Is it possible to bag a whole week’s food shopping for just £10? With many of us struggling to put food on the table, sometimes the answer has to be: Yes. We look at the best ways to eat well for a tenner a week…
According to a government report, each person in the UK spends an average of £25.30 on their weekly food shop. For some of us, that’s more than we can afford. That’s why almost half (48%) of Quids in! readers told us they’re skipping meals on account of money worries. (Source: 2018 readers survey.)
After rent and rocketing energy costs, we’re often left with next to nothing for food. The £10 shopping list challenge is a great way of cutting back while eating well.
The challenge
The £10 challenge is simple: Plan a whole week’s food shop for a tenner. Think about cheap meals that can be made in batches, and try and get as close to 21 meals (7 breakfasts, 7 lunches and 7 dinners) as possible. Make a list of the ingredients then drop them into a virtual trolley on a supermarket website. It will take care of the harder part and work out the total cost. Check out our growing range of cheap recipes here or download Lim Asmall’s free Tiny Budget cookbook available here.
Top Tips
There are a few things we can bear in mind to really bring down our food costs.
- Veg is cheaper than meat, so go veg for a couple of meals and save some cash
- Cooking in batches saves us time and money
- Bulk out meals with the cheaper stuff
- Dishes based around rice, pasta or couscous go a long way
- Don’t forget about nutrition – again, veg is cheap, so try and get as much as possible
Where to shop?
As Jack Monroe, food writer and campaigner, told The Independent earlier this year: “I shop online, because then I can’t get distracted by special offers and bargains. And I make it a rule that if I go to the supermarket I only buy yellow-stickered items or take a set amount of cash with me.”
Good advice. Even if we don’t get our food delivered, it makes sense to work out the cost of our shopping list online. The supermarkets generally price match a lot of their products these days. But there are still big savings to be made from one supermarket to another.
That’s when a price comparison site like mysupermarket.co.uk comes in handy. Like other comparison sites, mySupermarket compares prices on products to show us where the bargains are to be had. We can see the amount we could save between one supermarket and another, and go for the best deal.
Share your lists
The Quids in! staff have been getting in on the act, putting together our own £10 shopping lists. For a selection, including some recipes, scoot over to our article. If you fancy sharing your own lists, and/or any recipes from them, email us at editor@quidsinmagazine.com. We’ll feature some of the best recipes on the Quids in! website over the next year.
