How I buy and store clearance food to save money
Healthy whole foods are such a priority in my lifestyle. I also need to reduce the cost of living however possible. The household food budget can be lowered even when buying nutritious ingredients and meals. Clearance items make a big difference with real savings.
I love this approach because many people live near a supermarket and could try these strategies. It’s one of the most accessible ways to save money on food. It’s quicker and cheaper than ordering food online. You can get a small amount of food or more. It can be quick - just pop into the supermarket on the way home from work, at lunch time or at the end of the day.
One catch is that every supermarket is different. Some stores might not discount particular categories very often. But since they all sell perishables, some ‘gems’ should appear eventually.
Here’s another catch. These foods may sadly be packaged. I try to avoid buying produce in plastic. But if some food will soon expire, then someone has to use the food to prevent waste. Some people believe we can prevent food waste when buying those items. It’s not perfect. But it saves money too.
Here are some hints to make the most of your clearance foods when shopping. Hopefully these strategies can help you to save money, reduce waste and enjoy more plant based whole foods.
Where to look and what foods to choose
I lean to healthy foods on clearance - plant based foods that are whole or minimally processed. These examples have been organised based on the sections of my nearest supermarket. The general idea is to find perishable foods in the bakery, produce and chilled areas.
The produce area
In the main fruit and veg area, I especially look out for organic apples. You could also try to find cheap organic tomatoes at the supermarket. These foods are on the dirty dozen list for 2021. In my experience, apples can last for weeks in the fridge. My apples have usually stayed ripe after the best before dates. I guess you could make apple sauce and freeze it? And tomatoes could be immediately cooked into a meal, which could then get frozen for later. Some people can or jar their own tomatoes. I haven’t tried that but it is an option.
If organic apples are on clearance, you can cook them into dishes like porridge and fruit crumble. Image: Unsplash.
The soup, salad, convenient meals and chilled veg area
This refrigerated area could offer convenient nutritious foods that will save on preparation time. Such a win. I keep an eye out for vegan soup, salad, spinach leaves, herbs (if I need them), other leafy greens and veggies.
This section will have more favourites from the Dirty Dozen - such as spinach, kale, capsicum and celery. I would leap at the opportunity to buy organic versions of these foods, especially when they are reduced to clear. I recently bought organic spinach at half price. On the way home from a day trip a while ago, I found discounted organic broccoli and celery. It felt like Christmas. Organic celery can become very expensive these days. So even a half price bunch can be significant. Most of these veggies could either be frozen as they are, or made into homemade frozen meals.
That’s a lot of talk about cooking. Let’s make things even easier. There should be some vegan-friendly plant-based refrigerated soups and salads near those veggies. Maybe even some sushi if you’re lucky. I found pouches of pumpkin soup and they were priced to clear. I usually wouldn’t buy soup in a pouch. I would make soup at home. But those older meals were sitting there needing to be bought. And they can be easy lunch or dinner options if we run out of time and prepped meals. I just froze the pouches. I hope they will defrost comfortably. Maybe I could have transferred the contents into a different container? Oh well.
Soup is a good meal to buy on clearance because you can eat it soon or freeze it. Image: Unsplash.
Some supermarkets offer lots of plant based salads and sushi. I imagine these would be more abundant in locations where people are in a hurry. Although it would be cheaper to make these meals and snacks at home, I don’t mind snapping up a bargain meal if the cost is lowered enough. It’s a good nourishment after shopping or just on an outing. It’s probably more healthy and affordable than take away.
The other chilled section
Visit the area that has refrigerated tofu, falafel, vegan yoghurts and juices. Most of these things could get reduced prices eventually because they might have strict use-by dates. If I buy those little small yoghurt tubs, I want to reuse the containers for crafts to repurpose the plastic. Falafel could get frozen exactly how it is. Maybe portion out the yoghurt. Or cube the tofu. But it should all be ok.
Have containers and a good freezer to store bulk clearance food
Here’s the reality. I’m not always able to consume all the discounted perishable food soon after buying it. And when it’s discounted to go, chances are it’s also very close to the expiry date. There’s an easy solution. Have enough freezer space for extra food. Most things can freeze in some form apart from lettuce and some other produce. But I happily freeze veggies, fruit, bread, vegan yoghurt and most meals.
Be ready with enough containers, jars, reusable pouches and ice cube trays. These will be important if you need to freeze the food in smaller portions or if you’re cooking some foods into meals very soon. Don’t panic. If you don’t have many containers and can’t buy new ones, just check online to see if anyone is giving away free jars in your local area. I have generally coped when storing bread in the freezer even if it’s just in a paper bag. To go a step further, or for more reassurance, try a reusable bread bag. Just fold the paper over enough. And of course, remember to cut the bread prior to freezing! See? There’s a solution to almost everything.
Freeze your spinach and other fresh foods when they are near expiry. Image: Unsplash.
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