Save Money on Food and Groceries Part 1

This is the next booklet in my series of how to cut your budget. Using the ideas from all of my guides have saved us $12,000 last year. We're hoping cut even more this year. I hope you will find some ways to cut your own budget.
The most gemon reasons for high food bills are waste and lack of planning. Evaluate what foods and the amounts that you are throwing away on a regular basis. Look in your refrigerator. How many jars of condiments or sauces/dressings do you have where you only used a small amount for a recipe? Try to gee up with other meals to use the same ingredients when planning your shopping. Or determine if you can substitute another ingredient. You can cut your budget without having to find and cut out millions of coupons. Only use coupons for items you really use or want to try. I use very few coupons as most are for convenience foods that are not as tasty or nutritious as homemade. Theyre often higher in price too even with a coupon.
Many items may be frozen for future use. For example, if you make a dish now and it requires cup of chicken broth, you can buy canned broth and freeze the rest. Or buy chicken bouillon granules so that you make only the amount you need. To save even more, save the broth when you stew or boil chicken, cool, skim off the fat and then freeze the remaining liquid in ice cube trays. When frozen, remove from the trays and place in a zip lock storage bag. With this method, you can easily remove the number of cubes you need for a recipe.
If you can afford it and have the space, having a second freezer can save you a lot of money and will more than pay for itself. Im not a fan of chest type freezers as its hard to remember what you have stored and items get buried at the bottom never to be seen again. But if you find a really good deal on one, its still worth getting. Just remember to unpack it periodically to see what you have and to plan to use older items. Meat can be frozen almost indefinitely and still be safe to ear. But you will lose flavor and add that nasty freezer burn taste. Meats such as steaks will be tough as leather. Its best to use meat within 6 months or earlier. To increase your freezers efficiency, fill clean empty milk containers with water and freeze. Use these to fill empty spaces in your freezer. When you need to use the space, just toss them.
Use proper containers for freezing. Do not use containers that microwaved foods were in or empty cottage cheese containers, for instance. These types are not safe for freezing. Freezer containers can be found at discount stores for a low price. You may also want to search on the internet to get a chart of how long you can freeze items and still retain the flavor and safety of the food. Leftover dinners for example, should be used within one month. Buy vegetables and fruit when they are at a low price and freeze them. Information on how to prepare these foods for freezing can be found on the internet or a library. Some cookbooks may also have this info.
Are you making too much and throwing away leftovers? If you do this on a regular basis, cut down on the amounts you prepare. Small amounts of leftover vegetables can be frozen and saved for soups and stews. Use a zip lock freezer bag and just keep adding to it. Use leftovers for lunch the next day or make another dish with leftover meat. Small amounts of meat or chicken can be made into a stir-fry meal and served over rice. Or make a gravy, add the meat and serve over biscuits or toast. Another way to keep from throwing food away, is to freeze any leftovers right away. Mark the container so you know what it is and youll soon have several quick lunches or single dinners that can be defrosted and heated in the microwave.
If youre chopping an onion or other vegetable but only need part, chop the rest and freeze in zip lock bag. Not only will you not end up throwing out rotten vegetables, youll save time when you need onion again.
Make some of your favorite restaurants meals yourself and save money by not eating out so often. Do a search for copycat recipes on the internet. You can even find recipes to make your own Bisquick, Mrs Dash (my favorite spice) and other items. I have a recipe to make Big Macs and the kids actually like the homemade version better. If you like to go out to eat, consider going for lunch instead of dinner. In many restaurants, the same items are available for lunch at almost half the cost. Save dinners out for special occasions.
Try to find a use for everything. Once you get into the habit of thinking before you throw something away, it begees second nature. Scrub your vegetables thoroughly before peeling carrots, potatoes, onions, etc. Save these along with celery tops and other clean parts of vegetables, in an open container of ice water in the refrigerator. After 4-5 days or when you have a fair amount, throw them all into a pot of water and simmer on low for 2 hours. Strain and freeze the broth for soups or other dishes. Much tastier than canned broth. Egg shells can be used for plant fertilizer. Coffee grounds can be used to get rid of red ants (add 1 pound to 1 quart of water). Coffee grounds are also used in some countries as a facial pack to treat acne, wrinkles, age spots, etc.
Check the prices per unit at the grocery store. A bigger size may save a lot more money but sometimes the smaller size is cheaper. Check store brand prices. Sometimes these are less than a brand name even if you have a coupon and many are brand names with store labels. Shop the days before major paydays (the first and fifteenth of the months and every Friday). Prices in many stores go up right on payday. Discount stores that have food sections usually have more consistent pricing.
Buy meat in family size packs and divide into amounts you need for a meal or recipe before freezing. Save time by washing chicken and patting dry with paper towels before freezing. It will be ready to use when you defrost it. Check your stores reduced meat section. You can save up to 50% and the meat still has to meet the same standards as full price meat. This is the place to find higher priced cuts of meat at a greatly reduced price. Beef tenderloin, flank steak and other meats dont sell as fast as cheaper cuts and often end up in the reduced bin. This is a great way to eat well and still save money. If you eat pork, buy pork tenderloins. It may look like it costs more but they dont have bones and very little fat. Why pay for things you are going to throw away? Pork tenderloin has an amazing amount of variety in how it can be used in recipes too. If you only need a small amount for a dish, cut it in half before freezing.
Buy cheaper cuts of meat and cook them in a crock-pot to tenderize them. Or marinade them to grill or broil. A marinated mock tenderloin can taste just like filet mignon.
Haddock cut into pieces and boiled in water with tsp salt and cup of vinegar will taste just like lobster when dipped in butter or used in a dish.
Start zip-lock bags and save bread, cracker and pretzel crumbs in them. Youll be surprised how quickly they fill up. Use pretzel crumbs in place of, or to add to graham cracker crusts. Put cracker and bread crumbs in the blender or food processor and then store in an airtight container. Add parmesan cheese or spices and youll have tasty coatings for meats. Dont throw away those potato chip crumbles at the bottom of the bag. Put them in a baggie and crush with your hands (not into a powder) and store these in an airtight container. They make an excellent coating for skinless chicken. Dont throw away stale bread. Make French toast or bread pudding. Theyre better with stale bread! Or plan to make your own stuffing by cutting the slices into cubes. Place them on a tray or baking sheet overnight covered with a clean cloth. Theyll be ready to use the next day.
Buy bacon on sale and cook it until almost done. Cool and freeze between small sheets of waxed paper and then place in a freezer bag. Take out a few pieces when you need them and microwave. Much cheaper than the ready to eat bacon which is so convenient. If you make pancakes, dont throw out leftover batter. Cook the pancakes as usual then freeze using the same method as the bacon. Pop them in the microwave when you need them. No waste and youll also have some quick breakfasts. Save bacon drippings in a lidded jar and store in the refrigerator. A small amount added to vegetables or sauted meats will give a great flavor but not add to the fat content, if drained.
Use powdered milk for recipes and baking. If the recipe doesnt need the fat content, youll save a lot. Its also great when youre low on milk but need it for a recipe. Some can drink powdered milk but most will not like the taste. You wont notice the difference in recipes though.
My aunt waits until bottled salad dressings are getting low then she adds some pickle juice and shakes the bottle. You wont end up throwing of the dressing away because it wont gee out of the bottle and you just pour out pickle juice anyhow. Ive tried this and it works best with Thousand Island, Italian or other dressings that already have a slight vinegar taste. You can also use pickle juice as a marinade for cheaper cuts of meat. The vinegar flavor cooks away but will tenderize the meat.
Plant a garden. If you dont have the room or much time, you can still grow many vegetables in containers. Read the labels to determine whether they need full sun, partial sun, or shade and how much watering needs to be done. The new hanging varieties are great and take little space or time. Plant herb gardens to place in your sunny windowsills. Once full grown, clip off what you need. Fresh herbs add so much flavor but often go rotten before you can use store bought ones. You can have vegetables all summer for pennies. If you live in a warm climate, you can plant most of the year. Extras can be canned or frozen. I prefer freezing since canning takes quit a bit of time. If you cant or dont want to garden, consider going to pick your own farms. You cant beat fresh picked veggies and fruits, and there is a considerable savings. Take kids apple picking and them help them make an apple pie. It will fill them with pride, teach them the process, and will taste oh so good when made by little hands.
Buy sugar, flour, spices, oil and other staples, plus ketchup, mustard, pickles, etc at the dollar store. Youll actually find quite a selection of food items at some bigger chain dollar stores. These are not old items nor do they have defects. When gepanies change their packaging, even by the slightest bit, they will often sell lots with the previous packaging to the dollar stores. I also buy all my juice at the dollar store. This is a $2-3 savings per container. My local dollar store also accepts coupons and with these, you can get super low prices. Look for coupons for soap, toothpaste, detergent and other cleaners, pain medication, antacids, cold remedies, and paper products. Even if your dollar store does not accept coupons, the prices for these items are probably still lower. If you take vitamins, you can save a lot by buying them at the dollar store. Magazines are discounted too but issues are a bit later than other stores. If you dont mind waiting for your favorite magazine, you can save quite a bit.