5 tips to help you save money

5 TIPS TO HELP YOU SAVE MONEY ON SHOPPING AS FOOD PRICES SOAR

Going to the super markets only going to get more expensive. Food prices rose 1% while food at home jumped 1.4%, the fastest monthly gains since April 2020, according to the latest Consumer Price Index figures. And food price inflation likely will only intensify in the months ahead. with this in mind here is 5 tips on saving food. 1. WATER YOUR VEG

Keep the stems of vegetables such as broccoli, celery and asparagus in water to help them stay fresh and crisp. 2. FREEZE YOUR 5 A DAY

Got fresh fruit and veg that you can’t use in time? Why not freeze them? Some fruit and veg will lose their texture when frozen – you can deal with this by freezing them pureed or stewed. This applies to tomatoes (use the puree for pasta dishes or pizza), strawberries (use the puree in smoothies or as a sauce for other fresh fruit) and apples (use stewed apple on your porridge or muesli, or as the base for a fruit crumble). 3. FREEZE LEFTOVERS

Many leftovers and chilled convenience meals freeze well too. If you’ve made something like pasta or rice with a sauce, freezing the sauce separately will work better.

4. FREEZE DAIRY PRODUCTS

Semi-skimmed and skimmed milk freeze better than whole. If it separates once defrosted, just give it a good shake. Hard cheese also freezes well – cut it into smaller portions, or grate some ready to use later.

5. REVIVE PAST-IT BREAD

Bread rolls past their best? Put them in the oven for a few minutes to crisp up again. You can also make stale bread into breadcrumbs - either mix them with herbs and onions as a stuffing for chicken or to top baked fish, or freeze the breadcrumbs for later use. Loaves of bread freeze well too. If you’re freezing a loaf or rolls from an in-store bakery, transfer into a freezer bag for better results rather than just freezing it in the packaging it comes in.