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It can be hard to balance the demands of eating well without spending a lot.

In this series, we try to find the healthiest options in the supermarket for the best value - and have enlisted the help ofSunna Van Kampen, founder of Tonic Health, who went viral on social media for reviewing food in the search of healthier choices.

In this series we don't try to find the outright healthiest option, but help you get better nutritional value for as little money as possible.

This time, we're looking at whether frozen fruit and vegetables, often a lot cheaper and more convenient, are just as good for you as fresh.

Frozen products often get bad press, but is that fair?

Sunna argues they can be better for you nutritionally than fresh - and that's good news for your wallet.

Fresh produce challenges

Before we get to why frozen fruit and veg is so great, let's look at some of the downsides of fresh produce.

"Fresh fruit and vegetables are some of the healthiest foods you can eat, but they often have been picked before peak ripeness to allow them to ripen during the long distances to reach your local supermarket," he says.

This gives them less time to develop their full range of vitamins, minerals and natural antioxidants and during the journey, they might also spend days or even weeks in transit and storage.

Because of that, vitamins like C and B and other antioxidants start to degrade - beginning the moment they are picked.

"By the time it reaches your plate, your fruits and veggies might not be as nutrient-dense as they once were," he says.

The average UK household also wastes about £470 of food each year - and a big portion of that is fresh fruit and vegetables that have gone bad before being eaten.

Why frozen may be a better option

"Frozen veg could be your best ally in maintaining a nutritious diet while keeping costs low," Sunna says.

Frozen produce is picked at peak ripeness, when it's most nutrient-dense, then flash-frozen within hours of picking.

"This process effectively pauses the degradation of the vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, preserving the nutritional value until you're ready to eat," Sunna says.

"Freezing produce also locks in nutrients that might otherwise be lost during the transportation and storage of fresh fruits and vegetables."

The money

The good news doesn't stop there - as your wallet can also win here.

Here are a few examples of the price difference between fresh and frozen produce:

Blueberries - more than 40% saving

• Fresh 300g - £10.50 a kg
• Frozen 400g - £6.25 a kg

Broccoli - more than 45% saving

• Fresh loose - £2.19 a kg
• Frozen florets - £1.19 a kg

Spinach - more than 65% saving

• Baby fresh 220g - £6.10 a kg
• Frozen 900g - £2.06 a kg

So switching from fresh to frozen blueberries (assuming one punnet a week) would save you £33.80 a year - do the same with broccoli and spinach and you're looking at more than £100 in savings.

Look in your cupboards and in your fridge for easy substitutes to maximise savings - these are just three examples.

There is one obvious drawback here...

Taste

"Frozen doesn't always taste as good as fresh," Sunna says, "but there are simple ways to make these changes more palatable for your taste buds too."

Sticking with our examples above - using fruit in smoothies means you'll barely notice a difference, while you can steam or roast broccoli instead of boiling it to avoid it going mushy.

Spinach tastes virtually the same.

"Don't let the allure of fresh produce blind you to the benefits of their frozen counterparts," Sunna says.

"By switching to frozen, you can enjoy better nutrient retention, amazing cost savings, and reduce food waste - a win-win-win."

Read more from this series...

Every Friday we get an overview of the mortgage market with the help of industry experts. This week we have spoken to David Hollingworth, associate director atL&C Mortgages, and RachelSpringall, finance expert atMoneyfactscompare.co.uk.

Although it was widely expected to happen, the Bank of England's decision to hold interest rates at the 16-year high of 5.25% for the seventh time in a row dealt a blow to borrowers.

There had been better news the day before, when inflation fell to the Bank of England's target of 2%, ending a long three-year wait for borrowers.

Markets now expect the Bank to cut interest rates in August or September, which would be a major moment.

As Rachel Springall, finance expert at Moneyfactscompare.co.uk, says, with inflation reaching the target "there will be more pressure on the committee to vote in favour to cut the bank base rate at its next meeting in August".

"Regardless of any potential base rate changes to come, fixed mortgage rates can rise or fall depending on how markets anticipate rates to fluctuate, so it's essential borrowers keep a close eye on the latest deals to hit the market," she adds.

"Week on week, the overall average two-year fixed rate fell to 5.96% and the average five-year fixed rate remained at 5.53%."

These are the lowest rates on offer…

Moneyfacts advises people looking to avoid upfront costs and legal fees to look at Best Buys as well as the deals with the lowest rates...

Will a cut change anything?

The last time inflation was this low was July 2021. Back then, as David Hollingworth, associate director at L&C Mortgages, points out, the lowest fixed rates were around 1%.

They're now around 4.5%, which shows how quickly rates have changed.

Mortgage rates have moved around a bit in recent months as markets questioned when the interest rate cut would come and how big the cuts would be, David says.

"That pushed some fixed rates up a little, but we've seen funding costs ease back a little, and now lender price changes are often a mixed bag of cuts and hikes.

"Overall mortgage rates are tending to hold steady and the decision to hold the base rate will not come as a surprise to anyone, so it's unlikely that there will be much reaction in mortgage rates."

He has some advice for anyone delaying taking out a mortgage in the hopes of a rate cut: "Those that have been holding off in the hope that fixed rates will drop soon may want to reconsider their approach.

"Even if we do see a cut in August or September that will already have been priced into fixed rates and may not result in a major shift in rates.

"In many ways the safer approach may be to get a rate in place to protect against any increases and then keep rates under review up until the end of the existing deal.

"If rates do improve, you will generally still be able to move across to the newer product."

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

Sainsbury's is to sell its banking business to NatWest.

The agreement could see NatWest take on around one million customer accounts, as well as £1.4bn of unsecured personal loans, £1.1bn of credit card balances and £2.6bn of customer deposits.

The deal is expected to be completed in the first half of 2025.

Sainsbury's said customers would "not need to take any action" and said there would be no immediate changes to their terms and conditions.

It comes after the supermarket giant announced in January it was winding down its banking division to focus on the retail side of its business.

Simon Roberts, the chief executive ofSainsbury's, said: "Today's news means we will focus all our time and resources going forward on growing our core retail business, delivering great quality and value, week in week out."

NatWest boss Paul Thwaite added: "This transaction is a great opportunity to accelerate the growth of our retailbankingbusiness at attractive returns, in line with our strategic priorities."

The sale does not include Sainsbury's Bank's commission income businesses, such as insurance, cash points and travel money.

Argos Financial Services is also not included.

An English rosé has been celebrated as one of the 50 best wines in the world.

Chapel Down's Rosé Brut won one of the 50 best in show medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards - the first time a UK sparkling rosé has done so.

The rosé, made in Kent, is a blend of chardonnay, pinot noir, pinot meunier, pinot blanc and early pinot noir.

Josh Donaghay-Spire, head winemaker at Chapel Down, said: "We are over the moon.

"It is recognition of the attention to detail and quality that we put into every bottle."

He put the success down to the cooler maritime climate and chalk soils of Kent, which offered the wine the "freshness and crisp character that can't be made anywhere else".

You can get a bottle for around £37.

If you want to a list of the most affordable rosés out there, check out Money reporter Emily Mee's report here...

More than 30% of UK shoppers have seen a theft take place in a shop in the past year, data from Retail Insight suggests.

A poll of more than 1,000 consumers also found the average shopper had witnessed four instances of theft in stores in London.

According to the Association ofConvenienceStores, there was a 409% increase in shoplifting last year, to 5.6 million incidents.

"There's little doubt that shoplifting poses a challenging and costly issue for retailers, many of whom are already giving away margin to keep the cost of everyday foods as low as possible for customers amidst cost of living pressures," Paul Boyle, chief executive of Retail Insight, said.

A ballot is under way that could see Amazon recognise a trade union in the UK for the first time.

Workers will eventually vote on whether they want the union, GMB, to represent them.

GMB needs 40% of them to vote in its favour for Amazon to recognise it.

If the union succeeds, it would mean Amazon would negotiate with GMB leadership over on terms, pay and conditions for workers.

Ballot papers will be sent out on 3 July, with workplace voting starting on 8 July, lasting for six days.

The result of the ballot is expected on 15 July.

Almost one in five workers have had no change in their pay since the start of the cost of living crisis, new research claims.

Jobs site Indeed said its survey of 2,000 people also found that two in five revealed they were struggling to make ends meet.

One in five said their salary had not changed since 2021, while almost one in seven said their pay had fallen since then.

Jack Kennedy, senior economist at Indeed, said: "After grappling with the cost of living crisis for over two years, it's no surprise that wages are front of mind for voters.

"There's a clear call from the British people for the elected government to further ease financial pressures, and we'd expect this to remain front of mind for the public long after the winning party is decided."

By Daniel Binns, business reporter

Taylor Swift's shows in London will boost the economy by £300m, officials have claimed.

TheUS starwill perform three gigs at London's Wembley Stadium this Friday, Saturday and Sunday - before returning to the venue in August for a further five dates.

The sold-out shows will be attended by a total of nearly 640,000 people.

The Greater London Authority estimates fans will spend an average of £471 a show, with many travelling from around the world or other parts of the country to watch.

The capital's mayorSadiq Khansaid he was "delighted" the 34-year-old was playing more shows in the city than anywhere else in the world during her Eras Tour.

The Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee was never going to cut interest rates today. Not two weeks before a general election.

Cutting the cost of borrowing would have been perceived as highly political, potentially offering support to the government, even though some Conservative politicians, such as the former business secretary Jacob Rees-Mogg, sought to argue ahead of today's decision that not cutting Bank rate could equally be perceived as "a political decision against the government".

So it was no surprise to see the MPC maintain Bank rate at 5.25% or, indeed, for the composition of the vote, at 7-2, to remain unchanged from last time around, with uber-dove Swati Dhingra and Sir Dave Ramsden, again, outnumbered in voting for Bank rate to be cut to 5%.

The MPC also went out of its way to show how it is finely attuned to criticisms of bias one way or the other.

The minutes note: "The committee noted that the timing of the general election on 4 July was not relevant to its decision at this meeting, which would as usual be made on the basis of what was judged necessary to achieve the 2% inflation target sustainably in the medium term."

Why did the MPC vote to hold?

Leaving aside the politics, there were very good reasons why most of the MPC voted for no change today.

Chief among these was the fact that, although the headline rate of Consumer Prices Inflation in May returned to the Bank's target rate of 2% for the first time since July 2021, services inflation remains uncomfortably high at 5.7%.

That will have raised alarm bells on the MPC about the risk of so-called "second round effects", whereby firms and workers respond to higher prices by themselves seeking to raise their prices or their wages and not least because services make up four-fifths of the UK economy.

The MPC minutes noted today that services inflation was "somewhat higher than projected" when the Bank published its most recent inflation report only last month.

The minutes added: "This strength in part reflected prices that are index-linked or regulated, which are typically changed only annually, and volatile components."

Inflation likely to rise again

The MPC is also very wary of the possibility that inflation is likely to begin creeping higher again later in the year.

That is due to so-called "base effects" - the year-on-year comparison - and the fact that, in the second half of last year, the price of some goods in the inflation basket were falling or, at least, not rising as rapidly as they are expected to in the second half of last year.

A good example of that, which stood out in the inflation figures published on Wednesday, is unleaded petrol - a litre of which cost 144.4p in May last year but which cost 148.8p in May this year.

More broadly, the economy is growing more strongly than the Bank has been expecting, as are several indicators of economic activity, among them spending by households on repair and maintenance of their homes and consumer confidence.

Wage inflation

The other major concern for the MPC is that wage inflation, at 5.9% during the three months to the end of April, remains too high for its liking.

The latest report from the Bank's network of regional agents - whose briefings are closely studied by the MPC's members - suggest that recruitment difficulties are "near to their pre-COVID levels" which represents "a historically high level".

Other survey data has also persuaded the MPC to conclude the labour market remains "a little tighter than official data" suggests.

The minutes highlight concerns that near-term pay growth may moderate by less than the Bank was expecting in its May report.

Consumer-facing businesses, which are most exposed to the National Living Wage, in particular are having to pay more to employees.

That said, a reduction in Bank rate is coming, with the MPC noting: "The restrictive stance of monetary policy is weighing on activity in the real economy, is leading to a looser labour market and is bearing down on inflationary pressures.

"Key indicators of inflation persistence have continued to moderate, although they remain elevated."

When will interest rates be cut?

The timing of that reduction is now going to be more fiercely debated than ever. Yesterday's inflation data, with that unexpectedly strong reading for services inflation, pushed market expectations for the timing of that first cut out from August to September.

Today's minutes, though, have persuaded some market participants to conclude that an August reduction in Bank rate may be back on.

The key line in the minutes that have raised that prospect was that, among some MPC members who voted for no change this month, "the policy decision at this meeting was finely balanced".

So the big takeaway from today's meeting is that the door remains open to an August reduction in Bank rate.

The market was putting the probability of an August rate cut at 30% before the meeting. It is now placing a 60% probability on that.

But an August rate cut is not nailed on - and politics may yet rear its head - and the MPC will be watching closely to how markets react to the election result.

As Julian Howard, chief multi-asset investment strategist at GAM Investments, put it: "A potential Labour landslide could unsettle markets, in particular the currency.

"Sir Keir Starmer has come under pressure in recent days on the issue of tax and spending. Sterling will appreciate neither unfunded spending, nor a heavier tax burden."

Some more reaction to bring you now, with experts at Capital Economics suggesting the "pieces of the puzzle are almost in place" for a rate cut.

It said "several developments implied a rate cut is getting closer", citing the two members who voted to cut rates by 25 percentage points to 5.00% and, interestingly, a lack of "hawkish" rhetoric in the minutes released alongside the decision.

"Despite the recent run of stronger inflation and activity data, the language in today's minutes was not much more hawkish than in May," Capital said.

"The minutes continued to suggest 'indicators of inflation persistence had continued to moderate' and that a range of indicators suggest pay growth had continued to ease.

"As a result, we still think there is a good chance of a rate cut in August and that rates will fall to 3.00% in 2025, rather than to 4.00% as investors expect."

We've been reading over the minutes from today's Monetary Policy Committee meeting - and here's what the governor had to say on the decision...

"It's good news that inflation has returned to our 2% target," Andrew Bailey said, referring to the data released yesterday.

"We need to be sure that inflation will stay low and that's why we've decided to hold rates at 5.25% for now."