Shopping on a Budget: How to Make Your Food Shopping Last


Image: Pixabay

When you’re eating healthily, it can seem like your food shopping bill raises considerably. The truth is, you’re probably just spending more in one go but will likely spend less in the long term.
When you’re not weight loss conscious, you likely spend more on those coffees during the day or the weekly takeaways instead of cooking your own meals.

But that still doesn’t help when you’re shopping on a budget. You want to keep your food shopping costs to a minimum and that means making the food last. Here are some simple tips to help you right now.

Bulk Buy and Freeze Portions

We spend about £20 a month on meat. How do we do that? Well, we bulk buy and then freeze them in the portion sizes.

We opt for the Morrisons three for £10 deals and look at the reduced sections whenever we’re in the store or at Asda or another supermarket. Doing this helps to keep our spending to a minimum just to begin with.

When we get the food home, we freeze everything in portion sizes for the two of us. That means opening the packets and using cling film to wrap them. We’ll even make larger meals than normal and freeze portions for later on in the week or month.

The last time we did a meat shop was two weeks ago and we still have a drawer full of meat to use up. Part of the help comes from not eating meat with every meal, but that still doesn’t account for the four to six weeks that the £20 portion lasts us.

Use Up Your Food First

Try using up all the food in your house before you do a shop. This is great if you’re shopping on a budget because you limit the waste.

If you don’t use up the food, it will likely sit at the back of the fridge and then go mouldy.

Struggling with ways to use it up? Try making a leftover stir fry with anything that is about to go off. You could also make a casserole or stew with your vegetables. Bake your fruit in pies and crumbles—there are plenty of weight loss friendly options to help your shopping on a budget.

Do the same with the freezer section. Just because its frozen doesn’t mean it will last forever. It just means it will last longer than the fresh stuff. Make sure those frozen vegetables and last month’s meatballs are used up before you buy more.

Make a List First

Making a list doesn’t just help your weight loss efforts. It will also help when shopping on a budget.
When we don’t write a list, we pick up things that we didn’t really need. And we forget the things that we do need!

Making a list means that you plan out the meals you’re making for the week and only buy items that are essential for them. You will also avoid the aisles that are the most tempting, which are often money wasters as well as weight gainers.

It will take some time before your shop, so you need to plan. We do ours the night before and through the month write anything down that we need to pick up on a whiteboard in the kitchen.

Do Your Shopping Online

When you’re shopping on a budget, doing it online could be really helpful. First of all, you can check the cupboards, fridge and freezer for food that you really need or don’t need. I did online food shops in the past and would sit in the kitchen and check everything beforehand in case I forgot it on the initial list.

This can also help you save money because you can find the cheapest option easily. When you’re in the store, there is the risk of missing the cheapest option. Usually, companies put them lower down or higher up on the shelves; of course, you’re going to look at eye-level!

You will also skip the sections where the tempting offers are on; offers that usually just get you to spend more money. These are often the unhealthy sections anyway and will just lead to you gaining weight. It’s so much easier to avoid the temptation when you don’t see it!

So, are you ready for your shopping on a budget? It is possible to make your food shopping last. It’s all about pre-planning and organizing your fridge and freezer so everything is ready to go. My biggest tip—and the one I always share when people ask—really is to buy meat in bulk and freeze it into portions to make it last longer.

Copyright Alexandria Ingham, 2014. All rights reserved.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

100 Day Challenge Day 28: Staying In Control on a Busy Day

Image
I mentioned yesterday on the 100 Day Challenge that Wednesday was going to be busy. I expected to eat the majority of my weekly pro points that I had left. In the end, I only went into a small amount of them. The whole way I did that was by staying in control and making good choices . That’s an important part of losing weight. Yes, I could have stuffed my face with chocolate because there were periods when I really wanted to, but I didn’t. I didn’t deprive myself either. When I wanted chocolate, I told myself that I would get it later (knowing that I’d have some later anyway).  It doesn’t have to be boring making good choices. Rather than having a bit of chocolate at the end of the night, I shared a punnet of strawberries with my husband and daughter. They gave me the sweet kick that I needed to finish off the day. They were juicier and more delicious than a bar of chocolate, too. While doing all that, I’m also drinking more water. I’ve even decided to start my day...
Read more

Halloween Party Ideas to Lose Weight

Image
If you’re hosting a Halloween party this year, the idea of weight loss during this time can be daunting. Even if you’re not hosting the party, the thought of dealing with all the candy and chocolates can be terrifying when you’re losing weight. Here are a few Halloween party ideas to help you stay in control in the run-up and on the night. Have Some Healthy but Fun Snacks Image: Alexandria Ingham You don’t just need to get chocolates, candies and cookies in. Why not have some fun with some healthy snacks? I loved making some of these last year, and did mini orange pumpkins and banana ghouls.  I blogged about some fun Halloween party ideas last year, and you can find that blog post here . If you’re hosting the party, put them out for your guests. Even if they don’t want to eat them, you have something to enjoy. If you’re attending a party, take a platter of your creations with you and share with your friends. That can be your hostess gift. Set a...
Read more

Why Eating Fruit and Vegetables Isn’t Enough to Lose Weight

Image
I received a message yesterday from someone looking for some weight loss support. She mentioned that she was eating lots of fruit and vegetables but still not losing weight. Okay, well, eating fruit and vegetables isn’t enough to lose weight. Yes, really! While eating fruit and vegetables can help—it certainly gets you your nutrients—it isn’t going to give you everything your body needs. In fact, too many fruit and vegetables can lead to weight gain. And you need to look at all the other stuff you’re eating! Be honest with yourself. So, let’s look at this in stages… Eating too much of a good thing is bad Yes, you really can eat too much of a good thing. Want to know why? Because you run the risk of not getting a balanced diet. While you get your fibre and nutrients from fruit and vegetables, you need to get carbohydrates, protein, and some fats. Yes, your body needs fat! By the way, fruit is full of natural sugar. While it’s not as bad for you as...
Read more