healthy food shop on a budget?

trigger87_2

Anyone have some good tips/ideas/meal ideas for food shopping (especially with a view for healthy eating/weight loss) on a budget? I live in Edinburgh so our flat is tiny, the fridge is one of the under counter with a tiny ice box freezer so no hope for much batch cooking. We both work full time so don't want to have to do lots of cooking when we get home. Thanks!

datlex

I work full time. Leave home just before 7am, get in again between 4.30 and 6.30 depending on day of week and whether I need anything from town on way home. I still manage to find the time to cook from scratch. I make my own breakfast, lunch and dinner from fresh/frozen ingredients. Very few meals take longer than 30mins to cook, most take less than that.

Tips I have for doing this are:

1) prepare all veg in advance- e.g. slice up your carrots/ courgettes. ( it will go further as well)

2) Invest in air tight containers to store your prepared veg.

3) Also use air tight containers to save a meal. For example you could make a curry mix, have it with rice one day and with a jacket potato another.

4) prepare your lunch for the next day whilst your dinner is cooking. Most things don't need your to constantly stir whilst they are cooking.

5) for things that take longer- e.g. lasagne use the time whilst it is in the oven to other things. You can even sit and watch a half hour of TV, or check up on here.

what sort of budget do you have?

Ladyluck1

I would find it much harder with no freezer to be honest!
We manage by shopping in Lidl for a lot of things and I buy reduced items mostly meat from my local co*p and plan my meals around that. I save usually 75% on all the meat I buy but again I can freeze most of it.
Possibly going veggie for half of the week? Should cut calories and cost.

DollyDabbler

Do you have a slow cooker?

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2197233

If you are on a limited budget:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/4571337

LondonDreamer

Even with an ice box, you should be able to do a small amount of batch cooking without too much extra effort. As an example, cook 4 portions of something on Saturday and Sunday and freeze half to have during the week. That should fit, and is two less nights you need to cook from scratch through the week. Although depending what it is, most things should be good to just keep in the fridge for several days.

I freeze bulkier things like stews and curries in 1 litre containers, they don't take up much room but are ample to serve two. Things such as bolognese or even homemade soup I freeze flat in small resealable food bags (obviously check they're sealed properly before laying flat in case of leaks) - you can fit loads in a tiny freezer that way.

If you're disciplined enough to only buy what you need, shopping frequently (even daily) could work well for both your budget and limited space. You can then take advantage of yellow sticker (clearance) bargains that most supermarkets do every evening. It's mostly fresh items, so you should be able to find something healthy most of the time. It does mean being flexible with what you eat though, and having backups if there's nothing decent on offer.

mmckenzers

Hi Trigger87.
I am also from Edinburgh and in a very similar situation to yourself. I am also looking for ideas for healthy eating to lose weight but find it so difficult as living in the centre of town with no car means having to do most of my shopping at express and metro stores which are expensive and have limited choices.

krlyr

Do you think you could squeeze a freezer in anywhere? We don't have the biggest of kitchens (dining table is in there) so our compromise to fit the chest freezer in (not just essential for our food but my dogs are raw-fed so I need more than your average freezer space) is to have one of the tables that completely fold down. We don't tend to fold it all the way down any more, but just have one leaf up (fits 2 people) unless we have guests.

I found losing a chest freezer when we moved here meant such a steep rise in shopping bills, as well as how frequently we had to go (so factor in the cost of getting to the shops as well as the time), it was only a few weeks before we were figuring out how we could fit a freezer in!

floss2

LondonDreamer wrote: »

Even with an ice box, you should be able to do a small amount of batch cooking without too much extra effort......

The main problem with only having an icebox is that it doesn't get down to a really safe temperature for freezing stuff; they are only good for pre-frozen or (as the name suggests) making ice.

OP, I too would suggest trying to squeeze a freezer in somewhere if you can?

kboss2010

My lunch at work consist of a 15p packet of S'burys basics instant noodles, a handful of (usually frozen) veg - chopped carrot/peas/sweetcorn/broccoli/peppers although fresh/tinned veg and beans will work too. Smash the noodles, add flavour sachet, add just enough boiling water to almost cover the noodles, microwave for 2 mins until they're soft and the water has almost evaporated then add the veg and microwave for 1-2 mins more.

kboss2010

I made a healthy lasagna for less than £3 (4 servings):

Basic lasagna sheets (soaked in water for 10 mins before using) 40p a box
1/4 pack of mince (£1 or less if u get yellow stickered)
1 finely chopped onion 30p
3 large diced carrots 20p
Tin of tomatoes 33p
1 1/2 packs of soft cheese (Philadelphia style from Aldi) 49p a pack
2 beef stock cubes 20p for 10 at S'burys

Fry the mince, veggies, stock and tomatoes. When cooked, layer into a dish as follows:

1 layer mince n veg then soaked lasagna sheets then spread with soft cheese, repeat on top then sprinkle the top layer with grated cheese if you want or just cover with foil.

Cook at 200oC for an hour or until the liquid inside is bubbling and the top is browned. I cook it in a rectangular Pyrex dish so I can see when it's cooked.