Slash THOUSANDS from your grocery bill: Mother-of-three reveals how meal prepping and shopping smart has saved her $10,400 in just two years
- Sascha Farley has managed to save $10,400 on groceries over two years
- She has cut down her costs by meal prepping and always following a list
- She uses the Healthy Mummy app on Sunday to create her recipes for the week
A mother-of-three has revealed how meal prepping and thrifty supermarket habits have helped her save a staggering $10,000 on groceries over the past two years.
Sascha Farley, from Sydney, first started meal prepping after having her first child – as a way to overhaul her diet and eat healthily again.
The 28-year-old began to follow a selection of meal guides in September 2016, choosing easy and tasty recipes her family would enjoy. But she soon realised just how budget-friendly doing it would be.
‘The first few shops I did in the first month were really expensive but once I had all the pantry staples my bill cut in half,’ she told FEMAIL.
A mother-of-three has revealed how meal prepping and thrifty supermarket habits have helped her save a staggering $10,000 on groceries over the past two years
The 28-year-old began to follow a selection of meal guides in September 2016, choosing easy and tasty recipes her family would enjoy, and soon realised just how budget-friendly it was
‘Nowadays I tend to only be buying meat, veg and fruit regularly because I’ve got the tins and spices already at home. But every six weeks or so I’ll stock up on a few extra things.’
Ms Farley does her weekly shopping on Sunday then plans her meals using the Healthy Mummy app – an app designed to help women eat well.
‘I won’t always stick to the exact vegetables listed in the app recipes if they’re expensive when I get to the supermarket – especially if it’s a green vegetable that will taste similar to other veg,’ she said.
Ms Farley does her weekly shopping on Sunday and plans her meals over that day and Monday
‘I’ll buy frozen or tinned vegetables too if I have to to keep the cost down. Then the fruit is whatever is on sale and in season.
‘I spend between $80-$120 a week for our family of five (including a three-week-old newborn) and that includes everything like washing powders, detergents… the lot.
‘We worked out we save on average $100 a week so that’s $10,400 over two years.’
Some of their favourite recipes from the guides, which are on the Healthy Mummy app, include beef san choy bow, pumpkin and fetta frittata, one-pot spaghetti bolognese and easy fried rice, which are all available on the app.
Some of their favourite recipes to make include beef san choy bow, pumpkin and fetta frittata, one-pot spaghetti bolognese and easy fried rice, which are all available on the app
She’s lost 30 kilos over the course of those years just by enjoying home-cooked, hearty meals
Not only are they cheap and quick to whip up, with Ms Farley spending just one-and-a-half hours in the kitchen each week to put them together, every recipe lists the calories too
Ultimately meal prepping saves the family time and money long-term, which can then be put towards other things
Ms Farley spends just 1.5 hours hours in the kitchen each week to put the meals together and tracks the calories for each one.
She has also lost 30 kilos since she started meal prepping just by enjoying home-cooked, healthy food.
‘The kids also east most of the things we eat but I’ll always keep a healthy mac and cheese sauce in the freezer that I know I can put with pasta at any time and they will eat,’ she said.
‘Or I can make pick plates for them with a random assortment of platter items and they’ll enjoy that too.’
Ultimately meal prepping saves the family time and money long-term, which can then be put towards other things.
If you want to make your own healthy recipes at home, the new Healthy Mummy book ‘The Busy Mum’s Guide to Weight Loss on a Budget’ is available at Kmart, Big W, Target and all bookstores