[PickyPrincess]

Cooking at home can be a great way to save money on food expenses, and there are several common, simple ways to make it even more cost-effective.

1. Plan your meals and make a grocery list to avoid buying items you don't need.
2. Take advantage of sales and discounts, and use coupons to save even more.
3. Cook in large batches and freeze leftovers for later.
4. Use store-brand or generic items instead of name-brand products.
5. Buy produce that is in season, as it tends to be less expensive.

There are also creative ways to save on food costs as well.

1. Grow your own fruits and vegetables in a home garden.
2. Shop at discount grocery stores or ethnic markets.
3. Check to see if your local markets have an app and app-exclusive discounts.
4. Buy products that are close to their expiration dates and use them up quickly.

What are some of the things you do to save on food costs?

 

[Colbyt]

Other than milk and bread I never buy anything unless it it is on sale.
When I find a deal I stock up.
I buy my fresh meat in bulk and vac seal it in meal sized portions.
The best bargain anywhere is the Costco or Sams roto chicken. 1 chicken makes up to 6 meals and for less than you can buy the raw chicken.

 

[Wooleybooger]

I do most of the things the the Princess listed and still our grocery bill has increased almost 50%.

 

[Colbyt]

Did you enjoy those stimulus checks? Now you are paying it back.

I will admit the inflation factor is a bit higher than even I expected.

 

[Wooleybooger]

Any stimulus check I may have gotten went for wife's medical bills.

 

[Shane R]

I live in a moderately rural area now but even when I lived in the city I found places to forage. Generally, if you ask at the parks they don't really care if you take edibles as long as you don't pick the flowers. Then, there are always easements and right of ways for the utilities that you can pick along, or at least get you back to unregulated public access property.

 

[Steve-o]

Around here (urban Minnesota) the various ethnic supermarkets (primarily Asian here) are significantly less expensive than the American/regional chains for meat/poultry/fish, vegetables, and staples connected to that cuisine (soy sauces, noodles, etc.) The pickings for American foods like confectioner's sugar or whole-grain bread or canned beets will be slim and not usually well priced but for chicken parts and cabbage and rice...

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

Gotta be careful though with "ethnic" and graded meat-->like beef. Stores (not ethnic) will sell beef as prime, select, AAA, AA, etc.

Pork and chicken don't fall into this category as pork isn't "built" the same as a cow so is not graded (if you find one advertised as such, it's an advertising ploy and means nothing) and although chicken is advertised as "Grade A", grades B and C are not usually sold at retail.


ONE time I bought a t-bone from an ethnic. Just said beef t-bone (no grade) and it was like an old boot when grilled med-rare.

If you buy beef and it's not graded, fuggedaboudit

 

[KitchenWench]

I'm starting to make connections with local (10 mile radius) farmers and ranchers who raise meat animals and buying directly from them at their farms. So far I've been able to hook up with a hog farmer and I've been buying from a cattle rancher for a while. By buying from them at the farm itself, the price is usually about 25% less than at the farmer's market. Admittedly the beef is a bit pricey but the cattle are grass fed, grass finished Angus and the taste is well worth it. I preorder a 1/2 cow every year and it lasts us that long as I add other meats to the menu. As I mentioned in another post I'm on the fence about having chickens but Benjen may make it impossible. So I guess I'm stuck buying at Sam's for it.

I grow a lot of vegetables that we eat, I can some and share with neighbors and donate to the local food bank. In the winter I supplement with frozen from the store. I'd freeze some but haven't had much luck with it. And my freezer is usually stuffed with meat.

If you've got an Aldi or Lidl there are great bargains to be found. That's where I get my frozen vegetables, some frozen seafood, and chicken. I was surprised at the quality and flavor. I'll also pick up things I don't use fast enough of to warrant buying it in bulk at Sam's like confectioners sugar, baking powder or soda, regular table salt, and herb blends that I can't find anywhere else. I won't buy fresh produce there because sometimes it's not as fresh as you'd think.

While there are a few things I'm brand specific about, I mostly buy store brands. Sales are wonderful and I play the coupon game as well. There are still tons of coupons out there to be had if you know where to look. The problem is many of them are on things we don't use.

 

[Colbyt]

One veggie you may want to freeze is tomatoes when you have a surplus. They are only good for soups, stews or as cooked tomatoes.

 

[KitchenWench]

What's a surplus of tomatoes?

I grow 2 varieties of tomatoes. San Marzano Romas for canning and Cherokee Purple for eating and canning so there's no such thing as a surplus.

 

[Roll_Bones]

I live in a moderately rural area now but even when I lived in the city I found places to forage. Generally, if you ask at the parks they don't really care if you take edibles as long as you don't pick the flowers. Then, there are always easements and right of ways for the utilities that you can pick along, or at least get you back to unregulated public access property.

We got some flat stones from a national park some years ago for our aquariums. Never considered it was against the law. And there were plenty people around the waterfall.
When I mentioned this to a friend he told me I was quite lucky. That the only thing you are allowed to leave with is a picture.

ONE time I bought a t-bone from an ethnic. Just said beef t-bone (no grade) and it was like an old boot when grilled med-rare.
If you buy beef and it's not graded, fuggedaboudit

Yep. I can't speak for all ethnic markets but back home in Miami we had many Cuban Markets. The only meat my dad bought was Palomilla steak. Very thin steak used in Cuban sandwiches. Being extremy thin, there was little issue with tenderness. I'm not sure what cut it is from.

If you've got an Aldi or Lidl there are great bargains to be found.

We are getting an Aldi close by. We live in a rural area that is growing. My wife says its a great store. But I have only been in one years ago. We are also getting a Publix. Its only 14 miles away. The Aldi will be less than 10 miles.

One veggie you may want to freeze is tomatoes when you have a surplus. They are only good for soups, stews or as cooked tomatoes.

How do you freeze them? Last spring I ran all the surplus through a food mill then froze them in 1 quart containers.

What's a surplus of tomatoes?

I grow 2 varieties of tomatoes. San Marzano Romas for canning and Cherokee Purple for eating and canning so there's no such thing as a surplus.

Do you grow the San Marzano's from seed? We also grow Cherokee purple.

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

How do you freeze them? Last spring I ran all the surplus through a food mill then froze them in 1 quart containers.
Do you grow the San Marzano's from seed? We also grow Cherokee purple.

Food mill works but also: just skin them (by blanching) then chop/dice and freeze in 1 litre milk bags (our milk comes in 1.33L bags (3 to a bag) ) so it's also envir friendly as well. We re-use those really thick plastic bags. At least once anyways 😉

 

[Colbyt]

I never have a surplus. The process is simple. Scald and peel them like for canning, crush them a bit as with a potato masher, pack into bags, jars etc. and freeze.

 

[Roll_Bones]

Food mill removes skin and seeds. If you choose the correct screen. Its a time saver. But you need to quarter them at the least.
KA has an attachment for this. But does not fit my older machine.

 

[LeonardoDaBenz]

Honestly, I never notice seeds in mine (even though they're in it). Used primarily in chili (and I don't mind/even notice them in spag sauce I make).

Whatever works for you 😁

 

[Wooleybooger]

What's a surplus of tomatoes?

I grow 2 varieties of tomatoes. San Marzano Romas for canning and Cherokee Purple for eating and canning so there's no such thing as a surplus.

I tried growing the Cherokee Purples and Bob's? Wild Cherry tomatoes last year. The seeds came up but when I transplanted them they never thrived, just fell over and died even with adequate watering.

 

[KitchenWench]

I tried growing the Cherokee Purples and Bob's? Wild Cherry tomatoes last year. The seeds came up but when I transplanted them they never thrived, just fell over and died even with adequate watering.

Huh...that's odd because I always start my Cherokee Purples in the house and haven't had a problem in 5 years of growing them. I don't actually plant them until they've been above ground for 6-8 weeks, the last 2 weeks are spent hardening off.

 

[KitchenWench]

I've been thinking more and more about cooking on a budget lately because of the high price of food and it's time to go back to some of my old tricks. When I first started out it was expensive, but now that I've got a vacuum sealer and plenty of rolls of bag makings it'll be cheaper.

Spend the money on a Sam's, Costco or BJ's membership. If you can afford it, bump it up from a basic to a mid-range membership. I do that to get special pricing and deals. It'll pay for itself in a fairly shortly depending on what you buy, how often you make use of it and how much you buy each trip.

Buy meats in "family" or extra large packages then break them down into individual meal sizes and toss it in the freezer. If you know you're going to make a family favorite, thaw 2 packages and double the recipe; hopefully you'll have enough for leftovers. When it was just my husband and I, I'd buy the biggest pack of chicken breasts, fresh ground beef, roasts, pork loins, etc. that I could find in the case, bring them home and split everything into family size packages. I'd end up with 4-5 packs of each meat and a full freezer.

Learn basic meat cutting so you can buy giant pieces of meat and cut it up correctly. Chicken breasts are $3.19 lb, breast tenders are $3.49. Why pay an extra $0.30 a lb for someone else to do something so easy? I buy 8-10 lb boneless chuck roasts for almost $6.00 lb. and cut them into 1 thick steak, 1 nice size roast and depending on the amount left over, 1-2 lbs of stew beef. A 6-8 lb pork loin gets me 3 packs of loin chops and a roast.

 

[Steve-o]

Cutting up a whole chicken is so easy more people should know how to do it. Excellent point.