Cheapest Way to Five a Day.

MrsE_2

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Can I ask what you don't like about frozen veg? The whole idea of it or the taste?

The taste, well the texture really.

Its different when cooked to fresh veg. Don't mind green beans & peas, but prefer the rest fresh.

I like tinned toms & corn & frozen corn.

We buy lots of fresh fruit & salad though.

JulieGeorgiana

Frozen veg has more vitamins and are much better for you, they reduce waste and cost a LOT less!!!

I also get Organic veg delivered to the house once a month (potatoes, carrots, onions) because they will last a month and buying a large bag lasts the month!!! Which has saved me a fortune not having gone off veg!

PasturesNew

The secret is to be aware of the cost of things and what you're buying. Don't buy what you want, buy what's on offer/in season. At the moment a whole cauli is 39p at Lidl, for example.

Find cheaper ways to buy some things, by looking at the price per 100g, or omit them entirely. I LOVE red/green/yellow peppers, but only buy them twice a year because they're really expensive for what you get/what you can do with them.

shandyclover

If you have to buy your fruit and veg from a supermarket, as others have said look for whats seasonal and on offer and change your menu to follow that. Another tip, find out which fruit and veg are the most nutritionally dense. I once did a study on this - the notes of which I lost long ago - but basically the deeper the colour of the fruit/veg the more nutritionally dense it is - ie. spinach, beets, carrots, tomatoes etc.

If you are going to buy tropical/exotic fruit for a treat (my kids sometimes get mangoes and guavas, instead of sweets) do buy them from an ethnic store ie. indian or pakistani - they may not be any cheaper but they will taste far better. I lived and worked 14 years in Asia. The rock hard, stringy, tasteless mangoes they sell in Tescos no self-respecting fruit vendor would dream of selling!

Johnjohn

Pasturesnew's advice is good - go to the supermarket/farm shop and buy what is the best value (usually what is in season in the UK at the time). Then go home and look up how to cook it. If you decide what you want to cook and then go shopping it will always be more expensive.

ceridwen

Pitlanepiglet wrote: »

Can I ask what you don't like about frozen veg? The whole idea of it or the taste?

Thats my thing actually too. Quite apart from the fact that I personally want/get everything as organic as possible (and I simply have never even heard of frozen organic veg.....) I just hate both the taste and texture of frozen veg.

Also fresh veg. is just so much more versatile. Frozen cauliflower, for instance, can really only be used to do things like cauliflower cheese, cauli as a "side", etc. Fresh cauliflower, on the other hand, can also be used for stirfries or putting some raw in salad.

zarazara

re frozen veg, I prefer some such as peas and beans [ unless they peas and beans are hg] some frozen veg I dislike but will eat rather than go without, they can be used up in soups or pureed though. i find that often frozen are cheaper so I buy those, home grown are great but not every one wants to go down the HG route for a number of different reasons.

Paulie'sGirl

I have to say we only really keep frozen peas in, though we do sometimes homefreeze blanched veg to keep it longer.

I would suggest finding your closest market, or if time is a problem, an indoor market as these are open on Saturdays. We go to the Grainger Market in Newcastle as often as we can. More fruit and veg than I can carry comes to about £6 and lasts a long time. The equivalent in Tesco would easily be £15-£20 depending on what I buy.

Its not necessarily about what the guidelines are on daily amounts but what foods you enjoy eating. We (particularly I and veggie DSS) would rather eat vegetables than meat, and so most of our meals feature vegetables heavily. I miss vegetables dreadfully if I don't get them!

PGxx

MrsE_2

PasturesNew wrote: »

The secret is to be aware of the cost of things and what you're buying. Don't buy what you want, buy what's on offer/in season. At the moment a whole cauli is 39p at Lidl, for example.

Find cheaper ways to buy some things, by looking at the price per 100g, or omit them entirely. I LOVE red/green/yellow peppers, but only buy them twice a year because they're really expensive for what you get/what you can do with them.

I buy peppers every week & every week I'm disgusted at the price:mad:

MrsE_2

shandyclover wrote: »

If you have to buy your fruit and veg from a supermarket, as others have said look for whats seasonal and on offer and change your menu to follow that. Another tip, find out which fruit and veg are the most nutritionally dense. I once did a study on this - the notes of which I lost long ago - but basically the deeper the colour of the fruit/veg the more nutritionally dense it is - ie. spinach, beets, carrots, tomatoes etc.

If you are going to buy tropical/exotic fruit for a treat (my kids sometimes get mangoes and guavas, instead of sweets) do buy them from an ethnic store ie. indian or pakistani - they may not be any cheaper but they will taste far better. I lived and worked 14 years in Asia. The rock hard, stringy, tasteless mangoes they sell in Tescos no self-respecting fruit vendor would dream of selling!

I buy 2 melons, a pineapple, kiwis, grapes & a mango every week too. And a couple of bunches of bananas. We love our fruit.