I moved out of home a few years ago, and to help manage my budget across rent and food, I turned to meal prepping as a way to reduce my grocery spend.
Meal prepping has now become an essential part of my weekly routine. I get home from work pretty late, and discovering meal prep has helped me save both money and time. I’ve also noticed that my diet is more balanced, as I’ve incorporated more vegetables into my meals. After a long day of work, nothing feels better than heading home to a delicious, pre-prepared dinner.
If you’re new to meal prepping, it can seem daunting at first, but once you’ve adopted the prepping mindset, you really can make a saving. I’ve shaved around $50 off my weekly grocery bill by planning smarter and being savvy about how I shop.
Here are some of my go-to tips to saving money on your weekly grocery bill.
1) Plan in advance
Before you head to the grocery store, start by picking two to three recipes that you’d like to cook and eat for the week. Prepare a shopping list – I create a to-do list in notes on my phone and tick off the ingredients as I get them in store. Prepping three meals ahead is a great place to start if you’re not much of a planner.
2) Use common ingredients in your weekly meal prep
To save money, I like to use common ingredients across the 2-3 recipes I make for the week. For example, when I want to make beef nachos/tacos, I will buy 1kg of beef mince (at my last shop this cost me $11 a kilo from Coles)* and use around 600g for nachos/tacos and the remaining 400g for Spaghetti Bolognese. Tomatoes and brown onions also overlap, so this is a great way to save money and shop efficiently. I manage to spread these ingredients across 4 meals for 2 people (or 8 servings) by adding just a few extras like cheese, spaghetti and corn chips.
3) Designate time in the week to meal prep and plan
I like to grocery shop and cook on Sundays. There’s something therapeutic about doing a big meal prep on the weekend to get ready for the week ahead. Recipes that make great meal prep options include anything with mince, which can be cooked in advance, or pasta bakes, which can be chilled or frozen.
Some recipes take as little as 15-20 minutes to make. For example, san choy bow – the pork filling takes 10-15 minutes to make and once you’re ready to eat it, reheat the filling and serve in lettuce cups. Tuna pasta is another quick meal prep, which can be reheated or served cold. Pasta takes about 10 minutes to cook, then mix through canned tuna, sun-dried tomatoes, rocket, red onion and feta.
Need more ideas? The taste + Coles Savvy Dinner Plan is a great place to start. It’s got four weeks of budget-friendly dinners all planned out for you.
4) Add one pots to your repertoire
If you’re short on time or don’t love cooking but want to meal prep and save money, you should definitely try one-pot or one-pan recipes. On my lazy days, I’ll fill a large baking tray with pre-cut pieces of chicken and vegetables. My go-to vegetables are sweet potato, eggplant, pumpkin and broccoli. I drizzle the tray with olive oil and season with salt, pepper, garlic, paprika and thyme. After 30-40 minutes in the oven, your dinner/meal prep is ready.
5) Buy pantry essentials in bulk
Most, if not all, recipes require pantry essentials. I recommend always having these essentials on hand: salt, pepper, sugar, flour, soy sauce, eggs, rice, pasta, minced garlic and milk. You’ll be surprised what you can create with these ingredients! I use a lot of rice and pasta, so I always buy these in bulk or when I see them on special. While it may feel extravagant spending more when you stock up on these ingredients – it’ll really save you money over the long run.
6) Be flexible and adapt your meals to what’s available
Meal prepping and planning doesn’t mean you have to stick to one rigid plan every week. Sometimes different fruits and vegetables will be in season and supermarkets will have specials on some of the best picks of the moment, so be flexible and try to incorporate these in your weekly meals. Shopping seasonally also encourages you to try ingredients you may not usually put in your basket, which expands your repertoire – and your diet. Right now, I’m loving green beans and zucchini.
If you ‘re new to meal prepping and planning, check out the taste + Coles Savvy Dinner Plan or watch my ‘Cheap Meal Prep’ videos on TikTok for recipe inspiration.
It feels great to save money and have delicious meals at the same time!
*I costed my shopping list at Coles East Village, Zetland, NSW, on 24/01/2023. Prices and savings may vary store to store.
