Top Five Tips -Food Shop

Use what you have in first via meal planning or just a list to work from of what is in
Only buy a bargain if you'll use it (no point buying a reduced something to bin it) always double checking it really is a bargain (just because it's says bogof/half price doesn't mean it is a bargain!!!)
Take a list, price it up online first if they have an online shop, then take no more than £10 extra for bargains
Reduce portion sizes (which in turn reduces waste and waists )
Shop around where possible, price books are great to help with this

I crammed what some would call several more than 5 into 5

Haven't even gone into saving when cooking it really apart from portion sizes.

use a steamer (uses one ring instead of several)
try to put more than one thing in the oven if you are using it
try to build up a storecupboard - flour, rice, herbs and things so they are there when you need them -
tins are not all bad news - mushrooms etc are always there to be added to anything
plain flour good - as you can always add baking powder (I think Lidl is great value)
Library brilliant place - you can try out cookbooks before you buy (then so much cheaper 2nd hand on amazon)
make your own pasta sauces - dead easy - you know whats in it
frozen veg sometimes cheaper
learn whats in season & use that - broccoli about 44p in Tesco at the mo v 75p for frozen so have a good look (keep the stalks for soup)
get some good knives and good pans...
supermarket herbs do well on your windowsill (plant some out when it is warmer)
plant your own lettuce in growbags (ditto toms etc)
keep reading the board some wonderful ideas on here -
have fun - best wishes x

You have had excellent tips so far, I would add:

• Use home delivery to stop you being tempted by "special offers" that end up being false economies. Use vouchers to save you delivery costs.
• Have a cooking Sunday once every 6 weeks or so (after your main monthly shop) and batch cook: bolognaise, chilli con carne, shepherds pies, fish pies, chicken and mushroom/leek pies, etc
• Ensure you keep any vouchers in your purse you have them handy should you go shopping yourself.
• Grow your own veggies and fruit - my shopping bill halves in summer due to growing my own veg and my plot isn't huge!
• Keep track of what you throw out for a few weeks - it stops you shopping through habit - I found I was throwing away peppers routinely because I wasn't using them - now I open-freeze them to stop them going off.
• Make your freezer your friend - open-freeze grated cheese which you bought on offer or split large pieces into usable chunks, open freeze veg, blanch veg you think might be on the verge of going off, etc.
• Bake rolls so you don't waste bread - we don't use much bread so it goes off quickly, I bake rolls and freeze two per bag OH then has a supply in the freezer to grab for his lunch. I got sick of constantly producing breadcrumbs to use up bread for the sake of it! Great value too - I get 48+ rolls from one bag of bread flour.
• Try making soups as much as possible - great way of using up stuff in the fridge. Delicious for lunch with a HM roll.

Lots of great advice there :T

The thing I've found that cuts me down spending the most is taking just cash to the shop (leave my cards at home;) ) when I'm going grocery shopping and also having a flexible meal plan in mind for the next 2/3 days , that way I can't spend anymore than I've got with me and I'm not tempted to put any extras in the basket.

I've tried online shopping a couple of times and when the deliveries came I got butter that had a sell by date within of a couple days and then next time I got meat I wouldn't have fed to a dog so I prefer to go to the shop and pick my own now.

1. Make a mealplan.

2. Shop online

3. I use beans instead of meat in 'bolognese' sauces. I use one bag of haricot beans and cook them all at once. I then freeze them in 150gram portions. Beans are very versatile and take on other flavours really well.

4. Use 2 parts mince to 1 part dried soya. Then I add a can of value red kidney beans including juice. Do this at the beginning of cooking time and the beans vanish into the mince. Then I freeze in enough for the two of us. I make a 'meat' sauce that I then use for pasta, shepherds pie with extra mixed veg added, chilli by adding chilli powder.

5. I use a lot of value products. Cream cleaner and all purpose liquid cleaners are excellent. Value washing powder, spray polish, bleach, and lots of other value products food as well.