7 How to waste less food family money saving tips

Food waste is a massive problem in the UK, far greater than I ever imagined. I must admit I am guilty of overshopping and throwing away food that has past it’s used by date.

This week I was challenged by the imagnative people at AO.com to plan and purchase food to make four family meals without wasting any food and keeping within budget. I will definitely need all my top Money saving ideas for this challenge showing you How to waste less food.

I decided the best way to take this challenge would be to shop online, at least this way I can not be tempted by the sweetie isle or accidently slip a bottle of chardonnay into my shopping trolley.

To start with I choose my family’s favourite home cooked meals, I compiled a list of the basic ingredients that I would need to purchase and I concentrated on what size products I would need to try to keep waste to a minimum.

I soon discovered shopping this way with a cup of tea in my hand and my ipad on my lap was the way forward and I spent a third less on my shopping by actually planning my meals in advance.

You can start by using my Supermarket which is a shopping price comparison site like I did. You will actually be amazed at the amount of money you can save and more importantly see you are saving by doing this. This site actually helps you compare the best prices online from the major superstores in the UK.

Personally, I use Tesco’s quite often and for the purpose of this article I have used them to buy most of my products including what I paid below.

The Budget shopping list.

• Tesco British Chicken breast portions 490 g x 3 packs for £10.00
• Tesco Beef Steak Mince 600g x 3 packs for £10.00
• Dolmio Creamy white Lasagne sauce
• Dolmio Tomato Red Lasagne sauce  Mix and Match 2 for £3.00
• Tesco Lasagne sheets £1.00
• Chilli Con Carne Mix £1.00
• Napolina Red kidney beans 0.50p
• Tesco microwave Rice x3 £2.37
• Tesco everyday value grated cheese 500g £2.50
• Tesco sliced carrots tinned 0.30p
• Tesco king Edwards potatoes £2.00
• Shepherds pie mix x 2 £1.80
• Tinned Tomatoes 0.50p
• Bertolli spread 2 for £2.00
• Tesco cabbage £1.30
• Tesco frozen green beans 900g £1.00
• Tesco 9 slices Frozen garlic bread 290g £1.40
• Tesco 12 frozen Yorkshire Puddings £1.00
• Tesco carrot, sweetcorn and Peas 400g  £1.50
• Aunt Bessie’s chunky frozen Roasting vegetables 500g  £1.79

Total £39.99

Budget Meal 1 – Home Made Shepherd’s Pie.

Healthy, wholesome Shepherds Pie served with mixed vegetables.

Shepards pie is such a simple and tasty dish to make. Some of my family prefer the pie to have the mashed potato to be topped with cheese. I started to make the Shepherd’s pies in individual pots which make them look really appealing to eat.

Freeze unused food!

A great way to waste less food is to cook double the amount you actually need. Use all of the ingredients for the dish and freeze the meal which can be consumed at a later date, when you are short on time perhaps!

For My Budget Shepherd’s Pie I used the following Ingredients.

• Tesco Beef Steak Mince 600g x 2
• Tesco king Edwards potatoes £2.00
• Tesco sliced carrots tinned 0.30p
• Shepherds pie mix x 2 £1.80
• Tesco carrot, sweetcorn and Peas 400g  £1.50

Cooking Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/Gas 5.
2. Simply brown the beef in a little oil, drain and add the shepherds pie mix
3. Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
4. Place in an oven proof dish or like me in individual pots, add 2x Oxo cubes, I tin of sliced carrots and stir well.
5.  Meanwhile, to make the topping, boil the potatoes in water until soft. Drain and mash with butter and milk.
6. Top the Individual pots with the mash potato and cook for approx 30 minutes, or until golden brown.
7. If you prefer your shepherd’s pie to be topped with cheese, just add a sprinkle to the mashed potato 5-7 minutes before the cooking time ends.
8. Serve with seasonal vegetables or if you are on a budget Frozen vegetables cause less waste and can considerably save you money.

Budget Meal 2 – Chicken Breast Calvary Dinner.

Chicken breast with all the trimmings 

This Chicken dinner is a perfect money saver and healthy mid-week treat! Low in fat, high in protein and so simple to make.

I used the following ingredients to achieve this home cooked family meal:

• Tesco British Chicken breast portions 490 g £4.00
• Tesco king Edwards potatoes £2.00
• Tesco cabbage £1.30
• Tesco frozen green beans 900g £1.00
• Tesco 12 frozen Yorkshire Puddings £1.00
• Aunt Bessie’s chunky frozen Roasting vegetables 500g  £1.79

For the above, Literally just follow the cooking instructions which are on the packets but please remember if you can freeze it, save it!

If you want to see the other great meals I have created on a budget using the £40 shopping list. Take a look at two further budget meals which include Home made Chilli Con Carne in a Slow cooker and Homemade family size Lasagna.

Why it is important to waste less food.

I was shocked to learn that we throw away 7 million tonnes of food and drink from our homes every year, the majority of which could have been eaten. “That’s far too much in my opinion, there are people starving around the globe, why is there not more focus on food waste in the UK?”

Wasting this food costs the average household £470 a year, rising to £700 for a family with children, the equivalent of around per £60 a month. Just think at what you could spend that money on!

I found that the Love Food Website has some great advice to stop us wasting food. They also have some great money saving tips like learning how to save money on your food bills and How to waste less food. If you are serious about cutting food costs then I would certainly take a look.

I even discovered that Love Food hate waste campaign has officially been launched in 10 cities across the UK, one of the cities being Leeds where I live! They are running free food waste prevention training, cookery classes and kitchen skills classes. You can learn about the important issues of food waste, get fascinating ideas, tips and advice on how to reduce your food waste within your home providing you with all the skills and confidence to go out there and spread the word about how to waste less food.

7 How to waste less food tips…

1. Plan your meals. I can’t stress this enough! you will begin to save money almost immediately.
2. Freeze meals and unused food.
3. Buy frozen foods.
4. Check the use by date on food.
5. Buy food close to its sell by date and freeze it, remember they sell this type of food off cheap.
6. Smaller portions. Don’t outface your family with too bigger meals. Give them slightly less to avoid leaving food on their plates.
7. Don’t buy for the sake of buying. Fill your trolley up with foods that don’t cost the earth and yet you will still enjoy!

Once you revisit the budget in a month or so, I would love to hear just how much you have saved. Please remember that although you are saving you must not forget to treat your and your family with the extra cash once in a while.