Diana Clement: How to streamline your supermarket spending in a cost-of-living crisis

Comment:

I have no God-given right to buy capsicums. When prices are high I substitute, go steady or buy frozen. My jaw nearly hit the floor during an item on the TV news a
A few weeks ago, a couple was lamenting the cost-of-living crisis, paying $15 for three caps.

hang on. what Put them back. Capsicum is not required for food. If money is tight, use another option. When a recipe requires capsicum, but I am not willing to pay the price, I add more onions and use paprika of course, dried, ground, you guessed it, capsicum. Or if you want crunch instead of flavor, then celery is a good option. Try filling with something else, like cucumber, or find another recipe until the capsicum is cheap.

Capsicum is not the point of this article. It’s about streamlining supermarket spending. If ever there was a time to think more about the food we buy, it’s now. Buy, replace, bulk buy basics on the cheap. Just make sure you use a meal plan to avoid waste.

On the substitution front, I’m no chef but I’m a dab hand at Google searches and more recently ChatGPT, both of which can provide substitutions for any ingredient. Want three eggs for a cake but don’t want to spend $3? Use chia or aquafaba. For other egg uses, ChatGPT gives examples of mashed bananas, applesauce, silken tofu, and flax or chia seeds. Of course, it doesn’t work for breakfast eggs or cottage cheese.

As for panther basics, they’re usually not cheap at the supermarket. I walked past Richmond Fruit and Veg in Christchurch this month and noticed that 10kg bags of potatoes were $9.99. A few days later they had the same price at the Lotus supermarket in Stoddard Rd, Met Roskill, Auckland. I checked online and in both cases the nearest regular supermarkets charge $16.99 and $19.20 for 10kg of the cheapest potatoes.

Thanks to this article, this week I had a great time buying onions that are available in supermarkets for $2.99 ​​to $3.99 per kilogram. The NZ Pacific Food Store in Manurewa was doing 10kg bags at $1.10/kg and a 10kg bag at some Pak’nSave was $1.29/kg. Potatoes and onions will last a long time if stored well. If you can’t eat 10 kilos, do what I do and split them with another family.

If you want to save money on food, acquaint yourself with options such as fruit and vegetable shops, bargain butchers, Bean In wholesale shops, and Indian and Chinese supermarkets. Everything from rice to spices is often cheaper in these stores.

Meat and fresh fish can be a bargain in Chinese supermarkets. Basics like flour, sugar, nuts, dry fruits and beans are overpriced in most Indian supermarkets.

If you are buying dry goods in bulk from anywhere, refrigerate them for 48 hours after purchase to ensure there is no chance of moths entering your pantry.

The next trick is to consider the price per kilogram for the real essentials and buy bigger when they are cheaper. Buy a double size and freeze the profits when the mince is $16.99 or $10.99 from $19.99. I just bought my son’s bok choy at 1 kg, cut the wrapper, plastic and all in four with scissors or a sharp knife and tied it in a packet.

If you want to deal with rising food prices, rethink your basics and how you consume them. Maybe if beef is $25/kg or more, buy chicken, which can be $10/kg or less. Maybe Google has put together some interesting chicken recipes to make it your second choice.

Also, buy your protein in a bowl when cooking. Beef in a stew with lentils or chickpeas tastes half as good, but costs a lot less, and is better for you.

For more clever inflation bulk food ideas, join the 71,000 Kiwis who are members of the Cheap Ways NZ Facebook group. I’ve seen some amazing discussions there. Who knew that regular vinegar in New Zealand was low strength (4 percent) and you could buy double strength? That could go further. Another thing that’s gotten a lot of attention is that cheap homemade puddings add to the meal at a fraction of the cost.