Reykjavík Grapevine - jun. 2023, Síða 10

The Reykjavík Grapevine 7 / 23 10
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WORDS Iryna Zubenko
IMAGE Art Bicnick
Katrín Björk Birgisdóttir regu-
larly posts her grocery hauls to You-
Tube. A nail technician by day, Katrín
is known for challenging herself to
cook on a budget. Is it possible to
feed a family for cheap inReykjavík?
The Grapevine caught up with Katrín
to find out.
GV: HOW DID YOUR FOOD
BUDGETING JOURNEY
BEGIN?
I have a family of four, including two
boys who are always hungry. I’ve
always been budget focused. Even
when I was younger, I made multiple
accounts with money for this and
that week. I’ve always just been in-
terested in it and I’ve always wanted
to make a go of this YouTube thing. I
started doing this not necessarily be-
cause we needed to save the money,
but to challenge myself. I found that
there was less food waste, too.
GV: WHAT ARE YOUR SPE-
CIFIC TIPS AND TRICKS FOR
SAVING MONEY ON FOOD
IN REYKJAVÍK?
Firstly, shop in stores like Bónus
and Krónan. Always make your meal
plans based on what you already
have in the fridge. I would always just
graze over the fridge, maybe write
down what’s in there, what needs to
be used, and account for the stuff in
the pantry and freezer. Also, pur-
chase foods that you can use across
multiple meals. For me, that’s buying
larger proteins like whole chicken.
Also, use a smaller basket. You’ll be
thinking, ‘How is this supposed to
feed us for a week?’ but then it does
because nothing is going to waste –
you’re using all of it. I used to pur-
chase a bag of carrots and use two
for a meal, but the rest would go bad.
A lot of people think they have to
make a meal plan for seven days. But
five days is plenty, because there are
always leftovers or just the lazy days,
or maybe you’re invited somewhere.
GV: IS BÓNUS STILL CHEAP-
EST?
It is. I always have Krónan’s app open
when I’m in Bónus. Most items are
the same price by about 1-2 ISK. But
if you’re buying protein powder or
some different products, Bónus is
cheaper. It would probably be 1000
ISK more at Krónan.
My mom taught me very young to
check the price per kilo, not just the
price on the shelf. I was shocked to
find out that not all people know this.
GV: WHAT ARE SOME
BUDGET-FRIENDLY RECI-
PES FOR FAMILIES?
Soup. I love soups and my family
does, too. You can put literally any-
thing in there. I usually work with red
or brown lentils and veggies. When
I have big chickens, I make stock
to freeze – it just provides so much
flavour and heartiness to the soup.
I always have pasta or something to
add to bulk up the meal.
I love making rice pudding and the
kids love it. It’s just easy to have and
lasts long in the fridge. Also, stuff
like chilli con carne is pretty cheap to
make. You can often find ground beef
at 50% off to stick in the freezer.
GV: WHAT ARE SOME OF
YOUR PANTRY STAPLES?
All kinds of tomato products, like
canned tomatoes and tomato paste.
I always have beans, chickpeas, jam,
ketchup and barbecue sauce. Also
all the different dried goods – like
lentils, mung beans and barley – that
keep for a long time.
GV: DO YOU HAVE ANY TIPS
FOR AVOIDING IMPULSE
PURCHASES?
I always have a list. I always end up
with something else in the basket
anyway. That’s usually when the kids
are there. Don’t go shopping hungry
and don’t go shopping with your kids,
if you can avoid it.
I never buy takeaway because I am
honestly always disappointed. But
one tip for people who have a hard
time not buying takeaway is always
to have a freezer pizza or a freezer
meal that is easy to make and that
you know you enjoy. There will always
be days where you’re like, ‘I cannot
do this. There’s no time to cook.
The kids are being annoying. I need
something now,’ and that’s when
you’re going to order takeout. But
if you already have the frozen pizza
that maybe cost 500 ISK, you’re set!
GV: WHAT WAS THE RE-
ACTION LIKE WHEN YOU
STARTED SHARING YOUR
BUDGETING JOURNEY ON
YOUTUBE?
It was mostly good. A lot of people
were complimenting me, but there
were a lot of negative comments too,
of course.
Some people are negative because
they’re afraid to try. They see how lit-
tle I’m spending on groceries and are
like, ‘No, that’s, it’s impossible.’ They
find something to comment about
so that they can dismiss it instead of
challenging themselves.
For more tips, check out
@KateWiium on YouTube.
I started doing this not neces-
sarily because we needed to
save the money, but to chal-
lenge myself and see what we
could actually end up saving. I
found that there was less food
waste with it, too.
My mom taught me very young
to check the price per kilo, not
just the price on the shelf. I was
shocked to find out that not all
people know this.
Money Moves Eating Well On a Budget
How to feed a family without splurging