Six top ways to reduce your food bills and still serve warming, heaty meals this winter

Temperatures are set to plummet in the coming weeks and millions of households face another winter of cost-of-living pressures, soaring energy bills and stubbornly high food costs, with as many as one in six households skipping meals or going without.

 As we head into winter, food bank referrals are at an all-time high and it’s not just low-income families accessing them for help - many working families also turning to them to help make ends meet.

Therefore, making meals go further has never been more important.

Here's our six top recommendations on how to reduce your weekly food bill and still serve healthy and nutritious meals the whole family will enjoy. 

Tip one – Porridge isn’t just a morning meal

Porridge isn’t just for breakfast – it can also be versatile in cooking. Add a handful of porridge oats to mince dishes like bolognaise or chilli. They’ll bulk out the dish and take on the flavours, so you’ll never even know they’re there. Plus, they’re highly nutritious containing zinc, copper, selenium, and B vitamins and can also help manage cholesterol levels.

Top two – carrots offer more than night vision

Grated carrot is also amazing at making meals go further. You can pick up a bag of carrots from 35p at Aldi which can be used to easily double the size of stews, casseroles, bolognaises and chillis.

Tip three – go for a veggie alternative

You could substitute expensive meat in meals with cost effective red lentils – around £2.50 for a 1Kg bag. Instead of making a chicken korma or beef stew make a lentil version which will contain more protein and less fat but give you all the same flavours.

Tip four – beans, beans are good for your heart, the more you eat ….

Baked beans don’t need to be saved for toast – pack out a cottage pies with them or a tomato-based pasta dish to make a more filling, higher in fibre meal that’s sure to be a winner with the whole family.

Tip five – eat like our ancestors

Yorkshire puddings were created as an appetiser to a main meal and served with gravy to fill people up so they didn’t need as much for their main course. Follow our ancestors lead and use a couple of £’s worth of eggs, flour, and milk to make meat go further and create a meal fit for a kit.

Tip six – head to the freezer aisle

Raid the frozen aisle of the supermarket and pick up frozen veg, which is always cheaper to pack out dinners. What’s more, some veggies, such as broccoli, okra, and root vegetables, retain more vitamins when they’re frozen so are actually better for you and are just as tasty.