You don't have to spend a lot on food to eat tasty and varied. Optimizing spending can help you not only save money, but also prioritize nutrition correctly - you'll find that cooking at home is much more profitable than buying convenience foods.
Product selection
Try to eat seasonally. Thus, you can not only save money, but also choose the best fruits and berries to taste. At the beginning of summer, buy cherries, from July - strawberries, and for the consumption of watermelons, it is better to wait for August or September. The same principle applies to vegetables. The period from early August to early October is especially rich in fresh fruits. If you like zucchini, eggplants, squash, pumpkin, then at this time you can almost painlessly switch to vegetarian food - you can cook a wide variety of and inexpensive dishes from these vegetables.
In autumn, do not forget about mushrooms - during this period they can be purchased at a fairly low price in the markets.
Should you freeze and preserve seasonal vegetables and fruits? It depends on what prices you buy them for. Blanks will certainly be beneficial for those who grow vegetables on their own plot, but for buyers, buying frozen fruits in the supermarket may be a more economical option.
Consider the principles of economy when buying meat. The lowest price is for chicken, while it is not inferior in nutritional value to pork or beef. It is best to buy whole chicken carcasses - fillets can be baked, chicken legs can be stewed, and a rich broth can be cooked from the skeleton and wings. Try to buy fewer ready-made sausages and sausages - at the price they are quite consistent with meat, and their composition is often far from healthy.
Choose dairy products carefully. Do not buy curd cheeses and fruit curds - it will be much more useful and cheaper to prepare the curd mixture yourself with the addition of sour cream, milk and jam to taste.
Eggs can also be a suitable staple for a low-cost diet - a boiled egg can be a suitable breakfast.
Economical meals
Properly selected dishes will help you to eat sparingly. Cook soups more often - with their rich taste, they are quite inexpensive. Natural broth can be made with meat on the bone or with pieces that will not work with most other dishes. The soup can be made light or very satisfying. For soups that can be served as a main course, lentil or bean additions work well.
You can make frugal recipes more varied by adding herbs.
Another dish for a modest budget is stew. It can be prepared with seasonal vegetables. A small amount of meat is enough for a stew.
