Healthy diet helps cut food bill

Planning ahead about what you are going to eat in a week helps increase savings by up to 1500 pounds a year, a survey has shown.

The survey asked 20 households to record what they ate and drank over a two-week period, first eating and shopping as usual then using recipes and tips from the Government’s Change4Life campaign in Britain.

During this second week, those who took part notched up average savings of 29 pounds a week.

They also spent 15 pounds less on takeaways each week and ate fewer snacks. Some of the five single adults, five couples and 10 families questioned even said they had skipped fewer meals and eaten more fruit and vegetables.

“Some people might think that eating a balanced diet is more expensive but that does not have to be the case”, a newspaper quoted Public Health Minister Anne Milton as saying.

If we plan ahead we can make better choices and save money too,” she said.

The findings come ahead of a new Change4Life campaign that will encourage affordable healthy eating in the new year.