Hello SavvySavers! Isn’t this sunshine just glorious? It’s got us dreaming of summer holidays and, let’s be honest, dusting off (and attempting to fit into) those swimsuits!
Speaking of getting ready for summer, Kat and Sarah here at SuperSavvySavers have been on a bit of a health kick lately. Sarah’s found a new love for healthy eating, and Kat’s been rediscovering her fitness groove. And guess what? We’re doing it all without breaking the bank!
We’re excited to share our top tips for staying fit and healthy on a budget. In fact we have so many health and fitness money saving tips that we’ve decided to split them into two parts… this month we’ll focus on Healthy Eating on a budget and next month we’ll focus on Getting Fit on a budget. Hope you enjoy!
Part One – Healthy Eating on a Budget…
We used to think eating healthy meant spending a fortune, but it really doesn’t need to be expensive, you just need a little bit of savvy! Try some of these money saving ideas HERE.
- Shop for fruit and vegetables when they’re in season, when they’re (usually) cheaper.
- Try visiting the shop an hour before closing and pick up the reduced fruit and veg. M&S is good for this and the reduced fruits will often last a while in the fridge, although we’re going through it quickly these days anyway with the new healthy eating!
- Having healthy stuff ready in the fridge means you won’t grab those crisps or chocolates when you’re peckish, you’ll reach for the good stuff instead.
- Try rinsing easy to eat fruit such as grapes, blueberries or strawberries and keep in a ‘ready to eat’ tub in the fridge.
- Don’t underestimate frozen produce! It’s often cheaper than fresh, and you get all the same nutritional benefits. Plus, they’re super handy! Think frozen veggies straight into your stir-fries or a handful of frozen fruit for a speedy smoothie.
- Being mindful of food waste also helps save money! Instead of binning fruit that’s past its prime, blend it into a smoothie, add it to a cake mix, or freeze it for later. Or with the sunshine finally here, get the kids involved in making delicious homemade fruity ice lollies – they’ll love it!
Check out our website for more tips on storing and reducing waste HERE.
There’s also lots of recipes and ideas for using up fruits and vegetables!
What’s not to love about taking leftovers to work?!
You can save so much money by using up what’s already in your fridge for your lunch the following day. Make up a batch of pasta or rice as your base to use throughout the week, then add your leftover veggies, meats, grated cheese or a spoonful of pesto or chilli sauce to make a delicious lunch. It’s a guaranteed healthy lunch and stops us from reaching for snacks later!
On the subject of snacks, these can be tricky and those protein bars and fancy yoghurts can soon add up. But instead of buying what you want as you fancy it, stock up on healthy snacks when they’re on special offer. The Co-op had a good deal on Naked bars recently at only £2 a box and Waitrose recently did an offer on Graze products. Keep your eyes peeled, and check out our Facebook page where we often share the latest offers and deals as we spot them.
Give the Free From section a browse! We never really looked in that section before, but now it’s a go to! There’s some fabulous alternative food products to choose from. For those cutting back on pasta, pea pasta helps prevent the pasta cravings and I Love Corn helps control a crisps addiction! There’s often deals to be had on these products too.
Grow Your Own herbs and vegetables! Even a small herb garden can save you money on fresh seasonings. Try planting rosemary, sage or mint in your garden or basil on your windowsill. Vegetables can also be planted out in hanging baskets and flower beds. There’s loads of information on the internet offering free tips and information but HERE’s a good one.
There’s also lots of Grow Your Own offers and deals around at this time of the year, take a look around the local garden centres.
The Friquet Garden Centre have lots of deals on and Grow Limited have a large greenhouse full of vegetables ready for you to plant at home, all reasonably priced.
And did you know that the Guilles Library has a Seed Library where you can access seeds for free?
Use Olio to collect FREE Food!
Olio is a great place to find fresh fruit, vegetables and other food items that you can go and collect for FREE. You can regularly pick up carrots, bananas, celery, potatoes and salad bags.
Waitrose and the Co-op donate much of their leftover food items to the Olio ‘Food Waste Heroes’ who photograph and list all available items within the Olio App. We’ve used it loads and we love it 💖
Further information about Olio, how to use it and where to download is available on our website HERE.
Our biggest money-saving tip? Meal planning!
We used to be terrible at grocery shopping – grabbing things that looked good in the moment and ending up with a fridge full of random ingredients. But since we started planning our meals, it’s been a game-changer! We sit down for a few minutes each week, plan out our meals, write a detailed list, and stick to it at the shop. It’s saved us so much money, and we’re eating healthier too!
A great tip to use in your meal planning is to buy a large chicken. Even if you’re cooking for yourself or for the two of you, buy a larger chicken than you need for one meal and get three meals out of it instead 1) roast dinner 2) stir fry 3) chicken curry. You can also use up in sandwiches or add to pasta or rice for homemade lunches.
On the subject of ‘going large’, buying in bulk is often cheaper and you can batch cook meals to put in the freezer. Larger packs of chicken and mince are often cheaper on available on buy 3 for deal and the local butchers often run meat offers… keep an eye on our Facebook page to find the offers.
For healthy, budget-friendly meals, try batch cooking. When making dishes like curry, stew, or bolognese, cook twice the amount and freeze half. This way, you’ll always have a homemade meal on hand, avoiding the temptation of takeout or convenience foods.
There are lots more meal planning and recipe tips over on our website HERE.
