EN Locations Search go to store ... Menu #EAT BETTER Eat better without breaking the bank: some tips to follow! December 2nd 2019 By Keltia Huon 1 min Europeans are mindful of what they eat and place product origin at the very top of their list of criteria for purchasing food (53%). Price is next on the list (51%), followed by taste (49%) . But is it possible to enjoy a healthy diet at affordable prices without compromising on taste? Yes, provided you get into the right habits. 1 – Go for home-made In France, three out of four people regularly enjoy ready-cooked meals, with a preference for fresh (58%) and frozen (45%) products. Although it's difficult to mathematically prove that home-made cooking really is cheaper than purchasing ready-made products – the difference is around €0.60 per portion, according to a study conducted by the French Institute of Agronomic Research – the health benefits are incomparable! Also, cooking at home means that it is easier to manage quantities, whereas ready-cooked meals are often sold in small portions, which are insufficient to make people feel satiated. Consequently, they might fill up on a starter, a dessert or a side dish – which might not be so easy on the wallet! 2 – Eat fruit and vegetables that are in seaso With strawberries, courgettes and tomatoes available all year round, there are still a number of reasons to favour fruit and vegetables that are in season. First of all, they will have been grown more naturally, without the use of greenhouses or growth factors. Furthermore, they are rich in vitamins and minerals that are good for our health during their peak consumption periods. For example, winter fruit and vegetables (citrus fruit, kiwis, persimmons, cabbage, etc.) are rich in vitamin C, magnesium and beta-carotene, which boost our immunity levels in cold weather. And because producing them requires less in the way of inputs, because less packaging and transport are required and because they are available in abundant quantities, they are easier to afford for the consumer! Find out which fruit and vegetables you should go for this season! 3 – Organic own-brand: high-quality organic products at the lowest prices At prices that are 20% less expensive on average than the sector's big brands, own-brand products help make organic products more widely available – products which are 60% more expensive on average than other categories. The products themselves meet the specifications of the organic labels that have certified them. 4 – Unsold stock: nice surprises every time! Despite tighter regulations, 10 million tonnes of foodstuffs that are fit for human consumption go to waste every year in France. And what is shocking is that 20% of this waste is the result of people incorrectly interpreting minimum use-by dates. Fortunately, more and more initiatives are being developed, helping people purchase these products more cheaply via alternative channels. One such example is the Too Good To Go app. It enables consumers to purchase baskets of unsold stock from all sorts of stores, such as greengrocers, bakers, grocery shops, supermarkets and restaurants. Once they have purchased a basket, they can enjoy the products that retailers have not managed to sell on that day. The icing on the cake is that the contents of each basket are a surprise, meaning no risk of monotony! Download the app for free! ● For ioS ● For Android 5 – Cooperative supermarkets: your time is money (saved)! These alternative supermarkets sell high-quality products – often organic and local – at prices that are 15 to 40% cheaper than via other distribution channels. In return, consumers help ensure the existence of the sales outlet, purchasing shares in the cooperative or giving up their time (three hours a week on average) to help run it (working at the checkout, stacking shelves, etc.). There are currently around thirty such supermarkets in France. Have a look at this map to see if there is a cooperative supermarket near where… How much is your monthly food budget? €183 per month and per person: that's how much people in France spend on food. After housing, it's where the biggest share of the family budget goes, and it's one of the highest in Europe (the average is around €150 a month). But the figure varies dramatically from country to country: its €220 a month in Luxembourg and only €66 in Bulgaria. 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