Christmas Food: Top Tips For Saving Money Without Scrimping on Flavour This Christmas
Saver Starters
Prawn Cocktail
Prawn cocktail is a great budget-friendly starter that can enhance every style of Australian Christmas meal. One that can be made using ingredients that you most likely have in your pantry already: iceberg lettuce, tomato sauce, cream, lemon juice and Tabasco. Meaning you only need to spend money on the prawns, which you can find great offers on in the seasonal sections.Christmas Salad
Make the most of the hot weather with a Christmas salad - cheap to create and delicious to eat this will be a family favourite that will require only a snippet of your food shopping budget. You can use up your existing salad ingredients and add a bit of festive pizzaz by layering ingredients into the style of a Christmas tree or in a festive serving dish.
Budget Christmas Ingredients
Cheeseboard
When you imagine a luxury Christmas, a cheeseboard course most definitely makes the menu. So, does that mean you have to leave this behind to save money? Not at all. Swap your olive garnish for jarred olives, buy only seasonal fruit, and refine your list of cheeses that you’re going to include, to avoid spending money on those fancier styles that no one ever eats! Choose bread over crackers and spend care making it look fancy to give the illusion of expense.
Cheap Christmas Desserts
Pavlova
As a Christmas with tighter budgets approaches, pavlova is one that can still be made to its complete best without any scrimping. Made with egg whites, sugar, cornflour and fruit, the pavlova is the epitome of simple, delicious food that can be made with value ingredients and still taste its best.
Making the Most of Christmas Leftovers
Christmas can be a key time that families cook more than what they can eat in one sitting. To help reduce food waste at Christmas, it can be good to get creative with leftovers for indulgent snacks and dishes that continues to the festive celebrations. Some of the ways you can use up your Christmas leftovers to make the most of your food include:Sandwiches: Creative Christmas sandwiches can range from turkey and stuffing to a full Christmas dinner sandwich. Make sure to add cranberry sauce for a festive touch!
Charcuterie Boards: Create a festive cheese and charcuterie board using leftover cheeses, meats, and accompaniments. Great for if you're having a family gathering or sharing with friends!
Freeze Them: Freeze your leftovers safely and enjoy the taste of Christmas for even longer
Share with Others: Consider making extra portions of your leftovers and sharing them with family, friends, or even local shelters. It's a great way to spread the holiday spirit and reduce food waste.
Money Saving Tips For Christmas Food Shopping
Think ahead and plan out your menu before you even start shopping. This way you can ensure you stick to a plan, budget well and are still guaranteed to create delicious dishes. Starting your food shopping with purpose allows you to take full inventory of what you already have and organises your spending.
Consider where you want to splash a bit more of the cash and where you’re happy to save. Having a simple entree can help you leave space for the star of the Christmas feast, glazed ham. Giving yourself this incentive will make it easier to stick to your budget and stay to plan.
Make cheaper swaps when it comes to your ingredients so that you can stick to your favourite recipes at a fraction of the cost. Swap your olive garnish for jarred olives, buy only seasonal fruit, and refine your list of cheeses that you’re going to include, to avoid spending money on those fancier styles that no one ever eats!.
Design a menu around food items you may already have. A Prawn cocktail is a great budget-friendly starter that can enhance every style of Australian Christmas meal. One that can be made using ingredients that you most likely have leftover in your pantry already: iceberg lettuce, tomato sauce, cream, lemon juice and Tabasco. Meaning you only need to spend money on the prawns.
