With the cost of living crisis continuing to bite, most of us have noticed the cost of a weekly food shop has been jumping up and up.
While food is, of course, a necessity, many of us are trying to spend less on it, by planning ahead and using offers, and three sisters have now shared how they cook up "tasty and nutritious" meals for as little as 75p each.
Holly, Rosey and Daisy McDermott plan their meals together to cut costs.
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The triplets, from Surrey, have ditched meal deals to save money and instead meal prep every Sunday so they have healthy lunches for the week ahead.
The sisters, who love fitness and working out, buy their meat from online food retailer MuscleFood.com to keep costs low. Using a saver box MuscleFood hamper, they say they can make healthy, tasty meals for under a pound a portion.
Dishes include chicken chow mein at 90p per portion, chicken Balti at 75p each as well as chicken, rice and veg for lunches costing 83p per person. They shop around for deals on the other ingredients to keep costs down and use items from their store cupboard.
Holly told the ECHO: “Buying the meat in advance before we head to the supermarket is a great way to start saving cash for us. You’ve got the meat as your main protein source already and then all you have to pick out at the shop are the cheaper ingredients such as veggies and spices.
“Chicken is a superfood in our home, which we used in many of the meals from the hamper, you get a big portion which can be used in salads as well as hearty meals like chicken Balti.”
Holly, who works shifts from 4am to 4pm, has also found meal prepping to be an essential part of cutting down on food costs She found that preparing the meals in advance has prevented her from splashing out on meal deals and snacks which used to drive her weekly costs up.
Another way the triplets have saved on their food costs has been to alter their eating habits to fit around their work patterns. Holly said: “After doing my shift, I head straight to the gym, so it’s only natural to be hungry and pick up snacks from the vending machines without looking at the costs. Now I take those with me or have one of our prepped meals before I go.”
Here are the sisters' top three money-saving tips when it comes to buying food:
- Plan the big shop – Have a list in mind before you walk into a supermarket, if you don’t have a clue about what you’re going to buy, you’ll end up filling the trolley with all sorts. Planning ahead means you can pick what you need and save on the total bill.
- Stay hydrated – It’s a simple tip to follow but not everyone understands the benefits of drinking water. It can fill you up easily to prevent excessive snacking.
- Manage your time – Spend time on Sunday to meal prep for the week so you don’t spend unnecessarily on meal deals or snacks. Try and get up an hour early on some weekdays to prep early and make the most of it.
MuscleFood has an average rating of 4.2/5 stars on TrustPilot, with top reviewers saying the meat is "excellent" and "tastes great", though one one-star reviewer said the meat is "no better than the supermarket", while another said their order was lost.
Similar food hampers can also be found at Farmison & Co.
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