GET BETTER NOSH FOR YOUR DOSH!

Presenter and author of Eat Shop Save, Dale Pinnock, tell us how we can eat well without breaking the bank

There’s a belief that eating healthily is pricey,” says

Eat Shop Save

author Dale Pinnock (Mitchell Beazley, £14.99). “You can easily spend a lot of money if you choose weird faddy ingredients or go to the highend supermarkets. But eating healthily is actually just about getting back to basics, and it doesn’t have to be expensive.”

SHOP LOCALLY

“Where you buy your food has an enormous impact on your shopping bill. With increased interest in and demand for healthier food, some shops have added a tidy premium to the price of some fresh produce. Do you have a local greengrocer? A vegetable delivery scheme? Or – my top choice – a local market? At local markets, the produce is usually priced honestly. There are no vast overheads to cover and there’s no board of directors to appease.”

USE UP LEFTOVERS

“‘Upcycling’ is a term that is usually applied to furniture or clothing, but I use it in relation to food, too. It’s all about getting creative. Leftover roasted veggies from a Sunday roast? Throw them in a salad with some cheese and mixed leaves. Soup? Use it as a base for a curry or as a pasta sauce. Upcycling is simple but can help you to be a more creative cook and save you money.”

STICK TO YOUR LIST

“I know this sounds obvious, but one of the biggest scourges for people wanting to stay on track with their eating is the supermarket deals or impulse buys. When you have made your meal plan, create a shopping list for those ingredients. The only extras on the list should be household items. Then shop the list. No extras. No weird impulse buys.”

SCAN THE SHELVES

“Face-level shelves are the most appealing to shoppers and therefore supermarkets put the more expensive items on them. Choose from the lower or higher shelves. Remember: if it’s at eye height, think twice. Also always look at the supermarket label for the price per unit (for example £1 per 100g) for easy comparisons.”

EMBRACE THE FREEZER

“You can find some great bargains in the freezer section of your supermarket. Frozen fish is the perfect example – it is actually just as fresh, if not fresher, than the fish in the fridge section, which has usually been previously frozen anyway! Also consider frozen meat, fruit and veg. The products are now better than ever, and just as nutritious as their fresh, more expensive equivalents.”

GO OWN-BRAND

“Can you really tell the difference between heavilymarked products and own-label brands? Not only do some popular brands have increased sugar and salt content, they also stretch the purse strings. Buy own-label and you could cut your weekly shopping bill in half.”