Mum’s ‘genius’ cost-saving food hack as Aussies struggle with rising grocery prices

A mum’s “creative” solution to reducing food waste in her home has gained attention across the country as Aussies continue to grapple with soaring grocery bills amid the cost-of-living crisis.

Aimee Connor shares snippets of her life with her more than 675,000 TikTok followers on a daily basis, but it’s her ability to turn her children’s leftovers into “delish” new meals that has everyone talking.

From repurposing “untouched” pancakes into muesli, to turning cut-off sandwich crusts into cinnamon crunch cereal and mashed sweet potato into muffins — the mum has been praised for her “genius” concoctions, especially given the increasing costs of supermarket items.

“Let’s experiment,” Connor said in a recent clip while cracking eggs into a bowl of chopped up pancakes which his children declared they no longer like.

After adding some sugar, flour, oil and a couple of apples, the mum exclaims she’s just had the “coolest idea” and mixes in some spices to create chunks of muesli she later eats with yogurt and fruit.

She then pops the remainder into a large sealed container to keep for later — creating further meals and prompting calls for her to create a cookbook.

Mum’s clever solution for lots of food waste

Speaking to Yahoo News Australia, the nurse said she is often pondering what to do with scraps that “haven’t even been breathed on” due to her kids’ uneven appetites.

“It’s hard to work out what I want to eat sometimes, so trying to work out what four children want to eat is a mission, and sometimes I get it wrong! I’m not one to force my children to eat something if they don’t feel like it,” Connor explained.

With just a handful of pantry staples, any parent can “start to repurpose foods that their children turn their noses at,” she said.

These include:

Connor told Yahoo that while she has “always hated wasting food” and has consistently “tried to think of ways to eliminate the food waste” in her house, she only recently started making videos documenting her recipes.

“I thought in today’s climate some other families may be in the same position as me and I could inspire others to do the same. I don’t really know what I am doing at the time, I just like to mix it up and try new things, but I generally use the same sort of ingredients (and portions) and hope for the best!

“I definitely think my pancake cereal was the best one I have done so far as that one really shocked me with how yummy that was!”

And others agree.

“I’m a single mother of four and I really appreciate seeing someone else repurposed food. I do this sort of thing too. It’s too expensive to waste!” one viewer commented on her social media.

“I love the resourcefulness! Turning soon to be waste into your breakfast!” another said.

Aussies seeking help in droves amid cost-of-living crisis

Despite 3.7 million households experiencing food insecurity in 2023 — 10 per cent more than in 2022 — each year Aussies waste around 7.6 million tonnes of food, costing families up to $2,500 and accounting for about 3 per cent of the annual greenhouse gas emissions, according to the National Food Waste Strategy Feasibility Study.

However, as the cost of living pulls the purse strings tighter and tighter, Aussies have admitted to dumpster diving and skipping meals to make ends meet. Charities providing free food have also warned the number of people seeking help has “grown exponentially” this year.

In June, the founder of Reaching Out in the Inner West of Melbourne, Randa Beirouti, said it has now become normal to see huge crowds lining up outside of food banks.

Particularly in the wake of the pandemic, the rate of people reaching out for help has “skyrocketed,” she said.

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