How to save money on groceries and food shopping is part of my money-saving series sharing tips and hints gained over the years and from thrifty and frugal people. With the increasing cost of living and the massive rise in inflation, being a savvy shopper and spender has never been more critical. Getting the most out of your money is something I have learned over the years and I am happy to share it with you.
How to make the perfect Toad in Hole every Time is a paid collaborative post with Richmond Sausages. With two growing teens, there is one thing I know is that hungry teens are unhappy teens and that my army marches on a full and satisfied tummy. This is never more important than on a cold dark winter night after a full day at school and college. Learning is hard work!
Smoky Beef and Crispy Potato Hash with Eggs is a paid collaborative post with Oven Pride for their #TasteDon’tWaste campaign. I love a dish that feeds my family and leaves empty dishes all round and that is what this Smoky Beef and Crispy Potato Hash with Eggs does. Not only that it is simple to make and tastes delicious and you can use leftover mince and onion.
Once a week we sit down as a family and talk about what we loved about that week’s menu and what we want the following week. It has started to become a real family affair as both the boys are now preparing and cooking at least one meal a week. I am a sucker when it comes to stationery, so I have gathered together some fabulous free meal planning printables to share with you.
One of my passions is teaching my boys to be confident in the kitchen and at least one night a week we cook together as a family. I love homemade soup and it is so much nicer than any soup you can buy. This spiced butternut soup is simple to make and has few ingredients but tastes amazing.
We love turkey here in The Mad House and every Christmas we are gifted a Turkey Crown by one of MadDad’s clients for our Christmas dinner. Being the frugal sort, nothing here goes to waste, so here are some fantastic turkey recipes that the whole family will love.
As part of the Tefal innovation panel I was asked if I would take the fresh week pledge to commit to giving up processed food from Monday 13 May – Sunday 19 May 2013 in favour of fresh, unprocessed food. For me this is a bit of a no brainer as I cook from scratch most days.
Since getting cancer I have been wary of processed foods. I know that not everything processed is bad, but I make the effort to give myself and my family the best food I can and for me this means cooking from scratch.
As a perk of being a Tefal Innovator they sent me a Fresh Express and a riverford food box this week, so kick starting my menu planning for next week. So I am going to share with you my menu for this week and see if you would be willing to take the pledge. If you do there is a chance that you too could win a Fresh Express and a Vegetable Box.
Bank holiday Monday
Homemade pancakes and fruit
Salad Sandwiches with homemade bread
BBQ with Fish, fennel, salad and homemade flatbreads
Tuesday
Scrambled egg with chopped tomato
The boys are back at school so school lunch for them.
Lentil bolognese (diced peppers, onions, passata, herbs)
Wednesday
Dippy eggs
Spelt pizza bases with lentil sauce topping and vegetables, served with salad
Thursday
Banana Muffins
Chickpea daah and homemade naan bread
Friday
Fruit and yogurt
Boys are at a party, but me and MadDad will be having homemade fish and chips
Saturday
Pancakes with fruit and yogurt
Poached eggs with smoked haddock
Sunday
Breakfast Muffins
Roast Chicken with yorkshire puddings and vegetables
Homemade roast vegetables soup and homemade bread
How to ‘Downscale’ Your Groceries Bill
British families have been hit hard by the rising cost of groceries, with food prices reported to have risen by 32 per cent since 2007 (Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs). Households are understandably struggling to find the extra on their grocery bill, with the average coming to over £4000 per year.
However, there are ways to easily slash your groceries bill, bring down the total at the till and struggle no more. See if you can apply any of the following suggestions to your weekly shop, and ‘downscale’ your shopping bill.
Price Promise
Some supermarkets offer a price promise, which means that your shopping basket is guaranteed to cost less than at any other supermarket. When you buy your groceries online at http://groceries.asda.com you can take advantage of the ASDA Price Guarantee, which means that you’ll save at least ten per cent on your shopping bill, compared to Tesco, Morrisons, Waitrose and Sainsbury’s. If this isn’t the case then ASDA will give you the difference, meaning that you just can’t lose.
It’s easy to use the ASDA Price Guarantee online – all you need is a receipt. And as the calculator is powered by independent website MySupermarket.com, you’ll have peace of mind.
‘Downscaling’
One way of instantly making savings in the supermarket is to ‘downscale’ your brand choices. For example, if you usually buy the most popular branded products ie Heinz Baked Beans, you would simple ‘drop down’ a level and try the Premium supermarket brand instead.
Likewise, if you usually buy premium supermarket brands, you can downscale to regular supermarket brands, and then to the basics range.
Downscaling your shopping basket has to include an element of trial and error, while you discover which items you are happy to downscale on and which you simply can’t compromise on. However, simply downscaling on some items can save a considerable amount on your groceries bill.
Meal Planning
Planning your meals is one way to ensure that you don’t overspend on food that will end up getting wasted. With the average family estimated to waste around £500 of food per year, simply ensuring that you buy only what you need could save you around £50 a month!
Buying your groceries online makes it easier to stick to a shopping list, as it eliminates the temptations presented when walking around the supermarket. It’s also easy to search for the specific items on your list, making your shopping experience quick and easy.
If you usually cook the same meals each week, the ‘Favourites’ function means that you could have your shopping checked out online in mere minutes – saving that other precious family commodity – time.
With a little thought there are ways to easily trim the grocery bill, making increases in food prices far less painful. Choose a supermarket such as ASDA that prides itself in offering great value across all of its ranges – and puts its money where its mouth is with the ASDA Price Guarantee!
My boys love fish. If we eat out it is what we order off the menu. In fact I would take fish over meat every day. Some thing the boys would too. When asked what they wanted to eat for their back to school feast they both chose sea bass, which made me happy and very sad at the same time. Why you may wonder, well seabass is £27 a kilo four times the price of steak and I was sure that I would ruin it whilst cooking it. This is one of the most comon reasons we do not eact fish, my fear of how to cook it and spoil it.
One of the many comments I got on my feeding a family of 4 for £50 post was that we must be green fingered or have a lot of room for growing vegetables. The truth is we don’t and I am not, we have a small back garden, but in 2009 MadDad built me 3 raised beds, they are not large, they are 6 foot by approx 3 foot and we also have a couple of barrels that we fill with potatoes. But those raised beds and what pots we have round the garden supply me with a steady supply of vegetables right through till the Autumn. At the moment we more »
