How to save money in the kitchen

I think we all like to save money where we can. This may be so we can spend money in other areas, to prevent debt, or to save up for holidays or other big costs. I am fortunate to eat in a way that isn't too costly (unless I go to Whole Foods...) but still like to cut costs where I can. This allows me to periodically buy vegan desserts and chocolate (which any regular reader will know I value!) and put funds towards things that matter to me and Mr Bite.

There are lots of money saving tips out there and this isn't meant to be a definitive collection of ideas. Instead, it is a collection of things that I find worthwhile and which I find easy to implement.

I would love to hear your ideas too!

1. Have a few easy, cheap meals in your rotation.

I don't routinely calculate per serve costs for our meals. However, I am aware that a few of our regular meals are very cheap to make. Basic legumes and carbohydrates work particularly well and the following key examples come in at around £1 ($2) per person:

• Jacket potatoes with baked beans and salad
• Chickpea flour pancakes with vegetable-bean fillings (I have a few versions of this dish)
• Italian roast vegetables and beans
• Vegetable soup with homemade stock and lentils

Chickpea flour pancakes with vegetable-bean fillings 

Estimated saving: If you have at least one cheap meal per week, £3 to £15 ($6 to $30) per person per month.

2. Look out for end-of-day discounts. 

Many bakeries and chain stores discount products at the end of the day. In the UK, Boots is particularly generous and often marks sandwiches, salads and other prepared meals down to just 50p ($1.00). This is a whopping discount from the £2 - £3 they cost at full price. Of course, you need to be able to eat the meal quickly but if you want an easy, light dinner they're an incredibly cheap option.

Tweet

Immunity smoothie (with science!)

I am usually a bit skeptical of foods and drinks that claim medicinal powers. In large part, this is because most claims don't come with supporting scientific data. I'm also aware that there are many myths about what does or doesn't help with various illnesses and ailments. I think we all have our personal "I think this works" approach! I'm not denying that there will be beneficial products or foods that aren't yet well studied - I am sure there are. However, I don't think firm claims should be made unless the data are already in.

Immunity smoothie - murky, but tasty

To give you an example, Vitamin C was lauded as a cure for the common cold for years. Many of us still think it helps to prevent illness, and vitamin companies trade off that belief to promote their products. However, there is no evidence to suggest that Vitamin C can prevent colds in the general population, and plenty to suggest that it only slightly reduces illness severity. Last year, a large Cochrane review (you can read it in full here) concluded that supplementation of Vitamin C (i.e., taking more than a regular dietary amount) may reduce the duration of a cold by 8% in adults or 14% in children. If you have a standard 5 day cold, this means that an adult taking extra Vitamin C from day 1 could feel better after 4.6 days instead of 5. I'd be happy with that, but it's not exactly a magic fix!

In contrast, zinc supplementation is associated with up to a 50% reduction in the likelihood of developing a cold, and the duration of a cold once developed (the Cochrane review on zinc is available here).

Zinc and Vitamin C

Tweet

Fitness Fridays - Exercise and mental health (a research post)

Every now and then, I think I'd like to do more posts that draw on my research background. There are lots of research areas I'm interested in that don't quite fit in my work role, and I imagine that lots of you don't have time to trawl through research databases or determine what the latest recommendation on Topic X is.

Usually I have these kinds of thoughts and then don't find the time to follow them through, or I worry that no one else will want to know about Topic X anyway. Recently, though, the idea of research posts has been coming to me more and more often. I get frustrated by popular media stories that make claims without supporting evidence. I'd like to try and make science more accessible - and, I'd like an excuse to delve into all those  topics I'm curious about.

So, today, we have the first such post. In this case, it is an integration of research with my recently neglected Fitness Fridays initiative. The images (because all posts must have images!) come from our recent camping trip, which I've been wanting an excuse to share and which fit vaguely into the exercise focus.

Tweet

Inviting debate - what do we do about overweight and obesity?

Recently, I received an email from Run Stop Shop who are promoting the 'infographic' (a new term for me) below. You can also see it on their site here. It's the sort of thing I am happy to share, because it presents facts and figures in an easy to grasp way, drawing on the published literature rather than anything more subjective or biased.


Source: Run Stop Shop

Tweet