A couple of thrifty tips for the week

·      If you don’t already, plan your meals for the week.  It saves you money, time and stress.  Try it, you might even like it.

·      Buy meat whenever you see it on sale, freeze it, and use it to plan your meals for the next week.

·      See what veg is on special at the market, and make soup from it.  Cauliflower soup doesn’t sound very appealing but it’s actually delicious.

·      Do a pantry audit.  You may (like me) discover about 10 cans of chick peas.  See what you’ve got and try to dream up some dinners that will use up some of your surplus.  Lentils – lentil burgers.  Chick peas – hommus.  Beetroot – dip.

·      Try not to shop when hungry.  I never really believed this one (or maybe I just never let myself get hungry) until the other day when I went to Woolworths a bit peckish, and came home with ice blocks, jelly, frozen yoghurt, and nothing for dinner. 

·      Try and avoid one trick ponies in the kitchen.  Appliances like rice cookers and popcorn makers are pretty cheap – but they take up valuable kitchen space and can only do one thing.  Use a saucepan instead.

·      Have one night a week where you have a super thrifty meal like cheese on toast, baked beans on toast, fried eggs on toast etc (can you tell we love toast at our house?).  Sometimes it’s easy to forget that simple things can often taste great.

·      Try not to buy food that has had work done to it.  Buying pre-cut mushrooms instead of whole ones may save you time in the kitchen but you are often paying extra for it.