Cutting Costs

In this day and age with household bills climbing and food costs rocketing the cost of healthy eating can be a real concern. Some unhealthy diets can be cheap – skip breakfast, cheap sausage roll for lunch and a bag of chips for tea or a cheap £1 ready meal. Add in snacks of cheap biscuits and tea with sugar and you’ve got a daily intake for peanuts!! But you’ve also got a really unhealthy diet that is deficient in many of the the vital nutrients your body needs! So, eating healthily may cost more than this but in reality it can still be done relatively cheaply.

How to cut costs:

• Lots of water is essential so drink  tap water and buy less other drinks
• Buy fruit and veg from markets and budget supermarkets – much cheaper!!
• Buy fruit and veg that are in season as they are usually cheaper too
• Plan your week’s menu in advance. You can then just buy what you actually need rather than buying too much and either throwing it away or over- eating!
• Don’t buy the big value savings packs – if you don’t actually need the extra then you are not saving money!
• Only buy bulk in foods that don’t go off otherwise you will have to throw away the extra – loo rolls for example!!
• Stock up the cupboards on cheap pasta, rice, tins – they last for ages and are not expensive
• Buy loose fruit and veg as opposed to pre – cut and packed. They charge you for this privilege!! You can often get a whole melon cheaper than a small pack but yes you will have to chop it up yourself!!
• Try some supermarket “own brands” – they are cheaper and chances are they don’t taste much different. Even if they are a bit different, are they still nice and tasty?
• Shop – online. That way you know exactly what you are spending and won’t get a nasty shock when you hit the checkout!
• Alternatively try the scanners in some supermarkets so you know what you are spending as you go along
• Don’t go shopping on an empty stomach – you will be more likely to fill up the trolley with extra goodies
• Try more veggie options as they can be cheaper sometimes than meat – try beans and pulses in stews and casseroled and cut down on the amount of meat used. Just remember to add something textured if the overall meal is soft ( monitor your protein intake though)
• Swap chicken for turkey – it is usually cheaper (if you haven’t had enough of it over xmas!)
• Make food go further – get used to freezing leftovers instead of throwing them away – especially now your meals are smaller now
• Use a slow cooker so you can cook cheaper cuts of meat without them being too tough to eat – add crunchy veg or salad on the side though
• Learn what to do with leftovers if you can’t freeze them. You can use leftover meat from your Sunday roast to make a Monday stir fry or curry for example

There are many ways you can cut costs and still eat healthily.  Enjoy experimenting with different recipes and using different produce to save money. You might surprise yourself and find some new favourites

So, get cracking and lose pounds whilst you save pounds!!