Tips & Tricks To Slash Food Bills
No household has been untouched by the ongoing ‘cost of living crisis’. It’s not all doom and gloom though and we can all take steps to save money on some household bills.
Food is an area well known for waste, with 6.6 million tonnes* of food a year being thrown away by UK households. Of this 4.5 million tonnes* and was still edible!
70%* of all the UK’s food waste comes from our households, about £730 a year* per home in fact, so each of us can do more to waste less food and save money!
Think a bit more carefully about your grocery shopping, are you going to eat it in time, could you freeze ingredients, are you able to batch cook to maximise meal planning and use of ingredients?
Fact 1
Potatoes are the most wasted single food in the UK, with 1.6 billion thrown away every year, according to The Waste and Resources Action Programme (which operates as WRAP), a registered charity.
Fact 2
Fresh vegetables & salad make up 28%* of the food waste in the UK. Fresh fruit and vegetables can be expensive, so it’s like throwing money in the bin.
Ready, Steady, Cook…
Remember those days of mystery ingredients and a carrier bag? Well think of all the things you could make with a bundle of food items that could include anything from a turnip to a salmon steak! The Too Good To Go App is a great way to avoid food waste, whilst giving you access to ingredients for less. Register via an App store and each day you can:
- Discover - unsold food near you
- Collect – buy and collect it for a great price
- Save – you’ve saved some great food and saved money too!
Freeze To Avoid Waste
Many foods can be frozen to avoid them going off if you are not going to eat them in time. This could potentially cut your food waste by a third! Check the label on packaged foods, plus there are a number of items you should be freezing that you may not be, especially if their best before date is imminent…
- Bread – freeze a loaf, or in small batches and get out and defrost what you need
- Eggs – break, beat in a bowl until blended. Put in an airtight container and label
- Bananas – these freeze very well without their skins
- Milk and dairy free milk eg. oatmilk – great if you are going away!
- Cheese - great and store in an airtight container
- Tomatoes – blitz them up and put in a container, all ready for sauces
- Mashed potato – once cooled
- Cakes, brownies and biscuits (wrap well)
- Pasta – slightly undercook, so it will be less starchy
- Berries – may go a bit squidgy when defrosted, but ideal for porridge and perfect for smoothies
Batch Cooking
Great for meal planning! For fully prepared recipes, or sauces which can be adapted into various meals, this is an efficient way to cook. Why not make a huge pot of chilli or pasta sauce, in the slow cooker and batch freeze. You’ll have plenty of easy meals and waste will be minimised by using up your ingredients. In addition to storage containers you can use zip bags to save space. Seal the food in, whilst laying flat, to really maximise your freezer space.
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*Statistics taken from The Eco Experts website 2022