Is the global recession lightening your wallet? Are you having trouble putting good, healthy meals on the table? You don’t have to worry, follow these tips to help you save your money and make your food stretch during these tough times.

1. Shop later in the evening
Later in the evening is when the supermarkets mark down anything, such as bread, yoghurt, and fruit, that must be sold straight away. The only problem with this is that many of the cheaper items are due to expire the next day, so check the expiry date before buying, and make sure that you will actually use it, don’t just buy something because it is cheap.

2. Plan ahead
Make a weekly menu. Plan what meals you will having in a week and base your shopping around that. Otherwise, you’ll  buy on impulse, which ends up being more expensive.

3. Make your own
Make your own dressings, cereals, muffins, and scones. If you have more time on your hands, give jam, preserve and bread making a go. Search recipes for jams and preserves on the internet or grab a copy of the Edmond’s Cook Book.

Quick dressing recipe: Mix together 1/3 cup of limejuice, five teaspoons of honey and one tablespoon of white vinegar and drizzle over salad greens.

4. Use your freezer
Double or even triple dinner recipes. Freeze the remains and heat up as needed. This way you save time and money.

5. Make it last
Make your food go a little further by following these tips. You can make butter go further (and reduce its fat content) by beating a softened stick of butter and half a cup of lukewarm water until water is incorporated into the butter. To make your milk stretch use powdered milk for cooking instead of fresh milk – it’s way cheaper to buy it in powder form. Make your cheese go further by grating it – you will use less. When making cheese sauce, use a bit of powdered chicken or vegetable soup or stock to add flavour so you don’t need to use as much cheese.

Make meat go further by cooking stews and stirfries. Stews are particularly good if the you use lower quality, cheaper cuts of meat because stewing meat makes it tastier and more tender. Save even more money by having a couple of vegetarian meals during the week.

Krystle Chester