Budget

Now more than ever it is important that everyone has access to balanced meals. Achieving a balanced diet is needed to provide energy throughout the day and nutrients are required to protect against diet-related disease and for growth and repair of muscles¹.  In addition to this, it is important we find ways to keep the cost of our weekly food shop as low as possible.

In this article we hope to provide ideas to cut the cost of your weekly food shop, and provide simple buying and cooking advice, with some great recipes along the way. 

To help create a balanced diet the NHS have created “8 eat well tips” for you

1. Base your meals on starchy foods

2. Eat fruit and vegetables

3. Eat more fish - including 1 portions of oily fish a week

4. Cut down on saturated fat and sugar

5. Eat less salt: no more than 6g a day for adults

6. Get active

7. Drink more water

8. Don’t skip breakfast

Following on from this you can check out the eat well guide on how to create a well balanced meal. 

Shopping List 

We have created a basic grocery list which includes some of the essential foods to help you achieve a balanced diet with lots of variety. 

- oats/pasta/rice/couscous/quinoa

- Wholemeal bread/bagels/wraps

- Fresh and seasonal fruit and vegetables e.g. apples

- Frozen fruits and vegetables

- Canned goods e.g. beans

- Milks, eggs and cheese

- Seeds and nuts

- Herbs, spices and stock cubes

- Pulses

- Meats or fish

Sample Day Menu

Here is sample day menu including recipes from our website which include some of these previously mentioned essential foods.

Breakfast: Overnight chia oats with plum compote 

Lunch: Rocket and salmon puttanesca

Dinner: Buddha bowl with poached eggs and roasted vegetables

So, whether you’re a student who is about to return to university or someone who would like to share some ideas on how to cut the cost of your shop, we want to provide you with some budget friendly ideas! 

1. Minimise Food Waste

Make extra at dinner and use leftovers for lunch the next day.

Batch cook your meals at the start of the week. Keep them in the fridge or freezer for when you need them.

If you have some vegetables that are starting to go out of date, you could throw them into a slow cooker and create a soup or blend into a tomato-based sauce for pasta dishes.

Consider buying pre - chopped vegetables e.g. onions. You can also buy pre-chopped frozen garlic, ginger and chilli in some supermarkets!

If you have stale bread you could make it into a bread and butter pudding or this panzella dish for dinner. 

Keep the skin on starchy foods e.g. potatoes for homemade chips and in mashed potato. This will also increase your fibre intake. 

Familiarise yourself with different food labels, for example best before and use by. This may reduce your food waste and, therefore, spending. Check out this information by the Food Standards Agency on food labelling. 

2. Shopping Smart

Plan ahead – make a meal plan the week before to help with food shopping. This will help you to make sure you are eating a balanced diet, with lots of colour and variety. Have a look at our article on the healthy portion plate! 

Want to save money? Why not try supermarket own brands - these are cheaper and are often very similar. 

Check out your local supermarket (e.g. Aldi⁴) for their ‘weekly super 6’ - this is 6 cheaper fruits and vegetables which rotate on a weekly basis. 

Keep an eye out for certain food offers. For example, buy one and get one free.

If you are familiar with the supermarket write down your list in the order you walk around the shop. This makes it more efficient and it may prevent you going down isles you don’t need to and buying foods you don’t necessarily need.

3. Making food go further

Add lentils/ chickpeas/ beans and extra vegetables to meals such as chilli and curries. This is super cost effective as it can displace meat.

Opt for frozen and canned fruit and vegetables as they still contain a high amount of nutrients, are cost effective and last longer. 

Always in a rush in the morning? Try overnight oats which have minimal preparation and will be ready in the morning to grab and go. Oats are a cost effective option, try adding frozen fruit to add to your 5 a day. 

Keep your leftovers - they may make a great lunch/dinner option for the next day.

Overripe bananas: you have probably heard of it before but make them into banana bread, freeze for smoothies or banana ice cream. 

Thank you to Charlotte Radcliffe. Follow Charlotte on Instagram @The_Nutrition_Consultant and check out her posts:

• Time saving tips

• Reducing food waste

• Low cost meal ideas

• Meal planning tips 

• Bulk cooking ideas when stocks are low 

Overall, you should try to eat a balanced diet that isn’t too pricey but most importantly enjoy your meals!

All recipes can be found on the Nutrition Rocks website: https://nutrition-rocks.co.uk/all-recipes