Many people dread the weekly food shop; the traffic, parking, shopping bags, patience and sheer diligence required can sometimes be overwhelming. This can be further exacerbated with children when pester power kicks in! So here are some simple tips that may help in doing the dreaded chore.
Be Prepared
Get organised before you head shopping – in the long run it will make things easier and speed up the whole process. Here are lots of good tips to help:
· Check your cupboards, fridge and freezer – know what you already have and throw out what is past its date.
· Make a meal plan – planning the meals for you and your family for the week ahead.
· Make a shopping list – listing out the essentials that you need for the week ahead based on your meal plan. That way you will ensure you will have everything as there can be lots of distractions while shopping!
Make the most of your time at the supermarket
· Limit your shopping trips to once or twice per week so you save time and money.
· Follow your list and only buy what you need, special offers are only special if you need the product and we don’t need three of them!
· Shopping in the same supermarket can make it easier – you know where the food products are, and it will take less time to get through.
· Avoid the aisle with the tempting cakes, sweets, crisps etc. If you don’t buy them then you won’t be tempted to eat them!
· Own brand products can be good value and offer the same nutrition, so check the labels.
· The higher nutritional foods are often on the higher shelf, e.g. breakfast cereals, and those with a higher sugar content are at eye level.
· Don’t go shopping hungry – research shows we spend more on lower nutritional value foods.
When you’re on a budget
There are times when the food budget can be limited, so here are some ideas that will help reduce costs but not the nutrition of what you eat:
· Many goods are often marked down to sell off because they are about to pass their use-by date. Some of these, e.g. red meats, can be purchased and frozen immediately and then defrosted when needed. It’s important to read the instructions re freezing and thawing. Vegetables can be purchased, and soup made which can then be frozen in portions until needed.
· Protein alternatives like eggs are very versatile for meals.
· For larger families adding a tin of cooked lentils or pulses (chickpeas, kidney beans etc) to curries, stews or bolognese allow more portions.
· Frozen and tinned vegetables like peas, beans and sweetcorn can be beneficial when on a budget.
· Batch cooking stews, curries etc can be a good way of saving money and time.