I save £1,000 a year on my food shop using savvy supermarket hack – follow my three-step plan to make huge savings

EVERY Thursday morning, I traipse up and down the supermarket aisles desperate for inspiration for cheap meals to feed my family.

From homemade staples such as cottage pie, spaghetti bolognaise and fajitas, I choose the same ingredients week in, week out, but one key thing shows no sign of slowing down – the rocketing cost of food. But I’ve found a hack to save myself hundreds of pounds.

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Mum-of-two Charlotte Owen typically spends almost £100 a week on groceries[/caption]

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The 39-year-old managed to cook a balanced meal for much less thanks to her savvy hack[/caption]

After five consecutive months of increases, food inflation is now at its highest since January 2024, with prices rising by 5.1 per cent in August, according to the Office of National Statistics.

I typically spend almost £100 a week on groceries, topping up on milk and fruit, which costs an extra £20.

But it’s getting harder to find the cash to eat well.

My two children, Seb, four, and Harriet, two, eat earlier than me and my civil servant husband Alex, 38. By the time they’re asleep at 8pm, I’m racking my brains for quick, nutritious meals for two which don’t cost the earth.

I’d always avoided the discounted aisle at my local Asda, believing those yellow-stickered items would have too short a shelf life, or that there wouldn’t be enough variety to make a decent meal.

But after reading that Asda (like Lidl and the Co-op) is set to replace their eye-catching yellow ‘Whoops!’ labels with electronic shelf-edge labels (ESLs) – to the dismay of many shoppers – I’m curious to find out if those discounted deals are as good as bargain hunters claim.

After a 7pm reccy at my local branch in Pudsey, West Yorks, I am amazed.

I assume it will be mostly stale sandwiches and wilted salads, but there is a pork joint, chicken thighs, salmon fillets, pasta, potatoes and fruit and veg galore, all discounted by 30-50 per cent.

So I set myself a challenge: to make seven evening meals for me and Alex from the reduced section alone.

The next night, I leave my husband to do the bedtime routine and head to Asda at 7pm, ready to grab those yellow sticker bargains.

First, I pick a small cheese and onion crumb-topped pie for one – a steal at 85p, reduced from £1.45 – and a chicken and gravy pie for my husband, down from £2.08 to £1.02.

Then I nab a tasty looking potato dauphinoise, down from £2.27 to £1.62, and a cauliflower, a bag of sprouts and a bag of parsnips, all substantially reduced.

At full price, my yellow sticker haul would’ve set me back £8.37, but I fork out just £5.25.

Thirty minutes after arriving home, I serve up a balanced, nutritious dinner that tastes even better as it was such a bargain.

The next night I go back, but I am concerned that my first experience was a fluke. I needn’t have worried.

This time I buy a bag of rice noodles for only 75p (down from £1.07), a packet of diced chicken that’s reduced from £4.23 to £2.69 and more discounted veg.

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The writer would cut her food bill by £80 a month, or almost £1,000 a year, if she shopped in the reduced aisle every week[/caption]

Back in my kitchen, I rustle up a healthy stir fry by adding soy sauce from the cupboard. Hey presto, I have a second meal for two that should have been £7.05, but came in at only £4.65.

By day three I’m feeling smug, but it’s a Sunday and the reduced shelves are almost empty.

I worry my experiment may have come to an end, but after a bit of digging, I pick up a Caesar salad kit for two for just 84p, instead of £1.68, some reduced sliced carrots, smoked streaky bacon and a packet of wafer thin chicken.

Admittedly, the croutons are the only carbs in this meal, but I manage to rustle up a tasty salad for just £3.82, instead of the full price of £7.64.

The next night there is a completely different set of reduced goodies at my fingertips.

I choose a 500g pack of diced lamb, reduced by 50 per cent to £2.69, some crisp and golden roast potatoes, asparagus and stringless beans.

Overall I spent £32.24 on seven well-balanced, tasty and filling meals for two, which would’ve cost £52.06 full price

I fry all the ingredients, including the roast potatoes, because to oven cook them would have taken 45 minutes, and we enjoy our fourth tasty, balanced meal for two at a reduced price of £5.09 instead of £9.32. It’s a huge saving.

By the fifth night I’m concerned the money I’m saving on food might be dwindling away on petrol, so I walk the 18 minutes to Asda and back to get my next haul.

I buy yellow stickered cooked prawns, basmati rice and a bag of chantenay carrots and green beans, which cost just 37p and 47p respectively.

After adding a bit of sweet chilli sauce I already have at home, I manage to create another tasty dish for £3.83, considerably lower than the full price of £5.98.

On my final two nights, I again score multiple bargains, picking up delicious garlic and herb chicken kievs, heavily-reduced pork chops and loads of fresh veg.

Overall I spent £32.24 on seven well-balanced, tasty and filling meals for two, which would’ve cost £52.06 full price.

If I did this every week, I’d cut mine and Alex’s food bill by around £80 a month, equivalent to almost £1,000 a year.

Three-step plan

The best time to hit the shops is after 6:30pm. I had a look in the reduced section when I was buying milk during the day and while there were some bargains in the chilled section, there was nothing in the veg aisle.

If you see something you like, pick it up! Don’t put something back to have a think because someone is likely to pick it up immediately.

Plus, try to have an ‘end meal’ in mind as you shop so you don’t buy for the sake of it and spend needlessly.

The savings are undeniable and after years of steering clear of the reduced aisle, I’ll never ignore those yellow stickers again.

MEAL DIARY

Meal 1

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The cauliflower went from 83p down to 54p[/caption]

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The cheese and onion crumb topped pie was reduced to 85p and the chicken and gravy pie down to £1.02[/caption]

• Cheese and onion crumb topped pie – £1.45 – 85p
• Chicken and gravy pie – £2.08 – £1.02
• Dauphinoise potatoes – £2.27 – £1.62
• Cauliflower – 83p – 54p
• Sprouts – £1 – 70p
• Parsnips – 74p – 52p

FULL PRICE: £8.37

REDUCED PRICE: £5.25

Meal 2

• Rice noodles – £1.07 – 75p
• Celery- £1.28 – 88p
• Shredded carrot – 47p – 33p
• Diced chicken – £4.23 – £2.69

FULL PRICE: £7.05

REDUCED PRICE: £4.65

Meal 3

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The smoked streaky bacon was £1.62 instead of £3.24[/caption]

• Caesar salad kit – £1.68 – 84p
• Sliced carrots – 58p – 29p
• Smoked streaky bacon – £3.24 – £1.62
• Wafer thin chicken – £2.14 – £1.07

FULL PRICE: £7.64

REDUCED PRICE: £3.82

Meal 4

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The Asparagus went from £1.48 to 87p and stringless beans were down to 49p[/caption]

• Diced lamb – £5.38 – £2.69
• Pack of crisp and golden roast potatoes – £1.48 – £1.04
• Asparagus – £1.48 – 87p
• Stringless beans – 98p – 49p

FULL PRICE: £9.32

REDUCED PRICE: £5.09

Meal 5

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Chantenay carrots were down from 78p to 37p[/caption]

• Cooked prawns – £2.49 – £1.74
• Basmati rice – £1.78 – £1.25
• Chantenay carrots – 78p – 37p
• Green beans – 93p – 47p

FULL PRICE: £5.98

REDUCED PRICE: £3.83

Meal 6

• Garlic and herb chicken kievs – £2.88 – £2.02
• Pack of crisp and golden roast potatoes – £1.48 – £1.04
• Green veg medley with cabbage, kale, broccoli, kale, spring greens and peas – £3.24 – £2.27

FULL PRICE: £7.60

REDUCED PRICE: £5.33

Meal 7

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Four tender pork chops were just £3.28[/caption]

• Four tender pork chops – £4.68 – £3.28
• Egg fried rice – £1.42 – 99p

FULL PRICE: £6.10

REDUCED PRICE: £4.27