#99: Eating Healthy on a Tight Budget with Kimberley Gillan

Kimberley Gillan, food security expert and author of HOW LOW CAN YOU GO?: Nutritious Meals from $50 Per Week, joins the pod for an insightful discussion on eating healthy without breaking the bank. Her book is a game changer for families and individuals looking to make nutritious, budget-friendly meals a reality.

In this episode, we explore the impact of rising food costs on diets and budgets, practical strategies for making sustainable dietary choices on a tight budget, and actionable tips to lower your grocery bill while maintaining nutrition. Kimberley also shares her go-to budget-friendly pantry staples and secrets for saving money on fresh meat and produce.

Packed with valuable advice and real-world tips, this episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to eat well and spend less. Enjoy!

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Transcript

Roni: [00:00:00] Welcome to the Plan to Eat podcast, where I have conversations about meal planning, food, and wellness. To help you save time in the kitchen, reduce your grocery bill stress less about food. And delight in dinner time.

Hello, and thank you for joining me on another episode of the plan to eat podcast. We are starting off this year with a great interview from Kimberly Gillian. She is a food security expert and author of a book called how low can you go nutritious meals from 50 a week. So this book obviously is all about food budgeting, how you can maximize your food budget.

And today, the bulk of our conversation is about maximizing your food budget, some tips and tricks for grocery shopping, specifically for meal planning. Kimberly has so much great information to share about. How to combat , the rising cost of food. So she has her own [00:01:00] personal story about unfortunately getting cancer and then having to stop working and, you know, struggling with how much food that they could buy in their household.

So she has. Personal experience with, you know, having to be a really savvy shopper at the grocery store. And she shares so much of that knowledge on this podcast today. We have a lot to discuss. So without further ado, here is my interview.

Hi, Kimberly. Thanks for joining me on the podcast today.

Kimberley: Thank you, Roni. It's a pleasure to be here.

Roni: Why don't we just start by having you say who you are and what you do?

Kimberley: My name's Kimberly Gillen and I wrote a book which was released earlier this year called How Low Can You Go? Nutritious Meals from 50 a week. This is the second edition that was based almost entirely on my first edition, which [00:02:00] was 30 Australian a week. But I have now made it for a global audience.

And so while the prices have not radically changed, I needed to allow for the regional variations across the world. This book is very different to any book that's out there. And it came very much out of my own experience. I was studying and working in the field of food security. Particularly in, rural, poor rural communities.

When I was diagnosed with cancer in 2016, and almost immediately had to stop work. And at that time, I was earning 70 percent of our income, of our joint income in our household. And we had the year before, borrowed the maximum amount on a [00:03:00] mortgage. So we had to go through some radical changes in our household and I was able to lean into my own professional background. And, to cut a long story short, we got through that period. We held on to our house. We had teenage kids at the time. They got through and both of them went on to university.

So in 2023, I looked at the situation with rising food costs. Rising costs of living both here in Australia and around the world and thought, Could I do it today? It's tougher today. Would I, would we still have been able to hold on to the house? And from that, I sat down. It was a question that just wouldn't let me go.

And I sat down and I started researching. And I came up with a very different approach to how to budget, do your [00:04:00] shopping lists, your meal plans, and so forth, to have a good life on about 40 percent of what most people are currently spending.

Roni: Wow. Well, that it, it's certainly applicable to, the rise of food costs that we've all experienced in the last few years. So I think that that's awesome that you, tried it for yourself and then did the research to kind of back it up and I definitely want to get more of. the practicality of that eating on a budget.

But I'm curious a little bit more about your research into the food security and food insecurity. And it does that look, I mean, you said you were, doing that based off of a rural in rural communities, but does that look similar around the world? Rural food insecurity, or is it, are there specific areas where that is?

More of an issue, a different issue. I'm just really curious about that.[00:05:00] 

Kimberley: Yeah, that's a great question, Roni. . I think if my own research, uh, and what I've, you know, gleaned from looking at organizations such as, uh, WHO, is that we have a, a, a kind of a two story, two stories simultaneously unfolding. And there's the story that most of us are familiar with, with people in, uh, developing or struggling countries where you've got, starvation.

You know, quite literal starvation and a lot of work has been done in that area and we've had some gains over the last decade, but simultaneously there's increasing unrest in a lot of these, I, I struggle to call them Transcribed Third world countries. But the part that interests me, my own area is what is happening in [00:06:00] wealthy countries, such as the USA, Canada, UK, Australia.

And, uh, and I think it's what we're dealing with is a, like hidden malnutrition in these countries. We've seen the cost of living. continue to rise. And if you're on a low income, like I have been, and I still am, you, if, if you get a big bill, the only place that you've got any discretion, any wiggle room at all, is your food budget, you know, so that tends to be what gets hit first.

And And so it's very easy for us to lean into convenience, cheap carbohydrates, you know, the instant noodles or ramen noodles, the, you know, filling the plate with rice or, or other simple carbohydrates and thinking, well, I'm okay [00:07:00] because my belly is full. In fact, over time on a diet like this, you'll put on weight.

Most of us will. But yet what it doesn't show is that statistically, uh, in America, for example, we're looking at at least one in five having some form of malnutrition, one person in five. And this is a really big impact on that individual, their families. And, you know, in terms of our, our ability to live out our potential.

So because when you've got hidden malnutrition, You're frequently tired, you pick up illness more easily, you know, you could be fuzzy headed, you know, there's, these can be symptoms of other things. But if you're looking at a situation where you are on an extended basis, not covering the broad range of nutrition you need, [00:08:00] then the risk of malnutrition.

This hidden malnutrition is quite high.

Roni: That's a really good point that you make that, that our food budget is really often the place where we do have the most wiggle room because we can't control how much our mortgage is, or, you know, we can try to keep the lights turned off and stuff, but still your electric bill is going to be a certain amount every single month anyways.

So that's a very, that's a really good point to make. I guess I hadn't, really. Fully made that connection until you said that. When I think about how can I spend the least amount of money at the grocery store, the first thing that often comes to my mind is, well, we'll just eat ramen.

I feel like that was like the, that's kind of like the college kid mindset, you know, of like, how am I going to eat for as cheaply as possible? We're just going to eat the, you know, 1 packets of ramen and we'll survive. But you're right. There is a compounding issue that comes with that, particularly if it's not just.[00:09:00] 

Temporary solution to something. So I feel like you're getting to the point where you're, see where you're trying to point out that maybe there's some misconceptions about eating on a budget. So like, I don't have to eat ramen all the time. What are, uh, what are. What are some of those other misconceptions about it?

Kimberley: Okay. I think that, the, the, my approach with the book was that you start with the most cost effective nutrition, meeting all of your, base, you know, basic daily new nutrient requirements according to Western dietary regulations, which are all very, very similar, by the way. So you start with that.

So you, you go, okay, I can't, I've got to be as cost effective as possible because of course, part of, big part of my background is economics. So I was just looking for the best bang for my buck. [00:10:00] So I started with those ingredients and that's a very different approach to what is normally done. You know, a budget meal, they'll often go, Oh, let's lean into the pasta, which by the way, if you're going to look at a, a cheap carbohydrate, pasta is probably still the cheapest, more so than ramen noodles.

But the idea is you don't just fill your plate with pasta. You've got to actually go, well, If I'm comparing my carbohydrates, you know, ramen noodles, pasta, rice, potatoes. Which of those is going to give me the best bang for my buck? And the resounding answer is potatoes. If I could just get people on low incomes to recognize the value of potatoes when you're going through tough times, rather than instant noodles or ramen noodles, that's a big step [00:11:00] forward.

Roni: Wow. I like that. You said that a lot. Actually. I feel like I read in a book earlier this year about, the like satiety signals that our body sends us and actually Potatoes, if like they were just comparing different foods, like if somebody eats something first thing in the morning, what are the foods that make them feel full for the longest?

And potatoes was the top of the list. Like, you know, maybe we don't necessarily want to eat just a potato for breakfast. Um, hash hash Browns are maybe better, but, yeah, that actually ranked at the highest for satiety. So it's really interesting that, that it's also something that's a really good bang for your buck.

And there's an added benefit on top of that, that it's going to keep you full for longer.

Kimberley: that's right. You know, some of the most recent studies, and I think anyone who's interested in food will have seen these as well, has been that, you know, this cycle of dieting and going on [00:12:00] low calorie, low carb diets, Can often lead to weight gain and it's because there's a theory now that it's because the body is saying, I am being starved of the nutrition that

I need. So yes, you should, if you need to lose weight, look at the amount of food that you're eating, but you still need to, cover the broad range of nutrition you need and potatoes is one of those foods that comes It ticks a whole lot of boxes, covers a lot of nutrition, it's, as you said, it's filling, and there's just so many different ways that you can cook and use potatoes, so it can, this can remain some variety.

Roni: And so related to potatoes, just kind of in a practical sense, are there other, uh, fresh produce staples that you encourage people to buy because they're a, a better [00:13:00] nutritional bang for your buck?

Kimberley: Yes, uh, this brings to mind the, first I want to talk about, fresh produce, uh, coming at it from an economics and food security point of view. In, in my approach, I look at what's the best, most nutrient dense foods, and often they are the dehydrated produce. So no, there's still going to be fresh produce.

You should always have access to fresh produce. But as we, deal with, uh, food security, which is going to be a continuing and increasing problem. It's going to affect fresh produce most of all. So your dairy, your meats, your fresh meats, your Your fresh fruits and vegetables are most vulnerable to volatility from prices going up and down.[00:14:00] 

And that's to do with, climate change, unsustainable farming practices, political unrest around the world that impacting, uh, supply chains. There's all sorts of reasons. Numerous compounding reasons why fresh produce is something you should have. But if you have to, you can do without. And I say this to people who are on the lowest incomes.

Lean into your dehydrated foods. But in terms of fresh produce, I think things like your dark green leafies, particularly kale, uh, and we call it silverbeet and I can never remember what you guys call it. Anyway, uh, the dark green leafy vegetables, Uh, not so much spinach unless it's frozen, because it loses its nutrition every day from the day it was picked.

So unless [00:15:00] you've got new, uh, spinach growing in your garden, I'm less inclined towards purchasing spinach from the supermarket. So, uh, frozen peas are brilliant, and they, they're great, in fact. Mixed frozen vegetables are another great way to fill your plate and will cover a vast amount of nutrition.

We've been sold that fresh is best and yet when you look at nutrient density in food composition tables, what you see again and again is that the snap frozen, or the dehydrated will often be more effective in capturing that nutrition. Where fresh produce is really good is it's just good for the gut biota.

So you still want to have as much fresh produce as you can afford. Carrots. Carrots are another one. Very nutrient dense, [00:16:00] cheap. So yeah, we use carrots often in place of fruit. So carrot sticks with dip for morning tea for the kids. That sort of thing.

Roni: Yeah, that's a great tip. I'm curious. To hear a little bit more about the, the dehydrated foods because nothing is coming at first to mind about, I mean, I guess I can think of like dehydrated milk, but can you use some recommendations for some dehydrated foods that you're, that you're thinking of?

Mm.

Kimberley: Yes, above all your pulses, which is garbanzo or chickpeas. Honestly, anyone who has a look at this book will have a whole new appreciation for chickpeas. They've actually been, uh, identified by the World Health Organization as being possibly one of the most important foods for helping us with food security in the future.

So yes, [00:17:00] chickpeas, lentils, Uh, split peas, the dried and all of these are in the dehydrated form, you know, in the kilogram packets preferably that you can get, or you know, I don't know the sizing in the USA, but those larger packets and some of the advantages of going for those dehydrated forms is the vast array of things that they can do and you can keep dipping into them, a can that costs you a dollar of chickpeas, you know, that, that have been rehydrated in the can.

That is the equivalent of about 10 cents worth of the dehydrated form. It just needs to be rehydrated. and, and the great thing about them is that you can, from, uh, from chickpeas, you can make your own sprouts. You can. You can roast them and have a coffee alternative. You can, [00:18:00] yeah, and you can make aquafaba, which is an egg replacement.

So, so I really encourage those sorts of dehydrated. I also talk a lot in the book about, uh, dehydrated skim milk powder. And I know a lot of people don't like the taste of it. I actually use it in cooking. Uh, I find it very effective in cooking and perhaps because we're mammals, there's just so much in skim milk powder that covers our nutrition, a broad range of nutrition.

In fact, that's one of the reasons it's the basis of so many protein shakes. So, a great way to start the day if you're busy is to have a pro make your own protein shake mix. And, this works fine so long as you don't have lactose intolerance and a lot of People of, Anglo Saxon, Celtic background [00:19:00] do have some form of lactose intolerance.

Roni: hmm. it's a great point that you're making about, you know, your can of beans versus, , a bag of dehydrated beans is such a difference in money savings. And also, if you think about it, it's a good, you know, environmental choice as well, because then you don't have all of those cans and things that you're recycling or throwing away.

You know, you, you're able to kind of reduce the amount of bulk that you have in that sort of a way.

Kimberley: I was just going to say, it does require pre soaking, but if you're someone who's not organized then, you know, for me, I'm just in the habit of putting those chickpeas, or full lentils or whatever on a pre soak. But the split versions, your split peas, your split red lentils, they don't require pre soaking.

So yeah, even if you start with those simpler and start leaning into those and [00:20:00] bulking out some of your meals with those, that is a real, real, Huge nutrition boost. And you can make things with a combination of, say, sweet potatoes and split red lentils that are really, really good for you and such a low cost.

Roni: That sounds delicious this time of year in the United States this time of year getting cold weather. That sounds really nice too.

Kimberley: Goes well with pumpkin as well. Yeah.

Roni: so that kind of leads me into what I also wanted to talk a little bit about, which is kind of You know, doing some meal planning and some preparation, , as a, as a benefit to your budget, you know, you just mentioned like, maybe you're not somebody who is super organized and so you don't.

Always remember to soak your beans. But I'm just interested in some of maybe your ideas around how planning also is going to benefit, benefit the cost of your food. [00:21:00] Budget.

Kimberley: I think. That meal planning, and that means right from looking at what you've already got in the cupboard as the basis for the meals you're going to make this week and And then, you know, sitting down and writing that shopping list at home, thinking it through, having that bigger picture thinking, uh, to, to help you stick to your budget.

I think if I was to pick one thing that makes the biggest single difference, it's meal planning. So I'm, I'm a prepper from way back in terms of meal prepping on a Sunday afternoon. I enjoy it and I'm quite used to it now and I find that through the week I'm less inclined to cook anyway. If I feel like it, I've got options there that I can make a meal from scratch, but I find it difficult.

Really nice to go. [00:22:00] Oh, that's right. Uh, we're having curry tonight, you know.

Roni: Mm hmm. Yeah, I mean, we are obviously big fans of meal planning around here and it is so interesting just the simple act of meal planning can save a lot of money and also being intentional on top of that about your meal planning. And like you said, looking at home, seeing what you have, how can you kind of.

Put together a menu from things that you have and then not buy as much at the grocery store and also not buying doubles of things because you already have them. Having a little bit of intentionality with the meal plan can make a huge difference, uh, in the amount of money that you actually end up spending at the grocery store week to week, or, you know, month to month, if you happen to shop, uh, for longer periods of time.

And I'm curious, you mentioned, you know, buying the larger packets of dehydrated lentils and beans. Do you have any other food that you really recommend buying in bulk that you feel like stores [00:23:00] well and is pretty versatile for making in multiple recipes?

Kimberley: Beyond having your pulses and a broad range of them and skim milk powder, which we've already discussed, I would, and of course, potatoes, potatoes, as we've also discussed that even as a single person, if you know how to store potatoes and you buy them unpeeled or unwashed, they will keep for months.

, So those are the items I, oh, and of course I will get, you know, your grains, your, and oats also. Oats is something that I will buy in bulk if I can. Even here we tend to get them in kilogram packets. You don't tend to get them in larger sizes. But I would if I could get a discount on it. Rice, you know, once we've got past those items, I'm, I consider my pantry to be fairly well [00:24:00] stocked, you know, a few sauces, herbs and spices.

So that, that tends to be it. I really think if, let's put it this way, if I was going into the supermarket and another pandemic has been declared and everyone else is racing off to the toilet paper, be heading to the pulses first. I'd be stocking up on pulses. So yeah, chickpeas, lentils. that sort of thing.

Roni: Yeah. Now, certainly they're, you know, adding lentils and beans and everything into your diet does, help boost the protein content and everything of your meals. But I feel like the most expensive place at the grocery store is usually the fresh meat section. So what kind of recommendations do you have around, around fresh meat and how, you know, You can use it in your plan to, to, you know, still maximize your budget.

Kimberley: Okay. There's quite a few points here and this is great because I [00:25:00] don't normally get to talk about this. With meat, firstly chicken, uh, I've done extensive trials on which is the cheapest way just to get chicken meat. And believe it or not, it's not chicken breasts or chicken Maryland, it's chicken drumsticks.

Even if. All that you want is the meat and you don't care about the rest of it. The best way to the most, the most highest percentage of meat for the lowest cost is chicken drumsticks. And then having said that, it's very easy for you to put the bones aside. You know, you've taken the meat, you've removed the skin and the bone, and the gristle you've taken, the meat you've cooked with the meat store.

Those. bones in the freezer or simultaneously make yourself a chicken stock and that chicken stock will make some of the best meals you can [00:26:00] have, you know. And it will certainly create more flavor for your rice or pasta or gravies. I put my, chicken stock, I pour it into ice cube trays, and then once it's frozen, transfer it to a freezer safe container.

And it's just so handy to be able to take a cube of real chicken stock and use that in cooking. So Yes, I, but even if you didn't want to do that, getting your chicken meat from drumsticks is the most cost effective way. And another reason why is it's a richer flavor too, the, the meat. from the chicken on the leg has a more intense flavor. And that brings me to red meat. My, my advice is I encourage you to look for those [00:27:00] richer, meatier cuts of meat and then extend them out with lentils, uh, or, or other pulses to, to give you the protein. You want the, um, For example, a lamb shank, one lamb shank, very, very rich flavor and expensive to buy these days, but if you can pat it out with barley and, and, uh, green lentils, which kind of works with the flavor of the lamb.

Uh, then you can make that one lamb shank go a family two meals, in a casserole. So I do look at richer cuts of meat, even though they can be more expensive these days, but I extend them. And this is of course is something that our great grandparents did through the depression. I think we've all got to learn to make do.

We've got to get back to [00:28:00] being more savvy with making those cuts of meat go further.

Roni: Yeah, it's interesting. I feel like a lot of what I'm hearing from your tips is that just investing a little bit more time into your food is really going to help save quite a bit of money. A lot of the foods that are more expensive at the grocery store are more expensive because they're convenient. And just, and it's expending a little bit more time as you know, our grandparents may have done.

With their food is really the thing that, uh, makes it more financially beneficial for you.

Kimberley: that's right. Yes. I talk about making do and I think that the real heroes of this coming decade will be those who will take what looks like a very strange mix of ingredients. And make them work. An example of [00:29:00] that is, uh, tinned sardines. I didn't grow up with tinned sardines and at first they were very challenging for me, but they are literally the cheapest form of calcium that you can get.

And they're also brilliant for B12 and zinc and so many other, key ingredients. In fact, all of your small tin, small boned tinned fish are something that we should lean into more. But finding a way that I could make this work for my family, that is challenging. But this is what making do is all about.

Roni: Yeah, so that's interesting that you that you bring something like that up because I am curious if you have advice for parents, and maybe you have children who are a little bit pickier when it comes to eating or maybe you're trying to, you know, if you're cutting back. on your grocery budget and you do that does [00:30:00] require you to buy foods that maybe you previously had not purchased.

How do you, uh, involve your family or I guess, you know, like get your family acquainted with these new foods.

Kimberley: I think, and I encourage in the book, that you have a family conference. Your children deserve to know that we're going to start doing things differently now. And I think part of that journey is that you start talking to your partner and the kids about the connection between what they eat and what it's doing for them.

That can help a lot. For example, When I had to switch from giving my kids fresh fruit for morning school lunches for morning tea to carrot sticks, I said to them, Do you know that eating more raw carrots is really good [00:31:00] for your, Your eyesight, you know, there's, you know, a science that says it increases your night vision.

So, my kids were really excited at the idea that they might be developing superpowers. So they wanted to, they wanted to keep testing to see if it worked and it may or may not work. That's the beauty of science, but I could lean into the science as part of my explanation rather than, oh, we can't afford those apples that we used to buy anymore.

that was a better way to go. And it was also the truth. I was going, okay, what is the most cost effective way to give them the nutrient they need? , and I also think that, we can borrow from the, um, fast food chains and we can learn a little bit about what makes their food fun.

And I, I encourage [00:32:00] people who are going through tough times to have these rituals like you might not be able to go out to a restaurant on a Friday night, but you can still eat out every Friday night, you know, take some finger food to the park or the beach or whatever. the lake, you know, or kick a football around, you know, make it about having fun.

And on those nights we would do finger food, which was, you know, a lot, I used a lot of crumbed goods because, there's a lot of goodness actually in breadcrumbs. It can be high in salt, but it's also high in folate. So, basically you, uh, finding ways to improve the texture of the food, make it easy to eat, create a dipping sauce.

So I would do, one of my recipes was a chickpea nugget. And it looked very much like, uh, chicken nuggets. Uh, and of course, it was [00:33:00] provided with a dipping sauce. And we would take that out. We'd go to the park or whatever. So, yeah, these are the things that you can do that will help with fussy eaters. But above all, I think we owe it to our kids to start educating them about what the different foods do for them, so that when they're out on their own in their later years, they understand that living on instant noodles is not a good idea.

Roni: Yeah, you brought up two really important things there. One of which is just Like you said, including your kids in this conversation and not having them be separate from what's going on in your households, because particularly when it comes to food, uh, you know, they also are eating three times a day or, you know, more if they're a teenager and, And that I think that's really, that's a really important learning moment and teaching moment, but also just maybe family [00:34:00] connection moment as well to, just be like, we're, you know, we're doing this together.

Maybe, maybe you also explain the reasons why this is important for your family right now. And I think that that's great for kids, especially older kids, you know, teenagers and older to realize that. You know, sometimes you struggle and then there's solutions, you know, that you can implement so that it doesn't feel so hard or so challenging.

That's a really great teaching moment. And I also, and I also love that you brought up the fun aspect of it because I think that there's a tendency for. Eating on a budget to feel like a punishment for not being able to afford certain foods or to be able to afford to go out to eat. And so I love that you brought up keeping it fun still.

Because I really do for me, cooking is such a source of fun and creativity in my day. And I think that other people can hopefully gain that as [00:35:00] well. You know, home cooked meals don't have to be a negative thing. It could be a really positive, wonderful thing in your, in your life and in your family.

Kimberley: I absolutely agree with that and if I think one of the biggest moments of learning for me out of that period when we were financially with our backs against the wall was that it was going to be even more important. that we have fun, that we, that we reach out and be there for each other, that we have these rituals where we take the meal out of the house, where we have a date night that, you know, that me and my husband, you know, make sure those things happen.

They're even more important if you are going through a stressful period. And yeah, I, uh, I, you know, I actually have in the meal plans for how low can you go? [00:36:00] I have desserts twice a week, but these are often old fashioned desserts that still have some nutritional value. But it's, it's the modern processed dessert choices that gets you into the most trouble.

But, you know, an old fashioned cake with custard. That's a, to me, that's me showing love to my family and making an ordinary meal a little bit more special. It'll also do wonders to get them to eat this, the, you know, the main course if they're still getting used to this change in diet. You know, having that, that chocolate cake, which is fairly simply made and not a lot of sugar.

With a bit of custard can can really help to to lighten things up and kids get a real kick out of that. And so do husbands. believe that it's more important [00:37:00] than ever that you just celebrate being together.

Roni: So having been through that situation yourself and feeling overwhelmed by the cost of food, what did, what, I mean, you already just gave a few tips, but do you have some, do you have any other additional advice for people or families who are currently feeling overwhelmed by the cost of inflation and, you know, the grocery budget maybe being twice as much as they were used to it being a couple of years ago?

Kimberley: okay, first I'm going to make them feel even more overwhelmed.

Roni: Um,

Kimberley: The science is, buckle in, this is only going to get worse. We're going to see continuing, um, food price rises. So, even people on middle incomes, Across the world, they're already feeling the pinch. It's going to get worse. So if you're on a high income, you [00:38:00] can continue to shop the way you do today.

If you're on a middle or lower income, you do need a plan B. And I do believe that on top of everything else that I've said, shop weekly. But think bi-weekly. And the reason I say this is, there tends to be with supermarket psychology, this, this tendency to put things on a cyclical discount. I find this a lot with shelf staple foods like coffee.

You know, yourself every so often it seems to come up on special. as a discount. Uh, I call these the regular discounts. So if you learn to shop five week, like shop every week, but have a percentage of your budget for any items that you know you're going to need in the next five [00:39:00] weeks, that is going to help you get ahead.

And I create a rotating five week shopping list. So, so I returned to week one after week five, and this helps me get further and further and further in front because, Every time I buy, for example, the coffee at a discounted price, and I buy enough to see me for that five weeks, knowing that the odds are I'm going to get to buy it at a discount, discounted rate again, roughly this time again, in that five week cycle, , then that gives me more money.

to put towards something else that becomes discounted next week. And you get to the point where you are having more and more of your shopping items at a discounted price. That can make a huge difference [00:40:00] as well.

Roni: I like that. That's a, that sounds like a really, genius, I guess, way of organizing your shopping list. , I think it, yeah, it can be really easy to get caught up kind of in the, in the week to week, you know, not, not really. Putting very much effort into looking out a little further or buying things on sale more at random rather than buying them with a plan.

I feel like that's a trap that I, I've often, I often fall into that trap of like, Oh, this is on sale. You know, I know I use this thing, but there's not, there's not really an expect expectation for what I'm going to do with it or how long, uh, like what, in what timeframe I'm going to use it. So I really liked that, that five week plan that you have.

Kimberley: I think it's important too to have that something like a five week plan. I wouldn't stretch it any more than eight weeks. And the reason for that is that you, [00:41:00] uh, you can run the risk of. Spending money to save money without any real idea of when you're going to use it. So by having a fairly loose and flexible, uh, set of shopping lists that circulate over a five week period, you are, uh, putting yourself into a position where you say, Oh goodness, lamb's on special this week.

I will purchase that as my meat for this five week period because the discount's really good, but if not going to buy so much that I don't have a, a clear concept of, of when I'm going to use it. You know, we've all got, things in the cupboard that we bought with the best of intention that we haven't got around to using and that's what you want to avoid as well.

Roni: So you mentioned that your book has meal plans in [00:42:00] it. I'm curious if you can give us just a quick rundown of how your book is laid out. What else is in there besides meal plans?

Kimberley: Okay, uh, we start because food is not one size fits all. I start with, uh, a scenario for someone who's, young living in the inner city and, uh, have, you know, there are, I call it the bachelor plan and they just want really simple fixes. I've used this with my son and the idea is that we need to start training.

You know, in my case, my children, how to bulk cook and the importance of batch cooking and, and meal prepping, but doing it in such a way that it's not too time consuming, particularly for university students or people who have just moved out for the first time. So this is a plan [00:43:00] which. Leans into really simple food prepping for the beginner, and you know, it's like, uh, two hours a fortnight and it sets you up for most but not all of your meals.

Then I look at what's called the hardcore plan and this is the cheapest way that you can go. It literally answers the question of, What are the best foods and let's work with those. So, and of course the best foods are those that are the cheapest, but cheapest for that nutrition that, you know, in terms of covering your nutrition.

That is a plan that, has. You know, in Australia, 30 for per person per week, it covers all of your nutrition. And it involves about three hours per week for a family of four, , in food [00:44:00] prep. And it makes a huge difference. And, and that includes food prep, believe it or not, for breakfasts and lunches. Uh, there's things such as a, uh, Italian rice slice. You'll notice that Sandwiches don't factor in any of my mood food prep plans.

You can do better than sandwiches. Um, and sandwiches are actually quite time consuming. So, I like the idea of a rice slice where it's, the Italian rice slice can be eaten cold, but it's got a lot of vegetables in it. And it, it can be quite filling.

So, yeah, and then, of course, we've got, evening meals that are prepped as well. And then finally, we've got the savvy strategy, which is where we've covered, you've learned a lot from both the earlier plans and you start to put together your own plan. There's also, [00:45:00] uh, quite a bit of information on supermarket psychology.

How to, How to recognize where the best foods will be in your supermarket and the traps, the marketing traps that have been set up and how, uh, to deal with them. And there's also a section on saving money on Christmas, Easter, Thanksgiving, and, uh, also stocking up. For emergencies, if you live in an area where you, as I do, have things such as hurricanes or cyclones or bushfires to deal with.

Roni: that is so much. I feel like you really cover the wide range of possibilities for different demographics of people. Uh, you know, who need this kind of information or even just want to make some small changes. Sounds like you, yeah, like you have opportunities for pretty much everybody to learn something in there.

That's [00:46:00] amazing.

Kimberley: Thank you. Yes.

Roni: Well, let's, uh, before we wrap up, why don't you remind everybody again, the name of your book and where they can buy it. And if they have any place, if you have any place online where they can connect with you and learn a little bit more about you.

Kimberley: Thank you, Roni. The book is How Low Can You Go? nutritious meals from 50 per person per week. Uh, it is available on Amazon. Uh, you can also order it through a bookstore through IngramSparks and it is, oh, you can also find out more information through my website, which is kimberleygillen. com.

And just keep in mind that it's Kimberley spelt with L E Y. There is actually, uh, an Australian journalist in Sydney that does, budgeting generally. So, and her name's Kimberley Gillen with an L Y, [00:47:00] so. Yeah, that's, it's, um, fairly easy to find and it's, there's nothing else out there that, that addresses, uh, addresses this from a food security.

Minimum amount of spend and for most of us, it's going to be a 60 percent saving on what they're currently spending now on groceries.

Roni: Well, I hope everybody checks it out and learns more because it sounds like you have so much more information to share than what we were just able to cover cover in this podcast. So thank you so much for joining me today, Kimberly. It's been really nice talking to you.

Kimberley: Thank you, Roni,

Roni: thank you for listening to today's episode. As always, there are links in the show notes for Kimberly's website, as well as where to find her book so that you can learn a little bit more about her and what she does and maybe pick up a copy of her book and start saving some money at the [00:48:00] grocery store.

If you like the Plan to Eat podcast, the best way you can support us is by sharing this episode with a friend or giving us a rating and review on Apple podcasts and Spotify. Thank you again for listening. And I will see you again in two weeks.