{"id":2361,"date":"2016-12-02T16:31:52","date_gmt":"2016-12-02T16:31:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/?p=2361"},"modified":"2017-07-12T15:45:08","modified_gmt":"2017-07-12T15:45:08","slug":"how-to-save-money-on-your-food-bills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/how-to-save-money-on-your-food-bills\/","title":{"rendered":"Frugal Feasting – How to save money on your food bills"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Frugal<\/a><\/p>\n

\"How<\/p>\n

For many Brits, Christmas is not only just about the presents, the family, the Queen\u2019s speech \u2013 but also the food. Food plays an enormous part for many of us at Christmas, and the queues in the supermarket in the run up to the big day are proof of this. At Mr Lender<\/a><\/strong>, we have put together a list of ten ways that you can tighten your belts, and save a few quid on your food bills.<\/p>\n

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  1. \n
    Ditch the salad bags<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

    Prepacked salad bags may be far more convenient and instant, but buying fresh veg will certainly save a few pennies. Salad bags tend to go off much quicker than fresh vegetables, and you get less salad for your money.<\/p>\n

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    1. \n
      Stocking up<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

      Bulk buy kitchen essentials when they\u2019re on offer. Salt, pepper, oil, nuts, and stock cubes \u2013 all of these are non-perishable, so they will keep for months and will save you a fair bit in the long run.<\/p>\n

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      1. \n
        Bones and all<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

        Just like the salad bags, it may seem a lot easier to buy single chicken breasts. But don\u2019t be fooled – instead, buy a whole chicken and save the bones for another day. Make a soup from the bones, or save the leftover meat for a pie.<\/p>\n

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        1. \n
          Pulses are great<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

          Beans, lentils and peas are all part of the pulse family \u2013 and they are a cheap way to thicken up any meal. Pulses are full of protein, and are incredibly filling. By adding them to a soup, stock or casserole, you can add extra texture and flavour, while using less meat \u2013 saving a few pennies on the way. If pulses aren\u2019t your thing, potatoes are also a great way to thicken up a casserole.<\/p>\n

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          1. \n
            Tinned fish<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

            Tinned fish may not be the prettiest thing on your shopping list, but they are full of goodness and last for months. Fill the cupboards with tinned fish when it\u2019s on sale, saving yourself some money in the long run.<\/p>\n

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            1. \n
              Make the most of the freezer<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

              A lot of the tips in the post come down to stocking up when your essentials go on sale. Well another one to add to the list is meat. Cuts of meat can be rather expensive to buy fresh, but if you have the space in your freezer, bulk buy your meat when it goes on offer and leave it in there until you need it. Alternatively you can also bulk buy online from sites that offer discounted hampers<\/a><\/strong> and free delivery straight to your door. Meat can stay frozen without causing you any problems for up to a year.<\/p>\n

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              1. \n
                Write a list<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                We\u2019ve all been there \u2013 going shopping on an empty stomach, without a list, and coming out with enough junk food to last a year. Do your food shopping online to avoid any delicious temptations, or write a list to buy only the essentials.<\/p>\n

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                1. \n
                  Don\u2019t throw things away<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                  Avoid throwing away any food as much as possible. If you have any leftovers, keep them in the fridge and have them for lunch the next day. Or, if you have any food which is nearing its use by date, keep it in the freezer until you need it. Bread is one that tends to go mouldy fairly quickly, so ends up in the bin. Freeze your leftover slices before they take a turn, and just defrost them they\u2019re needed.<\/p>\n

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                  1. \n
                    BOGOF can bog off<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                    \u2018Buy one get one free\u2019 sounds tempting, but when it\u2019s on food which isn\u2019t likely to be eaten, or will go off before you get a chance to dip into the second pack \u2013 don\u2019t bother. You will end up spending far more money than necessary. As mentioned earlier, BOGOF is great for things which will last long term \u2013 cupboard essentials such as salt, oil, nuts, bakes beans, stock cubes, as well as cleaning and bathroom essentials.<\/p>\n

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                    1. \n
                      Timing is key<\/h5>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n

                      By law supermarkets are not able to sell particular items if they have been out for a certain period of time, or if they are nearing their sell by date. So at the start and end of every day, workers will sort the goods and put a whole variety of things on the reduced shelf. Visit the supermarket either very early, or later in the day to get the best picks from the bunch. Quite often, there will be little to nothing wrong with the products on sale, and they can last in the fridge at home for a few more days.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

                      For many Brits, Christmas is not only just about the presents, the family, the Queen\u2019s speech \u2013 but also the food. Food plays an enormous part for many of us at Christmas, and the queues […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":2362,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[245],"tags":[170,171],"yst_prominent_words":[],"class_list":["post-2361","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-seasonal","tag-money-saving","tag-mr-lender"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/Frugal-feasting.jpg","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/8"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2361"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5258,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2361\/revisions\/5258"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2362"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2361"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2361"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.mrlender.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=2361"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}