It can be difficult to save money on food when cooking meals for one because, everything seems to come in family packs. At Cheap Dinner Ideas we will give you some tips to save money on your food shopping bill.

Bulk Buy

When you buy in bulk the price per kilo comes down but you have to be selective to make cheap meals for one. Things you can buy are dried, tinned and preserved goods. Here is a list of ingredients you can buy in bulk

• Rice, it can be used in many cuisines and recipes. Look for offers on 5 kilo bags to get the best value for money
• Tinned tomatoes, if 4 packs are ever on offer I will grab quite a few. Great for making bolognaise or Shaksuhka for one, also good for freezing once cooked.
• Pasta, will keep for an age and there are so many pasta dishes you can make.

Ingredients like spices, potatoes are cheaper when buying in bulk. Get together with family and friends so you can share out what you have purchased. Take it in turns to buy certain ingredients and you can start saving money.

Batch Cooking

Think about what you batch cook to get the best value, I usually make my Bolognese sauce when a pack of mince is reduced. I use beef and pork mince in my recipe and its just as easy to cook a large batch as it is a small. Great for freezing for quick meals with pasta or for making a lasagna.

I also make my aubergine sweet potato curry because its easier to use full aubergines and a complete tin of coconut milk. Yes coconut milk can be frozen if you do not use the whole tin.

Use The Freezer

Use the freezer wisely, I freeze cooked meats that I can use in other dishes such as gammon, pork belly that I can throw into special fried rice. I will cook a pork joint to make Mexican pulled pork and freeze the rest. It freezes excellently and once it has defrosted you can make crisp carnitas in minutes. Shin beef recipes, stews and curries freeze well and great for making meals for one person.

Frozen vegetables are excellent quality when frozen and they can easily be used for one person.

Don’t Shop Big Brands

We are all tempted by the dazzling adverts and claims they make about their products but are they any better? In reality paying the premium price for the premium brand you are just funding the advertising campaign. Look for alternatives that taste just as good and in some instances can be unto half the price. Also do the same with your cleaning products

The Size Of The Cooking Pots

If you are just cooking for yourself then use smaller cooking pots, it easy to add too much ingredients to a stir fry if you are using a big wok. You just end up making to much and wasting food plus it takes more gas/electric to cook more food. Boiling potatoes, have enough water to just cover the spuds, no need to fill the pan to have to heat all the water up. Same when you are cooking vegetables add enough water to cover and use a lid to keep that heat in.

Buy Discounted Food

Every supermarket reduces food that is about to go out of date. All supermarkets have a set time to start discounting produce, discover what time it is and pick up a few bargains. Bulk cook and put it in the freezer for future meals

The electric kettle, making a cuppa for yourself then just add over a cup of water, no point boiling water you are not going to use.