Save on food, just like Grandma did

HERE ARE SOME SIMPLE WAYS TO STRETCH YOUR FOOD BUDGET AND CUT DOWN ON WASTE

With the year we’ve just had, there’s no doubt wallets were pulled tighter at the grocery checkout. So now’s the best time to start thinking about your household budget and ways to cut down on unnecessary expenses and excessive food waste.

If we travelled back to our grandparents’ more frugal time, we might learn a thing or two when it comes to gratitude. Sure, their perspectives may have been born from the need to preserve and conserve, having experienced times of shortage and uncertainty. We aren’t experiencing a Great Depression but there is sound advice we can take from a simpler time — when things were repaired and when ingredients were used with creativity and ingenuity.

To help you think outside the box in 2021, we’ve compiled a list from our elders’ era, where simple, humble and mindful living was the wisdom of the day.

EAT LESS MEAT

When times were tough, our grandparents had to make ingredients stretch, which meant there was no need to make meat the main event. Instead, they used it as the support act; adding small cubes of beef to stews or making it stretch in bakes and pies, all bulked up with more filling ingredients. Think of cooking this way during the week and save the chops for a weekend barbecue instead.

LEARN ABOUT FOOD PRESERVATION

We contribute heavily to food waste in Australia because we often buy too much and don’t use it in time. So, think like Grandma did instead. Make jam from your oversupply of berries. Make pickles from vegetables. Find ways to puree and freeze fruits so you can easily add them to cakes and muffins at another time.

MAKE SOUP

Don’t throw away those old vegies! Think creatively and use them up instead. A big-batch dish like a soup can feed your family for a few days.

START COMPOSTING

One of the best ways to minimise waste ending up in landfill is by turning food scraps into compost. If you don’t have a designated place in your garden, use a plastic bin to throw your fruit and vegie scraps in. Stir it occasionally and keep adding layers. When it’s ready, use it in pot plants or garden beds and watch as nature makes magic and turns waste into life!

BUY DIRECT FROM FARMERS

Buying directly from the farmer not only helps you, it helps the farmer, too. It’ll usually cost you less than buying produce individually at the supermarket.

PACK LUNCHES AND SNACKS

It’s easy to think you’ll pick up lunch at work but if you add up the cost of buying lunch every day, things can get pretty pricey. Make like Gran and Gramps instead — prepare meals and snacks in advance so you’ll always have something to in your lunch box. Love a bliss ball? Make a huge batch of them for under $10 instead of paying $4.50 for one at a cafe.

HAVE A “USE IT UP” DAY

Raid the pantry and the fridge on Friday evenings for any odds and ends you can use to make food for the weekend. Plenty of vegie scraps? Make a stock for your weekend soup or toss them into omelettes for a hearty brunch. Leftover fruits? Stew them on the stove with cinnamon and nutmeg like Gran did, then bottle them to use on tarts and pancakes.

BUY ONLY WHAT YOU NEED

Our grandparents would never be caught buying groceries without a small handwritten list. In fact, many of us still remember the spiral notebooks with Gran’s scrawl listing only the items she needed for the week. If you’re old enough to remember these lists, you may also remember Gran buying only what she needed and using what she had in the humble pantry to create abundance.