Find out how thrifty mum of three who HALVED the price of her weekly shop and cut her annual food bill by £3,000
KATE Haigh shares her tips on the cheap healthy diet which has seen her weekly expenditure plummet from £130 to £60
A THRIFTY mum of three has revealed how she HALVED her food bills - slashing what she spends on groceries every year by £3,000.
Kate Haigh, a former teacher from Cleckheaton, used to spend £130 at the supermarket every week to feed her husband Chris and their three children Eddie, Harry and Ida.
But she now spends £60 on grub after shunning the big retailers in favour of online and budget stores – and insists she doesn’t scrimp on quality, taste or variety.
Kate claims a well-stocked store cupboard packed with herbs and spices means she can cook up a tasty dish in no time at all without having to shop for extras.
And she says cooking from scratch, avoiding processed ready meals, cutting down food waste and ditching the big brand names allows her to save a fortune.
“I’ve always watched what I spend and after having three children became really conscious of what I was shelling out on food,” she said.
“My average spend used to be around £130 a week, now I’ve more than halved that without scrimping on the quality of food we eat and the variety.”
Kate said the family love to try new food and sample dishes from other countries.
She added: “We cook everything - pasta, risotto, curries, Chinese, sushi, roast dinners, Mexican, French, Spanish, pies. Anything we fancy really.
“Being a bit of foodie, I also like what we eat to look good as well as taste good and to be a healthy balanced meal.
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“We always have lots of vegetables which are great for health but also make the meal naturally bright and colourful.
"It is possible to have healthy, delicious looking, tasty food, without shelling out a fortune.”
Kate says buying her meat in bulk from online health retailer has saved her a fortune.
She continued: “I began buying my meat from Musclefood.com around 12 months ago and can’t believe how little I’m now spending on it.
“Added to that, the quality is amazing. The meat contains hardly any fat and when they cook, there is virtually no shrinkage. Two chicken breasts easily feed the five of us.
“Reducing my meat spend has certainly helped in bringing our weekly costs down and buying in bulk, I can freeze and pull out whatever I need each morning.”
Kate says cutting down on food waste has also been a big part of reducing her spend.
“I try to only cook what we need for each meal and if we have leftovers, they get frozen,” she said.
“Something like a chicken or a big batch of mince can be used for lots of varied and tasty meals.”
Kate's top tips for cutting down the cost of your grocery bill
1. Cook from scratch
I home cook nearly everything and not only does this save me a fortune, it also means we’re not eating processed food packed with fat, sugar and salt. This doesn’t have to be time-consuming and if you have a packed store cupboard, is quick and easy. Slow cookers are a must really especially if you are out at work.
2. Grow your own
This year for the first time we decided to grow our own. We’ve tried runner beans, potatoes, beetroot, cabbages and cauliflowers. Not only does it save me money, it also shows my kids where food comes from.
3. Cook what you need
Only cook as much as you need. So much food waste is created by people being greedy. Cooking as much as you require and no more not only cuts food waste but also your food bill and waistline.
4. Don’t be greedy
We don't over eat. Vegetables and fruit make up a large part of our meals with some good quality meat. There is no point buying cheap sausages then them shrinking to half the size when you cook them. The same with other favourites like bacon and chicken.
5. Portion control
Only serve up small amounts. Eat what is on your plate then get seconds if you want more. Overloading the plate makes more waste. It’s not a pleasant idea using leftovers scraped off plates.
6. Leftovers
Re-use leftovers. A large chicken can be used for at least three meals if you don’t over-portion the meat. On day one, roast chicken, day two, a colourful stir-fry and on day three, a risotto using the final scraps and stock. Leftovers from bolognese can be made into lasagne, chilli and if there is only a bit left it can top a baked spud. I freeze other left overs either for emergency meals or as ingredients for future bubble and squeak or curries. I throw bread crusts into a bag in the freezer. They come in handy for things like coatings or making sauces.