5 fab frugal food blogs to follow

An early start at the station

This weekend I headed back to London to meet up with other money bloggers, for the SHO-MOs conference and awards.

It was so much fun chatting to a bunch of other bloggers, and hearing from some excellent speakers. Everyone is passionate about their different fields, from extreme couponing to eco friendly living, money saving to hard-core investing, and keen to share ideas.

It was also exciting to meet people in real life, when I’m only used to seeing them on the internet!

 

Some winners and judges from the SHOMOs!*

I was delighted to be one of the finalists in the the Best Frugal Food Blog category, alongside some excellent candidates. I didn’t win, but really wanted to recommend reading the other fab frugal food bloggers on the shortlist:

WINNER: Reduced Grub
Reduced Grub is all about reduced food ideas for family meals at a fraction of the cost.
As a self-confessed “whoops warrior”, Kelly swoops down on those yellow-stickered bargains on the short-dated shelves. She aims to “feed her family like kings, at a fraction of a normal shop”.
Kelly has stormed to success since starting blogging seven months ago, and is such a warm and chatty person!
Her recipes are full of flavours, and she also posts useful info including the best times to find reductions at different supermarkets. I hope to see many more of Kelly’s recipe videos, like this one for her delicious Thai Pork.

RUNNER UP: Skint Dad
So great to meet Ricky and Naomi, the powerhouses behind Skint Dad, on Saturday.
I am truly in awe of everything they have achieved on their journey out of debt, and all the amazing ideas they continue to produce.
There’s a handy cheap recipes section on the Skint Dad blog, so you can find food posts within the wealth of money making and money saving resources.
I’m a big fan of Skint Dad’s fakeaway series, showing you how to save a fortune by recreating takeaways in your own home.

Thrifty Lesley
Thrifty Lesley describes her blog as “1 person, 1 day, £1” or “How to feed yourself on £1 a day”.
When it comes to frugal food, Thrifty Lesley really knows her onions. And her falafels, herby scones and powdered coconut milk!
I was particularly excited to meet Thrifty Lesley, as I’ve been reading her blog for years. It was a bedrock of information from back in 2013 when I first did Live Below the Line.
There are way over 400 budget recipes on the site, with loads of creative ideas. Plus, I reckon one of the most useful resources is the nutritionally balanced Meal Plans, which make it possible to eat healthily on such a minimal amount of money.

Frugal Family
Cass over at The Diary of a Frugal Family describes her blog as a “bit of a mish mash of family fun, money saving tips and foodie ideas, with lots of cupcakes and smiley faces thrown in too”.
Taking a common sense approach to saving money, Cass has some fantastic family-friendly sections on her blog, with appetising colourful photos.
Under “Frugal Food” you can find loads of favourite family recipes, plus useful topics like using a slow cooker and a beginner’s guide to batch cooking.
Cass also has excellent suggestions for Cooking with Kids, so important for their future.

Five Year Target
Jack and Jack have launched a great-looking website to track their progress towards their dream of owning their own home.
They’re keen to make money, save money and still enjoy their lives.
When they started back in May, Jack H. shared how they save £60 a week by meal planning. Since then you can check their weekly meal plans for ideas and inspiration on cutting your food costs.
I wish them all success in smashing their target, and look forward to hearing more about their progress!

So do go over and check out these blogs, if you’re interested in frugal food.

I’ve highlighted the five finalists from the SHO-MO awards, but there are so many other great frugal food bloggers out there.

In particular, no post on frugal food blogs would be complete without mentioning Jack Monroe, over at Cooking on a Bootstrap, who wrote the cookbook “A Girl Called Jack”.
Also, I have learnt such a lot from Sue’s posts at Our New Life in the Country.
Other favourites include the first frugal food blogger I ever discovered, Miss South at North / South Food, the amazing Frugal Queen and Penny Golightly for her storecupboard challenges. I also have a soft spot for the Jamaican jerk chicken over at Joleisa – you may have spotted twin sisters Jo and Leisa starring on “Shop Smart, Save Money” recently!

Anyway, I hope these suggestions provide some food for thought (boom, boom).

Now over to you – who are your favourite frugal food bloggers, whether long established or new on the block?

*Photo credit: Andy over at Be Clever With Your Cash. Andy also did an amazing job of organising the SHO-MO conference and awards for UK money bloggers – here’s a full list of all the winners.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

10 Comments

  1. 13th September 2016 / 1:21 pm

    I am a huge fan of the skint dad private food facebook forum and often comment/learn.

  2. 13th September 2016 / 1:44 pm

    Although they are American blogs, you may enjoy reading: creativesavv and thriftymominboise

    • 13th September 2016 / 2:05 pm

      Oooooh great to have some new recommendations, I've never read either of those. Will go and check them out! Thank you Becky.

    • 13th September 2016 / 6:15 pm

      Thank you Becky – interested to see these American blogs in my adopted country.

    • 14th September 2016 / 7:32 am

      Yes, loads of inspiring recipes! Kelly really works wonders with her yellow-stickered bargains.

  3. 2nd October 2016 / 2:01 pm

    A great post, easy to read with some great shares 🙂

  4. 24th August 2021 / 9:48 pm

    Do take a look at my website to compliment Feed Yourself for £1 a day. It has all of the most important meal plans along with some great recipes including some lovely tasty Lebanese ones. Lots of Vegan and Vegetarian ideas also. all on patsfood.org no ads, no spam, just genuine cnotent.

    • Faith
      Author
      5th September 2021 / 10:22 am

      Looks like there are some brilliant thrifty recipes on your site, Pat, thanks for flagging it up.

The contents of this blog are for information and ideas, and should not be viewed as financial advice. Use of the material is conditional on there being no liability for how you choose to use it. If you are unsure about any investments or financial issues, please contact a financial adviser.