We’ve talked about how to make food at home for free, but even we’ve got to admit that sometimes there’s nothing you want to do less than strap an apron on and fiddle about with a saucepan for over an hour. That’s why, this week, we’re going to show you how to get food that someone else has cooked for free — or nearly free.
Olio is a wonderful app, which seeks to eliminate food waste from grab and go restaurants and supermarkets that have items that need to be thrown out. My sister uses it a lot in Glasgow, where she seems to have a never-ending supply of almost-expired Pret-a-Manger ham brioche. With Olio, all you have to do is text the listing that you’ll be arriving, and then scoop up armfuls of whatever they have to give you. This can range from things like your local Starbucks wanting to get rid of their limitless supple of banana muffins, to jars of homemade jam that the nice old lady two streets over accidentally made too much of.
If you want a proper meal rather than just snacking on sandwiches, Too Good To Go is another app that helps cut down on food waste. Targeting mainly restaurants, Too Good To Go allows companies to make little bento boxes of full priced meals and sell them for half, or even a quarter, of the price. This means you can get restaurant quality food for pocket change! It’s not free, but if you’ve had a seriously bad day and really can’t bring yourself to wash out the frying pan, then it’s a good alternative to spending all of your money on the same thing. For something similar in Singapore, then Treatsure Box does the exact same thing — except their bento boxes are biodegradable!
Remember, you shouldn’t be eating out all of the time. The best meals, and memories, are ones you’ve made at home. But, even we can’t deny that sometimes we don’t have the energy to cook three meals, or prep them for the week, all the time. Sometimes, being gentle with yourself and eating just-on-the-right-side-of-expired quiche on your bed is the best thing you can do for yourself.
Photo by Shared Food from Burst.
