Superwoman and her Trusty Shopping List (guest post)
Lately, my schedule has been so busy that really it seems like the only thing I’ve had time for (in Colourful Palate world) is sending out some tweets in the middle of my other projects. Summer is very busy for our family band and we’re doing a lot of traveling with our music and this weekend is no exception. So when Charlotte, a freelance writer from UK (love the spelling and words she uses!), offered to write a post for me – I was more than delighted.
Now I’m off for the weekend, but I promise you lots of great recipes and fun coming up this month. Until then here’s some awesome “waste not” tips for shopping, organization, and saving money (especially love the last tip!)…so here’s Charlotte!
Around 7.2 million tonnes of food waste is generated in the UK each year. This is not only a horrifying thought, when you consider the number of children dying around the world each year from starvation, but it’s also a staggering amount when you consider the fact that there are concerns about the growing levels of ill health through weight problems in the UK. On a very basic level it equates to nearly £700 per family per year. If nothing else, this should be enough for many of us to get our thinking caps on and find ways to reduce our food waste. The good news is that there are a number of simple tricks to reducing the amount of unnecessary food that you buy – and then throw out. The simplest is surprisingly old fashioned and it’s called the shopping list. This little trick of the household management trade appears everywhere on the internet and in plenty of print media advice sections. Not only a time saver, it really does help to save you money as well. I’m afraid to admit it but I’m a long time maker of lists, and I’m not sure how I would manage without them anymore.
Here are a few tips to making the shopping list do the work for you.
- Have a pen and paper handy in the kitchen. The number of times I’ve gone list-lessly to the shops and then can’t remember exactly what it was I thought we needed, I’ve lost count of. Whenever you run out of something in the course of the day add it to the list. This way you’ll not risk either running out of, or forgetting anything, when faced with those dazzling and tempting supermarket aisles.
- For dried foods, and anything that can be stored for long periods of time, buy the cheaper varieties. There’s a lot less difference between brand names and the basic variety when it comes to simple products like rice, lentils and cereals. For fresh food try making the list with a weekly eating plan in mind and only buy ingredients you’ll use. This is a bit of challenge at first, but will save on food waste and hard cash.
- For fresh ingredients such as veg, fruit, organic milk and meat it’s worth considering delivery services. This may seem like pouring money down a drain but there are some smaller services that can deliver daily and don’t charge for delivery; likely suspects include your local milkman, who may well offer a grocery delivery service in addition to the usual milk and other dairy products. Ordering what you’ll need every few days and using it up will definitely cut down on waste.
- Buy ingredients that can be used in different dishes. Minced beef can be frozen in batches and used in a whole range of different meals from bolognaise, chilli through to meatballs. Large batches of a dish like this can also be made in bulk and then portioned and frozen; this requires a bit of effort in the short term but saves loads of time, money and potential waste in the longer term.
- The shopping list, combined with a little planning, may seem an ineffective tool in the face of global poverty and hunger, but it can be a very effective step in cutting the amount you spend on food and the amount of waste in your own home. You may not save the world with your shopping list but it is another small step for super-mum.
Author Bio
Charlotte loves to blog about Beauty, Food & Drink covering everything from the newest fashion trends to healthy foods like Organic Milk. On her spare time she loves shopping, discovering new products & enjoys getting lost in new places as she writes away about online food delivery.
Note from Charissa: Hope you guys enjoyed the tips and thank you Charlotte for such a helpful guest post! Disclaimer: This post was compensated.
What are your best “waste not” tips for groceries? I’m trying to save more so I’d LOVE your best tips!
Category: Healthy Living | Tags: best organic milk source, buying healthy food for cheap, how to reduce food waste, kitchen organization tips, less food waste tips, organic milk site, planning grocery lists, reducing food waste, reducing global waste, save money with groceries, shopping list tips, shopping organization, tips for buying health food cheaper, tips for grocery shopping 14 comments »
Thanks for this post! I’ll be living on my own starting late August and will need all the planning/money-saving tips I can get. How often do you grocery shop and how much do you usually buy/spend?
Great tips! I made myself only use meats from our freezer and carbs from our pantry this week and it made a huge dent in my grocery bill and nothing went to waste because I bought only the perishables I need to complete the meals. Funny what a little planning can do for you…
Great post! It’s the worst when I walk into a store without a list and I end up buying a whole lot of stuff that I don’t really need! I tend to buy only as much produce as I need in the next couple of days. I would rather stop by the market during the week to buy additional produce rather than have it go bad in my fridge.
I love using my iphone to bring my list as I know I will never forget it. Shopping with no list and kids in tow can lead to a crazy high bill at the register due to hungry tummies growling and demanding food mid-trip and also because it leads to huge distraction in store. I have been working hard to make sure we use the proteins in the freezer rather than buying wen we don’t need. Thanks for your great tips! I love the tip about buying ingredients that can be used in multiple dishes. this is especially helpful and money savng when coking for kids!
Great tips! :)
Ahhh I need to do this! I’m good about writing down what I’m out of/need, but I’ve yet to make and stick to a meal plan for the week to shop to. It makes so much more sense ot shop with specific meals in mind, so I don’t end up wasting unused, overripe veggies and fruit. Thanks for these helpful tips!
love the one about their being less difference between dried products! very true! good way to save money
Great tips! I really stink at shopping lists! Hopefully this will help!!
i hate wasting food so these are definitely some great tips! i know that planning is the key
Great tips, I live off of my list now. I started about 6 months ago and now I wonder how I shopped with out it! The trick for sure it to have items that can be used serval times. Dried beans quinoa and lentils are my go tos!
Great tips! While it’s more of a hassle, I have started buying produce only for two days at a time and grocery shopping more frequently. We spend less money and it feels good not to waste any food!
This is a great post! I am definitely guilty of having too much produce that just is impossible to finish before it goes bad! I’ve been looking for a way to fix that, so I’ll work on it. :)
love the tips! I try to stick to my list and try not to get too much ‘extra’ food that I know that I won’t eat up in time.
Great post I never go to the grocery store without a shopping list and if it’s not on the list there is a good chance it won’t go home with us. My tip is menu planning. I have written weekly menus for so long now it’s a habit and part of my saturday routine.