With research showing that households spending just an hour cooking a day costs £208.93 per annum in fuel costs, a new free energy-saving recipe book has been launched to help households cut costs, saving the nation tens of millions every year.
With energy prices still high and the cost of living a concern to most UK households, cooking appliance brand Belling has launched the ‘Energy-Saving Recipe Book’ where each meal is a lower-energy version of a much-loved dish.
A traditional roast dinner can take well over an hour to prepare, but a few simple alterations can result in a just-as-tasty spread on the table in a mere 40 minutes, using 62% less energy.
Belling’s fakeaway chicken tikka meal saves up to 64% in energy use versus traditional recipes.
According to latest ONS data there are 19.4m families in the UK and if each family cooked for just an hour per day under current energy tariffs, it equates to a £4.1bn collective annual energy spend*** – using lower-energy recipes could save the nation tens of millions in fuel costs every year.
Belling’s ‘Energy-Saving Recipe Book’ is full of delicious, budget-friendly dishes to cook and enjoy as a family, as well as tips and tricks to pinch the pounds around the kitchen.
The cookbook includes easy ingredient swaps, saving on the food shop as well as the energy used – for example chicken thighs can replace a whole chicken and cook in less time, and beans or pulses can be added to recipes to replace the meat, or make it go further.
Amy Hutchinson, spokesperson for Belling, said: “Energy prices remain high and many households are feeling the pinch, but every family deserves good quality home-cooked food on the table.
“We’ve been at the heart of British kitchens for more than a century, so we’ve used some of that know-how to create lower-energy recipes that everyone can enjoy whilst saving money.
“Each dish is a time and money-saver which, over the course of a year, puts a nice sum back in the pockets of families across the country – and if every family got involved, collectively it’s a serious saving.
“Not every household has access to slow cookers and air fryers, which can contribute to energy saving, but most households have an oven. Our free, downloadable Belling recipe book helps save money in the kitchen, without sacrificing taste, nutrition, and enjoyment.”
Top ten energy-saving recipes Vs traditional recipes
|
Recipe |
Percent saved vs traditional recipe |
Exact time saved |
Exact energy saving per dish |
|
Moroccan sausage and chickpea tagine |
80% |
1 hr 39 mins |
94.45p |
|
Spiced shepherdess pie |
71% |
57 mins |
54.38p |
|
Rescued vegetable and turkey ragu |
71% |
1 hr 12 mins |
68.69p |
|
Chicken tikka kebabs |
64% |
16 mins |
15.26p |
|
Sunday roast traybake |
62% |
1 hr 4 mins |
61.06p |
|
Taco beef and bean chilli traybake |
62% |
52 mins |
49.61p |
|
Chipotle, mixed bean, and red pepper stew |
55% |
34 mins |
32.44p |
|
Thai green prawn curry with zingy jasmine rice |
48% |
14 mins |
13.36p |
|
Roast tomato and spinach orzo |
30% |
16 mins |
15.26p |
|
Giant double chocolate chewy cookie |
19% |
7 mins |
6.68p |
|
Total saving |
£4.11 |
||
Source: The Belling Energy-Saving Recipe Book: link. Figures have been calculated using 2024 energy tariffs and the average cooking appliance power usage, with recipes compared against traditional versions using comparable ingredients and cooking temperatures.
The Belling Energy-Saving Recipe Book also includes money-saving tips and tricks to pinch the pennies in areas home cooks may not have considered:
-
Burnt-on food can absorb heat, so keep your hob and oven clean
-
Use the correctly-sized pan for your hob – a large pan on a small burner will take too long to heat, and a too-small pan will waste the escaping heat (not applicable to induction hobs)
-
Glass or ceramic dishes will retain heat better than metal
The Belling Energy-Saving Recipe Book is free to download from www.belling.co.uk