How to save on food?

Lemonade23

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Courgettes are easy, most people end up with too many. I have been giving plants away as every seed grew bar one. Forgot I am doing peas too. Only have half a dozen plants but I am going to plant more next year. I sometimes just get the little plug plants as they are always cheap in the sales. You sound like you are doing well @Kingsavvysaver :) Be interested to hear how you get on with the peppers, I've always been a bit nervous of trying those as I thought they would be hard to grow. I have just bought Huw Richard's book - how to grow food for free but I think he has loads of YouTube videos too.
 

Kingsavvysaver

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Courgettes are easy, most people end up with too many. I have been giving plants away as every seed grew bar one. Forgot I am doing peas too. Only have half a dozen plants but I am going to plant more next year. I sometimes just get the little plug plants as they are always cheap in the sales. You sound like you are doing well @Kingsavvysaver :) Be interested to hear how you get on with the peppers, I've always been a bit nervous of trying those as I thought they would be hard to grow. I have just bought Huw Richard's book - how to grow food for free but I think he has loads of YouTube videos too.

We shall see if they grow :) haha

How are you growing Courgettes? Indoors or outdoors? Likewise with peas too?
 
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Centrebound

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Since food bills have been rocketing up in price again, does anyone have any tips or tricks on saving money on food?
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homie

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Inflation figures for July just released. 10.1%

10.1% !!!!
 

Frugalgal

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Batch cooking and freezing meals
Grow your own vegetables and fruit
See if you can access a Company Foods store where things are hugely discounted
Bulk buy food items when on sale
Use price comparison sites to check out cheapest supermarkets
Use supermarket loyalty cards and apps
Use markets to buy food which is often cheaper than supermarkets
 
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Frugalgal

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Which foods have you had success growing?

I've usually found (and most people tend to report) that it's expensive to get set up and you never get round to growing enough to make it valuable.
I have grown my own veggies for a number of years and have an allotment. I only have a small back garden and a relatively small veg patch, but over the years I use it to grow fruit bushes, potatoes, kale, spinach, leeks and onions. I basically keep to the staples which are easy to grow. Then in my potting shed I grow cucumbers, tomato plants and chilli plants.

The initial costs may be buying compost and renting an allotment. We compost our own scraps which we use, which composts well over the years. I collect rainwater from the roof to water my plants and sometimes use mains water. I reuse plant pots so don't have that expense. Buying seeds is so much cheaper than buying vegetables in the supermarket and we always end up growing more fruit and veg that we cannot consume ourselves and end up giving lots away. You don't need a large space to grow a lot I find.

I also use freecycle sites to pick up tools and things. On the allotment we end up swapping veg and fruit so that saves money. You can buy relatively cheap gardening items from stores like Home Bargains and B&M Bargains. Supermarkets also sell off gardening stuff at the end of the growing season and you can pick up bargains.
 

Retiree

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I've rejoined the Co-op as a member. The local(ish) branch to me is a shop I use when I don't want to go into the town centre. Changing tack, I'm very disappointed with my apple crop this year (can one tree provide a crop?). Last year's was abundant. Is it okay to say what hasn't worked? I watched a YouTube video about saving money on a gluten free diet (I have coeliac disease). One of the suggestions was to use rice paper wraps instead of bread - it didn't work for me. I'll use the wraps in other cooking. Plan B will be to make "free from" soda farl as I go along. Quite small gluten loaves have been selling for over £3 where I live.

Does growing cress on blotting paper count?
 

Frugalgal

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I wonder if batch cooking and investing in a freezer would be the way to go. We don't have room for a large freezer, but I think it does save people money.
 

Retiree

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I have a fridge-freezer. In fact I have some cooked and frozen apples there from last year when I got a bumper crop though I have used most of them by now. I've usually used the freezer part for purchased frozen items - before the aftermath of the pandemic and brexit really hit home. I used to get some fairly regular typing pre-Covid so I'm missing that income too. It's only me and the cat so there should be room in my freezer department for our needs. I know someone who makes her own bread and freezes it. She started doing so several years ago not so much for costs but she said she found the bread in the shops didn't have much taste.
 
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Retiree

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Has anyone ever tried this - growing salad sprouts? I thought it seemed quite a good idea.
I've grown cress indoors before.

I got a lousy crop from the apple tree this year - last year's was very good.
 

EdibleDormouse

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I'm saving up for a small chest freezer on Black Friday (hopefully there will be some deals...). Then I can batch cook when I've got money for when I, er...haven't.
 

EdibleDormouse

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I've rejoined the Co-op as a member. The local(ish) branch to me is a shop I use when I don't want to go into the town centre. Changing tack, I'm very disappointed with my apple crop this year (can one tree provide a crop?). Last year's was abundant. Is it okay to say what hasn't worked? I watched a YouTube video about saving money on a gluten free diet (I have coeliac disease). One of the suggestions was to use rice paper wraps instead of bread - it didn't work for me. I'll use the wraps in other cooking. Plan B will be to make "free from" soda farl as I go along. Quite small gluten loaves have been selling for over £3 where I live.

Does growing cress on blotting paper count?
I didn't know you were also coeliac! I've made some lovely not-quite-flat-breads with GF self-raising flour and greek yoghurt. Think disappointing looking soft roll. But very tasty.
 
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Retiree

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For my part I hadn't picked up on the fact you were also gluten intolerant ED. It didn't manifest with me until I was quite well into my 60s - then hay fever (another autoimmune condition) didn't trouble me till I was in my 50s. I realise I mentioned my rubbishy apple crop a few times so must try and watch that I don't repeat myself overly much.

Hope those of you down south are okay after the storm - I don't think we got it as badly where I live though it did rain all day and I got soaked in the morning. I stayed indoors the rest of the day.
 

EdibleDormouse

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For my part I hadn't picked up on the fact you were also gluten intolerant ED. It didn't manifest with me until I was quite well into my 60s - then hay fever (another autoimmune condition) didn't trouble me till I was in my 50s. I realise I mentioned my rubbishy apple crop a few times so must try and watch that I don't repeat myself overly much.

Hope those of you down south are okay after the storm - I don't think we got it as badly where I live though it did rain all day and I got soaked in the morning. I stayed indoors the rest of the day.
Diagnosed with coeliac in my early 40s after 10 years of being really quite ill and doctors telling me it was IBS or I was imagining it, which was fun. And I think all apple crops are a bit rubbish this year. Wonder why? I have a few auto-immune things. They hunt in packs, boringly.

Storm was very, very windy and the rain was coming down in chunks. It seems to have brought a definite reduction in ambient temperature with it!
 
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Retiree

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I make pancakes occasionally as they can be either sweet or savoury. Gluten free* bread can be a bit crumbly. Gluten is what makes cakes and bread adhere I am told. I have heard that using xanthan gum can help. I've not used xanthan gum personally though when I mentioned it a lady I know who plays Scrabble said it (xanthan) would be a useful new word for her.

*Edited to say Gluten free bread which is what I meant to say originally.
 
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EdibleDormouse

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I make pancakes occasionally as they can be either sweet or savoury. Gluten bread can be a bit crumbly. Gluten is what makes cakes and bread adhere I am told. I have heard that using xanthan gum can help. I've not used xanthan gum personally though when I mentioned it a lady I know who plays Scrabble said it (xanthan) would be a useful new word for her.
A friend of mine who is a professional baker said what you need to replace is the protein (gluten), so an extra egg is helpful.
 

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