These eight simple tips provided by nutritionist Molly Cunningham could be invaluable to anyone who’s worried about ever-increasing prices at the supermarket checkout
With prices of everything, from food to fuel, rising across the board, we’re all looking for ways to save a bit of money at the checkout. Whether you do big food shop every week or couple of weeks, or are more inclined to pick up a few things here and there as needed, it’s clear even everyday essentials are far more expensive than they used to be.
Now one nutritionist who regularly provides useful advice on shopping and cooking on a budget has provided eight useful tips on how to keep costs down. Molly Cunningham has 438,000 followers on Instagram and shared how she saves money when buying food for herself and her partner Liam.
In the post description she wrote: “I usually do my main food shop at Aldi or Tesco and these are just a few random things I do which help bring that cost down! I only have me and Liam to feed, but Liam is a 6ft plumber with a huge appetite and I’m not one for small portions, so keeping us both full but still trying to save money can be challenging and these things have really helped!!”
1. Take advantage of offers
Molly’s first tip is to stock up on things you usually buy when they’re on offer. She posted a picture of a shelf label in Tesco with a Clubcard offer, indicating to a set of six numbers in the bottom left.
She said: “The numbers stand for the year, month, and day the Clubcard offer expires.” She also posted a picture of a shelf label in Aldi, with a letter D in the top right circled. She said: “Similarly at Aldi, the ‘D’ means it is getting discontinued!!”
2. The ‘super six challenge’
Aldi’s ‘super six’ offer involves offering six different fruit or veg at dramatically reduced prices, with products included in the deal changing every two weeks. Molly said: “I always do my ‘super six’ challenge. The super six challenge means I pick up what’s on offer – it’s seasonal, fresher, and a great way to get in fruit and veg I might not usually have!”
3. Buy frozen food
Frozen food is always handy to have, and can also be a good way of saving a bit of money. Molly said: “Farmfoods have got a great range of frozen fruit and veg!
“It’s mostly less than £1 and all pre-chopped… which makes it sooo much easier to use so you get more veg into meals!! They even have frozen dragon fruit! They literally have everything from frozen sliced onion to frozen watermelon!!”
4. Look up and down
Molly’s next tip involves taking a thorough look at the supermarket shelves. “I try looking up and down first,” she said. “The pricier products are usually at eye level, while the cheaper options are often on the top or bottom shelves so it’s worth having a look!”
5. Load up on legumes
Legumes include products such as lentils, chickpeas, and a wide range of beans, including kidney beans, black beans, and fava beans. Molly said: “If you’re not new here, you know I bulk meals out with tinned legumes a lot! They’re cheap, filling, and an easy boost of protein and fibre!”
6. Buy spices from the world food aisle
Spices are an easy way to add a little something extra to any meal. And Molly has a special tip for picking them up. “I buy my spices from the world food aisle,” she said. “They’re cheaper, last ages, and I think they taste sooo much more flavourful!!”
7. Wonky veg
Most supermarkets offer ‘wonky veg’ – produce that may be a strange shape or generally look a bit odd, but is otherwise perfectly fine to eat – cheaper than its regular alternative. Molly said: “I always get the wonky veg! I loveee wonky veg!! It’s just as nutritious as regular veg but you can get more for your money and it helps to reduce food waste too!”
8. Go veggie
Even if you don’t follow a vegetarian or vegan diet, foregoing meat every now and then can have a number of benefits. Good quality meat can be expensive, plus there are health benefits associated with leaving it out. Molly said: “I try and make at least one veggie meal per week! Meat has got quite expensive so I love to do a veggie meal weekly.”
Writing in the video description she added: “I think the Clubcard hack has been huge as I try and stock up on some branded bits there!! I also loooove Farmfoods, the variety of veg they have there is INSANE and when it’s frozen and accessible it’s so much easier to use!!
“I really hope this can help!!!! “We love eating loads of veg and protein but we’re also trying to keep our meals around £30 a week so I really hope these can help!”
