How To Save Money On Food Shopping

 Food wastage happens all over the world. According to a report published by United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), global food wastage adds up to 1.3 billion tonnes per year - the equivalent of around 30 million Olympic-sized swimming pools! That's enough wasted food to feed everyone on Earth for two whole months!  We can save a lot of money if we're clever about buying groceries. There are some great ways to get the best deals on the foods you buy. These tips will help you avoid wasting food, keep your family healthy, and keep your wallet happy too!

A recent study has found that one-third of families in Britain are now living from pay-check to pay-check. A growing trend has been observed among those who struggle financially, spending big bucks each month on unhealthy junk food and takeaway meals.

In many cases, people also acknowledge that their weekly food shop is considerably more expensive when you consider fresh vegetables, fresh fruit & meat. 

Here are some simple tips that you can implement into your lifestyle to start saving money while still keeping yourself fed and nurtured, without scrapping the healthy food plans.

How to Reduce Food Waste

We should always try to recycle whatever we can. However, food waste is something we often overlook. When we finally decide to chuck out uneaten leftovers, there's usually only one option available - the bin.

Reducing food waste, once you get into the habit of it can be relatively easy! If you prefer using fresh produce, then here are some quick tips for reducing your fresh produce waste:

1. Write down the use-by-date of each of your fresh produce and stick it to the front of the fridge - this includes, fruits, vegetables & meats. This will help remind you which meals to eat before which date and discourage wastefulness. 
2. Prepping - If you notice your veggies or meat are going out of date within the next 24 hours, cook them! Even if you don't plan on eating it right away, cook the chicken and eat it within 2 days, or alternatively freeze by the best-before date and consume it within 3 months. 
3. Try using smaller plates and bowls instead of larger ones. By doing so, you'll consume less food and feel satisfied sooner.
4. You may want to consider investing in a slow cooker. Slow cooking allows you to prepare large quantities of food in advance and then reheat portions when needed. Not only does this save money, but it helps you stay organized because you won't have to worry about forgetting to defrost meat. Slow cooking is also perfect if you're looking to meal prep for your work week, as it involves buying food on a budget and portioning for the whole week. 

How to Cut Back on Takeaway Meals

There's no denying that a cheeky takeaway is always a great idea in the moment, but lets be honest, it's super expensive, and you always end up forgetting that you were supposed to cook a specific meal and now your ingredients are out of date. 

Let's not forget that takeaways aren't exactly a healthy meal either, so how can we cut back on Deliveroo & just eat habits when everything is so accessible 

1. Delete the food delivery apps - Yes they're handy, but maybe they're too handy! Delicious meals delivered straight to your doorstep are a great help when you're not feeling the best - but as an everyday meal plan, they're not cost-effective. Deleting the apps will make you less likely to browse due to boredom.
2. Write a menu - just like at a restaurant, write yourself a weekly menu which decides what meal will be eaten each day, planning your meals in advance gives you no time to think about takeaways and ready meal options, as your week is already planned. 
3. Find takeaway alternatives - ''Fakeaways'' - At the Skinny Food Co, we have an array of fakeaway products which offer the great taste of takeaways at a much cheaper price, we offer a range of cuisines from Italian, American, Chinese & Indian all to fit within your weekly food budget 

How to Meal Prep

There are so many advantages to meal prepping. It saves you time and energy. It makes it easier to stick to a strict schedule. And it lets you enjoy your food without having to think about cooking lunch for your packed lunches every day.

Meal prepping doesn't have to be a chore, here are our top tips for meal prepping

1. Frozen vegetables are your friend - Yes fresh vegetables are nicer, especially when you are healthy eating. However, the cost of fresh vegetables to feed you through the whole week would be almost 3X more expensive than a bag of frozen vegetables.
2. Basic Foods - Obviously we all want a luxury meal every day for lunch, but if you're saving money a great way to save is to use leftovers for lunch, or basic foods such as chicken and rice/pasta.  
3. Larger Portions - If meal prepping doesn't fit into your schedule, or your budget, avoid adding extra unnecessary items to your grocery list, why not simply double up on your evening meal and prep enough for the next day's lunch?

Compare Supermarkets 

It's a no-brainer that finding the cheapest supermarket will help you cut the costs on your shopping list, but it's not just about reducing the overall total of your weekly shop. It's also about finding the best value for money, which includes

• The quality of the products 
• The distance from home to the supermarket shop (or whether online shopping is more cost-effective)
• The price of the products 
• The offers & customer loyalty schemes

Comparing supermarkets for the best possible option may take longer than expected, but there are a few ways you can begin to narrow down your search for cheaper supermarkets. 

Step 1: Figure out the weekly household budgets for grocery shopping - before deciding where you want to shop, it's important to figure out where you can shop. If you're trying to minimise your weekly budget, then it's likely your chosen supermarkets will be budget supermarkets such as Aldi & Lidl. 

Step 2: Product price comparisons - this is best done online, as it could be time-consuming to conduct in-person research - with the development of the internet, you don't have to visit every shop to find out which has the cheaper food products. You can just scan the web! 

Looking online begins a comparison of both own-brand products and expensive products (such as luxury brands & meats) this way you'll get an accurate reflection of the overall prices of the major supermarkets. 

Step 3: Look at locations and distance - the cheapest food prices may be in a shop that's over 5 miles away, providing you do a weekly shop once a week for a month that's 4 shops a month at 20 miles extra a month, over 240 extra miles a year. Whereas online delivery costs may be cheaper during selected times and allows you to have your fresh food delivered without ever leaving your home. 

Step 4: The overall customer experience, you can easily forgive an added couple of miles to a journey if the customer experience & customer care is superior elsewhere. Having quality customer care involves offering favourite food brands at discounted prices, loyalty schemes & points collection (such as Tesco Clubcard) & cheapest deals)