What about the price of food?

We are saying choose a variety of nutritious foods but your weekly visits to the supermarket may leave you feeling discouraged about the affordability of it all. Firstly, when you get home with the produce that you and the kids picked out, plan your meals for the week so none of the food goes to waste – especially fresh fruits and vegetables. Leafy vegetables, such as spinach and fruits that quickly ripen, such as bananas are time-sensitive and therefore must be cooked or eaten first. Pumpkin, butternut and watermelon can be your options for later in the week.

Use leftover foods to prepare the next day’s meals. Leftover sweet potatoes can be used to make a sweet potato pie for dessert. Leftover beef stew is ideal to make a pie, and adding chopped sweet peppers and some egg to leftover rice is a quick lunchtime meal. Some animal products which are good sources of protein, (hyperlink to What does eat nutritious and varied options mean?) like red meat and cheese can be more expensive, depending on where you live. Choose legumes (beans, lentils, jugo beans / bambara groundnuts), eggs, chicken, and canned pilchards/tuna to stretch your budget. Fermented milk (maas) and soya foods are also a good source of protein and together with uphuthu or rice make up a good meal for all ages.

Create a space in your garden to grow your own fruit trees and vegetables for a continuous supply of fresh produce. Excess fruits and leafy vegetables such as collard greens and mustard greens can be preserved through canning and drying, respectively.