A MUM has revealed how she manages to make a week’s worth of sandwiches for just 30p.
Jo, who is in her 40s and has three teenagers, explained that she manages her sandwiches by putting them into the freezer.
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Taking to her TikTok page ‘thismumcooks,’ Jo revealed that when she buys yellow sticker food, she uses this trick every time.
Jo explained that she managed to pick up a loaf of bread for just 6p and two packets of chicken slices for just 83p.
Although she realised that she could have frozen the chicken slices and the bread separately, she noted that she would have had to split the chicken into individual slices so that she could “get out one at a time.”
Instead, Jo decided to butter up the loaf of bread and pre-make some sandwiches.
She said: “I sliced up a little bit of cheese that I already had in the fridge and then I set about making a loaf of sandwiches.
“In the end this took me less than five minutes to do an entire loaf of sandwiches and it means that absolutely nothing is going to go to waste.
“I had three slices of chicken that I had left over so that’s been frozen separately and this entire loaf of sandwiches cost me less than £2 to make.
“That’s less than buying one pre-made sandwich in the supermarket.”
Jo put all the sandwiches back into the sandwich bag before tying it up and placing it into the freezer.
She added: “You can just get a sandwich out at a time as you need, and there will be no need for an ice block in your packed lunch.”
Speaking exclusively to Fabulous, Jo said: “I only do this when I pick up yellow sticker sandwich meat from the supermarkets, because this saves the sandwich meat from going out of date and stops food waste.
“Generally the sandwiches will only last a week or so in the freezer because the kids will eat them and they defrost in a couple of hours in their packed lunch.
“They also keep the lunch box cool when they are at school in the morning.”
Although she has received comments on her TikTok video claiming that the sandwiches will become “soggy,” Jo wants to set the record straight.
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She said: “The sandwiches do not become soggy by doing this and it can save you both time and money.”
Jo also revealed how she discovered this hack.
She said: “My Director of Finance used to do this.
“He would make his sandwiches on a Sunday evening and bring in his frozen sandwiches every day.”
Jo’s video received over 501k views and 1,304 comments after just one day of sharing the video.
Many people had mixed opinions on her prepping hack.
Unfortunately, there are families out there struggling to buy food and their children are not even entitled to free school meals
Jo
One wrote: “When that defrost that’s gonna be soggy that’s gonna need toasting.”
Whilst a second said: “Revolting.”
And someone else added: “I wouldn’t do that if I was serving 30 years in jail. Where’s the flavour?”
But Jo doesn’t let the bad comments get to her.
She said: “Because of how social media works, the negative comments work really well.
“They push the post out and mean that more people, the people who I want to see the post, may get a chance to.
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“Often the negative comments come from people that do not understand and that is OK. However, some people do take the hate too far!
“It is a shame though that people feel the need to judge the food items being used in the post.
“These sandwiches will fill up a child at lunchtime.
“For some families, this may be all (or even more) than they can afford.
“Parents are doing their best for their families, their children, and by saving money in this way, they may then afford to eat fresh fruit or vegetables to go alongside a sandwich in their lunch.
“Unfortunately, there are families out there struggling to buy food and their children are not even entitled to free school meals.”
Fridge or cupboard? The essential food storage guide
Foods must be stored correctly to keep them fresh and prevent the spread of bacteria.
Nutrition expert Birgit Brendel said bread will last longer when stored in the fridge or freezer.
However, this can compromise the flavour.
Storing in ceramic or pottery containers is an alternative that allows for air to flow easily and slow the growth of mould.
Robert Morris, managing director of food safety consultants, Complete Food Safety, revealed the best place to store fresh fruit and vegetables.
He said salad foods should be stored in the fridge drawer, but away from anything grown in the soil such as carrots, parsnips and beetroot.
Tomatoes are an exception to the rule as fridges can alter the natural ripening process and diminish their taste.
He also advised against putting avocados and bananas in the fridge as this will cause them to blacken quicker.
