Caitriona Redmond: How to save money on your groceries this week and deals to take note of

Plus my store cupboard stew and a cake with hidden vegetables

Caitriona Redmond is tracking the cost of our groceries every week. Picture: Cathy Dunne

One of the things I get asked most often is what should a grocery shopping budget be or how can you set a limit in place on what you spend?

Regardless of your income or expenses, as the cost of living increases, you are going to feel the pinch in some areas of your life.

We can all save money by taking control of our food waste though; most households in Ireland will throw away at least 20% of their food every week for various reasons. So if you can control your food waste you can make your groceries last longer and ultimately save money.

Instead of throwing away your vegetable peelings after making the dinner, why not give them all a quick rinse and add them to a large saucepan, cover with warm water and bring to a simmer for 30 minutes to make your own vegetable stock?

Once cooked, strain away the peelings and pop them straight into the brown bin when they have cooled. Store the stock in the freezer once cold or in a jar in the fridge. It’s perfect for adding to soups, stews, and making gravy. It’s also lower in salt and less processed than using a stock cube.

I also like to rinse off potato peelings, pop them onto a baking tray, season and drizzle with a little oil. Cook in the oven (or air fryer) for 20 minutes until crispy and golden for homemade jacket crisps. You can do the same with any root vegetable peelings and also with kale.

When compiling your shopping list this week think about making a meal plan based upon what you have in your presses, fridge, and freezer before you make up your shopping list. For rotation purposes, it’s good to use up what you’ve got.

If you are short on time when it comes to cooking and have issues with how long the preparation of vegetables takes out of your day, then consider buying a bag of frozen chopped onions or butternut squash.

These bags will keep for several months in your freezer and definitely save you time when you’re making meals. Believe it or not, based on volume, it’s actually cheaper to buy a bag of frozen onions than it is to buy a net of fresh.

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.

Deals of the week 

Green apples offer value for money.

For Lunchboxes

8 Green Apples in a bag from SuperValu cost. Cut and core your apples in advance and reassemble with a piece of string or elastic band in the lunchbox. This will make the apples accessible for small people to eat at breaktime.

On Offer

300ml of coconut oil is €1.59 in Aldi, making it the cheapest by far across all the major grocery retailers. You can use coconut oil for cooking/baking it’s also a highly effective moisturiser on a budget.

Potatoes are on sale this week in 1kg bags in Lidl, Aldi, Tesco, and Dunnes Stores. If you swap out your 2kg bag of potatoes for 2 individual smaller bags it'll bring down the cost of the shopping basket and save you at least a Euro on your shopping, or possibly more depending on your supermarket of choice. When you're on a budget every single precious Euro helps and sometimes the smaller size package is cheaper than the larger one.

Are the prices of eggs about to increase?

Egg Watch

While the overall cost of the Irish Examiner shopping basket is down this week due to special offers, I'm beginning to see price increases across the shopping basket. Two supermarkets have increased the price of their free-range eggs recently to €1.79, whereas a month ago all the supermarkets were holding at €1.59. It's something I'm keeping track of every single week so you can be guaranteed I will let you know if I notice other items climbing in price too.

Store cupboard chickpea stew

If you’re cooking from what you have in the press this is a good way of using up what you’ve got and is perfect for thermos flasks and even for a warming brunch

Servings

4

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 15 mins

Total Time

 25 mins

Course

 Main

Cuisine

 Italian

Ingredients

• 1 tin cooked chickpeas

• 2 tins chopped tomatoes

• 400ml water

• 1 clove garlic, chopped

• 1 small onion, chopped

• 1 tin of sweetcorn

• 200g dried pasta

• 1 tbsp sunflower oil

• 1 tsp smoked paprika

• Fresh herbs like basil or parsley (optional)

• Fresh Parmesan, grated

• (optional)

Method

1. Place the sunflower oil in a large saucepan on a medium heat with the onion and garlic. Stir for five minutes then add the smoked paprika, stir for another minute.

2. Add the drained chickpeas and stir around so that they are coated in the onions, garlic and paprika.

3. Now add your tomatoes along with the water. Stir well then break up the pasta into small pieces straight into the pot. Bring to a simmer then cover and cook for 15 minutes.

4. Now add the sweetcorn, herbs and lots of Parmesan, if using and serve.
   
   Tip: If you fancy a more meaty version add some lardons or pieces of rasher at the very start when cooking the onion and garlic. Or you can serve with a poached egg on top.

Hidden vegetable chocolate cake

Use beetroot to make this dense chocolate cake with a hidden vegetable and feel slightly virtuous when eating.

Servings

8

Preparation Time

 10 mins

Cooking Time

 40 mins

Total Time

 50 mins

Course

 Baking

Cuisine

 Irish

Ingredients

• 150g caster sugar

• 100g butter

• 65g grated beetroot

• 60g plain flour

• 2 eggs

• 3 heaped tbsp good quality cocoa powder

• ½ tsp vanilla extract

• ½ tsp baking powde

Method

1. Preheat a fan oven to 200°C. Line a 20cm cake tin well using the baking paper.

2. Place a medium saucepan on the weighing scales and weigh out the butter and sugar into the pan directly.

3. Put the saucepan on a low heat and keep an eye on it, stirring every now and again until you have a smooth syrup.

4. Grate the beetroot and leave it to one side - don’t add it to the flour now as it has high water content and will make the final cake lumpy.

5. Put the dry ingredients into a large bowl, mix and make a well in the centre. Pour the melted butter and sugar syrup inside and mix well.

6. Crack in your two eggs and mix again until they are incorporated into the batter.

7. Stir in your vanilla extract and finally, the beetroot making sure it is well coated in batter. Bake in the oven for 40 minutes.

8. Once baked, leave to cool completely in the tin before removing the paper and serving. Ice with melted chocolate or ganache if you prefer.