HOW TO CUT YOUR WEEKLY SHOPPING BILL IN HALF
Become a smart shopper to make cash go further
EATING healthily doesn’t have to break the bank and TV nutritionist Dale Pinnock has come up with ways to slash your weekly shopping bill in half.
He presents ITV show Eat Shop Save and has a book of the same name which contains more than 80 recipes to help with the challenges of family cooking.
But it’s not just about food, it also looks at smart shopping and meal planning to save money and time.
Dale said: “By making simple changes like these, some of the families in the series ended up halving their shopping bill.”
Making a few changes to the way you shop can help you make considerable savings. Dale, 41, from Cambridgeshire, has been interested in food since he was a child.
His interest in nutrition was sparked when he battled acne at the age of 11 and looked at how food could influence his health.
He read more than 1000 books on the subject and used himself as a guinea pig during his research.
He said: “I got completely hooked and decided to pursue that as a profession.”
Dale has studied human nutrition, SHOP AROUND WHERE you shop can have a big impact on your shopping bill. Dale said: “You’d be surprised how many people go to the same supermarket and buy the same shopping every week. “See what’s in your area and what the alternatives are to the usual things you buy.” You may find an enormous price variation and Dale advises visiting a local market. He added: “You could be amazed how far your money goes and the quality you can find.” USE UP LEFTOVERS “UPCYCLING” is usually applied to furniture or clothing – but Dale uses it for food, too. Dale added: “Use up leftovers for the next meal. If you’ve done a Sunday lunch and have half a roast chicken left, you can have a chicken curry or whatever. It makes things go further.” PLAN AHEAD DALE advises planning for five days – Monday to Friday – then allow yourself freedom at the weekend without going crazy. When you’ve made your meal plan, create a shopping list for those ingredients. He added: “Plan well in advance – such as midweek for the following week.” herbal medicine and nutritional medicine – and also worked as a chef.
He added: “I never formally trained as a chef but trained on the job doing everything from washing pots to running kitchens. All my formal training has been on the nutrition side.”
Combining evidence-based nutrition with cooking has led him to write 14 books on nutrition and health and appear on dozens of TV shows.
Dale says there are many misconceptions that eating healthily is expensive – and wants to dispel the myth. He said: “If you go to some posh SHOP THE PLAN WHEN you go shopping, stick to the plan to save spending extra.
Dale said: “Planning ahead is the first part but shopping the plan is the second. Once you’ve planned everything out and done your shopping list, make sure you only buy what’s on the list.
“Supermarkets are very good at getting us to spend money on a whim on things we don’t want. You have to be strict with yourself.” GET LOOSE WATCH out for pre-packed items as these can cost you more. You can save money by going for loose ingredients.
Dale said: “With fresh fruit and veg, meat and fish, it can work out cheaper. But with things like rice and pasta, the bulk bags tend to be cheaper portion by portion.”
Every time we buy something that is washed, cut and pre-prepared, we’re paying for that convenience.
Pre-grated cheese, pre-chopped veg and any “ready to eat” ingredients come with a higher price tag. LOOK AROUND Supermarkets often put the more expensive items on the face level shelves. Dale advises checking other shelves – look higher and lower to see if items are cheaper. And check out the label for price per unit. TRACK YOUR SPENDING WRITING down your spending can help you see where you could save.
Dale said: “Sometimes it can be a shock when you see it written down.”
Include extras such as eating out stores or buy some weird ingredients or read some glossy magazines, there’s a different superfood out every week. If you’re focusing on those ingredients, you’re going to spend a fortune.
“People think that’s what a healthy diet is – some kind of elitist pursuit only available to the select few.
“But it’s about good, wholesome, everyday ingredients our grandparents would recognise – fruit and vegetables, meat, fish, dairy. It’s getting back to basics and it’s definitely tasty.
“I want to dispel myths that it’s going to be expensive, drab or dull or mean spending hours in the kitchen.” and buying lunch to see what you’ve spent then give yourself a weekly shopping budget and stick to it. DON’T FALL FOR SUPERMARKET THEATRE DON’T get taken in by some special offers in supermarkets.
Dale said: “Sometimes they can be deceiving. Supermarkets could put something to an elevated price above market price then drop it down to normal price. But because it’s changed price on their listing, they can say it’s reduced.”
Check whether multi-buy offers are worthwhile. CHECK DIFFERENT BRANDS DALE asks if you can really tell the difference between a well-known name and an own-brand equivalent.
He says some popular brands have increased sugar and salt content and can be more pricey.
He said: “Buy own-label brands and you can cut your weekly shopping bill by 50 per cent.” LOOK AT THE FREEZER YOU could find bargains in the freezer section of your supermarket.
Frozen fish is just as fresh, if not fresher, than what’s on offer on the counter. Consider frozen fruit and veg as well as meat.
Some frozen items can be just as fresh and nutritious and cheaper. ● Eat Shop Save by Dale Pinnock is published by Hamlyn (£14.99). Photography by Faith Mason. Eat, Shop, Save is on ITV on Thursdays at 7.30pm.