How a True Scotsman Can Reduce His Food Bill
As a True Scotsman the Holy Trinity does not mean the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost to me.
Rather it represents the cornerstone of my diet - Alcohol, Fat and Sugar.
I'm never going to be a favourite with Gillian McKeith, Jamie Oliver or any chef worth their salt for that matter.
I've only had about ten pieces of Fruit in the last 10 years, and without fail I'll have a 2l bottle of either Irn Bru or Cola, day in, day out.
However, I also have that other great Scottish trait of being over zealously aware of how much I am spending.
It is became more and more clear to me that it was rather foolish to be watching the pennies in other aspects of my life, but feel no problem whatsoever splashing out £50 to £100 a week on my groceries, ordering at least one takeaway to be delivered each week, guzzling down £5000 worth of carbonated drinks throughout the £2000s, and single-handedly holding up Gregg's share price! The Credit Crunch has however caused my attitudes to change somewhat.
I am becoming acutely aware of my food spending and have taken action to bring my bill down.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the result.
If you wish to bring your food bills down, here are the 3 main methods that I have found: 1.
No more takeaways.
If I can cancel the takeaways, then anyone can.
I would go as far to suggest that you would struggle to find any 29 year old in the UK who has cumulatively eaten more Chippies, Kebabs and Chicken Curry's than I have.
No joke - I lay down the gauntlet! The turning point for me was actually one of my least favourite takeaways - Domino's.
A few months back I was berating my girlfriend when she wanted to phone a Domino's delivery.
My argument was that Domino's was very, very overpriced for what you actually get.
Instead we settled on a KFC.
It was whilst eating this KFC, and running out of chips after about two minutes, that I realised that my argument actually applies to all takeaways! McDonalds are made from cardboard.
Indian and Chinese's are filled out with Rice and MSG.
Kebab meat is prone to having "hard bits".
Even the old saying "as cheap as chips" doesn't ring true anymore.
A bag of chips will set you back £1.
10 for a couple of tatties dipped in hot fat.
How does that work out? In reality there is no takeaway that can't be created in the home for a fraction of the price.
2.
Take a sandwich to work.
I was always a fan of Gregg's, since I first found one about 6 years ago in Glasgow.
Each lunch break I would buy two Steak Bakes, a cake and a can of Coke - setting me back about £3.
Lately, I've gone even worse by switching my Steak Bakes for Baguettes at £2.
25 each (how upmarket?) This is the Latte Factor taken to extremes! £3 a day is almost £1000 per year (I work a 6 day week).
I realised that the same notion as I applied to takeaways works equally as well for lunch.
A baguette made at home would cost about 50p, and fills you up just as well as a shop made one.
3.
Switch to the Store brand.
I would have choked if my mum had laid anything other than Heinz beans in front of me as a child.
My mum has later admitted that she bought the stores own brand but decanted them into a Heinz bean tin to make me and my brother think we were receiving the real deal! I know for a fact that this scenario has been played out in kitchens up and down the UK over the years.
The truth of the matter is that there is not always a whole lot of difference between the branded items and the store's own make.
I've stated this before - Somerfield, by any stretch of the imagination, don't have their own brewery.
The lager they sell under their own brand must be getting made somewhere.
It is not beyond the realms of imagination that a big player, such as Carlsberg or Carling, may be selling Somerfield some of their excess production.
For the last 3 months I have been try some items purchased from Aldi, and also some of the Tesco Value range.
I have certainly not been disappointed by the Aldi stock, but have found Tesco to be more convenient, and also to have a better range.
Here are the items which I have been eating: Tesco noodles- 8p Tesco biscuits- 5p Tesco cola- 44p Tesco bitter- 41p Tesco cheese- £3 Tesco rolls- 2p! Tesco carrots- 68p Tesco stock cubes- 19p I can honestly say that none of the items above have disappointed.
By filling up on rolls at dinnertime, and sticking to a light meal such as noodles or soup in the evening, I can now eat for less than £10 a week - and never be hungry! Once again, I'm sure that Gillian McKeith would not approve but needs must when the devil drives.
Take a look at your food expenditure today.
Rather it represents the cornerstone of my diet - Alcohol, Fat and Sugar.
I'm never going to be a favourite with Gillian McKeith, Jamie Oliver or any chef worth their salt for that matter.
I've only had about ten pieces of Fruit in the last 10 years, and without fail I'll have a 2l bottle of either Irn Bru or Cola, day in, day out.
However, I also have that other great Scottish trait of being over zealously aware of how much I am spending.
It is became more and more clear to me that it was rather foolish to be watching the pennies in other aspects of my life, but feel no problem whatsoever splashing out £50 to £100 a week on my groceries, ordering at least one takeaway to be delivered each week, guzzling down £5000 worth of carbonated drinks throughout the £2000s, and single-handedly holding up Gregg's share price! The Credit Crunch has however caused my attitudes to change somewhat.
I am becoming acutely aware of my food spending and have taken action to bring my bill down.
I have been pleasantly surprised by the result.
If you wish to bring your food bills down, here are the 3 main methods that I have found: 1.
No more takeaways.
If I can cancel the takeaways, then anyone can.
I would go as far to suggest that you would struggle to find any 29 year old in the UK who has cumulatively eaten more Chippies, Kebabs and Chicken Curry's than I have.
No joke - I lay down the gauntlet! The turning point for me was actually one of my least favourite takeaways - Domino's.
A few months back I was berating my girlfriend when she wanted to phone a Domino's delivery.
My argument was that Domino's was very, very overpriced for what you actually get.
Instead we settled on a KFC.
It was whilst eating this KFC, and running out of chips after about two minutes, that I realised that my argument actually applies to all takeaways! McDonalds are made from cardboard.
Indian and Chinese's are filled out with Rice and MSG.
Kebab meat is prone to having "hard bits".
Even the old saying "as cheap as chips" doesn't ring true anymore.
A bag of chips will set you back £1.
10 for a couple of tatties dipped in hot fat.
How does that work out? In reality there is no takeaway that can't be created in the home for a fraction of the price.
2.
Take a sandwich to work.
I was always a fan of Gregg's, since I first found one about 6 years ago in Glasgow.
Each lunch break I would buy two Steak Bakes, a cake and a can of Coke - setting me back about £3.
Lately, I've gone even worse by switching my Steak Bakes for Baguettes at £2.
25 each (how upmarket?) This is the Latte Factor taken to extremes! £3 a day is almost £1000 per year (I work a 6 day week).
I realised that the same notion as I applied to takeaways works equally as well for lunch.
A baguette made at home would cost about 50p, and fills you up just as well as a shop made one.
3.
Switch to the Store brand.
I would have choked if my mum had laid anything other than Heinz beans in front of me as a child.
My mum has later admitted that she bought the stores own brand but decanted them into a Heinz bean tin to make me and my brother think we were receiving the real deal! I know for a fact that this scenario has been played out in kitchens up and down the UK over the years.
The truth of the matter is that there is not always a whole lot of difference between the branded items and the store's own make.
I've stated this before - Somerfield, by any stretch of the imagination, don't have their own brewery.
The lager they sell under their own brand must be getting made somewhere.
It is not beyond the realms of imagination that a big player, such as Carlsberg or Carling, may be selling Somerfield some of their excess production.
For the last 3 months I have been try some items purchased from Aldi, and also some of the Tesco Value range.
I have certainly not been disappointed by the Aldi stock, but have found Tesco to be more convenient, and also to have a better range.
Here are the items which I have been eating: Tesco noodles- 8p Tesco biscuits- 5p Tesco cola- 44p Tesco bitter- 41p Tesco cheese- £3 Tesco rolls- 2p! Tesco carrots- 68p Tesco stock cubes- 19p I can honestly say that none of the items above have disappointed.
By filling up on rolls at dinnertime, and sticking to a light meal such as noodles or soup in the evening, I can now eat for less than £10 a week - and never be hungry! Once again, I'm sure that Gillian McKeith would not approve but needs must when the devil drives.
Take a look at your food expenditure today.