Meal Prep Money Saver: How Batch Cooking Saves £200+ Per Month

A Tesco meal deal costs £3.60 per day. That's £72/month or £864/year on lunches alone. A home-prepped lunch costs £1-1.50 per portion, saving you £40-50/month just on midday meals. Dinner is where the big savings hide. The average Deliveroo order is £15-20. Even ordering twice a week costs £120-160/month. A batch-cooked dinner portion costs £1.50-3.00. Cook three big batches on Sunday and you've eliminated the takeaway temptation. Add in skipped coffees (bring a flask), pre-made breakfasts (overnight oats: 30p per serving), and fewer wasted ingredients, and meal prepping realistically saves £200-300/month for a single person.

Chicken and vegetable curry: feeds 5 for about £6 total. Buy a whole chicken from Aldi (£3-4), add tinned tomatoes (35p), coconut milk (£1), and frozen veg (£1). Serve with rice cooked in bulk. Bolognese: 500g beef mince (£2.50), tinned tomatoes (35p), onion, garlic, and pasta (80p) feeds 5 for under £4. Double the sauce recipe and freeze half for next week. Chickpea and sweet potato stew: two tins of chickpeas (60p each), sweet potatoes (£1), tinned tomatoes, and spices. Completely vegan, feeds 5 for about £3.50. Chilli con carne: similar base to Bolognese but with kidney beans (40p/tin), cumin, and chilli powder. Serve with rice, in wraps, on jacket potatoes, or over chips — one batch, four different meals. Sausage casserole: Richmond sausages (£1.50 for 8), baked beans (35p), tinned tomatoes, and whatever vegetables are on offer. Chuck everything in a pot and cook for 30 minutes. Feeds 4-5 for about £3.

Spend 2-3 hours on Sunday afternoon cooking 3-4 big batches. Put on a podcast or playlist and get into the zone. Here's a sample routine: 12:00 — Start the curry (slow cook while you prep other meals). 12:30 — Brown the mince for Bolognese. 12:45 — While sauce simmers, chop veg for stew. 1:00 — Start the stew. Cook rice in bulk. 1:30 — Portion everything into containers. 2:00 — Clean up, label containers, fill the fridge and freezer. Invest in a set of microwave-safe containers (£10-15 for 20 from Amazon or Wilko). Glass containers last longer and reheat better, but plastic works fine to start.

Shop at Aldi or Lidl for your base ingredients — they're consistently 20-30% cheaper than the big four supermarkets. Buy own-brand tinned goods, frozen vegetables, and bulk rice or pasta. Check the yellow sticker section for reduced meat, bread, and fresh produce. Go in the evening (after 6pm at most supermarkets) for the best reductions. Anything you buy reduced can be batch cooked that evening and frozen immediately. Make a list and stick to it. Supermarkets are designed to make you impulse buy — end-of-aisle displays, eye-level premium products, and 'buy one get one free' offers on things you don't need. A list is your defence.

For the first month, track what you would have spent versus what you actually spent on food. Most people are genuinely shocked at the difference. Redirect the savings into your SYM challenge. If you save £200/month on food through meal prepping, that's £2,400/year — enough for a holiday, a significant chunk of a house deposit, or a fully funded emergency fund. The combination of saving money and eating healthier makes meal prep one of the highest-return habits you can build. It's not glamorous, but it's incredibly effective.