Keep your herbs fresh for longer: simple hacks to maximise their shelf life.<\/a> <\/p>\n![\"If]()
If you’ve got the time and inclination, dried beans and legumes can work on a budget but canned products are still an inexpensive and more convenient option. Photo \/ 123RF<\/p>\n
Canned v dried beans<\/p>\n
Dried beans are significantly cheaper per 100g than canned \u2013 often by a wide margin. But they come with a catch: time.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re organised enough to soak and cook them in batches, dried beans offer excellent value. If not, canned beans are still relatively inexpensive and far more convenient, with little to no waste.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Depends how you cook<\/p>\n
Real-world take: For most households, canned beans strike the better balance of cost, convenience and likelihood of actually being used.<\/p>\n
Whole vegetables v pre-cut<\/p>\n
Pre-chopped onions, sliced capsicum, bagged slaw \u2013 they all come at a premium.<\/p>\n
You\u2019re paying for labour, packaging and convenience, often at a mark-up that can double the cost per kilo. If you have the time and basic knife skills, buying whole vegetables is one of the easiest ways to cut your grocery bill.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Whole is almost always cheaper<\/p>\n
Where it can be worth it: If pre-prepped vegetables genuinely stop you from ordering takeaways or letting produce go to waste, the trade-off may still stack up.<\/p>\n
Block cheese v grated<\/p>\n
Pre-grated cheese is consistently more expensive than block cheese, often by a noticeable margin per 100g.<\/p>\n
It also contains anti-caking agents to stop it clumping, which can affect melting. Grating your own takes minutes and stretches further in cooking.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Block is better value<\/p>\n
Bottom line: One of the simplest, most reliable savings in the supermarket.<\/p>\n
Branded v supermarket own brand<\/p>\n
For pantry staples \u2013 flour, sugar, pasta, canned tomatoes, milk \u2013 supermarket own brands are frequently produced by the same suppliers as branded products.<\/p>\n
The difference is marketing, not necessarily quality.<\/p>\n
Switching even a handful of regular items to own brand can shave a noticeable amount off your weekly shop.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Often identical, often cheaper<\/p>\n
Where to be selective: Products like sauces, snacks or specialty items can vary more in taste and quality, so this is where personal preference comes into play.<\/p>\n
Bulk buying<\/p>\n
Buying in bulk can reduce the cost per unit \u2013 but only if you actually use what you buy.<\/p>\n
Large bags of rice, family packs of meat or multi-buy deals can quickly become a false economy if food ends up going to waste.<\/p>\n
Rule of thumb: Bulk buying works best for:<\/p>\n
long-life staples (rice, pasta, canned goods) freezer-friendly items households that can realistically consume the quantity <\/p>\n
Otherwise, smaller packs can be the smarter spend.<\/p>\n
Verdict: Only if you use it<\/p>\n
![\"Fresh]()
Fresh herbs are difficult to beat on flavour but the cost savings dried herbs offer are significant. Photo \/ 123rf<\/p>\n
Fresh herbs v dried<\/p>\n
Fresh herbs are one of the most commonly wasted items in the fridge. A bunch of coriander or parsley can cost several dollars and last only a few days.<\/p>\n
Dried herbs, while noticeably less vibrant, last for months and deliver far better value over time.<\/p>\n
Verdict: dried is better for value<\/p>\n
Middle ground: If you regularly cook with specific herbs, growing your own or freezing leftovers can help bridge the gap. And fresh herbs are hard to beat flavour-wise.<\/p>\n
Ready-made sauces v DIY<\/p>\n
Jarred sauces are convenient, but they often come at a mark-up compared with making a simple version yourself using canned tomatoes, garlic, onion and pantry staples.<\/p>\n
They can also contain added sugar, salt or thickeners.<\/p>\n
That said, not every meal needs to be made from scratch \u2013 and a good-quality sauce can still be a useful shortcut on busy nights.<\/p>\n
Verdict: DIY is cheaper (most of the time)<\/p>\n
So, where does the real value lie?<\/p>\n
The biggest savings don\u2019t come from one dramatic switch, but from a handful of small, consistent ones:<\/p>\n
choosing frozen where waste is likely buying whole instead of pre-prepped switching to own-brand staples avoiding bulk buys you won\u2019t use <\/p>\n
In other words, value isn\u2019t just about the price on the shelf \u2013 it\u2019s about how much of what you buy actually gets eaten.<\/p>\n
Herald contributor Nikki Birrell has worked in food and travel publishing for nearly 20 years.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"There\u2019s also the convenience factor: pre-chopped, ready to use and portionable. Unless you\u2019re using fresh vegetables quickly and…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":394300,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[308,95,138,24747,5426,29429,307,32852,4522,2959,5511,13840,6093,300,11964,3025,111,139,69,48211,2682,12937,6115,11590,1326,3271,22889,544,6100,56424,97,40749,1361,223,8229,28355,32561,102],"class_list":["post-394299","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-business","tag-actually","tag-and","tag-business","tag-costofliving","tag-created","tag-deliver","tag-dont","tag-equal","tag-feel","tag-high","tag-just","tag-like","tag-little","tag-money","tag-moneysaving","tag-most","tag-new-zealand","tag-newzealand","tag-nz","tag-ones","tag-others","tag-prices","tag-real","tag-save","tag-shop","tag-should","tag-smarter","tag-some","tag-still","tag-stubbornly","tag-supermarket","tag-swaps","tag-that","tag-the","tag-they","tag-trying","tag-value","tag-with"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394299","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=394299"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/394299\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/394300"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=394299"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=394299"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=394299"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}