11 food swaps that will save you money

Are you trying to push down your grocery bill? We show you how.

When it comes to food shopping, we all know that buying in bulk and choosing own-brand goods help save the pennies.

But there are plenty of other ways to squeeze your costs. Here, I'm going to look at food swapping - how slightly altering the goods in your trolley can dramatically slash your food bill.

I'm going to be using Sainsbury's as the supermarket I get my examples from as I shop there myself and I'm pretty familiar with the product range. However, all the moneysaving swapping rules here should apply in other supermarkets too.

So - without further ado... onto my first swapping tip:

1. Swap 'snacks' for 'cooking ingredients'

Many of the dried fruits and nuts in the 'healthy snacks' aisle can be found costing a lot less in the 'baking ingredients' section (they are free from VAT here). Don't be taken in by the pretty packaging!

Tip: Swap these Sun-Maid Natural California Raisins Mini Snacks (costing a whopping 91.1p per 100g) for this bag of Sainsbury's Californian Seedless Raisins, which works out at just 18.4p per 100g.

2. Swap bought desserts for homemade crumbles

I'm a big fan of homemade crumble. It's easy to make, you can rustle up a huge one for well under £2, and you'll even be getting one of your 'five a day'.

Tip: Swap this Sainsbury's Taste the Difference Tarte aux Abricots (priced at £5) for a crumble made from this 34p Sainsbury's crumble topping, three or four of these cooking apples at 40p each and a big spoonful of sugar.

3. Swap fresh juice for longlife

When I was at university, I had a bad experience involving longlife orange juice (and cheap vodka!). I couldn't touch the stuff for years, but when I finally had some longlife juice recently, I realised it's actually very nice as long as it's properly chilled.

Tip: Swap this litre of Tropicana Pure Premium Smooth orange juice (costing £1.96) for this litre of Sainsbury's Basics orange juice, priced at just 56p.

Rachel Robson rounds up five ways to cut your food bills.

4. Swap fizzy drinks for sparkling water + juice

This switch should boost your health as well as your bank balance, as you'll really be cutting back on your sugar intake.

Tip: Swap two litres of Coca Cola (priced at £1.69) for two litres of Sainsbury's Basics sparkling table water (costing 18p) plus a dash of the juice - or squash - of your choice.

5. Swap white for wholegrain

Many wholegrain products cost no more than their white equivalents. And they'll work out cheaper in the long run, as they'll fill you up for longer and you won't be as likely to buy pricy snacks between meals.

Tip: Swap this 800g Sainsbury's loaf of medium sliced white bread (costing 74p) for this 800g Sainsbury's loaf of medium sliced wholemeal bread (also costing 74p).

6. Swap minced beef for minced turkey

This is another switch that's good for your health as well as your wallet - turkey is one of the leanest meats around.

Tip: Swap 500g of Sainsbury's British beef lean steak mince (costing £2.89) for 500g of Sainsbury's Be Good to Yourself lean turkey mince, priced at £1.79.

7. Swap fresh vegetables for frozen

These days, vegetables are frozen in ways that mean the nutrients are properly retained. Fresh veggies are lovely, but if money is tight, try substituting them with cheaper frozen alternatives once or twice a week.

8. Swap fresh fruit for tinned

Again, you won't want to do this all the time - but it will shave a few pounds off your bill and there are now plenty of tinned fruits that don't come in syrup.

Tip: Swap hacking away at this 99p Sainsbury's Basics pineapple for this 13p tin of Sainsbury's Basics pineapple pieces in juice.

9. Swap tidy slices for off-cuts

Keep an eye out for meat and fish off-cuts. The bits cut off to neaten up slices are often packaged up themselves and sold at a really low price. If you're going to cut it all up anyway, what's the difference?

Tip: Swap this Sainsbury's smoked salmon (costing £39.83 per kg) for these Sainsbury's Basics smoked salmon trimmings, priced at just £7.25 per kg.

10. Swap meat for pulses

Pulses are generally much cheaper than meat and provide lots of low-fat fibre and protein. If you don't want to skip the meat altogether, use half as much, add pulses to bulk out your dish and freeze the rest of the meat for another day.

Tip: Swap half this £2.89 pack of Sainsbury's lean steak mince for this 19p tin of Sainsbury's Basics kidney beans to create a cut-price Bolognese.

11. Swap bought pizzas for build-your-own

Creating your own pizza will save you a couple of quid - and you'll also be able to choose the exact toppings you like.

Tip: Swap this 12 inch Pizza Express American pizza (costing £4.99) for this £1 12 inch Sainsbury's Basics cheese and tomato pizza plus this £2.29 Sainsbury's Thin & Crispy pepperoni pizza.

Whatever your shopping list looks like, you should be able to save money by using MySupermarket.

This website compares the price of items at Sainsbury's, Asda, Tesco and Ocado - so you can track down the cheapest chocolate bars or the best-value baguettes.

This is a classic article which has recently been updated.

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