Here are a few tips on how to make your groceries go further!
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Here at the SDC, we're all about hunting for bargains and saving on shopping expenses.
And since we know that food shopping is a significant part of most Aussie households' expenses, we're also keen on sharing some waste-saving tips with you guys that will not only help you save money in the kitchen but will also make your fresh groceries go the distance.
Jane de Graaff from Honey is here to share some tips with us on how to make sure every single dollar of our grocery counts.
Turn old bread into crunchy croutons and more
If you have some leftover crusts or bread that have gone stale lying around, don't throw them out just yet.
Instead, cut them up into cubes and toast them in the oven. You can also cook them in a hot pan with a little oil and salt. Then allow them to cool completely and keep them in an airtight container.
Now you got yourself some crunchy croutons that will go really well with salads and soup! You can even crush them up to make bread crumbs for coating chicken or fish.
Jane recommends turning any leftover bread into croutons. Credit: Fifteen Spatulas.
Turn scraps into an epic stock paste
Jane recommends that every time you chop up some onion, carrot, celery or any other crunchy vegetable, keep the offcuts in an airtight box in the fridge.
And once you have a couple of cups worth of scraps, simply blitz them up in a blender or a food processor with four tablespoons of salt and you have a stock paste that works wonders!
"There isn't really any reason to buy stock powder or stock cubes when you can make this paste so easily," she said.
This stock paste can last in the fridge for several months, and you can use it to add depth and flavour to any recipes, especially for stews and soups!
Freeze leftover stock
Speaking of stock, did you know that you can simply pour any leftover liquid stock into an ice cube tray and freeze them for future use?
Whenever you need them, just pop out a couple of cubes and add them to your recipe. As easy as that!
Portion items when freezing, to stop the huge defrost
We've all been probably guilty of lazily shoving bulk items in the freezer, such as meat and seafood products. Then when the time comes that we need them, we have to defrost large chunks of mince when we only need a portion of it.
While it is understood that you can safely refreeze frozen food that has been taken out of the freezer, there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.
That's why Jane suggests portioning these items up into usable sizes before you place them into the freezer. This way, you won't defrost more than you need.
You might have recently noticed that lemons are getting more expensive, so now’s the perfect time to make every drop count!
According to Jane, cutting lemons just to get the juice out is the old way of doing things (not to mention, extremely wasteful as well).
The best and most efficient way to get the juice out of a lemon is to use a skewer to pierce the end of the fruit, and then squeeze out only what you need. This way, the leftover juice inside is still protected in the skin of the lemon and can be popped into the fridge for later use.
And as always, you can just put lemon juice into an ice cube tray and pop them in the freezer!
With grocery prices spiralling out of control, every little tip helps. Do you have any you can share with other members? Please do so below.
And since we know that food shopping is a significant part of most Aussie households' expenses, we're also keen on sharing some waste-saving tips with you guys that will not only help you save money in the kitchen but will also make your fresh groceries go the distance.
Jane de Graaff from Honey is here to share some tips with us on how to make sure every single dollar of our grocery counts.
Turn old bread into crunchy croutons and more
If you have some leftover crusts or bread that have gone stale lying around, don't throw them out just yet.
Instead, cut them up into cubes and toast them in the oven. You can also cook them in a hot pan with a little oil and salt. Then allow them to cool completely and keep them in an airtight container.
Now you got yourself some crunchy croutons that will go really well with salads and soup! You can even crush them up to make bread crumbs for coating chicken or fish.
Jane recommends turning any leftover bread into croutons. Credit: Fifteen Spatulas.
Turn scraps into an epic stock paste
Jane recommends that every time you chop up some onion, carrot, celery or any other crunchy vegetable, keep the offcuts in an airtight box in the fridge.
And once you have a couple of cups worth of scraps, simply blitz them up in a blender or a food processor with four tablespoons of salt and you have a stock paste that works wonders!
"There isn't really any reason to buy stock powder or stock cubes when you can make this paste so easily," she said.
This stock paste can last in the fridge for several months, and you can use it to add depth and flavour to any recipes, especially for stews and soups!
Freeze leftover stock
Speaking of stock, did you know that you can simply pour any leftover liquid stock into an ice cube tray and freeze them for future use?
Whenever you need them, just pop out a couple of cubes and add them to your recipe. As easy as that!
Portion items when freezing, to stop the huge defrost
We've all been probably guilty of lazily shoving bulk items in the freezer, such as meat and seafood products. Then when the time comes that we need them, we have to defrost large chunks of mince when we only need a portion of it.
While it is understood that you can safely refreeze frozen food that has been taken out of the freezer, there may be a loss of quality due to the moisture lost through thawing.
That's why Jane suggests portioning these items up into usable sizes before you place them into the freezer. This way, you won't defrost more than you need.
Save leftover lemon
You might have recently noticed that lemons are getting more expensive, so now’s the perfect time to make every drop count!
According to Jane, cutting lemons just to get the juice out is the old way of doing things (not to mention, extremely wasteful as well).
The best and most efficient way to get the juice out of a lemon is to use a skewer to pierce the end of the fruit, and then squeeze out only what you need. This way, the leftover juice inside is still protected in the skin of the lemon and can be popped into the fridge for later use.
And as always, you can just put lemon juice into an ice cube tray and pop them in the freezer!
With grocery prices spiralling out of control, every little tip helps. Do you have any you can share with other members? Please do so below.
