Get the Most Out of Your Groceries

I know I’m not the only one who has noticed the jump in prices for groceries. Now, more than ever, the reduction of food waste and getting the most from our groceries is top of mind. 

 

Here are my top 5 tips to help you save that hard earned money by getting the most out of your groceries. 

 

1) Plan ahead and stick to your list. Trust me on this one. As much as it can sometimes be a tedious task, it’s worth every minute spent putting a plan in place and writing out a grocery list to support it. This avoids the 5 pm “what’s for dinner” scramble and the last minute, unplanned Uber order. 

 

2) Check the dates. Have a quick look at expiry dates before putting away your foods so they are on your radar. The last thing you want is for things to go bad before you get to them because you weren’t aware of the expiry. 

 

Helpful Hint: “Best before” does not mean “can’t eat after”. “Best before” date is simply an estimate of when the food will no longer be at its best quality but doesn’t mean it will cause food poisoning or sickness if eaten after this date. On the other hand, follow the “Expiration/Use By” dates as these are a measure of food safety. 

 

3) Store food properly. Use those temperature settings on your crispers to store fruits and vegetables, make sure to properly seal cheeses, and store foods to be frozen in freezer safe bags or containers. When freezing meals that have been cooked, make sure to leave some space in the container for the food to expand when frozen. 

 

4) Use up your perishables. Aim to use up the perishable foods, like fruits and vegetables, earlier on in the week so they don’t go bad before you can use them. I like to extend the life of berries by making a chia seed jam with them at the end of the week to put on toast with peanut butter, or to add to waffles or pancakes instead of syrup. Check out my favorite recipe for Protein Powder Pancakes with Homemade Chia Jam (www.themomandcaregiver.com/protein-powder-pancakes-with-homemade-chia-jam/) 

 

5) Get creative with leftovers. My favorite thing to do is to cook up extra meat and rice earlier in the week to have leftovers for an easy stir fry later in the week. Stir up your favorite veggies in a pan with your leftover meat, throw some sauce over it and voila, you have a quick and easy stir fry to serve with the leftover rice. 

 

Happy saving! 

 

Jenn Giurgevich is the founder of Spark Nutrition & Health, a virtual nutrition consulting business.
Visit www.sparknutritionandhealth.ca for more information.