When making your food (and your money) go further, a well and thoughtfully stocked store cupboard is very important. You might be able to reduce your food shops, store cupboard items can make expensive ingredients stretch, it can help with ideas for your meal plans, surprise visitors are easier to cater for, changes of plan don’t send you into a head spin and at the end of the month if there’s little budget left for fresh ingredients, you’ll find that you can make something out of seemingly nothing.

Store cupboard items are most likely to last a while so you could build up your stash over time, investing in some basic ingredients first and adding useful specialist ingredients and flavour enhancers along the way.

Stock up on dried and tinned goods as well as some frozen foods say once a month (you could even get these delivered in an online shop so you don’t have to do the heavy lifting) and all you need then in your quick weekly shop is fresh ingredients.

I’m a big fan of lists and having an inventory of what’s left in your store cupboard and freezer, in particular, is helpful. When you know what you’re planning to eat, you’ll need to know whether you’ve got the ingredients – it’s quick and easy to check your list, or if you’re scratching around for ideas you can look at what you have left and think about what you can make with that, minimising what you need to buy.

At the end of the month, you might need to get a little creative with whatever’s left to use up in your fridge, dipping into your freezer and store cupboard supplies to make something wholesome and tasty. Last year, I did an end of the month challenge with no shopping for a week. It’s amazing what you can come up with if you have a well and thoughtfully stocked store cupboard, if you plan and if you use some imagination.

If you need some ideas on what to stock, how to make your food and money go further or tips on cooking creatively, then drop me a line, I’d love to chat.