Feeding the family without breaking the bank: The dos and don’ts of budget cooking

Food inflation hit a new peak of 12.4 per cent in November, according to the British Retail Consortium (BRC).

The trade body expects prices to remain high well into the New Year, meaning being able to cook on a budget is now more crucial than ever.

Fortunately, it’s easy to slash the cost of your meals by following a few simple tips that will quickly become habitual if you follow them for long enough.

Father and son cooking in the kitchen

Planning your meals in advance is a great place to start, as it will make you far more likely to only buy what you need.

Another good idea is to bulk buy food at lower prices before batch cooking meals and freezing them for later in the week.

Meat prices rose particularly quickly last month, the BRC found, so now could be a good time to cut out meat for at least one day a week and swap it for a healthy, affordable source of protein like chickpeas or lentils.

If you want to stick with meat, consider opting for cheaper cuts, which for chicken generally means eating thighs rather than breasts.

You can also save money by cutting your energy use in the kitchen.

For example, the Energy Saving Trust recommends using a microwave to heat up leftovers rather than the oven because they tend to use less electricity.

If you do use the oven, leave a pan of water inside afterwards – it will warm up as the oven cools and can later be used to do the washing up.

So now we’ve covered the ‘dos’ of budget cooking, what about the ‘don’ts’?

Firstly, make sure you understand the difference between best before dates and use by dates.

The former is about quality, while the latter concerns safety. So don’t automatically throw away food that’s passed the best before date – just check it looks, smells and tastes fine first.

While we’ve covered the importance of bulk cooking, when you’re just starting off try not to be overly ambitious and buy ingredients for lots of meals at once.

You may find you don’t have the time – or inclination – to cook everything in one go, leaving you with food that ends up being wasted.

Oh, and don’t go to the supermarket while you’re hungry! It’s a sure way to buy more than you planned…