Single people often get a hard deal – so many thrifty tips focus on buying ingredients in bulk or cooking large dishes for big families. That’s great if you’re feeding a small army but if you’re cooking for one, it’s difficult to make the same savings. But before you reach for a tin of baked beans or the toaster, take a look at our tips for saving money when cooking for one:
Prepare Your Own Ready Meals
A microwavable ready meal may seem an easy option, but they can be expensive and are usually nowhere near as healthy or tasty as a home cooked meal. A good alternative is to make a large dish of your favourite meal on a weekend when you have more time and then divide it into individual portions for the freezer.
Bulk buy wisely
Jumbo bags of salad may be more economical but you’ll probably struggle to get through it all before it wilts. When you spot offers, think about whether you will actually use the item. Some things you can freeze – for example, you could make fruit into a pie or crumble. Look for offers on items that have a long shelf life and stock up on frozen veg and canned goods. Alternatively, go shopping with another single friend and share the bargains that are just too good to pass up.
Be flexible
Quite often when you live alone, your plans change at the last minute. You might have planned fish for supper but then get invited to a party or for drinks after work instead. This may mean the ingredients you’ve bought go to waste. Avoid ingredients with a short shelf-life and if you’re not sure how your week will map out, consider what you can freeze. Avoid buying a whole week’s worth of ingredients in one go – just buy for a couple of meals at a time and you’ll have more flexibility to adapt your plans. You can always top up your weekly shop during the week by grabbing priced down, end-of-day bargains from your local grocery.
Make the most of leftovers
When you have food left over from a meal, think about how you can re-use them. Extra vegetables could go into a stew or soup, while salads can be stored in the fridge ready to take to work for lunch the next day.
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