Thoughts on food (Page 2)

This post was originally written for a money-saving website. As most people want to save money on food, I thought you’d like to read it, too. The furore over MarmiteGate* showed we’re all in the habit of buying favourite brands. Yet by being so loyal, week in week out, we may be missing out on products which are just as good and a lot cheaper. After the recession of 2007/2008, I took Martin Lewis’s advice on moneysavingexpert.com and systematically challenged my brand habit. Lewis recommends trading down one category. So if you usually buy a premium product, a brand or supermarket premium product such as Tesco Finest, tradeRead More →

Fish Stew Friday – use up what you have and eat well It’s Friday night, hot and humid. Having slaved over a hot gas ring every evening this week, I deserve a dinner someone else has planned, shopped for, prepared, cooked and washed up after. I fancy calamari, cured ham and a large glass of cold rose at Bar Pico, the loud yet relaxing Portuguese bar under the railway arches at Vauxhall. But Him Indoors had a major operation three weeks ago and I see from his pale face that he’s struggling to muster the energy to take the train even two stops. This is out of character. He is always up for lunch or dinner out,Read More →

(I wrote this post on how to cut food bills for Ricky Willis’s money-saving blog skintdad.co.uk. It got so many shares that, with his kind permission, I am reproducing it here.) Britain wastes more food than any other European country and most of that waste happens at home. If a restaurant owner carried on the way many of us do, their Michelin-starred establishment, tea-shop or chippie would go bust.  Just as we scour the aisles of Lidl, Morissons and Asda for value, so they ring around different suppliers to get the best quality at the best price. But good ‘sourcing’ is only one trick to keepingRead More →