KEEPING the cost of grocery shopping down when you have a family to feed can prove a headache at the best of times.
But one clever mum has revealed how she saves £100 a month on meals – and a lot of time in the kitchen too.
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Beth Hancock, 34, from South Wales, gave her food bill a £25-a-week chop by doing meal prepping and batch cooking, and stocking up on cut-price meat and veg.
“I started meal prepping and batch cooking before I started university in September 2019, so not very long ago,’ the mum-of-two – who is also studying to be a nurse – told LatestDeals.co.uk.
“I started prepping and freezing to ensure my family had healthy meals through the week when I knew I wouldn’t have time to cook from scratch.”
She continued: “I have a meal planner so everyone knows what we are having and when, and all that needs ‘cooking’ is rice or potatoes.
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“I make all sorts, such as soups, casseroles, pasta sauces, shepherd’s pies, curries and chilli.”
Beth allocates a chunk of her Sundays to cook for the forthcoming week.
“I gather all of the ingredients I’ll need for each dish, prep any vegetables and then get to work,” she explained.
“I can spend a few hours in the kitchen for sure, but I love it. I usually have about four meals cooking at once which can get confusing, but no mistakes have been made so far.”
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The savvy mum has estimated that it saves her up to an hour each night during the week since all she has to do is heat up the food and cook rice – which takes less than ten minutes.
As well as being organised with her cooking schedule, Beth also saves more pennies by buying reduced meat and veg.
“Put it this way, I spent around £30 last week and made enough evening meals for two weeks for a family of four adults,” she explained.
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“I buy reduced meat and vegetables (which I freeze until needed) but if I could hazard a guess, I save easily £25-a-week by not buying convenience food.
“I’m not saying it’s possible for everyone to do the same, but buying reduced food definitely cuts the food bill costs as well as ensuring you’re getting fruit and vegetables in your diet.”
Beth added: “Don’t be afraid to meal prep – I have Googled so many times about what you can and can’t freeze, how to defrost and so on, but it’s all about trial and error and I haven’t poisoned anyone yet!”
In other parenting news, we told you how a mum has slammed a hospital’s feed-shaming sign which tells parents to put down smartphones.
We also revealed how a “genius” mum took modem on a family day trip after teenagers refused to go.
And a mum’s desperate bid to replace daughter’s favourite Poundland toy has gone nationwide.
