Title says it all.
I figured this is where we can put tips/recipes and save money on food/grocery bills.
Bring left overs to work.
Buy reduced price stuff at end of day
Make spag bol (serves 4)
Pasta $1
Pasta sauce $2-3
500g Beef mince $8.00
Total = $11
I try and incorporate seasonal veggies to up my veggie intake and add diced onions, carrot, zucchini, mushrooms
Our local super iga sells blocks of meats for cheap such as beef rump for $17/kg. We dice it up and freeze portions
Agree with bulking up with veggies but have you seen the prices of veggies lately? A few dollars of veggies is like half a zucchini.
Learn to use plain sauces and add herbs and spices.
Buy frozen or tin veg.
Buy the same cut but with bone. Gravy vs Osso bucco
Get chummy with your butcher. Find a good local grocer.
Buy your mince in bulk and freeze it in 500g blocks to use as needed.
Buy according to what's on special. 90% of the items I buy would be > 25% off exaggerated retail price.
Learn to cook with ingredients on hand rather than buying for a recipe.
Learn substitutes.
Exercise, so you're not tempted to have seconds and waste that effort. Or don't exercise if you feel that effort allows you to have seconds.
Be aware of cost of electricity for oven and freezer.
Consider food delivery services that give exact portions with no wastage.
Get rain checks on specials if supermarkets are out of stock.
Gift cards, rewards,…
Consider food delivery services that give exact portions with no wastage.
This is not a tip to save money but rather time
If you tend to throw food away then this may be a saving.
Doubtful. The delivery companies generally charge so much that even if you waste nothing you'll not come out ahead.
Never go shopping hungry.
Eat less.
Beans and lentils(especially dried) are wayyy cheaper than meat. Stuff like chickpeas and beans usually needs soaking overnight (ie pre planning), so I prefer lentils since they cook quicker.
Make food/meals in bulk with the goal of using up all perishables to prevent wastage.
Buy in bulk = cheaper. Cook in bulk. I'd do a spagbol cook that would be perhaps 10+ servings. Portion it out and freeze. Cooking in bulk is a huge time saving too. Time = money right?
Cooking with dried beans and lentils is great as LiteDough said.
You essentially want to be cooking with the raw unprocessed ingredients. As soon as a food is processed it adds labour and transport costs to the product. So your pasta sauce is a jar $/serve is way higher than if you bought a 1kg tin of canned tomatoes and the dry herbs separately.
Learn to cook, most Italian dishes are dead easy and really cheap to make, I can easily halve your spaghetti bill if I cook it myself, you would never tell any difference between $16/kg mince and $10/kg after hours of cooking sauce.
Buy whole chicken and cook it whole or spend 15 minutes learning on YT how to cut it, works out waaay cheaper than buying cut pieces.
Buy reduced for quick sale mince (not chicken of turkey, that is plain trash and too expensive) and and freeze it, it can sit in freezer for months.
Find local dodgy asian grocery shop, they often have very cheap eggs from same farms that sell to major supermarkets.
For extreme bargaining and if you have time during the day figure out when your nearby ColesWorth reduces prices and don't be ashamed buying reduced stuff, no one really cares and what is the difference really between meat that was there for full price in the morning and was reduced to half price in the evening?
Find a cooking show on Yt that you like, I personally prefer Adam Ragusea and Chef John, very simple family-type meals, don't forget Marco Pierre White too. Chinese cuisine is really-really simple once you grasp few basic concepts and get hold of all spices and sauces, Souped Up Recipes on YT is fantastic at explaining it.
$16/kg mince and $10/kg after hours of cooking sauce.
Except the difference is the fat content and/or if it's organic etc.
no one really cares and what is the difference really between meat that was there for full price in the morning and was reduced to half price in the evening?
The difference is that they are reduced because of the expiration dates, unless you mean the roast chickens etc. I thought I'd do this and got some snapper at Woolies that was use by the next day (half price) and it stank so much when I cooked it of ammonia that I had to air out the entire house. Some things it's not worth skimping on.
Agree. Seafood is harder to buy discounted and really needs a sniff test before buying. Otherwise you might just waste your money.
Definitely learnt that the hard way although these were in the vacuum sealed bags so no sniff test possible :(
Generally speaking you are taking a risk by purchasing toward the end of the expiration date on raw meat. Those dates factor in storage conditions etc. more than once I've purchased chicken close to the use by date and it definitely has more of a funk.
Bring left overs to work.
Oh man this is the one thing I absolutely do not miss about working in an office. leftovers . Nothing more depressing than a commute in peak hour to sit at a desk and then sit in a kitchen to eat a re-heated mess.
Haha i love leftovers for lunches when I'm in the office! Best lunches are leftovers, otherwise it might be something a lil more basic or random.
Fried rice! One of the most underrated healthy bargain meals that you can dress up any number of ways for completely different taste.
Cook 3 cups of rice (ideally cook day before and refrigerate)
5 slices of ham (just buy your bargain packaged ham - diced fine)
2 eggs (make an omelette then dice when cold)
Large handful of diced Spring onions (dice and freeze so you always have some on hand and it doesn't go limp and get chucked)
1 splash of Soy Sauce
3 splashes of Oyster Sauce
A couple of garlic cloves or healthy amount of minced garlic (you will thank me!)
Chili oil to taste
1 cup of frozen peas, carrot, corn
For about $8 you get 4 delicious meals.
Swap out the ham for chicken, or prawn if you want a change, or even without. Trust me, its just as good.
Buy your Asian ingredients in bulk when on sale or from Asian grocery store save $$$.
I make this a few times a month so worth buying in bulk.
Other super saver meal is 1 pot Broccoli, Cauliflower and Bacon pasta. Delish!
Grab a couple of bags of frozen Broc and Cauli when on sale
1 Pack of bacon - dice bacon and cook
1 pack of pasta curls - cook and drain
Add frozen veg with bacon and 300ml cream
Some salt and pepper
Can also add chicken or veg stock
Easy 4 meals
Vegetarian pasta saves $8 on mince.
Just add a few dollars of veggies and go wild.