I think that many people do not know that 'cooking from scratch' really takes the same amount of time that cooking a packet of Hamburger Helper does. It is also way better for you. I never realized how many things had milk in it until my allergy was identified. They use milk as a cheap filler. If you like the flavors of things like Hamburger Helper, like I like the Beef Stroganoff, it is easy to locate a recipe that tells you the spices that are used so there is no need to buy the packaged stuff. So you are saving your family from all the unnecessary preservatives as well as the costs of the packaging!
First thing everyone tells you to do a meal plan. I have done a Google Calendar and I choose meals that kind of need the same items so that it ensures that I do not waste anything. I have also taken to preparing 12 meals in one day to freeze. I could not do the 30 day cooking that many people in America do because I do not have the freezer space but this way one day a week I pull one of these meals out in the morning before I head off to work and we have it in the evening. There are so many recipes available online to do this.
I am against shopping at the commissionary and I did not buy much from there when I was in. Again, I couldn't eat many of the American products anyways but the meat is frozen and shipped here, the vegetables and bread go off faster than if bought offbase and has additives that are banned by the UK and EU.
This goes for the meat too. There are things that American farmers are allowed to do with animals that the EU does not permit such as antibiotics and growth hormone. I go to my local butcher and buy what I need for the next 5 days and its fresh and he knows where it came from.
There are some foods that are VAT free. Generally they are the healthy food so keep this in mind when shopping offbase.
I do a big shop online via Mysupermarket.co.uk every two months. It links your accounts from the grocery stores and tells you where the cheapest store to place your order. What I buy when I do this are all the staple items such as canned tomatoes, flour, toilet paper and all the nonperishable. I have been watching Extreme Couponing on the television and that doesn't work over here. Stores do not accept coupons from other stores and they do not double coupon either. However, sometimes they give you double points towards your loyalty card, which I use to get vouchers to go out to eat or go to the movies. I know that you have to pay for the delivery but I find it more convenient and it often keeps you from not buying things off your list. I check my meal plans against what is in my pantry and then buy it.
I tend to buy my vegetables from the Co-op or market. I am bad at making sure I use up my onions, carrots and mushrooms so I have taken to chopping a whole bag full of them in my food processor and freezing it in small pots. Then they can be pulled and added to my cooking as I go. This has not only made cooking a bit faster but I have reduced what I throw away. I have to warn you, we got very teary when we were doing the onions!
The fridges here are a lot smaller than the ones seen back in the US although you can get the American styled ones but I like them this size because we waste less items and we do not consume so much, everyone eats too much anyways :)!
What you eat can make a huge impact on your life and I know first hand once I got my diagnosis and I would not change a thing. I hope this gives you an insight on ways you can save on food!
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