10 savings tips for the supermarket
Say wine, snacks or haute cuisine and the gourmands at online food magazine FavorFlav know where to drink, how to eat it and what to cook. This time our cheffies serve you: 10 savings tips for the supermarket.
Yes yes, we know it by now: food and drink have become more expensive. Especially when grocery shopping and otherwise also on the water bill, because even drinking water has become more expensive this year. With these tips, you can still save on food.
To still be able to eat out, or occasionally get an outrageously expensive coffee, saving on your groceries is a must. Not only by taking advantage of discounts and seizing offers, but also by shopping smartly and managing your purchased groceries. With these 10 tips and tricks from budget buyers, you are guaranteed to have something left at the end of the month.
Potatoes
Potatoes are healthy and can be prepared in various ways. Because yes, anyone who thought that cooking and baking are the only ways to prepare potatoes is quite behind. For example, we love steamed potatoes and potatoes baked in aluminum foil. We love the legendary French fries from Anthony Bourdain and since we had it this summer in France, we now love to make truffade. Extra fun: such a tuber costs next to nothing. Budget cooking with potatoes: top tip, then!
Canned legumes
Legumes are cheap, healthy, long-lasting, and very easy to prepare. Varying is easy because there is a wide variety available: from chickpeas to lima beans and from kidney beans to lentils. Stock up on them, and quickly. And then make a lukewarm spinach-carrot salad with lentils or a stew with sausage and lentils. YUM.
Oats
It’s getting a bit boring, but oatmeal is also healthy, cheap, and very versatile. We know it, of course, as breakfast, but you can also incorporate it into your baked goods or add it to your homemade granola. Our absolute favorite recipe: this apple pie oatmeal from Morgane van Marcke. One hundred percent plant-based, so also a hit for the vegans among us.
Celeriac
Super healthy and yes: cheap. I like to make fries from it: peel the tuber, cut it into fries, and boil for two minutes. Mix with salt and your favorite dry herbs and place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Half an hour in the oven at 225 degrees and done. Sonja Bakker, eat your heart out (bad timing to involve Sonja, I realize now).
Canned fish
Canned fish is just as healthy as fresh fish, but cheaper. Canned anchovies are, for example, top-notch. You can do all sorts of things with it. Add it to your Caesar salad or incorporate it into your pasta sauce. Even better: make this insanely delicious chicken with anchovy butter. A whole new world opens up for you, bet?
Old bread
No, I don’t mean you should buy old bread at the supermarket, it’s about leftover bread: the crusts, for example, or a few slices that have become dry. You can make all sorts of things with it, from croutons to panko (bread crumbs). Moreover, there is a super handy hack to make old bread crispy again. So don’t throw it away!
Using up fresh herbs
Extremely annoying: recipes that only require a sprig, pinch, or dash of fresh herbs. One sprig of mint, for example, or a gram of chives. What do you do with the rest? All sorts of things! Incorporate them into soup or your salad. Make fresh mint tea with leftover mint sprigs. Make your own herb butter with chives or parsley. Those who are creative with herbs spend less money. Or something like that. And those who are extra smart make it easy for themselves by getting a herb stripper which saves you quite a bit of chopping work.
Frozen fruits and vegetables
With a heavy heart, I see every supermarket trip again how ridiculously expensive my beloved fresh raspberries are. But hey, there’s a solution for my sorrow: frozen raspberries! And not only that, you can now find almost all types of fruits and vegetables in the freezer section, even frozen lemon slices. Those who choose frozen get more for less money. And that while it’s just as healthy as fresh vegetables and fruit. Straight to the freezer section then!
Tomato paste
Cans of tomato paste really cost nothing at all. And yet you can do so much with it. It’s the flavor maker for just about any sauce you can think of. So fill your kitchen cupboard with it, and with this hack, you can get tomato paste easily out of the can.
Soup
You can’t think of anything too crazy that you can’t make soup from. Yes, even from lettuce (although I might personally prefer to skip that). So do you have leftover vegetables? Make soup from it! You can also easily freeze it and reheat it later.and so you have again nicely stocked up on a number of meals in an inexpensive way. My favorites: Grandma Ditje's chicory soup and good old chicken soup. Delicious.
