The high price of food has hit the consumer who continues to face serious difficulties due to the period of isolation.
According to a survey released by the IBGE (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics) in March, since the beginning of the pandemic, food prices rose 15% in the country, almost triple the official inflation rate for the period, which was 5,20 %.
Check out some tips to save time and money in the kitchen:
plan: theBefore going shopping, it's ideal to think about the menu for the next few days, so you can get the items you need for meals ready. Then it's important to check the pantry and make a list of items that are out of stock. This habit will reduce the time we walk in the market and also help to acquire only what is necessary. A good tip for this moment is to make sure you have 'key ingredients' available at home, such as rice, beans, eggs, flour, pasta, butter, onions, tomatoes and other items that are part of the routine.
In addition, making sporadic purchases can increase—a lot—your bills at the end of the month. Therefore, the ideal is to allow a space of at least one week between one trip to the market and another.
Reduce waste: some storage precautions are important to extend the shelf life of food and help save money. One of the alternatives is to use Alpfilm Protect plastic-film to wrap various foods, including fruits and vegetables, for example, which allows them to be preserved for longer than with common plastic film, without bactericidal protection.
To help keep food fresh for a longer period and, at the same time, fight various pathogens such as viruses and bacteria, including Sars Cov-2, the plastic film company developed Alpfilm Protect, a plastic-film with a specific material in the formulation that inactivates the new virus.
Learn to replace more expensive foods: Before going to the market, plan how the week's menu will be and look for recipes to replace foods that are out of season or more expensive. For example, with the rise of tomatoes, the consumer can substitute the food for other vegetables and fruits with a reddish coloration, which are also rich in the antioxidant substance lycopene, present in tomatoes, such as carrots and pumpkin, which can be used for make sauces, or fruits like watermelon and guava.
Use cleaning products correctly: To save on cleaning products, invest in concentrated products, which tend to be more economical than regular versions. However, be careful to use only the amount indicated on the package, as many people end up using more than necessary, and so the savings do not happen.
Also, test alternative brands, which are cheaper, and often do not owe their quality to traditional brands.
reuse the foods: consuming food fully is one of the keys to saving time and money. The benefits are diverse and include consuming more nutrients – present in fruit peels, vegetable stalks and vegetables – in addition to generating less accumulation of waste in the environment. And yet, discarding parts that serve as food also directly impacts the monthly bills. The reuse alternative is the solution to using creativity and developing new recipes.