By Sam Milner
It’s that catch-22 situation, isn’t it? We all want to eat healthily but a lot of the time we have all these foods that are cheaper and are not healthy. So how do you strike that perfect balance between healthy foods and saving money at the same time?
Well, my name is Sam, and I have been feeding our family on a budget for years, because why pay lots for groceries when there are always some deals to be had. But where do you start you may wonder?
Here are my 6 areas to work on first for reducing your spend on groceries:
Cheap Meat – There are always deals to be had on cheap meat. Whether that is stocking up on supermarket yellow stickers, buying what’s in season or seeing what deals the butchers currently has on. If you want a Sunday roast and the cost worries you, then you can opt for a cheap whole chicken and get more meals out of it, or the butcher’s favourite is a pork leg joint. A boneless pork leg is often the cheapest roasting meat and pork tastes so good. Seasonal times like Christmas, Easter and Father’s Day are also fantastic for meat deals. You can grab reduced price/stock clearance deals after the event and store them in the freezer for later.
Seasonal Veg – Focusing on seasonal veg can also save you money on your shop and make it stretch further if you’re on a budget. For example, in the new year there will be lots of root veg and you can batch cook some soup to freeze or focus upon meals that are in season. Or in the summer you can batch cook some cherry tomatoes with feta and make a Mediterranean sauce for the freezer, for example.
Stocking A Pantry – I always have a well-stocked pantry to lean on. Its perfect for adding to recipes or just for when you are late being paid. It means you still have lots of food that you can cook up for mealtimes. In our kitchen you will always find canned tomatoes, beans, lentils, sweetcorn, potatoes and plenty of dried pasta too.
Just Add Beans – If a meal is ever looking a bit small and not quite enough to feed us all, then I will add beans. They are a fantastic filler in recipes and leave everyone nice and full. White beans, kidney beans, black beans and brown and red lentils are always ready to be added to a meal in our house.
Food Waste Warrior – There is so much food waste. By being more aware of the food you already have in your fridge and cupboards, you can help make use of it all and avoid wasting it. Look at the food you waste the most – are you buying too much of it? Or could you use it another way? For example, that lettuce you use for one sandwich this week and waste the rest. Could you just avoid buying it and put something else in your sandwich? Or those carrots you spent ages peeling. Could you save those peelings and make some carrot peeling chips instead?
The Shopping List – Its easy to just go to the supermarket for your weekly shop and not have a plan. You shop blindly and think ‘I will have a bit of this and a bit of that’. But often we, as consumers, don’t actually compare what we are eating vs what we already have in. Instead, write a list of the things you need every week for snacks and breakfast (as those lists often don’t change). Then focus on your dinners. Plan the next 7 days of dinners and add the ingredients you need to your shopping list. Then cross out anything you have in the fridge/cupboards already. Then you have a cheaper, more focused shopping list.
Top tip – we use Google Docs for our shopping lists. It is then synced to our phone, tablet and laptops. Then when we are planning and have an idea, we can write it down. We can also easily delete ingredients from that list that we already have in or that we no longer need. Then you can take the list on your phone with you when you go shopping.
With those principles in mind, here is an ideal weekly menu:
We choose to cook in an air fryer because it uses less energy and can also help you budget with your meals.
Monday – Have a Leftover Monday and make use of your leftovers from your Sunday roast. One of my favourites is to squish all the ingredients together and transform them into leftover burgers. You can also add some white beans or some lentils if they are not firm enough. Then add some cheese on top and load into burger buns.
Tuesday – Barbecue chicken wraps are a great, quick dinner for Tuesday nights. They’re part of the menu at our kids’ school and they love them – so the kids inspired me to make my own in the air fryer. You can air fry 2 chicken breasts between 4 of you, then add barbecue sauce, bulk it out with sweetcorn and then add to wraps. Air fry with some barbecue sauce and melted cheese on top and it’s a new take on hunter’s chicken.
Wednesday – Another favourite, using tortilla wraps, is vegetarian enchiladas. They are loaded with beans and fresh veg and best of all they freeze very well. We make a double batch and then freeze one and cook one. You can bulk them up with whatever seasonal veg you have and the beans from your pantry. You can also mix and match with leftovers you have.
Thursday – Chilli con carne is perfect for a throwback recipe from childhood. You can make a batch for dinner and then the leftovers can be saved for a lunchtime for chilli hot dogs. Or why not add them to some homemade flatbreads and then have chilli pizzas?
Friday – Chicken curry with naan bread and Bombay potatoes is so good and perfect for your Friday night fakeaway. You can make naan bread in the air fryer and this keeps the costs down and of course the Bombay potatoes are also cheap to make. You can also go vegetarian and opt for a sweet potato and chickpea curry, for example.
Saturday – We love a jacket potato bar, and this concept is fantastic for using up all those little ingredients in the fridge that you know need a clear out. You make the potatoes in the air fryer and then use whatever you have left in the fridge to make the toppings e.g. adding some tuna and sweetcorn, leftover curry or chilli and so forth.
Sunday – Lets have that Sunday roast but, instead of the classic way, lets make it in the air fryer. Pork leg roast is the cheapest option and you can also do roast potatoes, parsnips, carrots and some sprouts with it. You can also use the air fryer to warm up the gravy.
Recipes referenced from are from Sam Milner’s books Air Fryer Easy Every Day: 140 super-simple delicious recipes and The Complete Air Fryer Cookbook (both priced at £20, White Lion Publishing).
This article first appeared in the Christmas ’24 issue of Ni4Kids
