As we’re bombarded with escalating grocery prices, it’s best to keep an eye out for more ways to save money on necessities such as food without compromising quality.

One Aussie mum shared how she keeps her grocery expenses to a minimum without sacrificing meal size and taste.

Lee Dias budgets frugally in order to feed her family of five (herself, her husband, their five-year-old daughter, and one-year-old twins). She regularly posts budget-friendly meals on Instagram.

The savvy mum said she allocates $160 every week for groceries, but usually only spends $100. The average cost of groceries per week for a family of four in Australia is $192.

Less meat, more veggies! Image Credit: @feeding_five_frugally​

Ms Dias added that she tries to refrain from shopping week-to-week, making it a habit to check their pantry before deciding to drop by their local grocery store. She also uses less meat in their meals.

Feeding a family of two adults and three kids can be challenging at times, but Ms Dias has a passion for cooking and hunting for the best bargains in leading supermarkets.

One of the many delicious meals that the frugal mum makes is Honey Mustard Pork Loin with veggie couscous. The great thing about this recipe is it only costs her a total of $12.12 to make, serving up to 3 people.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to replicate the dish:

1. Two pork loin steaks - $3.29
2. One Lebanese cucumber - $1.29
3. Two cloves of garlic - $0.30
4. One small bag of baby spinach - $2
5. One red onion - $0.30
6. One carrot - $0.15
7. One sweet potato - $0.95
8. Half a red capsicum - $1.22
9. One zucchini - $1.09
10. Half a butternut pumpkin - $1.13
11. Half a cup of couscous - $0.40
12. Pantry staples including olive oil, Vegeta, honey, seeded mustard, and salt.

Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees celsius before moving on to chopping the vegetables to a similar small size while waiting. After that, line your baking trays with baking paper and spread out the vegetables in a single layer.

Lightly drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with Vegeta as well. Pop them in the oven until they are cooked or caramelised in some parts. Then, transfer the cooked vegetables into a large bowl.

Cook the couscous as per the packet’s instructions and add to the roasted vegetables. Toss them together gently to avoid breaking up the pumpkin and veggies.

To make the honey mustard pork, combine two tablespoons of honey, one and a half tablespoons of seeded mustard, finely chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and one tablespoon of water in a bowl.

Post Credit: @feeding_five_frugally​

Pour some olive oil into a heated frying pan and toss the pork loin steaks in until they are cooked (a little bit of pink in the middle is okay as it will keep cooking when resting).

Before taking them out of the heat, pour the honey mustard mixture into the pan and coat the pork loin steaks in the sauce evenly. When the sauce starts to simmer, turn off the heat and serve the meat with the veggie couscous. (chefs kiss)

“I'm currently shopping with Coles online (mum of twin babies here), but if you shop at your local grocer, butcher and deli, you will find the ingredients at lower prices and save a few more dollars.” the mum added.

If you’re keen to know how she handles saving money and cooking delicious meals effortlessly, here are a few tips from the legend herself:

1. Resist the urge to shop every week

Ms Dias' 'biggest budgeting tip' is to refrain from going to the supermarket every week to buy items that are on special.

“Try to buy multiple items when they are on sale and keep a little stockpile at home to get you through until it goes on sale again,” she suggested.

“If something you use goes on a half-price sale, buy a few. It can take a little time to build a stockpile, but doing a little each week will help build your pantry and freezer stock.”

The average grocery expense of families is $192 per week. Image Credit: Aldi​

2. Use less meat

Ms Dias opts to use less meat to feed her family. She said that doing so is better for their overall health, budget, and the environment.

“We love our food and love meat so we just reduce the amount in each meal,” she said.

Instead of buying chicken thighs and cooking the entire packet, she splits the amount into smaller servings and then freezes them for another meal.

3. Don’t be afraid to try new recipes and prepare them with similar ingredients.

Ms Dias recommends trying new recipes using similar ingredients.

“It reduces wastage if you don't need the whole pack for one recipe and it can reduce the grocery bill by buying things in bulk,” she said.

The family enjoys Vietnamese-style foods, including roast vegetable couscous paired with a deliciously seasoned chicken thigh and lemon mayonnaise.

Like everyone else, Ms Dias is anxious about the rising cost of living. When her family grew from three members to five, she decided to become a stay-at-home mum, reducing their income source to one salary.

“The biggest hit for us recently has been the rise in mortgage repayments, soaring fuel prices, and grocery price increases,” she explained.

“'I am having to rely on the freezer and pantry stockpile more and more, but as I do that, it will slowly run down without me having the ability to shop the specials to keep it at a good sustainable level.”

Ms Dias is passionate about cooking. Image Credit: feeding_five_frugally​

“If it continues, I'll need to explore different meal options and reduce the grocery bill more and more to get by.”

A recent report discovered that almost all (98 per cent) Aussie grocery shoppers have noticed an increase in the overall cost of items including petrol, groceries, and household bills in comparison to previous years. Four in five (81 per cent) are worried about the affordability of living costs in the coming years.

Aussies are concerned about grocery affordability (51 per cent) the most, followed by petrol affordability (59 per cent).

One in 10 (10 per cent) of Australians have switched supermarkets in an effort to save money despite statistics showing that shopping at multiple stores is the best way to go for saving.

What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments!

Get a glimpse of how Ms Dias plans her meals by watching the video below:

Video Credit: feeding_five_frugally​

 

[Ricci]

It's not rocket science, there are a myriad ways to reduce your grocery bills that don't have to mean boring meals. Rice, cous cous and potatoes are filling, cheap and can be prepared in a lot of different ways. Soup, casseroles and stews are nutritious and cheap. Beans and pulses can be used to bulk up many meals and are full of the good stuff. You just have to shop smarter these days.

 

[MIZMAC]

when making stews, soups, casseroles make dumplings to have with them. Pop on top of the meal to cook.

 

[Singomate]

As we’re bombarded with escalating grocery prices, it’s best to keep an eye out for more ways to save money on necessities such as food without compromising quality.

One Aussie mum shared how she keeps her grocery expenses to a minimum without sacrificing meal size and taste.

Lee Dias budgets frugally in order to feed her family of five (herself, her husband, their five-year-old daughter, and one-year-old twins). She regularly posts budget-friendly meals on Instagram.

The savvy mum said she allocates $160 every week for groceries, but usually only spends $100. The average cost of groceries per week for a family of four in Australia is $192.

Less meat, more veggies! Image Credit: @feeding_five_frugally​

Ms Dias added that she tries to refrain from shopping week-to-week, making it a habit to check their pantry before deciding to drop by their local grocery store. She also uses less meat in their meals.

Feeding a family of two adults and three kids can be challenging at times, but Ms Dias has a passion for cooking and hunting for the best bargains in leading supermarkets.

One of the many delicious meals that the frugal mum makes is Honey Mustard Pork Loin with veggie couscous. The great thing about this recipe is it only costs her a total of $12.12 to make, serving up to 3 people.

Here are the ingredients you’ll need to replicate the dish:

1. Two pork loin steaks - $3.29
2. One Lebanese cucumber - $1.29
3. Two cloves of garlic - $0.30
4. One small bag of baby spinach - $2
5. One red onion - $0.30
6. One carrot - $0.15
7. One sweet potato - $0.95
8. Half a red capsicum - $1.22
9. One zucchini - $1.09
10. Half a butternut pumpkin - $1.13
11. Half a cup of couscous - $0.40
12. Pantry staples including olive oil, Vegeta, honey, seeded mustard, and salt.

Start by preheating your oven to 180 degrees celsius before moving on to chopping the vegetables to a similar small size while waiting. After that, line your baking trays with baking paper and spread out the vegetables in a single layer.

Lightly drizzle the vegetables with olive oil and sprinkle them with Vegeta as well. Pop them in the oven until they are cooked or caramelised in some parts. Then, transfer the cooked vegetables into a large bowl.

Cook the couscous as per the packet’s instructions and add to the roasted vegetables. Toss them together gently to avoid breaking up the pumpkin and veggies.

To make the honey mustard pork, combine two tablespoons of honey, one and a half tablespoons of seeded mustard, finely chopped garlic cloves, a pinch of salt and one tablespoon of water in a bowl.

Post Credit: @feeding_five_frugally​

Pour some olive oil into a heated frying pan and toss the pork loin steaks in until they are cooked (a little bit of pink in the middle is okay as it will keep cooking when resting).

Before taking them out of the heat, pour the honey mustard mixture into the pan and coat the pork loin steaks in the sauce evenly. When the sauce starts to simmer, turn off the heat and serve the meat with the veggie couscous. (chefs kiss)

“I'm currently shopping with Coles online (mum of twin babies here), but if you shop at your local grocer, butcher and deli, you will find the ingredients at lower prices and save a few more dollars.” the mum added.

If you’re keen to know how she handles saving money and cooking delicious meals effortlessly, here are a few tips from the legend herself:

1. Resist the urge to shop every week

Ms Dias' 'biggest budgeting tip' is to refrain from going to the supermarket every week to buy items that are on special.

“Try to buy multiple items when they are on sale and keep a little stockpile at home to get you through until it goes on sale again,” she suggested.

“If something you use goes on a half-price sale, buy a few. It can take a little time to build a stockpile, but doing a little each week will help build your pantry and freezer stock.”

The average grocery expense of families is $192 per week. Image Credit: Aldi​

2. Use less meat

Ms Dias opts to use less meat to feed her family. She said that doing so is better for their overall health, budget, and the environment.

“We love our food and love meat so we just reduce the amount in each meal,” she said.

Instead of buying chicken thighs and cooking the entire packet, she splits the amount into smaller servings and then freezes them for another meal.

3. Don’t be afraid to try new recipes and prepare them with similar ingredients.

Ms Dias recommends trying new recipes using similar ingredients.

“It reduces wastage if you don't need the whole pack for one recipe and it can reduce the grocery bill by buying things in bulk,” she said.

The family enjoys Vietnamese-style foods, including roast vegetable couscous paired with a deliciously seasoned chicken thigh and lemon mayonnaise.

Like everyone else, Ms Dias is anxious about the rising cost of living. When her family grew from three members to five, she decided to become a stay-at-home mum, reducing their income source to one salary.

“The biggest hit for us recently has been the rise in mortgage repayments, soaring fuel prices, and grocery price increases,” she explained.

“'I am having to rely on the freezer and pantry stockpile more and more, but as I do that, it will slowly run down without me having the ability to shop the specials to keep it at a good sustainable level.”

Ms Dias is passionate about cooking. Image Credit: feeding_five_frugally​

“If it continues, I'll need to explore different meal options and reduce the grocery bill more and more to get by.”

A recent report discovered that almost all (98 per cent) Aussie grocery shoppers have noticed an increase in the overall cost of items including petrol, groceries, and household bills in comparison to previous years. Four in five (81 per cent) are worried about the affordability of living costs in the coming years.

Aussies are concerned about grocery affordability (51 per cent) the most, followed by petrol affordability (59 per cent).

One in 10 (10 per cent) of Australians have switched supermarkets in an effort to save money despite statistics showing that shopping at multiple stores is the best way to go for saving.

What are your thoughts on this story? Share them with us in the comments!

Get a glimpse of how Ms Dias plans her meals by watching the video below:

Video Credit: feeding_five_frugally​

Although I only cook for two ,I have to include lunch for wife everyday as she is the breadwinner. So I will do Spag bol one day save enough for a lunch thru week, same tuna mornay, Cottage Pie, Pasties , fish and Chips Chicken Casserole. All very cheap meals the next week , I will cook Chinese so varied meals don't get boring.