5-3-10-5 Shopping Method: Could Save £1,040 a Year on Groceries
What the 5-3-10-5 method actually involves
If you have scrolled through cooking videos recently, you may have spotted the 5-3-10-5 method doing the rounds on TikTok. The idea is simple. Instead of planning seven separate dinners and filling a trolley with ingredients for each one, you buy a smaller, flexible set of items that can be mixed and matched across the week. The formula is five proteins, such as chicken, eggs or tinned tuna; three carbohydrates, such as rice, pasta or potatoes; ten fruits and vegetables, which can be fresh, frozen or tinned; and five flavour builders, including garlic, stock cubes, herbs and spices. That makes 23 choices in total.
Pawel Kruszynski, discount expert at Promizi, says the appeal is flexibility. A bag of rice, a pack of chicken thighs, some peppers and a jar of curry paste can become a curry one night. The leftover chicken and vegetables can then be rolled into wraps or tossed into a stir-fry later in the week. You are no longer tied to a single recipe, so you cook around what is already in the cupboard and what needs using up first.
The method works in any of the big supermarkets, whether you shop at Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons or Tesco. Frozen peas, tinned chickpeas and value eggs all qualify, so you do not need premium produce to make it work.
Where the £1,040 figure comes from
The headline number sounds big, so it is worth looking at how it is calculated. Promizi’s example starts with a typical weekly food shop of £100. If buying more versatile ingredients, avoiding duplicates and using up leftovers trimmed that bill by 20 per cent, the saving would be £20 a week. Over four weeks that comes to about £80, and across a full year it adds up to £1,040.
Pawel is clear that the figure is an estimate. Your actual savings depend on household size, current spending habits and how much food you normally throw away. A couple who already plan carefully may save less than a busy family that regularly bins half-used packets of vegetables.
The method can also cost less than you might expect. It does not mean buying five expensive cuts of meat every week. Eggs, lentils, beans and tinned fish all count towards your protein choices, which keeps the weekly total down. For many households, cutting waste is where the real money is saved, because food that gets eaten is food you have already paid for.
Making it work for your household
Pawel’s biggest warning is about treating the numbers as a strict target. Buying 23 items for the sake of it defeats the purpose. Before you leave the house, check your fridge, freezer and cupboards. If you already have rice, pasta, frozen vegetables or sauces, there is no need to buy them again just to complete the formula. Keep a short running list of what you have, and you will avoid doubling up.
Shop around your favourite supermarket’s offers too. Choose ingredients that are on promotion or in season, and use loyalty prices where they genuinely work out cheaper than the standard price. Compare unit prices rather than the size of the pack, because a bigger bag is not always better value.
For anyone in Newquay, the method suits life here well. Surfers heading to Fistral Beach at dawn can batch cook a pasta salad or chicken wraps the night before, and families planning a day out can pack lunches from the same ingredients used for dinner. If you are planning a trip and want to go to Newquay for a weekend, the same approach helps keep holiday food costs under control. Start small, track what you spend for a month, and see whether the savings are real for your household.
Source: 5-3-10-5 method saves you money at Aldi, Lidl, Asda, Morrisons and Tesco
