Diana Clement: How to streamline your supermarket spending amid cost-of-living crisis

Shop around, substitute and buy basics in bulk when cheaper to help save money on your groceries. Photo / Sylvie Whinray

OPINION:

I don’t have a God-given right to buy capsicum. When prices are high, I substitute, go without, or buy frozen. My jaw nearly hit the ground during an item on the TV news a few weeks ago about the cost-of-living crisis, where a couple lamented having just paid $15 for three capsicums.

Hang on. What? Put them back. Capsicum isn’t needed for sustenance. If money’s tight, use an alternative. When a recipe requires capsicum, but I’m not willing to pay the price, I add extra onions and use paprika, which of course is dried, ground, you guessed it, capsicum. Or if you want the crunch rather than the flavour, then celery is a good alternative. Try stuffing something else like a pumpkin, or find another recipe until capsicums are cheap.

The point of this article isn’t capsicum. It’s about streamlining supermarket spending. If ever there was a time to think longer and harder about the food we buy, it’s now. Shop around, substitute, buy basics in bulk when cheaper. Just make sure you use meal planning to avoid waste.

On the substitution front, I’m no chef but I’m a dab hand at Google searches and more recently ChatGPT, both of which can provide substitutes for almost any ingredient. Need three eggs for a cake, but don’t want to fork out $3? Use chia or aquafaba. For other uses of eggs, ChatGPT gives examples where mashed bananas, apple sauce, silken tofu and flax or chia seed can be substituted. It doesn’t work of course for breakfast eggs or quiche.

As for pantry basics, they’re often not cheap in the supermarket. I wandered past Richmond Fruit and Vege in Christchurch this month and noticed 10kg sacks of potatoes were $9.99. They were the same price at the Lotus supermarket in Stoddard Rd, Mt Roskill, Auckland, a few days later. I checked online and the nearest regular supermarkets in both cases charged $16.99 and $19.20 for 10kg of their cheapest potatoes.

Three capsicums for $15? Put them back. Photo / Warren Buckland

Thanks to this article I spent a good chunk of time shopping for onions this week, which cost $2.99 to $3.99 per kilogram in the supermarkets. The NZ Pacific Food Pantry in Manurewa had 10kg sacks that worked out at $1.10/kg and a 10kg sack available at some Pak’nSave was $1.29/kg. Potatoes and onions last a long time if stored well. If you can’t eat 10kg, do what I do and split them with another household.

If you want to save money on food, then familiarise yourself with prices in alternative outlets such as fruit and veg shops, bargain butchers, Bin Inn bulk stores, and Indian and Chinese supermarkets. Everything from rice to spices is often much cheaper in these stores.

Meat and fresh fish can be a bargain in Chinese supermarkets. Basics such as flour, sugar, nuts, dried fruit and beans are sharply priced in most Indian supermarkets.

If you’re buying dry goods in bulk from anywhere, freeze them for 48 hours after buying to ensure there is no chance of pantry moths getting into your cupboards.

The next trick is to consider the per kilogram cost of true essentials and buy up large when they’re cheap. Buy double quantities when mince is $10.99 instead of $16.99 or $19.99 and freeze the excess. I now buy my son’s bacon in 1kg packages, chop the pack, plastic and all, in four with scissors or a sharp knife and freeze it in parcels.

If you want to counter the rising cost of food, reconsider what are basics, and how you consume. Maybe if beef is $25/kg or more, buy chicken, which can be $10/kg or less. Maybe Google for some interesting chicken dishes to make up for it being your second choice.

Also when meal planning, price your protein per plate. Maybe half as much of the beef in a stew with lentils or chickpeas tastes just as good, but costs considerably less, and is better for you.

For more clever inflation-beating bulk food ideas, join the 71,000 Kiwis who are members of the Cheaper Ways NZ Facebook group. I see some fascinating discussions there. Who knew that standard vinegar in New Zealand is low strength (4 per cent) and it was possible to buy double strength? That might go further. Another great idea that received considerable attention was that cheap homemade puddings make a meal go further for less.