AS SHOPPERS navigate turkey shortages and rising costs, a Peebles butcher has provided five top tips to help people through the season without breaking the bank.

Louise Forsyth helps run her family’s award-winning shop which has been running for more than 80 years.

She said: “I’m always encouraging folk, especially younger ones, to be interested in their food, make informed choices and learn to cook.

“The beauty of going into a butcher shop is that you can speak to someone with that wealth of knowledge. Instead of a label, you get a real live expert. You can’t get that level of first-hand knowledge anywhere other than the butchers.”

To help people get ahead this festive season, Louise shares her top five tips to enjoying a hassle-free, affordable and special Christmas this year.

She added: “There are so many fantastic alternatives out there to turkey to suit whatever budget you have. For example, a lovely piece of roasted Scotch beef brisket is a fantastic meal and there are lots of different ways of slow cooking it.

“A nice leg or a shoulder of Scotch lamb or a roasted shoulder of specially-selected pork are slightly more affordable cuts if you’re feeding a larger number of people.”

For Louise, her tricks of the trade to avoid food waste, hassle and misused pennies are finding ways to ensure that everything on the plate is necessary.

She advises: “Write a list and visualise how much food you’re buying. You’ll find that you don’t actually need everything.

“To cut spending, instead of buying pre-made pigs in blankets, make your own by getting some chipolatas and streaky bacon. It’s a great job for children to do.

“Try to buy food that you can freeze so that if you don’t end up using it or if your plans change, it’s there for a later time.

“It’s so easy to make a leftover curry with whatever red meat you choose to have for Christmas dinner with a jar of curry paste or instant sauce or even a home made sauce using Make It Scotch for recipe ideas.

“Leftover beef and lamb can be frozen into individual portions with gravy, and then it’s ready to take out of the freezer to have an instant meal.

“If you go to your local Scotch butchers, you can even bring your own dish in to get your pie made in which is great because you can pretend you’ve made your own pie. It’s great value for money and can even be a good alternative for Christmas day.”