Every year, it’s thought that the average family throws away around £800 in forgotten food waste. That’s an absolutely huge number, and because the average weekly shop is around £103, that’s almost two months’ worth of food being wasted – and along with it, the money.

You wouldn’t throw that money in the bin, so why are we okay with basically doing just that, only in the form of food?

Food prep is a fantastic way to prepare meals that tick a lot of boxes and make better choices this year. By prepping your food, you:

• Make healthier choices
• Save time
• Save money
• Prevent waste

And what’s not to love about that? Yes, there is that initial bit of effort in preparing your meals for the week ahead, but it pays off in the long run. Especially when Thursday arrives and you can’t be bothered to cook and suddenly you’ve accidentally ordered £60 worth of Chinese instead of getting that pre-made lasagna out of the freezer which costs £2 a portion to make.

As Head of International Partnerships and Food & Drink Editor at Savoo, I am huge advocate for meal prep. Not only can batch cooking save you money on food (I regularly calculate the cost of my lunches, and each of my prepped portions typically range between £2 and £5 – substantially less than the £9 to £13 lunches available near the office) it also saves energy. Preparing one large meal is more energy-efficient than cooking several smaller meals, which reduces gas and electricity usage over time.

So how can you meal prep to save money this year? Below, we’ll give you the steps you can follow to start making better choices for your mind, body and bank balance! 9 steps to perfect meal prep and save money this year Excited to make positive changes to how you prep your meals but not sure where to start? Here are some tips for the nine steps you can take on your journey to meal prep perfection.

1. Plan your meals

The first thing you need to do is plan what you’d like to eat throughout the week. That includes breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks. Your meal plan should align with your food goals, such as if you want to eat on a budget or lose some weight.

Try to plan your meals so that you don’t have to buy a huge variety of ingredients. For example, there’s no point in buying a bag of potatoes just to make the mash for a cottage pie, so why not plan for a couple of mash-related meals by throwing in bangers and mash too? And if you have even more, bubble and squeak always goes down a treat. That’s three meals from one bag of spuds, which means none of them end up sprouting those little green things and end up in the bin.

Lisa Marley, health and nutrition coach and UK Ambassador for Study Active explains,

2. Create a shopping list (and stick to it)

A lot of us are suckers when it comes to impulse buying. We walk around the supermarket throwing things in the trolley without a care in the world, until suddenly you get to the checkout and boom, you owe £180.

In the UK, we spend more than £600 per year on impulse buys, which is a huge amount to spend on things we don’t necessarily need.

To limit buying unnecessary things when you're grocery shopping, create a shopping list and stick to it. Don’t even browse – just treat the supermarket like a military operation and go from product to product, only picking up what you need. Better yet, consider switching to shopping online, which makes it easier to miss those tasty-looking discounts and scrummy limited edition products. Most supermarkets also offer subscriptions, which save you money on delivery costs, which means they can work out cheaper than driving there yourself.

3. Prep things in bulk

This is possibly the hardest step when it comes to meal prep, but it’s also the most important (as is always the way). But, to save yourself time and money down the line, you do have to front-load your work.

By prepping things on a Sunday or Monday, you suddenly have several days’ worth of food you can bung in the oven after work. When you do that, your Wednesday self will sing the praises of your Sunday self.

And don’t forget, you can always just cook double of something you like and freeze it for later. That way, you can make double the food with basically no extra effort.

4. Store things properly

To make sure your prepped food lasts longer you’ll need to invest in some decent reusable containers. That means you might not be able to rely on those old takeaway tubs anymore. You know the ones we mean, which are dyed red on the lid and cracked.

A lot of frozen food can also look the same, which can make it a guessing game when the time comes to thaw something. Get good at labeling your frozen food so you don’t have to constantly play a game of ‘is it chicken curry or is it beef stew?’

5. Choose simple recipes

Try to always meal plan with a menu filled with simple recipes that aren’t lengthy, complex or hard work. You definitely won’t feel the benefits of meal prep if you fill your menu with confit this and fondant that.

If you choose a simple menu with only a handful of ingredients, you can save a lot of effort. For example, a big pan of pasta can make a range of meals, from salads to bakes to casseroles. You can use a lot of the same ingredients and still have a nice and varied menu. Not only does this make your meal prep easier and less time-consuming, but you’ll keep your costs down. It’s a win-win!

6. Don’t forget to prep your snacks

You shouldn't just think about prepping your meals ahead of time. As well as prepping your meals, don’t forget to prep your snacks too. This could be something healthy like fruit salad, vegetables, boiled eggs, yoghurt, cheese and meat. This helps you portion out your food and prevents the need to buy packaged snacks.

7. Remember to cook once, eat twice

It’s so easy to throw uneaten food away at the end of a meal, but resist the urge. Even a small portion of leftovers can be turned into a new meal, whether a light lunch option or something you can bulk up with a bit of veg or some salad. Leftovers can be kept for weeks in the freezer, just don’t forget about them.

8. Limit takeaways and eating out

If you prep your food ahead of time, you’ll be less inclined to buckle and order a takeaway – especially if you think about the damage it’ll do to your bank balance if you do. There are plenty of ways you can prep fakeaways like pulled pork, fried chicken and ramen so you can still have that tasty end-of-week treat.

Brits spend an average of £1,758 on takeaways every year, so even if you just half the amount of takeaways you have this year, you could save more than £850!

And if you really can’t resist the temptation to order from your favourite place, why not see if there’s a mid-week offer you can take advantage of? Something like a buy-one-get-one-free offer on a Tuesday may do you for multiple meals. It’s even possible to freeze plenty of takeaway favourites, like southern fried chicken and pizza, so you don’t need to scoff everything straight away. Plus, you'll reduce food waste, and there's something about eating leftovers that makes them taste better, y'know?

9. Keep track of your progress

Meal prep takes a little time and effort, but because it’s a shift in the way you plan and make your food, it can be difficult to see exactly what impact it has long term. Keep track of how much money you spend on weekly meals, and the time you save each week, and you’ll soon see exactly how beneficial it really is and how it can be absolutely worth the effort.

Cut the cost of your food shop with voucher codes to save even more money with food prep

Food prep can save you time, effort and money, it just takes a little forward planning and front-loading of the work. But it’s absolutely worth it if you can make it work with your schedule.

At Savoo, we have up-to-date voucher codes that can help you meal prep by saving you money on your shopping. Browse voucher codes for Ocado, Iceland, Asda and Waitrose and give meal prep a go for yourself.