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Eating out / dining in / your guide to great food & drink 01.04.2014
THE FISH LIST MATT PRESTON’S 12 FLAVOUR FAVOURS POPOL NAH A SPANISH INVASION OF LYGON STREET
frugal foodie HOW TO EAT WELL FOR LESS
PHOTOGRAPHY / NICOLE CLEARY
The
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ECONOMY Y GASTRONOMY Smart buying and wise planning can save you thousands of dollars on your grocery bill. And it doesn’t have to be boring or too much hard work either, writes Kylie Walker Hands up if you’d like to have thousands of dollars more in your bank account each year, more free time and even a feelgood glow from doing something that helps the planet? Slashing your food budget can do all of those — and if you think budget eating is boring and too much hard work, think again. Being a frugal foodie means you are still eating great food, just paying less for it. Stuart Gifford, co-founder of Sarah’s Sister’s Sustainable Café in Adelaide, has spent more than three decades discovering how to cut waste while serving up delicious meals. And, he says, it’s easier than you think. “Local, seasonal food has been the secret to our 35 years of success. And minimising waste. Waste is deadly … we have almost zero wastage, and people can and should try to do that at home. “Once you get into the habit of doing it, being sustainable, it’s easy; it comes naturally. It’s like switching off a light if someone in the house leaves it on.” So where do you start? “Whether you are a family of six, a couple or single, the process is the same: inventories, meal plan, shopping list and hit the shops,” says Cath Armstrong, Australia’s queen of budget-friendly living. Founder of The Cheapsk online commu with ideas, mor recipes and a liv “It is very ea 50 per cent of y
For the average equates to a sav or more a year. and a shopping cooking just a f things from scr a huge differen grocery bill. “You can sla grocery bill. Yo to really want t off small and bu up,” she says. Here are seven small steps that can make a big diffe in your food budget.
2. DON’T THROW YOUR MONEY IN THE BIN
1. MAKE A PLAN “Meal planning save you a lot o and money. Yes will have to tak time to make ou list of meals an shopping lists, but you’ll be able to get that done in one block of time,” says Cath Armstrong — and it will cut the time you spend walking the aisles of the supermarket and avoid that end of day ‘what’s for dinner’ panic, she says. Some people will plan a whole month of meals, but if you’re just starting out, thinking about a week at a time is easier. If you feel you don’t have time right gg now for all of that,,, Cath suggests you just plan dinners. “This is the area most people fall down on. At the end of a busy day getting dinner on the table seems too hard. If it’s
th
e doing. The alian household ore than $1000 a year — up to a we buy. Much of sh food that’s past and leftovers. e thought of trying at waste by eating tovers gives you ers, think again. s do not have to be unappetising and le mention of the oesn’t have to our family g for cover,” says rmstrong. g leftovers to make ls is a key part of ve program that is
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already planned half the work is done, then it’s just a matter of peeling veg and grilling some meat and dinner is on the table faster than a pizza can be delivered.
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helping many Melbourne households make their kitchens thrifty and low-waste. “We’ve just run a leftovers recipe competition that generated some great ideas,” says Food Know How’s Kaylyn Hawkes. At foodknowhow.org.au you’ll also find links to other great resources for saving money. “For example, there is an ingredient guide that will give you ideas for commonly wasted ingredients like cooked rice, bread and herbs, and tons of recipes,” says Kaylyn. Food Wise — a national campaign to cut waste and make our food systems more sustainable — has free resources including a recipe finder where w you can plug in the ingredieents you want to use up; a meal planner p that will generatte a shopping list for you; and tipss for storing food to maximiise how long it lasts.
3. EAT T THE ODD BITS Some off what we throw out are bits and d pieces that we think are waste bu ut aren’t. “Part of creativee cooking is using the parts off the vegetable you might not thin nk to use. For example, use the leafy l greens from beets, carrots or o celery to make a pesto — you can do that with things th hat are going to seed in the gard den, too, if you have one,” sayys Food Know How’s Kaylyn Hawkes. If you eat meat, look for cheaper cuts (a slow cooker, which can be bought for as little as $20, is a great tool for turning these into delicious meals) and try offal — it’s highly nutritious.
4. SHOP EARLY, LATE OR IN BULK Cath Armstrong says “mega savings” can be made by buying items that are reduced for quick sale. Shop early in the morning or late at night and look for bargains in the meat, dairy, fresh produce and deli departments. “Roasts and chicken fillets can be frozen in portions for later use and
books to be our ‘best friends’, we have to acknowledge our ‘new friends’. Twitter supplies lots of ideas to fire our imagination!”
5. EMBRACE THE JUNK MAIL
“Waste is deadly … we have almost zero wastage, and people can and should try to do that at home.”
Supermarket catalogues can save you money. Look out for specials and buy up — work those bargains into your meals for the week, or freeze, dehydrate d h d or preserve them h in other ways for later use, if they are perishable. If you want to get really serious about saving, take this a step further. Start keeping a list of the prices you pay at different shops or the farmers markets. In a few months, you’ll have a good idea of whether a price is really a bargain.
STUART GIFFORD O N S AV I N G M O N E Y
“We know exactly what goes into our food and cleaning products.” C AT H A R M S T R O N G ON DIY PRODUCTS
6. MAKE YOUR OWN “Cheapskates Club members love to MOO. That’s Make Our Own cleaning products, treats, meals, cosmetics, clothes, garden products and anything else we use day-to-day,” Cath says. “When we make our own we don’t just save lots of money. We know exactly what goes into our food and cleaning products. We cut down on the amount of packaging going to landfill. Some favourite MOOS are condensed milk, tortillas, hot chocolate drink mix, and lemon butter.”
7. OLD SCHOOL KNOW-HOW “Knowledge is an essential ingredient in sustainable cooking,” says Stuart Gifford. “If you want a starting point for economical cooking — any cooking really — buy Elizabeth David’s cookbooks. We still use her circa 1950 recipes! Other favourites are Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse cookbook, Mary Taylor Simeti’s Sicilian Food, which is a treasure chest of unique, cheap recipes, and A Taste of Paris by Theodora Fitzgibbon. “But while we consider those
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cheese, cream, yoghurt, pasta and sauces,, ggarlic bread and orange juices are all fine to , Cath say y freeze and use later, later,” says.
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Pat & Belinda Vitalone from Fruit & Veg Supply at QVM
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Beth Cameron Coordinator of Friends of the Earth Food Co-Op
Take your own containers and buy spices in bulk at Friends of the Earth in Collingwood.
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items along with herbs and spices, legumes, nuts and other sweet treats.
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BUSHY PARK WHOLESALE [Diamond Creek Plaza and 1161 High St, Wantirna South]
Farmers’ market-fresh fruit and veg at great prices. Wednesdays are the day to pick up the best bargains.
MELBOURNE’S BEST FRUGAL FOOD STORES
1
QUEEN VIC MARKET [Cnr Victoria & Elizabeth St, city]
It’s been the city’s go-to spot for fresh fruit and veg for more than 135 years but those in the know go at about 2pm on Saturday. That’s when the traders want to start shutting up shop and boxes of bargains are everywhere. Sunday can be even better (as the market is closed on Monday) though there’s generally fewer traders.
2
LITTLE SAIGON MARKET [63 Nicholson St, Footscray]
Grab a sugar cane drink and embrace the chaos of this market that has great (and cheap) veg, try-beforeyou-buy fruit, exotic cuts of meat and live fish. Smaller than the nearby Footscray Market but the savings can be bigger.
3
BASFOODS DIRECT [419 Victoria St, Brunswick & 26 Somerton Rd, Somerton]
A warehouse full of traditional Mediterranean and Turkish goods, with many goods sold in bulk. The place for olive oil, dried fruits and stacks of gozleme along with pantry staples.
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OASIS BAKERY [993 North Rd, Murrumbeena]
It’s a Middle Eastern Bakery with a large selection of pastries, but it’s also much more. The grocery store has hundreds of specialty
A1 BAKERY [643 Sydney Rd, Brunswick & 203 Lonsdale St, Dandenong] They’re rightly famous for their cheese pies and other Lebanese pizza and pastries, but it’s with the $1 bags of pita bread (even less for yesterday’s) that the savings really add up.
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COSTCO [Docklands, Ringwood]
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ASSEMBLY DRIVE [Tullamarine]
The $60 yearly membership might take a leap of faith, but those who do are rewarded with big savings by buying in bulk. The bigger the pack (60 rolls of loo paper, 10kg washing powder) the more you’ll save per item.
It’s an entire street lined with factory outlets and wholesale suppliers that also sell direct to the public. You’ll find discounted groceries, cakes and pastries, fresh pasta and pizza from Pasta al Dente, Italian cheese from the Alba Cheese factory and more.
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NQR [23 stores around Victoria] Promising up to 70 per cent off your weekly shopping bill, this grocery clearance company has an everchanging range of weekly specials along with big-brand food and staples.
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FRIENDS OF THE EARTH FOOD CO-OP [312 Smith St, Collingwood] For more than 30 years, the co-op has been the place for self-serve, packaging-free affordable food. From legumes, pasta and rice to herbs and spice, along with a good range of keenly priced organic fresh veg, the co-op also has vats of various cooking oils and (eco) cleaning products.
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