I’ve always loved autumn. It might sound cliché but there is something special about evenings by the fire and the way nature gives us a fantastic show of colour.
In addition to being a great excuse for drinking plenty of hot chocolate and curling up on the sofa to watch a movie, autumn is a great season to spend more time in the kitchen. After all, what’s better than a big bowl of hot comfort food after a long today in the office?
My latest culinary obsession is slow cooking and I’m sure all parents will be happy to hear that not only can a slow cooker help you save time but it can help you stay on budget as well.
So let’s take a look at the 6 ways a slow cooker can help you save money:
1. Cheaper Cuts of Meat
If you are looking to save money on your weekly food shopping bill then a slow cooker is the ideal option. Cheaper and more old-fashioned cuts of meat which we wouldn’t normally consider buying such as cheaper cuts of beef, pig’s feet or cheek (jowls)  and oxtail make incredibly tasty stews for the whole family. Plus with an incredible range of recipes available online, there isn’t even any need to buy any specific cookbooks or manuals.
2. Save on Electricity
Despite having to leave it on for a long time, the typical slow cooker actually uses less energy than an oven or stove to cook the same meal. Not everyone is aware that slow cookers use a very small amount of electricity ( about the same amount of electricity as a light bulb) and therefore can help reduce your overall energy bills.
3. Less Temptation to Buy Prepackaged or Fast Food
One of the things I like best about slow cookers is the fact of being able to quickly put together the ingredients in the morning before going to work and have a delicious hot meal waiting for the whole family in the evening when I get back from the office. As a result, as a mum I’ve been less and less tempted to stop at the local supermarket for a quick (but expensive) dinner fix or order in a take away.
4. Bulk Cooking Made Easy
Speaking of spending less money on ready meals and takeaways, slow cookers are ideal for cooking big batches of the same recipe and freeze them to use up at a later date.
5. Perfect Lunches
As well as being perfect to fill the freezer up, another reason why I love my slow cooker is that I can always cook a little more in order for my husband and I to have a hearty lunch to eat at work. Gone are the days when as a result of the mad rush in the morning we never had time to prepare ourselves some lunch and always ended up going to the local sandwich shop.
6. Save on Clean-up
Finally, because slow cooking is essentially one-pot cooking, there are additional savings to be made when it comes to the washing up.
Image Courtesy of Jason Riedy on Flickr
