A few nights ago I watched the BBC’s latest food programme ‘Economy Gastronomy’ in which the celebrity chef presenters show a family how to cut their food bills and improve their meals at the same time. The featured family on this episode were spending £330 per week on food. Whilst the exact contents of these obscenely expensive shopping baskets were not shown in any great detail, a significant portion seemed to consist of ready made puddings and desserts. The challenge set by the chefs was to get that weekly spend down to £200.
My wife and I joked that even the “economy” budget of £200 was closer to what our family of four spends on food in a month! And before you say it, no, we’re not living on bread and water, not by any means. I believe a big part of why our food spend is relatively low is because we make almost everything from scratch using fresh ingredients. And recently, I’ve even been making things like bread and pasta myself, and believe me, once you get the knack of it home made is undoubtedly better.
Something else we do a lot of is growing our own. We are fortunate that we have a large garden and have been able to section off a nice vegetable patch at the back, away from the dangers of stick-chasing labradors and poorly aimed rugby balls. I also managed to pick up a cheap and cheerful “polytunnel” from ebay for £70 as we didn’t already have a greenhouse. After a lot of hard graft we’re now enjoying the fruits (and vegetables) of our labour. We’ve had an abundance of potatoes, peas, french beans, and in the polytunnel we’re just waiting for the tomatoes, peppers, chilis and aubergines to ripen. Even if you don’t have much room, one of those rectangular plant pots on a sunny window sill can keep you in salad leaves or fresh herbs for months on end – every little helps, apparently.
We also keep chickens, and I urge anyone who has the space to do the same. They are practically zero maintenance, extremely cheap to feed and a pair of hens will pretty much give you a dozen eggs a week most of the year. Even my wife, who is a bit of a bird-o-phobe (I believe the phrase “scaly-legged devil birds” has passed her lips on occasion) raves about the quality of the eggs. And of course, if you want to take things a step further, there’s free range, back garden roast chicken to consider.
Lastly, meat and fish are not the cornerstone of each and every meal in our house. We’re not vegetarians by any stretch of the imagination, but I believe that if you are a meat eater, meat should still be a treat. Buy quality fresh meat or fish, cook it well, and enjoy it, but don’t just eat it for the sake of eating it. As the Slow Food organisation says, “Eat less, but eat better”.
I think the thing that binds all of these ideas together is the fact that my wife and I care about the food we eat and put on the table for our kids. I care about how the meat that I eat was raised, I care about where our fruit and vegetables come from, I care about how much salt, sugar and general crap is in the tin or jar or packet, and I care about how the food is cooked. All of these factors combined ensure that the next episode of “Economy Gastronomy” will not be featuring the MacLeod household!