn as well, an I now make my own wedges as well as herby potatoes, I get the cheaper range of spices an herbs because I don't find a difference in those compared to the expensive

Buying meat in the bigger packs an then freezing it I find is better than buying a few smaller packs, I just bag up what I'd usednan shove it in the freezer an then take it out the night before to defrost, put it in the fridge in the morning it's fine for that night
 
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Catlady1

Catlady1

I am a firm believer in Jamie Oliver’s idea of making a mother ship main and then making the leftovers into a different meal the next day. For example I’ve bought a freedom to roam chicken from Waitrose for six pounds. Today I’m making a mini roast which I’ll bulk out with stuffing. Tomorrow night I saw a recipe in a Aldi leaflet for leftover chicken curry which I’ll serve with yellow sticker chapattis I’ve got in the freezer. I’ll planning on making stock from the bones in my insta pot which I will use to make a butter nut and sweet potato risotto on Wednesday. I don’t think that’s a bad use of one chicken!!
 
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S

shadowcat5

I don’t eat meat so my meals in general are pretty cheap but I do use a slow cooker to cook my meals and I always make sure there’s leftovers portioned in the freezer. Handy to stop ordering take away.

I get pulses in bags instead of tins. One bag of lentils is £1.50 ish but it can last over a month whereas a tin is one meal.

Frozen veg instead of fresh. Asda sells pretty much any veg imaginable in frozen form.

Bulk out meals with 2 pulses and veggies. The more the better

I buy the full fruit and cut it up. It’s a faff to cut it but it’s cheaper and lasts longer than buying the pre cut packs

Always look at the reduced section an freeze. I’ve been known to buy a whole bag of potatoes for 10p, cut them, boil them and bung them in the freezer ready to pull out when needed. Never done it with mash but it works well for roasties or to put in a casserole. It’s never going to be the same as fresh but if it saves money then why not.

Have leftover days/weeks. Sometimes I’ll have a week where I won’t buy anything besides bare essentials (fruit and milk eg) and just use up whatever is in the freezer and cupboards. Works great at the end of the month when money is tight

Pitta pizzas. Whole meal pittas (i freeze them) and then some tomato puree, cheese and toppings of your choice or whatever is available. Really handy for those nights when you fancy something treat-y but don’t want to spend money. My logic is that I’m still eating pizza but I’ve not spend a penny.


Seems counter productive but I will buy soup and 2 minute microwave rice for the cupboard. I use a bag of rice and make my own soup normally but they are handy to have in the cupboard for emergencies like when I’m poorly or late home because of some thing and it will stop me going to the drive thru on my way home knowing I’ve got something easy to cook in the house.
 
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under the ivy

under the ivy

I really like bulking our curries/stews with chickpeas, lentils . Veggie curry can be made quite cheaply, bear in mind if you have the spices already. Cheap tin of toms, chickpeas and whatever veg you have.

You can make flatbreads with Greek yoghurt and flour.
 
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Sniffing Eggs

Sniffing Eggs

Porridge oats. Dump a handful or so into mince (chilli, shepherd's pie, bolognese etc) to pad it out.
 
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GladiatorReady

GladiatorReady

I've started rinsing my spaghetti hoops.

I've stopped snacking, I am a crisp and chocolate fiend but it's too expensive now. Same for soda (replacing with caffeine pills and then hopefully reducing those until zero.)

I'm trying to make cooking something fun rather than a chore by putting on a podcast and trying new recipes.

I am starting a ten day pantry challenge tomorrow where I don't buy any food and make do with what is in the house so that'll be Interesting - I heard about it here

 
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Catlady1

Catlady1

I am obsessed with home steading you tube videos. They are mostly all American and I am in the Uk. My garden is small but I have been inspired to grow cucumbers and tomatoes. It has been relatively successful. I can’t say it’s really saved me any money but it is so good for the soul. I’m proud that I’ve been able to eat my own home grown produce.
 
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E

esoes

So glad to have found this thread - some great tips.

Like another poster has said I find meal planning is a good way for me to control spending and minimise waste. And also batch cooking.

One thing I've been doing in recent weeks is trying to stretch my meat meals e.g. adding a kilo bag of carrots (that I've pulsed in the blender) to 500g of mince. I thought it might be too sweet but it has been great in chilli and spag bol by adding bulk with a similar consistency to the mince and means I get a few more portions for the freezer.

Freeze bananas that are on the turn for breakfast smoothies.

Frozen fruit and veg and as much supermarket own brands as we can - just a few things we haven't committed to the swap yet.

Catlady1 said:
I am a firm believer in Jamie Oliver’s idea of making a mother ship main and then making the leftovers into a different meal the next day. For example I’ve bought a freedom to roam chicken from Waitrose for six pounds. Today I’m making a mini roast which I’ll bulk out with stuffing. Tomorrow night I saw a recipe in a Aldi leaflet for leftover chicken curry which I’ll serve with yellow sticker chapattis I’ve got in the freezer. I’ll planning on making stock from the bones in my insta pot which I will use to make a butter nut and sweet potato risotto on Wednesday. I don’t think that’s a bad use of one chicken!!
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I try and do this too and find it really helps. Like we've had roast chicken today and will have 2 nights of egg fried rice or curry with the leftovers. I must try stock again - how long do you put it in the instant pot? I must look up Jamie Oliver ideas.
shadowcat5 said:
I don’t eat meat so my meals in general are pretty cheap but I do use a slow cooker to cook my meals and I always make sure there’s leftovers portioned in the freezer. Handy to stop ordering take away.

I get pulses in bags instead of tins. One bag of lentils is £1.50 ish but it can last over a month whereas a tin is one meal.

Frozen veg instead of fresh. Asda sells pretty much any veg imaginable in frozen form.

Bulk out meals with 2 pulses and veggies. The more the better

I buy the full fruit and cut it up. It’s a faff to cut it but it’s cheaper and lasts longer than buying the pre cut packs

Always look at the reduced section an freeze. I’ve been known to buy a whole bag of potatoes for 10p, cut them, boil them and bung them in the freezer ready to pull out when needed. Never done it with mash but it works well for roasties or to put in a casserole. It’s never going to be the same as fresh but if it saves money then why not.

Have leftover days/weeks. Sometimes I’ll have a week where I won’t buy anything besides bare essentials (fruit and milk eg) and just use up whatever is in the freezer and cupboards. Works great at the end of the month when money is tight

Pitta pizzas. Whole meal pittas (i freeze them) and then some tomato puree, cheese and toppings of your choice or whatever is available. Really handy for those nights when you fancy something treat-y but don’t want to spend money. My logic is that I’m still eating pizza but I’ve not spend a penny.


Seems counter productive but I will buy soup and 2 minute microwave rice for the cupboard. I use a bag of rice and make my own soup normally but they are handy to have in the cupboard for emergencies like when I’m poorly or late home because of some thing and it will stop me going to the drive thru on my way home knowing I’ve got something easy to cook in the house.
Click to expand...
I did the same with spuds recently and had the mash from the freezer today - totally grand and a great time saver today too.
 
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laughing

laughing

Always do a food plan for the week, then do your shopping list from it.

Do your shopping online and have delivered, this stops you picking up items when you are pushing your trolley around the store.

Buy frozen veg for meal when they are going into a dish, they never go off, so you don't end up putting in the bin because they are gone rotten. Buy fresh veg for sides. Same with fruit if you can but that's a bit harder to do.

See if you main meal will also do you for lunch the flowing day, or a variation of it.
 
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Catlady1

Catlady1

I’m going to use the slow cooker function on my insta pot. I’ve done stock in the slow cooker before. I do it for 4 hours on high. You can use whatever root veg to flavour it but I always use a brown onion with the skin on because it gives it a nice colour. I also wouldn’t use parsnip as it would just overpower the chicken flavour. Don’t cook it for too long as the bones start to break down.
 
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E

esoes

Catlady1 said:
I’m going to use the slow cooker function on my insta pot. I’ve done stock in the slow cooker before. I do it for 4 hours on high. You can use whatever root veg to flavour it but I always use a brown onion with the skin on because it gives it a nice colour. I also wouldn’t use parsnip as it would just overpower the chicken flavour. Don’t cook it for too long as the bones start to break down.
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Thank you, will try it tomorrow 😘
 
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