How To Save Time & Money On Your Food Shop

I moved to London at 21. I was an au pair earning the minimum wage and spent all my money going to brunch on the weekends. Little did I know it would evolve from posting pictures of my avocado toast to Instagram for my friends into a community of over 80,000 people across Instagram and TikTok. 

People are fascinated by the fact I only do one food shop a month. It's more out of laziness than anything else, but it also helps with waste and staying within budget. The process starts with taking an inventory of what I have in the house, then planning the meals I want to make, then writing an ingredients list, and finally adding everything to my online supermarket basket.

Getting my monthly shop delivered is a life hack. I never go into physical supermarkets anymore – they're typically more expensive. I have to be thrifty and figure out what I need to eat first, and what I can save for later on in the month – I use my freezer a lot. People seem shocked that produce like apples, oranges, potatoes, onion, garlic and ginger lasts me the full month. I think people throw away food far too much, so here are my tips for avoiding that...

Tally up what you spend on food in a month. It might shock you. I was shocked when I went into a Tesco Express and a packet of garlic bread was £3. I can get them online at Asda for 30p. When you apply this to say 50 items, it really adds up. I stick to supermarket own brands that are always so much cheaper than name brands, too. I also love the reduced section. But the best way to save money on groceries is to not throw anything away unnecessarily – make sure you eat the food you buy.

If you do, you end up buying stuff you don’t really need. Don’t deprive yourself though; make sure to have snacks in the house and maybe always have a frozen pizza in the freezer so you're not tempted to order a takeaway.

Google what's in season. If a certain fruit is expensive, it's probably because it's not in season, or has been shipped in from somewhere far away. Eat local and eat seasonal.

Prioritise the ingredients that last a long time and that can go with everything. I always have pasta, garlic, tinned tomatoes and parmesan in the house. Tinned fish is great too. Any root vegetables – like potatoes and carrots – last forever and can be used in so many different meals. Soup is cheap and filling, and easy to throw together.

It’s easy to throw away your scraps, but don’t! I have lots of videos on my TikTok which show you how to use them up. People loved my video where I make air fryer crisps from potato peels, for example. Pesto is a good one to play around with – try making carrot top pesto or broccoli stalk pesto. I recently made a big batch of spicy slow-cooked beef stew with leftover veg. I had it with rice, with pasta, and inside quesadillas – the options are endless.

I avoid buying in bulk if something expires quickly, like fruit. Only buy cupboard staples or frozen stuff in bulk – and always make sure your fridge is cold enough. Herbs are notorious for going bad quickly. When they start to wilt, I make pesto and freeze it in an ice cube tray for later.

There are loads of apps and tools that can help you save money on your food shop. I love what apps like Too Good to Go and Olio are doing to fight food waste. I did a partnership with Lidl back in January and it has an app with great coupons. I've heard the Tesco membership is good, too. Also, most pantry staples are cheap. Just get the generic supermarket own-brand stuff instead of the name brands. They're normally hidden on the bottom shelf because supermarkets want you to go for the more expensive option. I guarantee 99% of the ingredients are the same; you're just paying more for fancy packaging. 

There are two ways to go about this. The first is you double or quadruple up your recipe, make a big batch, and divide it into lunch boxes for the week. If you’re not someone who likes eating the same thing for lunch four days in a row, you’ll end up throwing it away – so don’t bother. Instead, I would advise getting ingredients for salads or sandwiches to keep at work and make fresh every day. It’s cheaper and tastier, and I’d much rather eat a sandwich I made myself than a meal deal one that’s been sitting in a cardboard box for a week.

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