How to save on food without harm to he alth: ways and sample menu for the week

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

How to save on food without causing significant damage to your he alth? This problem is becoming more and more urgent for more and more of our compatriots who have to face a drop in real incomes and low wages. Moreover, all this is happening against the backdrop of fairly high inflation and constantly rising prices. In this article, we will tell you what are the ways not to go broke on food. Here is a sample menu for the week as an example.

Delicious and inexpensive

Tips on how to save on food are needed by anyone who is facing financial difficulties. Inquisitive Russians have already developed detailed rules that help to save a lot, while eating very decently. The main thing is to adhere to certain recommendations.

It is also important that this will not only save your family budget,but also make the diet more nutritious, varied and he althy. In this article, we will tell you the basic rules, thanks to which you will learn how to save on food, treat food correctly, and spend as little money on it as possible.

Homemade convenience foods

Refuse to buy frozen convenience foods in stores. Of course, it is convenient and relatively cheap, but still there are much more significant disadvantages in this food. The main one is their composition. If you want to find out for yourself not only how to save on food without harm, but also how to make family menu dishes more he althy and nutritious, then you should know that dumplings and dumplings usually contain meat fillings together fat and soy. The same applies to cutlets, pancakes and meatballs. Such food should be discarded not even for the sake of saving, but in order to maintain one's he alth.

It would be better if you devote a day off to preparing such semi-finished products from meat bought on the market yourself. And if you involve loved ones in making dumplings, this will also contribute to the rapprochement of the family.

If you calculate the cost of the products that you will need for this, and you should definitely do this, if you want to learn how to learn how to save on food, it turns out that you will spend the same money, but at the same time you will really get quality food.

Cooking by ourselves

In terms of saving and increasing the usefulness of your table, cook your own chips, pastries and crackers. Of course, when you see the confectionery department, it is difficult to resist buying a cake or a small cake. But in this case, there is a risk of food poisoning, since you cannot know in what conditions they were stored. Secondly, in most cases, the ingredients for such sweets are not natural. So kids shouldn't eat them.

Instead of buying a store-bought cake, bake your own chocolate biscuit or charlotte. It's not difficult at all, and you'll spend significantly less money if you cook in your own kitchen. Moreover, you can delight loved ones with homemade cakes without a threat to he alth. This is a good way to save money on food.

The same goes for crackers, chips, s alted nuts and other similar foods. If all this is so sweet to your stomach, you should not refuse snacks at all if you decide to save. You can start to cook all this yourself. There is nothing easier than thinly sliced potatoes and fry them in sunflower oil. It's even easier to make croutons. To do this, you just need to cut any stale bread into small pieces, s alt and send to dry in the oven. If desired, they can be sprinkled with spices, then they will not be very distinguishable from store-bought ones.

If you want to understand how to save on food, then buy raw instead of s alted nuts. They are much cheaper, and you can cook them at home by frying them in a pan or in the oven. In this way, you can save on almost any food. The main thing is not to be afraid to experiment.

Seasonal fruits and vegetables

Good advice for those who do not know how to buy food in order to save money is to buy only seasonal vegetables and fruits. This simple rule will not only save your money, but also the he alth of your household. Since in vegetables and fruits, for which it is clearly out of season, there are always a large amount of chemicals and nitrates.

In general, in most cases, preference should be given to those products that are grown in Russia or in neighboring countries. They will be both cheaper and he althier for our body.

Besides, it is definitely necessary to refuse the conservation, prepared in an industrial way. For example, jam, pickled cucumbers, as well as the rest of the food from this category. In order to save money, conservation, again, can be done on your own, buying the vegetables or berries necessary for this when they are the cheapest.

We should also remember about picking wild berries and mushrooms on our own. Such food will diversify the menu, as well as distract you from the bustle of the city. The main thing is to be careful. First of all, collect only those berries and mushrooms that you know for sure that they are not poisonous.

Fish and meat instead of sausage

Another tip on how to save on food without harm to he alth is to give up sausages and sausages in any form. These products almost completely lack the meat for which we buy them. Instead, it contains flavoring additives, substitutes, and it's all worth itvery expensive. So it is completely incomprehensible why the consumer pays so much money for when the product itself is completely not natural.

Alternatively buy pork, chicken, beef. They can be boiled, fried, baked, and the cost of any meat will be less than the average sausage. This is a great way to save money by eating he althy food.

The main thing is not to buy fish and meat thoughtlessly. For example, if you are cooking an ear, it makes no sense to take an expensive fillet, it is quite possible to limit yourself to a fish head. In this case, the broth will only be richer, and you will spend much less money. A whole chicken is much cheaper than its "parts" bought separately. And if you plan to cook cutlets, then instead of tenderloin it is better to take part of the shoulder blade.

Compote and juice

You can also save a lot on drinks. You should start with a complete rejection of sweet soda. It is not cheap, and also very harmful.

Instead, it is better to cook compotes yourself, make fresh juices or fruit drinks. In order not to be left without delicious drinks in winter, make them from frozen blanks, when fruits are in season, they are the cheapest. In terms of specific money, the cost of a liter of homemade compote will be at least two times lower than the cheapest sweet soda, and there is no need to talk about he alth benefits.

To the store with a list

Another way to save money: try to go to the grocery store less often. Furthermore,arrive at the supermarket full and with a clear, well-thought-out grocery list. It is best to shop no more than once a week. Go shopping with a limited amount of cash and leave your credit card at home. Then you will not be tempted to buy something unplanned.

Before you go to the supermarket, think carefully about the menu for the next week, make a list of necessary products. It would be useful to conduct a preliminary price monitoring to find out where the cheapest pasta or pork is. Now this can be done with the help of special mobile applications.

Always be aware of discount coupons and discount cards, which often allow you to purchase products at better prices.

Expiration date

When visiting large supermarkets, always check the expiration dates of the products you buy. If you choose fermented milk products, do not be too lazy to get to the kefir package at the far wall of the rack, most likely it will be the freshest. Check out the bottom and top shelves, as the most expensive items are always at eye level.

If you are looking for food for tonight's dinner, you can take meat or sausages with an expiration date. You can get a significant discount on them, but they are not yet spoiled. If you're going to cook and eat them today, you'll be in for a good deal.

Sample menu

In conclusion, we will tell you, using the example of a specific menu, how to save on food. Planning is importantcomponent of the transition to an economical and he althy diet.

1. Monday: breakfast - oatmeal with raisins, lunch - pickle with meat, dinner - vegetable risotto.
2. Tuesday: pancakes with condensed milk for breakfast, potato casserole and vegetable salad for lunch, buckwheat with meatballs for dinner.
3. Wednesday: pancakes for breakfast, borscht and navy pasta for lunch, stewed cabbage with meat and vegetable salad for dinner.
4. Thursday: milk porridge for breakfast, cabbage soup and crab salad for lunch, vegetable stew for dinner.
5. Friday: Cheese sandwiches for breakfast, cheese soup and salad for lunch, fried potatoes with meat for dinner.
6. Saturday: semolina porridge for breakfast, dumplings you made for lunch, fried fish and rice for dinner.
7. Sunday: scrambled eggs for breakfast, soup for lunch and lazy cabbage rolls for dinner.

Here is a sample menu for the week. How to save on food, you will understand very soon if you follow the rules and tips in this article exactly.