This
is part IV of a series of articles offering advice to students on
subjects such as cooking on a budget, shopping for food, store-cupboard
staples, cooking tips, kitchen equipment, basic kitchen and
food hygiene plus lots of easy, nutritious and delicious recipes which won’t
break the bank.
Whilst supermarkets are convenient and often cheaper for staples such as tinned
and store-cupboard items, it is sometimes more economical to buy fresh fruit and
vegetables from other places such as street markets or local greengrocers, so as
soon as you get the chance, have a walk-around the area or simply ask a local
about weekly markets and local shops. Whatever shops and facilities are
available, here are a few tips to help you get the most for your money:-
• Before you leave, make a shopping list and stick to it when you get to the
shops. Once you are familiar with your local store, you can go one step further
and list the items you need in order of where they are in the store. You’ll be
less likely to impulse buy and stick to your budget.
• If possible shop around and compare
prices. If you are fortunate enough to have more than one
supermarket in the vicinity, you will often find they are offering
different savings on different foods at different times.
mySupermarket is an
online grocery price comparison website where you can check what the
various UK supermarkets have on offer each week.
Click the mySupermarket
banner to find what's on offer at all the supermarkets
• Buy supermarket own-brands, rather than the more expensive well-known brands
especially as in some cases the supermarkets source their products from the very
same places.
• Where possible buy food which will keep - for example dried herbs rather than
fresh ones: fruit juice concentrates rather than chilled juices; dried pasta
rather than fresh.
• Avoid buying ready meals and processed foods. Not only are they much more
expensive but they are generally less healthy than food prepared from scratch.
Always remember, the cost of “preparing” food is added to the retail price
whether it’s a ready meal, salad dressing or pre-grated cheese.
• If you share your digs, try pooling your money to buy the larger bulk packs of
items such rice and pasta.
• Buy fresh and chilled produce in relatively small quantities to avoid having
to throw away items which have gone off. There’s no point buying a pack of 8
bananas if you end up throwing four of them away because they’ve gone to mush
before you've had time to eat them.
• Fruit and vegetables which are in season are generally cheaper
• Try buying cheaper cuts of meat such as mince instead of chops or chicken
thighs instead of breast. They are just as tasty and don’t take much longer to
cook.
For ease of reference, below are direct links to main sections on
this site
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