Food prices have risen dramatically in the last year. I was buying a loaf of bread recently and was surprised to see the price had gone up to £1.64 (US$3.20).
According to Mysupermarket.co.uk the cost of a basket of staple items (based on a weekly shop for a family of four) has risen by 21% in the last year. Based on this increase this would mean a price hike of £1,092 (US$2,000) per year. Wheat-based and dairy products continue to rise in price whilst savings can be found on essential fruit and vegetables such as bananas, broccoli and grapes. Asda remains the cheapest supermarket whilst Sainsbury’s has seen the biggest percentage raise.
So how to combat the credit crunch? Start being a canny shopper. Supermarkets have various ploys to make us empty our pockets sooner than we need to. Higher price products are often at easy-to-reach eye level whilst the better value, supermarket-own brands will be on the lower shelves. Some supermarket may seem to do good deals on two for one, 50 per cent free offers but then increase their price on fruit and vegetables.
Shopping tips
Cook from scratch – plan about three or four meals that you’ll eat in the week and shop for the ingredients at the weekend. Keep it simple even if it’s just sausage and mash or a pasta dish it’s better for you, and less expensive than reaching for convenience foods.
Make a list – this will help you stay focused on what you need to buy rather than get distracted by the pile ‘em high cheap supermarket offers. Make your list logical: start with fruit and veg, meat-based products, dairy, dried goods and then bread. This will stop you weaving erratically from section to section.
Try ethnic supermarkets – which often sell fruit and vegetables at lower prices than the supermarkets. I buy all my fruit and veg from the local Afghan shop, I get big bunches of herbs at a fraction of the cost. They often sell unusual products that the big chain supermarkets don’t stock – in the case of my local Afghan store the kashmiri mangoes are delicious.
Mix and match supermarket value ranges – try different products in the low-cost range to see which ones you find acceptable. Value tea is as flavourful as wood-chippings but I can quite happily buy value honey, peanut butter and cornflakes. I prefer the Sainsbury’s basic range for overall quality.
Hidden gems – there are some foods that are naturally very good but have fallen out of favour these days. Mackerel is a delicious fish that is very reasonably priced. If you’re a blue cheese fan then the English produced cheeses are much better value than the continental ones. In Sainsbury’s, Stilton sells for £7.69 per kg and Shropshire blue for £7.29 per kg, whilst French Roquefort is over triple the price at £23.30 per kg.
Aldi and Lidl – fewer staff, buy your own carrier bags and no baskets keep over-heads down and therefore cheaper products for the customer. More and more people are getting wise to the quality products stocked at these two continental discount stores. Friends rave about the quality of their chocolate and salami. Aldi have recently been awarded the Grocer Gold Awards for several of their products, which include beef wellington, chocolate chip brioche and their fishmonger range, to name a few.
Salads make great frugal food – and are perfect at this time of year. Even if you use a ready prepared bag of salad leaves it’s not going to be much more than £1.50. Hard-boiled eggs, mixed pulses and grated cheese are good additions to your salad. Make up a batch of vinaigrette and keep in a screw top jar in the fridge – eight tablespoons of oil, four tablespoons wine vinegar, two teaspoons of French mustard, half a level teaspoon each of salt, black pepper, half a teaspoon of caster sugar. Just shake and serve. Or do like the Iranians do and strew your salad with a handful of fresh herbs; coriander, flat-leaf parsley and basil are good.
Fridge sweep soup – discounting the unappealing name this is a good way to use up vegetables left in the bottom of your fridge and clear the way for next week’s shop. Celery, carrots, potatoes, courgettes and leeks – cut them into even sized pieces and sweat slowly, on a low heat in a covered pan. The vegetables should smell very fragrant and become vivid in colour – sprinkle on some vegetable stock granules to enhance the taste. Parsnips or sweet potatoes are a good addition as the natural sugars become almost honeyish with the slow cooking.
Do like a Womble – and “make good use of bad rubbish”. Join your local Freecycle group and pick up useful household appliances. I recently found a working bread machine outside the bin store of my block of flats.
Living a life more frugal can be a very satisfying pursuit. It’s not about being cheap and miserly but more about making the best of what you’ve got, appreciating and savouring things.
Frugal resources
Freecycle
www.freecycle.org
Matches people with things they want to get rid of with people that need them. Find your local group and swap and exchange needful things.
Fruwiki
www.fruwiki.com
As the name suggests this is Wikipedia for the frugal community. It takes you through the “frugal fundamentals” from “bartering” and “being picky” to “self reliance” and “survival skills”. Hardcore frugalists need only apply.
Frugal Life
www. frugal-life.spaces.live.com
For a year Piper Terret has been working from home, and trying to live as frugally as possible. Find out the best method to save money on your food bill as she undertakes the ‘Supermarket Challenge’: a week of eating a world war two diet, foraging for wild food, going vegetarian or a weekly shop at Aldi.
The Frugal Cook
www.thefrugalcook.blogspot.com
Award-winning journalist Fiona Becket adds a gourmet slant to the frugal arena. Her blog is well written, thought-provoking and with elegant, frugal recipe ideas. Her book Frugal Food comes out this Autumn.
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