I’m a grocery expert – how a simple switch at the store could save you £1,000 a year
CASH-STRAPPED shoppers in the UK are increasingly turning to frozen versions of their favourite products in order to save money.
Shoppers are also spending less on fruit and vegetables and fresh meat, fish and poultry, according to research company NielsenIQ.
Some frozen products have had a bad rap in the past, but the quality is often just as good as fresh because the food is frozen as soon as it is picked or butchered.
Vicky Smith, who runs the blog, said switching to frozen food has helped her to stay on top of her budget and help her kids eat more veg.
“I started buying more frozen products when I became a lot more budget conscious a few years ago after I got made redundant,” she told The Sun.
“I just find it really convenient too.”
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But she said buying frozen has other benefits too.
Here are her four reasons why it’s so good - and one thing to be aware of.
It’s often cheaper
Frozen food can often be much cheaper per kilogram than its fresh equivalent.
For example, in Tesco, a 900g bag of frozen broccoli costs £1, or £1.11 a kilogram, whereas fresh broccoli is £1.92 a kilogram.
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And frozen spinach costs £1.76 a kilogram in Asda, but £3.33 a kilogram if you buy it fresh.
“I think the difference has got even wider recently, so it’s a good way to save a lot of money," Vicky said.
You might get even better value for money whereas fresh vegetables have peel and seeds to deal with, such as butternut squash.
You're paying for this in the weighed price but not in a bag of frozen prepared veg.
Although this is harder to generalise because those vegetables are often sold at a unit price, rather than per kilogram.
Meat and fish can also be much cheaper.
A 2kg bag of mixed chicken portions in Sainsbury’s is £3.75, or £1.88 a kilogram, whereas fresh drumsticks are £2.25 a kilogram.
And salmon fillets cost £11.11 a kilogram frozen, but £16.67 a kilogram fresh.
Most products are around one-third cheaper frozen than fresh.
That means you could make major savings on an average annual household grocery bill, which according to data company Kantar, is set to rise to £5,265 this year.
Taking into account that not every product you buy can be swapped for frozen, the saving could still be at least £1,000 a year.
“With Christmas coming up you could buy a frozen turkey,” Vicky suggests.
“Not only will it be cheaper, but it will save you having to wade through the supermarket aisles on Christmas Eve to find a fresh one.”
However, there are exceptions.
Fresh carrots sold loose are just 45p per kilogram in Tesco, but if you buy a 1kg bag of frozen sliced carrots, it will cost you £1.09 - considerably more.
So always compare the prices before you make a switch.
You can still make the same meals
Although frozen veg is essentially the same as fresh, the freezing process can change its texture.
“My only issue with it is there is a bit of adaptation needed to get used to cooking with frozen products,” said Vicky.
“I remember massively overcooking broccoli and cauliflower florets, but I’ve learned it just needs less time in boiling water.”
She recommends some trial and error, and accepting that some of the textures are going to be different.
You also need to remember to defrost things you might want to use later, unless they can be cooked from frozen.
“You have to look to find a few ideas of what you can do with your normal favourite meals to adapt them to frozen ingredients, but you don't have to get rid of those favourites,” Vicky said.
Less waste
The other example of frozen products is you can just get a little bit out of your freezer at a time, potentially saving you from wasting food.
For example, it’s much easier to get one frozen cauliflower floret out of your freezer than to take one off a fresh cauliflower and then have to use the rest of the vegetable.
“It's about just overcoming that mental barrier that maybe some people have and giving it a go and trying to get into a new routine,” Vicky said.
She said that frozen spinach and broccoli are a particular favourite in her house, because buying frozen meals she doesn’t end up with sad-looking veg at the bottom of her fridge.
“Particularly with spinach you put it in the fridge and then a few days later you pick it up and it's all gone green and gungy,” she said.
“That doesn’t happen if it’s frozen.”
More convenient
“If you have frozen veg in the freezer it’s very easy to just add some to your meals,” Vicky said.
She recommends doing a quick stock take before you go shopping, so you know what you already have in, and then you can just shop for what you need.
And if you don’t have time to shop for fresh fruit, vegetables or meat, it’s easy to store some in the freezer for emergencies.
“You’ve always got some things accessible then, which means you can whip up a quick meal,” Vicky said.
Think about storage
The only potential downside to buying frozen products is they often come in big bags, which isn’t convenient if you only have a small freezer.
Also, you may find that you want to separate out some of the products before you put them in your freezer so you can just get out one thing at a time, such as a chicken breast.
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“It's really important to make sure that if you're buying meat and cutting it off into individual packs, to make sure you wrap it properly so it doesn’t get freezer burn,” Vicky said.
While you can still eat food with freezer burn, it does affect the taste.