One woman is sharing how she has been able to make big savings by only spending £20 a week in her supermarket shop while foraging the rest of her food.
Megan Howlett, 26, from Midhurst in West Sussex revealed how she has been able to accumulate a fully foraged Christmas dinner, including mushrooms and herbs.
The young woman taught herself about which plants and mushrooms are edible with her diet being made up of 50 percent foraged food.
Outside of the food she finds in the outdoors, Ms Howlett only needs to spend £20 weekly on shop-bought food which comes from local greengrocers and shops.
Ahead of Christmas day, she is preparing a fully foraged festive meal for her husband Tim, 30, and herself.
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The full-time forager plans to eat a wild mushroom pastry, roasted root vegetables and sloe gin which has been an affordable feast thanks to her frugal spending habits.
She explained: “We’re a part of the circle of life. At Yule [a winter festival over the Christmas period], it is tradition to just use what you have collected over the year.
“We make mushroom pastry and roasted root vegetables. Being immersed in nature – you can’t not be happy.”
“I pick a spot and wander – then think about what I’m cooking based on what I find. I go out every day – and select a different spot. I have a regulate of never taking more than 10 per cent of what I find to not decimate the area.”
To find certain items, Ms Howlett will visit beaches and look for seaweed, including kelp which she uses for skin care.
Furthermore, the 26-year-old will visit forests to find mushrooms such as chanterelles in the summer and porcini mushrooms and berries in the autumn.
While she always attempts to have fully foraged food in her meal, she often does have to collect some items from supermarkets.
However, this lifestyle means she usually does not have to spend more than £20 a week on them.
Ms Howlett added: “We have meals that are fully foraged. Usually it is an addition to what we usually buy.
“I have shelves and shelves of dried herbs and mushrooms. I make our own wine, beer and cider.”
“I find so much peace in foraging. It’s fantastic. I really get to tune into nature.”
