Caitríona Redmond: These are the small steps I am taking to get ahead of rising food prices

Plus tips for saving money in the weekly shop and my go-to slow cooker meal 

Planning is key to getting ahead of price increases in the supermarket

On a tight shopping budget, reading the news has been anxiety-laden the past couple of weeks. When the Taoiseach said that we were on a food war footing my stomach sank a little.

Dairy jumped in price last week and it’s only a matter of time before wheat-based products do too. Let’s not even talk about the cost of fuel for the car or the house. It’s not like we can do without milk in our tea because decent tea is non-negotiable in this house. Tea is both a small and giant comfort in difficult times.

I’m trying to get ahead of things; that way I don’t get caught out and have to change my habits to adapt to a big price increase or something not being available. It’s not just my shopping habits though, it’s also my cooking habits that I’m going to have to alter.

Starting small, I am cooking a whole ham and slicing portions for lunch boxes rather than buying sliced ham. In Aldi this week an unsmoked 1kg fillet of ham costs €4.69 and 200g of cooked carved ham costs €2.29 (1kg of sliced ham would be €11.45).

There are instant savings on the shop right there so long as I don’t mind cooking and slicing the ham myself. I freeze the slices in a lunchbox with pieces of parchment or wax paper between them so I only lift out what we need every two days or so. You can do the same with chicken or turkey fillets.

In the supermarket, I added an extra bag of pasta to the trolley. We won’t eat it this week but it has a long expiry date and it’s made with, you’ve guessed it, wheat. I also added a packet of couscous and noodles. The great thing about couscous and noodles is that you can cook these using hot water from a kettle so they save you on energy costs. 

Who thought they’d be thinking about the energy costs of cooking on top of the cost of grocery shopping? Not me; that’s who.

Every action at home feels like I have to be a homemaker, cook, cleaner, carer, and professional bookkeeper at this stage. I will be tracking the cost of a basket of groceries in the supermarkets over the coming weeks, you’ll see this week’s findings below along with my picks for the best value deals on shelf this week. 

For Family Meals

The best value on mince and potatoes this week is Dunnes Stores. Take those two core ingredients and make Colm O’Gorman’s fully loaded potato wedges with easy chilli which is sure to be a crowd-pleaser for all ages. It's a very large-sized meal so if you don’t manage to finish it all in one sitting it reheats perfectly the next day using the airfryer. Or you could save half of the sauce and put it into the freezer for another day.

Irish Produce 

Irish mushrooms are in season and are great value in Aldi at the moment. Pick up a punnet of Egan's chestnut mushrooms for 49c and add them to soups, stir-fries, or simply sauté with a little butter for a beautiful snack on toast.

Barn Eggs 

In the coming weeks, you may notice that Irish free-range eggs become like hen's teeth. Due to an outbreak of bird flu (avian influenza) in wild birds in Ireland, free-range birds have been kept indoors since before Christmas. The EU gives Ireland a 4 month grace period where eggs can continue to be described as free-range but that is beginning to run out. So if you see barn eggs on the shelf they used to be known as free-range. As soon as the risk passes free-range eggs will return.

Easy lunchbox ham

This is the way I cook ham every time, whether I’m serving it for dinner or using the meat for sandwiches in the week.

Servings

6

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 5 hours 10 mins

Total Time

 5 hours 20 mins

Course

 Side

Ingredients

• 1kg ham

• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

• One onion, halved

Method

1. Place the ham into a very large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil, skimming the top of the water and turn down to a simmer, adding the vegetables. You can add any aromatics you like - a few cloves are always welcome here.

2. Simmer gently for two hours and remove, leaving to cool on a rack. When it is completely cold, slice thinly and store in a covered container for up to three days in the fridge.

3. If freezing, place between sheets of greaseproof paper and store in a covered container. This freezing method will work with most meat and is a cost-effective and healthy way to fill family lunchboxes with healthy sandwich fillers.
   
   Top tip: To turn this into a wonderfully frugal one-pot meal, add 1.5kg of potatoes to the pot after the first 90 minutes, and half a cabbage, finely sliced five minutes before the end of the cooking time. If you want to serve it with a parsley sauce, melt 30g of butter in the small pot, sprinkle two tablespoons of plain flour and cook off in the melted butter. Bit by bit add a half-and-half mixture of 150ml warm milk and spoonfuls of the cooking liquor from the boiling ham. Add fresh chopped parsley to taste.

Slow cooker beef and coconut curry

A slow cooker is such a handy gadget to have in your kitchen, and they use up the same energy as a light bulb. It’s the ultimate money-saving, time-saving way to make a dinner that the whole family will love.

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 5 mins

Cooking Time

 5 hours 10 mins

Total Time

 5 hours 15 mins

Course

 Main

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp tomato purée

• 1 butternut squash, peeled and chopped into bite-sized chunks

• 1 large onion, peeled and chopped

• 3 large carrots, peeled and chopped

• 3 cloves of garlic, crushed/minced

• 1 large piece of ginger, peeled and chopped

• 2 tbsp mild curry powder

• 350g stewing beef, cut into chunks

• 1 tin coconut milk

• 100g frozen peas

Method

1. Put the tomato purée, butternut squash, onion, carrots, garlic, ginger, curry powder, and beef into the slow cooker. Stir well so that the curry powder and aromatic ingredients (onion, garlic, and ginger) are mixed throughout the dish. Add about 2 tablespoons of water at this stage, but not too much. It may seem very dry but it will cook fine.

2. I've not added any extra salt here because there is normally a small amount of salt in curry powder. This makes this dish suitable for all ages and diets. However, if you find it's a bit bland you could also add a stock cube to the mixture, or a level teaspoon of salt before stirring and covering.

3. Put the lid on the slow cooker and turn to high for 4 hours.

4. After 4 hours, open the slow cooker and pour in the coconut milk and frozen peas. Stir well, then cover again for a further 30 minutes. Serve with basmati rice or naan bread.