With the cost of living crisis still continuing to soar, it's safe to say that pretty much all of us will be looking for ways to save money at the supermarket and at home.
With food costs rising and energy bills reaching astronomical heights, it can almost feel as though it is becoming an expense for the everyday chores such as cooking. Luckily, one shopper has come to the rescue with a savvy hack she says has helped her to battle both food and energy prices - as well as making food last that bit longer.
Anya Lykova from Dudley, West Midlands, took to social media to share how she dehydrates her food which has helped her to save on each food purchase, as well as reducing her energy bills.
Posting to the Latest Deals, Extreme Couponing and Bargains Facebook group, the savvy shopper explains how she has dehydrated meat, fruit and vegetables, which can then be stored for up to two years.
She wrote: "With the prices of food rising, I have bought a dehydrator. Any vegetables I see reduced, I buy and dehydrate. They go in a jar for a week to make sure they have conditioned properly and then I vacuum seal them.
"[Recently, I] dehydrated a whole bag of carrots - doesn’t look much but once you put a few in your stew/soup/Bolognese they rehydrate and it’s perfect.
"You don’t have to worry about having veg in etc. I’ve also made some dried beef and chicken to add to soups. It is also really fun. I hope this helps someone."
The savvy cook also explained that using the nifty kitchen device only costs around £1 for 24 hours - which is good news for anyone who is looking to cut back on their energy bills during meal times.
Anya further explained: "It’s far more economical than your oven! My electricity bill has been reduced by £10 a month."
The 40-year-old personal shopper explained that she has known about the hack since she was young as it was something her mum used to do, but only recently got back into it following a post on a Facebook group.
The kitchen trick has helped the shopper make homemade seasonings and dried protein snacks for her partner who is a gym-goer. Any leftover dried chicken, beef and pork is used in homemade soups.
Lykova said: "It’s not the same as having fresh chicken breast in the meal but it has the flavour and the protein. It’s just a little bit tougher.
"I make soups, stews, any sauce like bolognese or chilli, I throw in dried vegetables if I have mine to hand. Also puddings. Apple pie with dehydrated apples is fantastic. Also, just on their own, the vegetables are lovely as a snack. I made crisps from courgettes with a bit of ranch dressing seasoning and it was lovely."
The savvy shopper makes her shopping and meal planning go that bit further by purchasing 'yellow sticker' items and other reduced items that can be dehydrated to make most meals work out at 50p per person.
After drying out any meat and vegetables, Anya then conditions them for a week and stores them in a air-tight container which helps them to last for around 3-6 months. She explains that you can make them last up to two years by shaking them everyday and then air vacuuming them.
She explains that air vacuuming will help the dried food to last for up to seven years and that she would recommend the nifty trick to "anyone who is looking to save on rising food and electricity costs."
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: "I thought I’d seen it all, but Anya has taken money-saving and reducing food waste to a whole new level. I’ll have to look into getting a dehydrator myself as I reckon she’s onto something. By dehydrating food you’re saving on storage space as well as reducing your electricity bills and making ingredients last longer. It’s a winner all around!"
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