With the cost of living increasing every month, and no pay rise on the horizon, it’s time to tighten the spending belt!

Ways to save on your weekly shopping:

• Shop to a list so you don’t make impulse buys.
• Shop around the various supermarket chains for the best offers – don’t be loyal to one chain only.
• Buy fruit and vegetables in season as it is always cheaper and better quality. Find out what is in season here.
• Check out your local farmers’ market for good buys – you could check prices online at your supermarket for key items you plan to buy just to make sure you are making a saving. You can find a list of registered farmer’s markets in Australia here, although there may be some local markets which aren’t registered, so also check with your local council.
• Grow some of your own produce and swap excess with neighbours and friends. Quick wins include loose leaf lettuce, Asian greens, cherry tomatoes, carrots, chillies, herbs such as parsley and basil, and passionfruit. You could join your local community garden if you don’t have the knowledge or space, although even a few planter boxes can supplement what you buy.
• Consider buying frozen or even tinned (no added salt) vegetables and fruit. Fresh is always best nutritionally but frozen is very good.
• Choose home brand products – check the label to ensure they don’t have lots of added fat, saturated fat, salt and sugars but are high fibre. For most products look for less than 10g of total fat/100g, less than 3g of saturated fat/100g, more than 5g of fibre/100g and less than 400mg of sodium/100g. For milk look for less than 2g of total fat/100mL and for cheese look for less than 20g total fat and less than 800mg of sodium/100g. When it comes to sugar check how many sugars are added in the ingredients list – the natural sugars already in milk, yoghurt and fruit are okay.
• Buy meat, fish and chicken on special and freeze – bulk buys are often cheaper, so portion them out to what you would normally cook for a meal. Make sure you write on the package what the cut is and the date you froze it. The Food Safety Information Council recommend keeping frozen foods for a maximum of six weeks in a freezer/fridge combination or up to three months for a chest freezer.
• Replace all or half the meat, fish or chicken in recipes with legumes – I like to match the colour of the legume with the meat, such as butter beans with chicken and fish, or red kidney beans and brown lentils with red meat; however, you might like a contrast in colour!
• Buy skim milk powder and make it up in a clean milk bottle or jug.
• Make your own dressings, sauces, healthy muffins, pre-prepared frozen meals – whatever you normally buy ready-made. Check out your local library or diabetesshop.com for recipe books if you don’t have any handy, or search our recipe selection for inspiration.

DIY takeaway

• Make your own healthier version of chicken and chips by buying a supermarket cooked chicken and a bag of ready-made coleslaw mix, then make your own orange sweet potato or low GI potato oven chips.
• How about a healthier hamburger? Add a pan fried or oven-baked fish fillet to a wholegrain bun, add lots of salad leaves (the ones you grew in your planter!), sliced tomato and pickles.
• Easy pizza in a flash: Use a wholegrain or low GI flatbread/wrap, spread it with tomato paste or pesto, then top with onion rings, sliced capsicum, drained tinned pineapple, and a little grated cheese. Bake at 220°C for 5-10 minutes and top with a few green salad leaves.

While we all love to eat out, it is just too expensive to enjoy all the time. So, consider trying these ideas:

• Take lunch to work – use up leftovers or make a sandwich, bring fruit, yoghurt, and a few unsalted nuts too. Keep them in a cool bag with a frozen cold block while you travel and pop them in the fridge when you get to work.
• Instead of buying food at a café take sandwiches or a picnic when you go out for a day. For something fancier try cold chicken, salad, and sourdough bread with a sprinkle of garlic oil, or cottage pie (no crust) with cold cooked tomatoes and herbs, plus a salad. Don’t forget the picnic rug or a picnic table and chairs, utensils for eating and serving, water to wash hands, and lots of frozen cold blocks in the esky to keep the food cool.
• Always carry a bottle of water when out so you don’t have to buy cold drinks.
• If you are going for a drive take a keep cup, tea bag/coffee grounds and hot water in a thermos or a metal double walled drink bottle and make your own.

By Dale Cooke, APD