Frugal food shopping and long term food storage.
Personally, I only look for meat and vegetables in the reduced aisles at the supermarket. Meat is great because I can separate it into portions and place into a freezer bag. For example, I portion size the sausages to two or three into the freezer bags and get rid of the bulky packaging. That in turn means I can pack my freezer with plenty of deals. Throughout 2019, I bought majority reduced meat so I will provide a post in 2020 to show how much I spent. As an estimate, most of my main meals average at 75p-99p per person by using this method... not bad.
I never buy ready meals. Here's why;
Firstly, I prefer knowing what goes into my meals. I like to control the amount of sugars and salts in our foods to something I feel comfortable with. My household complain that the sauces in ready meals or pre-prepared sauces are too sweet
Secondly, I enjoy cooking and experimenting with it.
Thirdly, ready meals take up too much room in the freezer with the packaging. Buying raw meat, means I can pack more food into my freezer to cook at a later date. So there are plenty of reasons to avoid ready meals. This same principle applies to baked goods too.
I never buy ready meals. Here's why;
Firstly, I prefer knowing what goes into my meals. I like to control the amount of sugars and salts in our foods to something I feel comfortable with. My household complain that the sauces in ready meals or pre-prepared sauces are too sweet
Secondly, I enjoy cooking and experimenting with it.
Thirdly, ready meals take up too much room in the freezer with the packaging. Buying raw meat, means I can pack more food into my freezer to cook at a later date. So there are plenty of reasons to avoid ready meals. This same principle applies to baked goods too.
After I have separated meatballs, sausages, poultry pieces and fish into individual portion sizes, I then remove larger diced or minced meat items from their packaging and place in freezer bags. I deal with these at a later date when I have used up the other individual meals. This gradually provides me with extra room in the freezer to store cooked meal portions which I do in the slow-cooker with the diced and minced meats. After making my slow cooked food I let the food cool down and keep it in portion size containers like these.
So far making sense? Great. But why do I buy vegetables? Surely there's no room to keep them in the freezer, right? Right! And here is what I do with the vegetables: I dehydrate them with a dehydrator like this one. I prefer dehydrators with many trays so I can get as much done in one go as is possible. I leave the dehydrator on over night which reduces the electricity bill. Cleverly frugal...I know :).
Buying the food dehydrator has helped me save huge amounts of money over the past year. I have even been lucky to have friends and family who either have allotments or grow food in their gardens. They often give me a bags full of vegetables as a thank you for when I have done them a favour. Of course it isn't easy to use up so many vegetables before they go off. And I hate food waste! That's why the dehydrator is doubly amazing.
So far making sense? Great. But why do I buy vegetables? Surely there's no room to keep them in the freezer, right? Right! And here is what I do with the vegetables: I dehydrate them with a dehydrator like this one. I prefer dehydrators with many trays so I can get as much done in one go as is possible. I leave the dehydrator on over night which reduces the electricity bill. Cleverly frugal...I know :).
Buying the food dehydrator has helped me save huge amounts of money over the past year. I have even been lucky to have friends and family who either have allotments or grow food in their gardens. They often give me a bags full of vegetables as a thank you for when I have done them a favour. Of course it isn't easy to use up so many vegetables before they go off. And I hate food waste! That's why the dehydrator is doubly amazing.
It also means I can dehydrate herbs and fruit rind for my natural cosmetics which you will see are ingredients in many of my recipes, without having to buy it anymore. Perfect! So if you haven't ever dehydrated fruit and vegetables before, it really is very easy. You can go to my food & recipes page. But as a quick guide, You slice the vegetables, place them on a tray and leave for several hours to dehydrate at the necessary temperature. When it is time to use your dehydrated vegetables and fruits, simply sprinkle the desired amount (as it rehydrates, it will double or triple in size and weight) into a covered bowl and leave over night.
frugally cooked food.
The left over water used to rehydrate the vegetables make great stock for your slow-cooked food. Similarly, the leftover water used to rehydrate fruit provides a great syrup. So long as you label it and have enough room in your freezer, you could pour the water into an ice-cube bag and leave to freeze, using as many of the cubes as is necessary. Think of it as your own homemade stock cubes. Because it has to be prepared and defrosted over night, it gives you a chance to look at what is in your freezer which you can turn into 75p ready meals of your own making. I have really enjoyed using these pieces of kitchen equipment and have found they have saved me lots of money, but also has meant I have been willing to experiment in the kitchen in a way a previously hadn't realised was possible. Do you use dehydrators and slowcookers for your reduced food purchases?