Sunday 19 October 2014

Eating Clean on a £20 Budget...The results

Well firstly, I'm sorry it took me so long to write this...first few weeks back at uni are definitely busy ones!!

The challenge was to eat clean for a week on a budget of £20...it definitely sounded easier than it was I have to say!!

I think the main difficulty I found with it was not being able to add additional flavors into the food that I was cooking!!! 
Like my porridge; I would normally add cinnamon, nutmeg, raisins and anything else I  fancied but I chose to not use any Food Cupboard items and instead use solely what I was able to buy for £20!!!

One thing I was worried about was some of the food going bad before I could use it; this was not a problem...I am forever amazed how well the fresh fruit and Veg from +AldiUK keeps.

I really enjoyed managing to stick to the budget and still had some food leftover which is frozen and will keep for other meals in the very near future. This in itself is the way I have managed to stick to eating clean on a budget is being able to create a food cupboard essentials which initially seem to cost you more than desirable but once you have them allow you to turn the cheapest most basic food item into a gorgeous meal.

So some tips I learnt from doing this challenge;
  • Plan, Plan and then plan a little more! I would not have managed to go into a shop and stick to £20 if I had not walked in with a pre-planned shopping list.
  • Create a meal plan for the week, this will firstly help with the above point but will also allow you to waste less fresh food by incorporating it in the beginning of the week.
  • Frozen Food is your best friend; it is usually cheaper and lasts for a hell of a lot longer meaning you don't have to worry about it going bad/to waste.
  • Having a well stocked food cupboard is essential if you want to eat-clean on a budget and be able to put more variety into your meals.
  • It is possible to do, however whether I could stick to that for longer than a week is debatable.

So, from this I have decided to have a £20 shopping budget however this time I will also be able to use the food cupboard essentials that I have in already.
This is what I actually do, and some weeks don't need to spend £20 on food (which means I can stock up on those essentials ;p )!!

I will post my food cupboard essentials shortly along with a weekly shopping list and meal plan for a £20 food budget which also uses those said food cupboard essentials.

Remember; It's Your Mind, Your Body, Your Choice!

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