Ten Tips To Eat Well On A Budget(1)

Keep It Simple And Cook From Scratch

My approach is to cook meals from scratch and to go for low cost but healthy ingredients. That’s not to say I don’t enjoy the odd cake or pudding – but again keep it easy and low cost! Just cook simple tasty recipes with ingredients you enjoy. We don’t all have to be Masterchefs! It isn’t always necessary to compromise on quality or even quantity but just to make choices that mean lower cost food.

If you are feeling the recession bite, these tips on eating well on a budget may help you save a few pennies and have some really tasty meals

Shop locally and you may find some wonderful quality food at reasonable prices at your local butchers, green grocers, farmer’s market and wholefood stores – ask for their recommendations as they will know their products well.

Sticking to a budget doesn’t have to mean no treats – you can plan a part of your budget to be for eating out or a special food treat that you love.

Ten Tips For Eating Well On A Budget

1. Eat more meals based around lentils, chickpeas or other pulses – they are low cost, tasty and nutritious.

2. Shop towards the end of the day at your local supermarket and look out for reduced items, especially meat, bread and fruit. But only buy if you will use immediately or have room in your freezer

3. A couple of times a week cook twice as much as you need for the meal and freeze some in portions so you have a home cooked ready meal for days when you have no time, or are too tired to cook. ensures you are not tempted into an impromtu takeaway or ready meal that could blow your budget

4. Try making your own bread at least a couple of times a week – tasty, healthy and lower cost than the supermarket

5. Plan your meals for the week and work out the cost. If it it comes to too much revise your plan

6. Each week take out, in cash, the amount you intend to spend on food. You are less likely to go off budget when you can see what you are spending and you will know just exactly what you have left. Using a debit card makes the spending less visible.

7. Buy in bulk items that you use a lot of and will keep well such as rice, pasta and lentils – but do check the price per kilo or 100g to check they are good value

8. Buy herbs and spices that you commonly use in larger quantities from wholefood shops and decant into smaller jars. The supermarkets are relatively expensive for these items

9. Know the prices of items you buy often so you know what is a bargain and what is not.

10. Use the Weekly Meal Plans to help you to plan budget meals

What are your best tips for keeping your food bill down? Your tips will be included in the next posting on eating well on a budget.

If you like this article, you may want to subscribe to Penny’s Recipe’s newsletter and get the free Meal Plan – 7 family meals for under £30