Eating on a budget while travelling Australia, doesn’t mean everyday needs to be another canned meal waiting to happen. But, there’s some adjustments you can make to enjoy great food while staying on a budget.
Take making pasta for example, an easy, quick and delicious meal. With a full kitchen it’s easy to store ingredients and add tons of vegetables. For cooking there’s no problem in having multiple pots and pans out for cooking meat, sauce and pasta separately. Extra pasta can even be stored in the fridge for leftovers. Life is different while travelling.
When there’s less storage for ingredients and leftovers, the correct amount needs to be purchased to avoid waste. And, sometimes with only a single camp stove and pot available, there isn’t space to have multiple things cooking at once. Finally, extra food can’t be stored for long without a fridge as bacteria grows on food when it’s not.
I created some tips for eating on a budget while travelling Australia without sacrificing good food, nutrition and flavour.
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Grocery Stores Instead of Eating Out
Eating out is always the most convenient option, but it’s also gets expensive. Try to save it for special occasions, instead of everyday. Eating out can also get boring because there’s limited choices.
Grocery stores are more affordable, and the portion size can be better suited for anyone’s needs. Overall you’ll get more meals per price out of shopping at a grocery store versus eating at a restaurant.
Consider Prepared Foods
Buying a head of lettuce, vegetables and dressing for a salad is definitely cheaper than a small bagged salad. But storing all those vegetables and preparing them may not be worth the effort, eventually. It can also be a set up to wasting food if not eaten quicker.
Instead try buying smaller portions such as pre-packaged salads, for example. Another benefit to doing this, is it’s easy to switch up salad types and flavours. Other good pre-packaged foods are pre-cooked grains (such as rice and quinoa) it’s easy to add to any meals and just has to be warmed up.
Thrifty, not Tasteless
Every travellers I’ve met is on some kind of a budget. Eating on a budget while travelling Australia doesn’t mean the flavour has to be sacrificed. It’s easy to keep trying to recipes and food as Australia has a good amount of fresh produce available all year.
I got in the routine of making a shopping list and doing grocery shopping for a week under A$140 for two people, all meals. Breaking that down equals to about A$9 a day per person for all the food. And I don’t eat the same thing everyday, but there’s no shame in that either. Anyone could do this too it just takes some practice and planning.
Fuel Economy Adds to the Grocery Bill
Aldi is known for its cheap prices, but it may not always be the closest options. Petrol prices are high, and driving around to the cheapest grocery store adds up.
The same goes for the grocery stores in remote areas. The prices tend to be higher with a lower selection of groceries. It’s better to stick to just a few things at the expensive groceries stores and wait to buy more at the cheaper grocery stores, if possible.
Roadside Produce Stands
All over Australia—but mostly in regional areas—are cute, delicious and affordable produce stands. I’ve come across produce stands with over 20 different types of fruit and veggies. Others may only have one or two types of produce—say, avocados and mandarins.
These truly are my favourite spots to buy produce as it can be the most affordable and tastiest. And, it’s supporting the farmer directly, instead of grocery stores taking a cut. These produce stands usually rely on honest people to drop the correct amount of money into a bin as there’s no one there to attend.
If you’re in the area of Childers, there’s a great stand just off the highway on the corner of Mamminos Rd at Lucketts Rd in Horton, Queensland. The woman who runs it picks up produce from surrounding farmers so there’s a good variety of basic veggies and exotic fruit.
Staying on a budget is just one part of travelling, check out my full guide on how to get started in Australia on a Working Holiday Visa
