Do you have any tips to share about keeping food costs down?

[cali]

I have a very tight budget, and I imagine other folks here do as well. If you have any tips for keeping your grocery budget down, please share.

For me, it involves quite a bit of time and planning: Once a month I go to a place called Ocean State Job Lots for cheap coffee, honey, preserves and some canned and dry goods. There's a bread outlet place nearby so I pick up 4 or 5 loaves of decent Arnold bread for 1 dollar a loaf. I buy bulk lentils, beans and grains at the local co-op. In winter I buy frozen veggies more than fresh after I run out of the frozen garden produce. I don't have access to a large supermarket, just my local small grocery store, but their prices are better anyway. This week they had asparagus for 1.99 a pound, same for strawberries. Whole Turkey breast for 98 cents pound and navel orange for 4.59 for 5 lbs. They almost always have Cabot cheddar for 1.99 for an 8 oz bar. I make a lot of homemade soups and meatless stews and curries, such as curried cauliflower, peas and potatoes. For breakfast, I pretty much have oatmeal with dried fruit or whole wheat toast, cheese and a banana. I think I do pretty well, but I could always use more ideas.

[woo me with science]

1. I manage by surrendering to the whims of my food providers.

I buy whatever is on sale and most affordable that week. I have given up trying to plan a grocery list, because what I plan is always ridiculously expensive, and there is always an unexpected deal that will save me money.

It is a little bit like being a dog and waiting to see what they will feed you.

[laundry_queen]

37. This is what I do as well.

Loss leaders are my friend.

Also, a good bargain for packaged things like granola bars are smaller stores. Our local drug stores had boxes of different kinds of granola bars at 80% off just to get rid of them. I bought them all (I have kids in school, so that stuff is great for lunches. I haven't seen them that cheap at any grocery store, ever. Another local store had their head office send them way too many bags of their house brand of potato chips and were selling the big bags 4/$1. I loaded up then too. Maybe not the healthiest stuff, but it was a good snack when we had company or whatever. Some of those local stores also have better prices on things like milk or tea. I buy my milk at another local drug store, where it is 0.80 cheaper than the local discount grocery store.

I also scour flyers and generally only buy what is on mega-sale. If chicken legs with back attached are cheap, I buy a bunch and make chicken soup. Chicken soup, with cheap noodles and cheap veggies like celery and carrots lasts forever AND I usually make some homemade biscuits from scratch to go with it. I buy the giant bags of flour from Costco (unless there is a better price elsewhere at the time when I need it but sale on flour has been rare lately...) and make my own buns with my old bread maker, or biscuits or breadsticks. Sometimes you can get no name frozen dinners on sale for like .67 each and I'll buy a bunch of those. Pasta sales are great, I totally load up on .99 cents for a 900gram pack and $1 for sauce. I have about 10 each sitting in my pantry right now, months later still.

For fruits and veggies, I stick to the cheap ones like apples, bananas, carrots, celery, onions and then occasionally splurge on things like asparagus. If something goes bad, I freeze it an use it in soups or breads.

For meat, I look for cheap cuts to use in my crock pot or I look at the ones with 30% off marked on them, simply because they have a due date on the next day. I freeze it so the due date isn't really important.

It's not easy, and I still find myself cringing every time I go grocery shopping. I'm a single mom of 4 and in school full time and prices going up now is bad timing for me. I still spend more than I'd like on groceries and I know there are still more places I can cut. I'll be taking a lot of the advice in this thread to heart.

[GoCubsGo]

91. That's how I do it, too.

I shop sales, and I try to cut down even more with coupons. I take advantage of close-outs, too, and I am not ashamed to buy marked-down meats and produce if it's still in decent shape. Sometimes, with coupons, you can get sale items for free, and even get a few cents back once in a while. I have a couple of boxes of pasta and a roll of paper towels in my pantry that I paid nothing for.

[greyl]

148. "If something goes bad, I freeze it an use it in soups or breads"

Could you explain that please? What do you mean by "bad"?

[roguevalley]

108. get a food saver and use it to freeze and store items for the long

term. Buy meat that is in the discount bin due to expiration dates. Bring it home and food save it.

Also, plan your menus. Having a rotating menu that has your meals planned ahead so you can buy for them. It will allow you to bulk buy food that can be stored and used. Food savers can help you stockpile meat, vegetables and fruit against spoilage. Get sealed containers and bulk buy staples, put them in the big containers and store in a cool dry place.

Coupons if you can stand it and there are sites on the internet that let you print them off. Some people -mostly obsessed people on a show I just saw- finance thousands of dollars of goods with a pay off of about $6. Its work and almost a lifestyle to do that but you can do some and ease your burden.

Get a bread maker or make your own to supplement your store purchases. You can make them with simple recipes from the internet. You can also freeze the dough. You can buy bread dough at the store and use it a little at a time.

Freeze tomato sauce and other things. Get containers that can be used to freeze. Arrange your freezer so that you can know what's in it and date it.

Read sales things from newspapers and remember, a drive to a place with good sales, taking an organized list and sticking to it can help you stock up on things you need and want.

Take care out there.

[truebrit71]

173. That's what my wife and I do. As soon as we get back from the local costco we portion and foodsave..

...everything we can...then we freeze it. We can normally get a month's worth of meat and veg that way...helps with planning meals, portion control when we eat (something that I need to pay more attention to!!), and forestalls the need to stop by the store on the way home from work when I might make bad choices calorie and cost wise..

[pinboy3niner]

149. Almost EVERYTHING I buy is on sale

I check the supermarket ads every week and make a list of the sale items I need or will need in the future. Coffee, toilet paper, etc. can be bought in advance when there's a good sale price--and with prices going up, you'll save money by stocking on extra supplies. (News reports say coffee prices are going up, for example, so it's an especially good time to stock up at sale prices. Use coupons to make it an even better bargain.)

I also save and use bacon grease for cooking (which is not appropriate for everyone, for obvious health reasons). Cut it with cooking oil for better health.

Use coupons for eating out, and don't forget to check restaurant websites for specials.

If you eat a lot of frozen dinners and other processed foods, you'll save a hell of a lot of money by cooking mostly from scratch at home--and it will be far healthier.

If your life is too busy to allow enough time for cooking, invest in a crockpot and let it do your meals while you're busy with your life. There are lots of recipes available for that.

You have a computer, so why not search recipes? There's a wealth of info on the web on low-cost meals you can make at home.

Watch a little Food Network to inspire you, and hit their website for the recipes of the ones you like.

If you're seriously interested in cutting your food budget, there are endless possibilities--and most will even be healthier for you. Especially if you don't listen to me about the bacon grease. :)

[grilled onions]

2. Flexibility Is The Key

It would be nice to have a set menu but you never know what the prices for those items will be. I have several menus and use the most cost effective one. Substitution is another. I tend to use a slow cooker a lot and I will use the cut of meat that is often the least tender. Eight,ten hours of cooking time and it's as tender as the most costly cuts. I got a lot of my ideas for soups and stews by reading the old cookbooks from the thirties and forties when people made more homemade meals. They rarely tossed out anything. For example one used onion skins as part of the soup pot. Something few would ever dream of using these days.

[csziggy]

133. All the vegetable trimmings are great for putting in the pot to make stock

If I buy a chicken or chuck roast, etc., I use the bones and trimmings to make stock and throw trimmings from whatever vegies I am cutting up to go with the meat in to add flavor. If I am cooking a whole chicken or turkey, I can start the stock at the same time I am cooking the meat.

I've gotten so I prefer the cheaper cuts - chuck roast has more flavor than many of the more expensive cuts, for instance.

[Name removed]

3. Deleted message

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[vi5]

4. Probably a well known, no brainer but....

buy generic. To a large overlapping degree, the same companies make the generics as make the name brands. And obviously they are less expensive for the same thing (more or less).

Again, I would assume most people know and do this by now, but as someone who has worked in the food manufacturing industry for 15 years I can't say it enough.

[laundry_queen]

38. Definitely!

Often times, even when the brand name is on sale, the generic is still loads cheaper. I buy tons of generic, although it depends. Walmart's 'great value' I have had nothing but bad experiences with.

[Divine Discontent]

93. I agree about the GV brand, mostly. also, I've noticed that the generic in other stores have begun

to go up in price, making it desirable to spend the extra 30 cents or whatever and get the typically higher quality name brand. I can tell the difference in cereal, especially. Other items not so much. But, it's so true, like the 1st response said, "It is a little bit like being a dog and waiting to see what they will feed you." Because, I buy what's on sale often as a BOGO1F special. As 2 for 1 is a great deal.

Get a Sunday paper, a couple of coupons a week are often in someone's ad for that week, and it makes the item very cheap to almost free.

[csziggy]

177. Check to see if the store ads are online - many stores ads are out on Thursdays

I refuse to buy the useless rag that passes for a paper here The store I usually buy from puts its weekly ads on their website after midnight on Wednesdays. I check the ads to see what is on sale or BOGO, then I can check to see what I want to cook for the next week, make sure I have what I need in the pantry, and make my list at leisure. I can also more easily spot the loss leaders and come up with plans to use those things more

If they have unusual things on sale or I want to look for new recipes, I can go to AllRecipes.com and use their ingredients search to put in the items that I want to use - this is also great for cooking out of my pantry and freezer. Apparently Google search now has a new recipe search engine. From a post in the Cooking & Baking Forum:

grasswire Fri Feb-25-11 01:39 PM
Original message
Google adds recipe search function

http://leisureblogs.chicagotribune.com/thestew/2011/02/...

-- Type in a search for something you want to make. Let's take "chicken and dumplings."

-- You'll get several million results, but in the rail on the left, "Recipes" will appear. Click on it.

-- Google will aggregate a set of common ingredients and let you include or exclude them to narrow your search. Don't want any bay leaves or rosemary in there? Just click them away.

-- You will also be able to filter by cooking time, in case you were looking to make them in a hurry, and by caloric content, in case you want to make a low cal version.

How big of a deal is this? About one percent of all searches performed on the search giant each day are for recipes. If you consider that they handle about a billion queries per day, that's 10 million recipe searches. Every day.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=236&topic_id=85864&mesg_id=85864

[Robb]

5. I've been double-couponing for several months

...and cut our grocery costs by about 40%. The method is outlined at CouponMom.com, but the general idea is to subscribe to the local paper that delivers the national coupon books on Sundays and use them strategically, in combination with the grocery store's weekly coupons and sales.

The website tracks all these things for free, so it's actually pretty easy. I've got a little filing bag with the coupon books from the past few months in them, and the site tells me what circular and month had the XXX coupons in them, so when they're on sale at the store I hit them with coupons as well and get stuff dirt cheap.

Works best for things you can stock up on, frozen veggies, oil, that sort of thing. But it also tracks when things are really on a good sale, fresh fruit or meat or what-have-you, and by what percentage off "normal" price. Can't recommend it enough. :)

[cali]

6. Thanks. I'm not sure how that will work for me as I really don't have

access to a real supermarket, but I'll check it out.

[GoCubsGo]

71. An even better site for those who live in the Southeast...

http://www.southernsavers.com/

I learned from this site that if Sunday paper doesn't carry coupon inserts, you order them, at least from Red Plum. Lots of print-your-own sites, too. Coupon Mom and Southern Savers both link to them.

[upi402]

106. I never thought of that

Had no idea you could do that, thanks!
That site is on my 'favorites' list now.

(I clicked on all her links as a 'thank you' to couponmom - what a great site!)

[Drahthaardogs]

7. If you have a big freezer

and live in an area with lots of deer, you can almost always find a way to get a deer or two in the freezer. Lots of states with deer population problems have a one or two doe limit before the hunters can shoot a buck. A lot of guys do not want or need three deer and are just looking for someone to give the extra meat to. If you are a bit handy with a knife or willing to watch a video, you can even butcher your own for free. Fishing is good too to get extra meat on the table for cheap. I have done this for years. In fact my kids were pretty much raised on venision and fish. The added bonus is you know where your meat came from, how it died, and how it was processed plus you do not have to worry about hormones, antibiotics, and just general disease caused from large scale farming operations.

[Jackpine Radical]

10. I have elderly relatives raised in N. WI during the Depression

who to this day won't eat venison because it's all they got during those terrible years.

For me it was one of the staples of my childhood, but I never OD'd on it like they did. I hunted all my life until a couple of years ago when my hunting buddy of 20 years died in a car accident. He died just after hunting season, having shot a nice buck.

[TheCowsCameHome]

14. That's one way to save a buck.

literally.

[Aerows]

98. In the Southeast

it helps you get by.

There is always someone with more deer meat than they can handle, and you can put it in stew or roast it. I've done some hunting myself, and it is dirty work to clean the meat, but it is a good way to feed not just a family, but a neighborhood.

[cali]

13. I wish I did have a big freezer. Alas, I don't.

I really don't eat much meat anyway- though I do like venison and I love trout.

[InvisibleTouch]

28. You can pick up a cheap secondhand freezer on CraigsList.

It may not be the latest-greatest model, but there does always seem to be a decent selection available. It's very much worth having.

[bettyellen]

32. join youre local freecycle group and post that you need a freezer

and scan for whatever else might help

[knitter4democracy]

50. Freezers pay for themselves.

You can freeze butter when you get it on sale, flour, freezer veggies, and even popcorn (makes it last longer and pop better). Freezers aren't just for meat--they're for anything you can get in bulk or on sale that's freezable, like those extra loaves of bread.

[prolesunited]

83. If you have access to Jewel-Osco

check out your local store to see if they are running the freezer promotion this week. It usually is only a couple of days and they go QUICKLY. You buy the freezer for $150 and you get an equal amount of coupons for FREE items. I did it two years ago and it really paid off. The freezer is big enough but not too big and it's been awesome for saving money by stocking up, preparing in bulk and storing from your garden or the farmer's market.

[prolesunited]

85. If you have access to Jewel-Osco

check out your local store to see if they are running the freezer promotion this week. It usually is only a couple of days and they go QUICKLY. You buy the freezer for $150 and you get an equal amount of coupons for FREE items. I did it two years ago and it really paid off. The freezer is big enough but not too big and it's been awesome for saving money by stocking up, preparing in bulk and storing from your garden or the farmer's market.

It is an awesome deal and worth every penny.

Here's the link:
http://www.jillcataldo.com/

[knitter4democracy]

49. I cried this fall when my brothers gave me venison.

Two of my brothers hunt, and I e-mailed one to ask if I could pay him to get me a deer, whatever he thought was fair. He got together with my other brother, and they gave out of the several deer they got this year. I cried and cried--it's made a huge difference for me and my kids.

Canned or frozen, venison lasts a long time, and it's really good. It's even better in the crockpot all day.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

152. why cry? compared to factory farming game venison is probably the most humane meat you'll ever eat.

Free range, natural diet, quick death... this goes for many game animals.
This assumes, of course, a competent hunter and efficient taking of the deer.

[knitter4democracy]

160. I cried because it was such a lovely gift.

I love venison, and I know my brothers are good hunters. Deer in my state are like rats, and frankly, we need to drop the limits.

I've had a rough couple of years, and the fact that they gave me that food for free, that they cared about me and my kids enough to help us like that, well, it got me all misty-eyed, that's for sure.

[Aerows]

97. Venison and potatoes keeps a lot of families going

If you live in the Southeast, *someone* is going hunting, and you can use venison like beef in a lot of dishes.

[roguevalley]

109. if you income qualify, get on the road kill list. up here, moose are

distributed like that if there is an accident. also, if you have someone who fishes, get a license and have them fish for you. works for me.

[Aerows]

163. What a good idea!

Deer are far smaller than a moose, but we have that as a problem around here. How did that program get started? Not that anyone wants to hit anything...

[Mojorabbit]

128. That is what we do

My hubby took up bow hunting several years ago and he gets deer and wild hogs. I have learned how to process them and make all kinds of sausages.
We live on a lake and fish for crappies and perch.
I have planted lots of fruit trees and get peaches, avocado, citrus and figs. This year I have planted some southern apple and pear trees. I have a young pecan tree planted as well. I have also planted lots of berries.
I am trying as best as I can to be as self sufficient as possible. I have raised beds I am getting ready to plant them but my regular garden is grown over with weeds. I just am not well enough to clear it for planting right now.

[Matariki]

142. I would love to learn how to fish

and gut and prepare the fish. I don't know how to go about finding someone to teach me though :(

[Celeborn Skywalker]

144. Youtube can be a good source.

Seriously, I've learned a lot of things from random youtube searches.

[Matariki]

147. Somehow I can't picture myself gutting a fish in front of my computer!

;-)

I'm wishing I could find either a class or a friend who knows how.

[revolution breeze]

170. Grab a pole and head down to the lake.

Other people fishing around you will most likely offer advice, whether you ask or not. I was blessed that we lived in a rural area with a pond and a grandma who had the kids out fishing as soon as they we big enough to sit still and hold a pole.

[XemaSab]

171. Is there a fish market nearby?

My fish guys are always helpful with showing me how to do something. :)

ETA: Here's a video. It's a little gross.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_dvKrHy044U

If you mess up you can still eat your mistakes. :D

[blueamy66]

159. Yuck.

I'd rather starve.

[knitter4democracy]

161. Um, seriously?

Starving is really not fun.

[blueamy66]

180. Yeah, seriously.

You couldn't pay me to eat that shit.

[Retrograde]

192. It's not that bad

Most fish - at least the ones I've cleaned - have the organs nicely tucked away in a little cavity in the belly. The hard part is scaling, which should be done outdoors or you'll be finding semi-transparent fish scales all over the kitchen no matter how well you think you've cleaned.

Luckily the places I buy whole fish will clean and scale them as part of the price. They'll also top and tail them, but I want those bits for soups, chowder, and stocks.

I don't fish myself, but my uncles did, and they told me the most important part was learning how to clean the catch. I think they were just looking for free labor...

[riderinthestorm]

193. Please be careful about recommending this. Deer in our area have chronic wasting disease.

And CDC is not reperable. I would advise anyone to be careful about checking their area and their local deer population for this before they hunt, or accept freebies.

[Cairycat]

8. Having menus for the week is like having a road map

I always plan my menus. Of course you have to be flexible, but it isn't like t-bones will be cheaper than hamburger, even on sale. Just knowing what I'll be making each night saves time and money.

The lower on the food chain you eat, the cheaper it is. I started a meal plan of two vegetarian (mostly bean dishes), two poultry, two fish and one red meat entrees for health reasons, but it's relatively economical (though fish can be pricy in the landlocked Midwest).

Here are some vegetarian entrees that my carnivore husband and teenage sons will eat:
pasta fazool, with cannelini beans, zucchini, tomatoes, Italian herbs, black olives and Parmesan
black beans and rice
lentil soup
tortillas spread with refried beans and cheese and cilantro and browned on a ungreased griddle
chili
various pea and bean soups, sometimes flavored with a little ham shank or bacon
vegetable curry

Poor people all over the world have combined legumes and grains in various interesting combinations for centuries - lots of cookbooks available at the library to give you a guide - just start experimenting.

[cali]

15. these are all good tips- except hamburger is now way expensive

of course, as I noted I'm already big on grains and beans don't need to start experimenting, I've been doing it creatively for decades. If you need any recipes and tips, I'll be glad to share. I love to cook- it's what I do. I cook vegetarian lunches in the tea room I work in seasonally. Lots of vegetarian salads, tarts, soups- much of it from our gardens.

http://perennialpleasures.net/tea-garden-cafe

[maddezmom]

9. nor sure this will help anyone but homemade kids food for me is cheaper and healthier

chicken breast nuggets, meatballs and sauce, soups, potato wedges, etc. Homemade waffles, pancakes and muffins instead of packaged. Buy ingredients when on sale and usually do a big cook and freeze for use later. Use frozen veg for soup, etc and frozen fruit and store brand yogurt for smoothies.

Also let the kids make thier own pizza instead of ordering out, it's cheaper and fun.

I also blanch and freeze and veg that might go off before I use it, like peppers, corn on the cob, etc.

[WhiteTara]

11. here's a great tip for making vegetable broth

which we drink plain once or twice a day.

When you are preparing vegetables for other meals, save the ends, onion "paper", not so pretty parts in a bag in the freezer. When you're ready to make soup, pull out the bag and voila, you have most of your ingredients. The outer onion is very flavorful.

[GoCubsGo]

73. I do the same with bones

I save chicken bones and turkey bones in the freezer. When the bag gets full, I make broth.

[WhiteTara]

129. I do too.

I forgot to mention that one. The veggie scraps are new in my life.

[WhiteTara]

12. United Natural Food, Inc has food buying clubs

there are some restrictions, but it's a great way to buy vitamins and supplements and of course food.

You have to buy in bulk, but often when you set up your club, your members can agree to split orders or not.
UNFI.com. I found prices on the east coast are higher than on the west, but it is still helpful.

[Critters2]

136. I used to love my buyers' club in Iowa. The one here is much less cooperative

and friendly. I finally gave up on it. But with a good club, it's a great thing to do.

[DFW]

16. I don't know how it is back in the States

Here in Europe, we try to buy stuff that tends to be non-perishable in quantity so as to save on both time and money.

We get huge jugs of virgin olive oil from a friend in Spain, and they last for months. Same goes for honey (hardly
ever use sugar for anything). We also go to the 3 times weekly farmers' market that has been going in our town for
the last 800 years or so (ever since there WAS a town here) and toward the end of the day, they tend to offer what
they have left in the way of fruit, veggies, or baked goods for a song.

The only things we don't skimp on are poultry and fish, as these have to be fresh or are useless. We freeze what turns
out to be in excess. Due to a cholesterol problem, red meat, cheese, eggs and butter are out for me. I miss them, but
they are expensive and I am still alive--two factors not to be ignored.

[Codeine]

90. I make Indian food.

Lentils, chickpeas, potatoes, and basmati rice purchased in bulk form a good percentage of my diet. I live for curried lentils, and they're very healthy.

[CTyankee]

126. I remember visiting the most beautiful market in Palermo, Sicily on a trip there

in 2005. It was right on the water, mainly fish but also meat. It was fabulous. No fishy smell AT ALL. The locals were buying their fresh fish that they would cook that day. The hawking of the fishmongers was wonderful and exciting!

Palermo was wonderful in more ways than one. It is a world class city,IMHO, with a terrific opera house and beautiful neighborhoods. I loved walking around in the evening and finding little restaurants (where nobody spoke English) andusing my bad Italian...nice memory...Sicily is a treasure...go there!

[Horse with no Name]

17. The grocery store that I shop at has "meat bundles"

Some of it is meat that I wouldn't actually go purchase, BUT I have learned to be pretty creative.

I get 5 packages of meat for $20.

The choices are usually pork chops of some variety, chicken of some variety, hamburger, sirloin steak, etc.

There is a bulk bacon "ends and pieces" box that you can buy. It costs around $5. You can use it for flavoring for beans and vegetables. You can also fry it up for bacon sandwiches. It isn't pretty but you are just eating it anyway.

I stock up when canned goods are 2 for 1.

I also find that if I go to Krogers early in the morning, they mark down their vegetables and meats and you can usually get some pretty good bargains there. I also utilize roadside produce stands when possible. You can usually buy bulk potatoes, sweet potatoes, corn, tomatoes, onions etc.
I actually bought a bushel of corn for about $20 and was able to fill the freezer with fresh corn--grown by Mennonites in Arkansas. Was literally the best corn I have ever tasted.

I REALLY want to get a garden in the ground this year. But it will be minimal--potatoes, garlic, tomatoes, cucumbers, onions, bell peppers and jalapenos. Partly because I am going to give homemade picante sauce for Christmas gifts this year.

We also utilize the bread store.

Basically, in meal planning, I plan two weeks at a time, I use one "meat pack" every 2 weeks. I supplement with vegetables and dried beans. I can usually feed a family of 4 for two weeks for under $50.

[cali]

18. wow. 5 packages for 20 bucks is pretty good.

My little market also has bundle deals, but not nearly as good.

I wish I was as good a planner as you are! Sounds like you really have it together.

[Horse with no Name]

19. It is an excellent deal.

The meat is always good...and I think the majority of the contents are from the weekly sale the week before. The prices are still on them, and generally the savings is about $5 or $6.

We have to be frugal...unfortunately, we don't have the choice not to be.

Of course, we would rather be eating a little better--but right now, this is as good as it gets.

I lived in an area of Mennonites and was given a cookbook by one of the girls I know. The majority is very simplistic without a lot of extra additives...and very good for plain eating.

http://www.amazon.com/Mennonite-Community-Cookbook-Favorite-Recipes/dp/083613625X

And trust me, I am NOT that good of a planner--we fly by the seat of our pants and what is on sale.
My grocery list generally doesn't vary that much from month to month. The fun part is getting home and figuring out how to do different things with the same stuff.

[d_r]

20. you have to be careful and look at it closely

but in our store a lot of times the mark down the meat and vegetables and dairy that is going out of date today. So, expecially if you can get meat that is already on sale and then marked down, it can be affordable. Through that in the freezer. You have to look at it and make sure it still looks good, sometimes it looks too old.

[gizmonic]

181. That's what I look for too. On sale and near the expiry date.

I don't eat meat but Deep13 does. The store usually knocks down the price at least an additional dollar for quick sale.

Every little bit helps.

[H2O Man]

21. Recommended.

I'm surprised that my "recommend" appears to be the first. This is an important topic, and one that will be increasingly important in the next few years.

We eat a lot of rice and beans here. I think that with these two staples, I can make a few important points -- ones that I know you are familiar with, but worth mentioning.

People are in such a "hurry" these days, that food too often is "instant." Instant rice is empty. Find real rice. Good brown rice takes about one hour to prepare, but the taste and nutritional value is so far superior, that it's worth it.

Second, no matter if you consume the decaying remains of dead animals or not, beans are a wonderful addition or substitute. If you want to compete in sports, for example, beans are essential. They have additional advantages in cleaning out the digestive track, and humans today tend to pay a price for improperly maintained digestive tracts.

The sunflower seed is the single most important food people living in toxic environments can eat. Of course, after writing that, I realize it doesn't sound like it fits with beans & rice. But it does: add some sunflower seeds.

Take the time to enjoy cooking/baking your meals, as often as possible. Make your own pizza. It is cheaper, fun, and tastes better. Make soups -- bean soup is outstanding. I make a fantastic squash soup. Squash and pumpkins also make good cakes and cookies. Inexpensive, too.

I could go on and on.

[cali]

22. thanks. And I agree about brown rice- plus it tastes better

it's got that wonderful nuttiness to it.

Speaking of squash- it also makes a great savoury tart with parmesan and fresh sage. It's a rich dish but wonderful for a special occasion.

[H2O Man]

104. I also make

a lot of potato soup. It is, of course, something that my father's family was big on. A large pot of soup, plus a couple of loaves of bread, is relatively inexpensive. And it feeds everyone here -- seven people now -- and is healthy.

My family also likes my pasta salad, another inexpensive meal. I make a massive quantity of it, and it disappears quickly.

Years ago, I used to be amazed at how much my sister's three teenaged sons ate. They were big boys, ranging from 6' 3" to 6' 5", and from 210 to 265 pounds. Anyone who has fed a teenager understands the "bottomless pit" syndrome. My sons are not quite that large, and my daughters even less so. But they eat forever. So this is a topic near and dear to me.

[Horse with no Name]

25. I found a very tasty inexpensive long grain rice

I was able to purchase a 5 lb bag for under $3.

It is made by Zatarains. My family loves it.

[H2O Man]

105. Yep.

I buy their products, too.

[MineralMan]

23. Minimize the use of meat. It's often the most costly part of

your diet. In Mexico and China, among other places, meat or fish or fowl is used more as an accent than a main ingredient, and that practice works well to supplement a diet that is primarily grains and vegetables. It adds flavor and some of the amino acids that are more difficult to obtain in a purely vegetarian diet.

Inexpensive cuts of meat, cooked by slow braising, can be used to accent other dishes. In Mexico, beans and corn are the principle protein source, with a little meat to add flavor and supplement the nutritional value. A little makes a big difference.

Pork is cheaper than beef. Turkey is cheaper than pork. Oddball cuts of beef are often inexpensive. Look for things like stew meat or other cuts, and cook them by braising. Any slow cooker will braise meat just fine.

Seasonings are important. Look for the bagged seasonings on a rack somewhere in the store, instead of in the seasonings section of the store. Refill your old bottles with the stuff from these bags. The price difference is astounding. Check the ethnic food areas in supermarkets for some amazing bargains in some foods.

There are many ways to economize, but most require thinking about food in different ways than you may be used to.

[Horse with no Name]

24. Those spices are WONDERFUL

I pay .99 for each bag of aromatic seasonings. The same "name brand" can costs sometimes 3x that. I didn't know they even existed until recently.

I agree about flavoring with meat...I am trying to get there but not quite.

[a la izquierda]

26. Whenever veggies are really on sale...

I buy a bunch of them and freeze them to use in homemade sauces, soups, and side dishes. It's only my husband and me and we have a regular freezer, so we can make room. We're also vegetarians, so we don't have to make room for bulky meats (or buy them).
I've started making my own veggie stock. In the grand scheme of things I think it will be cheaper in the summer when I can go get the veggies at the farmers market, and then I triple the recipe and freeze it. I also use the veggies when they're past prime, but not molding obviously.

I bake my own bread. The breadmaker just broke, so that's kind of a bummer. But over my spring break, I'm going to teach myself to do it without the maker.

Finally, this is only available if you've got the space: but I grew a TON of tomatoes and peppers last summer in a garden. It was my first time gardening and it turned out pretty well.

Our prices have skyrocketed here in Oklahoma, and we pay sales tax on our food. It's crazy.

[GoCubsGo]

77. A lot can be dehydrated, too.

I dry fruits that I find on sale. Apples, pears, pineapple, mangoes, bananas, peaches, strawberries... I tried blueberries, too. Those are better off being frozen. You can dehydrate lots of veggies, too. Peppers and tomatoes are two of the best.

Baking bread without a machine isn't all that difficult. It's just somewhat time-consuming. There are some really easy types that don't require kneading, like Irish soda bread, however. And, if you decide it's not for you, there are always at least a few bread machines at the local thrift store.

[Manifestor_of_Light]

94. I make bread in a Cuisinart instead of a bread machine.

It holds 6 cups of flour which is enough for a loaf.

[Tesha]

114. Homemade bread is cheap...

and easy in a food processor if you buy flour and yeast in bulk.
Make a simple bread of flour, yeast, salt, and water.
Form it into 2 narrow baguettes, a larger Italian style, or a couple of focaccia with oil and spices...

The final cost to us without the cost of the oven (which we recover as house heat in the winter) is $.70 for each mix.

Making fancier bread isn't much more expensive... borrow a few cookbooks from the library and save a bundle.

[GoCubsGo]

135. "The Joy of Cooking" has the easiest French bread recipe.

No kneading. It can easily be made without a food processor, and it makes excellent bread.

[csziggy]

134. Look for breadmachines at thrift stores

I got mine for $10 at one run by the local women's shelter. It got me back into bread making after not doing it for years. I finally found a Hobart KitchenAid mixer on Craig's List for $40 - another $40 got the dough hook and I now make my bread with it, but that bread machine is staying in case I get in a rut again.

[a la izquierda]

156. Thanks!

Didn't even think about that even though we have a Goodwill nearby.

[Lorien]

153. Ask for a new bread maker on freecycle

I was trying to cut down on carbs, so when I saw someone asking for a bread maker on Freecycle (so had a gluten allergy and wanted to make her own) I emailed her and she picked it up. I'm sure that many other dieters out there would be happy to do the same.

[a la izquierda]

155. Ohh, sweet!

I've never heard of this. I ordered one from amazon marketplace, but the scammer never sent it. Luckily, I got my money back.
Thanks!

[elias49]

27. For years, as my children grew up, I kept a large veggie garden..

when they moved on to their own lives, I cut back on my gardens. That's going to change this spring!
It's hard to ignore the labor costs (MY labor) but it's time to get back into growing my own stuff!!

[ChiciB1]

42. Down Here In Florida It's REALLY Difficult To Have Gardens... Too Many Varmints,

pests, birds, words and most of all TOO MUCH SUN! And in the past 5 to 10 years... DROUGHTS!

[snacker]

48. My garden keeps getting bigger every year...

and I've actually learned how to can and freeze veggies/fruits.

[Shagbark Hickory]

29. Cut out the coffee. It's an unneccessary part of the diet.

Seems like the most obvious and it's like the first thing you mentioned.

[cali]

35. nope. can't do it. I love coffee.

[handmade34]

62. I buy green beans and roast myself

best coffee I've had!

[GoCubsGo]

80. Here are some sites with instructions on roasting it in a popcorn air popper

http://www.ineedcoffee.com/05/poppery/

http://coffeegeek.com/guides/popperroasting

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/28/how-to-make-a-popcorn-popper-coffee-roaster/

http://www.instructables.com/id/$11-Popcorn-Popper-Coffee-Roaster/

[JuniperLea]

174. Me too...

I use a lot less when I use a press. I've been using condensed milk for a few reasons... you can pick cans up on sale, and it takes very little. A Dutch friend has always used it, and I always loved her coffee.

[shanti]

99. tea is cheaper

yes

[Shagbark Hickory]

119. And also less dependent on questionable foreign trade alliances.nt

[Lydia Leftcoast]

30. Learn to cook Asian style--Chinese, SE Asian, Indian

Get a good "arsenal" of spices and traditional sauces and a couple of basic regional cookbooks.

Since I live alone and have an unpredictable schedule, I buy mostly frozen vegetables (you can even get organic ones these days).

Add the protein source of your choice, and the possibilities are infinite.

You can also make a good pasta primavera or ratatouille or veggies with pesto.

Homemade soup is easier than it looks, too. You just have to start preparing it a bit earlier, but it simmers by itself while you're doing other things.

[MadHound]

31. Depends on your situation

If you have some yard space, or even balcony space large enough for a few pocket pots, start growing some of your own food. I know people who can provide for all their food needs in their quarter acre back yard. Even if you don't want to get into that far, growing and storing some of your own fruits and veggies is a long term money saver.

I don't know where you live, but it should be fairly easy to hook up with a small farmer who is willing to sell you meat in large quantity. You will need a fairly large freezer to store the meat, but your savings is pretty decent. I purchase a quarter cow from my neighbor, organic, grass fed beef. After the processing price is added in, the meat costs me $2.30, no matter the costs.

Spices are expensive, and in many cases you can grow your own. You can either grow them inside or outside, rosemary, basil, thyme, and if you have bit of talent, garlic and such. Harvest, and process, which is usually just a matter of drying.

[XemaSab]

172. Add sage to that list

We've got sage, rosemary, and thyme, and they all grow very happily with almost no summer water in our climate.

I've also got oregano growing, but I haven't cooked with it yet. :P

[lumberjack_jeff]

33. You're doing pretty good.

My only suggestion is to buy a can or two of TVP.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Textured_vegetable_protein

http://www.amazon.com/Unflavored-Textured-Vegetable-Protein-TVP/dp/B000FJS36E

It's really good in taco meat and meatloaf. I think it improves the texture. A cup of it will turn a pound of 20% fat hamburger into a 10% fat meat loaf with the same amount of protein.

[roody]

34. Make your own sprouts: alfalfa, lentil, radish...eom

[handmade34]

63. mine are growing out of the jar...

just had some for lunch

[Aerows]

101. OMG - How do you do that?

I'd love to make my own because I LOVE them.

[handmade34]

107. easy, easy, easy...

and oh, so yummy... those in the picture are alfalfa, but I love a mixture with radish, broccoli, fennel, etc... can sprout most any seed to eat. The jar in the picture is a 1/2 gallon and it only took 1 tablespoon of seed... you can see that they could continue to grow for a few more days. ***approx 25 cents of seed can make up to a gallon of sprouts - depending on type***

use any glass jar, any size... just put in appropriate amount of seed (doesn't take very much). Soak overnight in fresh water. The jar I have uses a screen (such as a screen window screen - make sure it will not let the tiny seeds through) I often use a square of old pantyhose attached over the top of the jar with a rubber band... ...

next day drain the water (excellent to water plants with!!!) and run fresh water over the sprouts and then keep jar inverted... (soggy seeds and/or tiny sprouts go bad) rinse 2 or 3 times a day (put in sun to green up). Eat when desired. (they will get tough if left too long)

I have done this in my car, while camping, homeless, etc... always fresh greens!!!

[Foo Fighter]

137. Great post!

And yes, sprouts are really really easy to grow. The ones you buy in the store are pretty much huge havens for bacteria. For someone that's looking to do the right thing and eat healthy, they're just not a good way to go, especially when they're so easy (and insanely cheap) to grow yourself. All you really need is a mason jar, some cheesecloth or pantyhose and some seeds and you're set.

A word of warning though. Alfalfa seed themselves often harbor bacteria. I recently read an article that said the bacteria could pretty much be eliminated by soaking the seeds in hot water (194 degrees F) for 90 seconds and then putting them in a cold water bath for 30 seconds (though other studies showed that last step might not be necessary). This may or may not be necessary depending on the source of the alfalfa seeds but hey, it's easy enough to do. Better safe than sorry.

BTW, that's a great-looking jar of sprouts you have there!

[highplainsdem]

36. I just stock up during sales, especially when items are 30-50% off the usual price.

I live within a couple of miles of three supermarkets, as well as a few drugstores and discount stores that carry some groceries, so it's easy to get what I want from each store's sales. Stocking up like this means the freezer is usually packed and groceries are taking up more cupboard and closet space than I'd like, and I often rearrange groceries to move the older items to the front to use sooner, but it saves a lot of money. This doesn't work as well for the most perishable groceries, of course, but fresh milk is good for at least a week, cottage cheese and yogurt will keep for weeks, bread can be frozen, and even lettuce will sometimes stay fresh for more than a week. So I very rarely have to worry about what groceries cost on any particular day. I almost never pay regular price for any food item.

[CTyankee]

120. My supermarket, which is very convenient to me, also has gasoline.

I get 10 cents a gallon off, plus another 5 cents for using my store card (not a credit card,just one that obviously follows what items I buy). So I accumulate points every week when I shop. I don't fill my gas tank until I get at least 35 cents per gallon off and I've gotten as much as 55 cents off on times when I don't use the car much. I pay for it with a credit card that pays ME for gas purchases (I only have two credit cards, both of which pay ME, and I never carry a balance so I don't pay interest. If I can't do that, then I can't afford to charge whatever).

Not carrying any debt is my goal in life...

[edhopper]

39. Buy fresh instead of processed

It is vastly cheaper. And always take advantage of sales. Chicken breasts for example might be $3.99 a lb but $1.99 on sale.
And you'd be surprised how easy it is to cook something fresh instead of canned. In about 20 minutes i can take some ground beef an onion and some veggies (peppers, mushrooms etc...) and make a quick pasta sauce that is far healthier than a can of Ragu.
Slow cookers are also great for busy people.

[maddezmom]

52. agreed

and you can always freeze extra for a later date!

[handmade34]

64. my experience is that fresh is

very often more expensive... and frozen is better than canned... dried foods and grains can be the key to inexpensive and easy to store.

different situations require different ways of buying/dealing with food budgets...

for people not close to a store it is difficult to buy fresh and keep it unless it is used immediately and frozen or otherwise stored safely... and if fresh is not used imediately it loses nutritional value. Frozen food is very often flash frozen and maintains most of its nutritional value.

[maddezmom]

74. agree with you...I think we both meant fresh as in not packaged

:hi: I use frozen for soups and canned for sauces all the time.

[Foo Fighter]

140. As for chicken, if you buy a whole chicken and cut it up, it's usually a LOT

cheaper.

Cutting up a whole chicken takes all of about 30 seconds. For those that have never done it, I'm sure there are instructions and/or videos on the 'net that would show you how to do it. It's really not hard at all. A few cuts with a knife and you're done. Plus you can boil the backs, pull the meat off, and make creamed chicken from it. Save the water from boiling and you have chicken broth. That's a lot of meals on the cheap.

[TuxedoKat]

40. Here's a few I haven't seen yet

Aldi's has good prices on many items. At Christmas I bought a big bag of walnuts on sale there for $3.99. The same size bag I just bought at my grocery store was $7.59 (!) or so (up about $2-3 from this spring) and there was only 3 1/2 cups where there used to be four cups in a bag; for years there was four cups.

Asian (Chinese, Korean, Indian, etc.) grocery stores have better prices on many things too and have some great bargains. Spices and nuts are much cheaper too. The various kinds of flours that I use for gluten-free cooking are much cheaper than the ones in the natural food section of the grocery store. My husband buys a box of this nice sandalwood soap -- a dozen bars for about $4.50. Prices go up more slowly at the Asian stores I've noticed. I think that is because they know alot of people in their stores are immigrants so they try to keep the prices lower for them. I don't know about the prices on their meats or veggies because I usually just shop there for specialty items.

Just lately I've noticed prices have jumped dramatically. No doubt due to the increased fuel costs. I make alot of vegetarian soups too. :)

[Lugnut]

76. I shop at Aldi's.

They can't be beat for staples and the dairy prices are pretty good. I have yet to find anything that's substandard.

[ChiciB1]

41. I Buy Foods From Our Local Angel Food Ministries Once A Month...

Got turned onto them by my ex-sister-in-law over a year ago. Their food is pretty good and they are getting more and more name brands. Plus they're also offering smaller and more diverse packages. Fruits, senior, TV dinner type, after school packages. I spend about $50.00 a month and get lots of food. Some I give away because my husband is a picky eater, plus there ALWAYS seems to be a bag of rice, he likes it BUT I have lots left over.

They have a web site and perhaps you can find one near you. Most of their chicken is white me if you eat meat, I don't but my husband prefers legs and thighs, so I buy them in bulk at BJ's. They have steaks, pork, sausage and other kinds of meat too. I have one large, very old freezer and 2 refrigerators. One in a very large building my husband built out back and one in the house so I have lots of freezer space. AND, Habitat For Humanities, in my area always has appliances at a very low cost. I was shocked at how little they cost.

But you may already have this info, just chiming in.

Oh, and I'm NOT religious nor do you have to belong to any church to buy food from them!

[DiverDave]

145. Thanks for that info, here's the link:

http://www.angelfoodministries.com/Default.asp?

[FredStembottom]

43. Aldi Stores. Run by Trader Joe's

Entire store is store-brand stuff. Very cheap but it's Trader Joe's stuff re-labelled. You'll be amazed by the short ingredient lists and lack of weird stuff in the products.

[snacker]

47. Plus 1.

They also have cheap produce--watch their sales...

[knitter4democracy]

53. Aldi has saved me and my kids more than once.

Their baking stuff is top-quality (especially the nuts), and they have the same ham Meijers here has for much, much cheaper.

I don't know what I would have done in the last two years without Aldi. They beat everyone's prices.

[mwooldri]

70. I don't see any Aldi-Trader Joes connection...

Maybe they buy from the same place. Aldi however is German - and there's two Aldi's (don't ask me why).

But then it was the likes of Aldi who kicked Wal-Mart's butt out of Germany...

[FredStembottom]

72. Well... that's what I have been told.

By a number of different people at different times.

[FredStembottom]

75. From Wikipedia

Trader Joe's is a privately held chain of specialty grocery stores headquartered in Monrovia, California. As of December 2010, Trader Joe's had a total of 353 stores.<1> Approximately half of its stores are in California, with the heaviest concentration in Southern California, but the company also has locations in 27 other states and Washington, D.C. Trader Joe's was founded by Joe Coulombe and is owned, since 1979, by a family trust set up by the late German businessman Theo Albrecht, one of the two brothers behind the German supermarket chain Aldi.<5>

[mwooldri]

158. That's the connection ;)

However considering that the two Aldi brothers (Theo and Karl) split their company up but still worked together on friendly terms would definitely engender the idea that TJ and Aldi (US) source products from the same place.

However there are two Aldis - so whilst legally and financially separate, considering that it goes all the way to "Aldi".

Confusing when you have two different companies by the same founders using the same name.

[FredStembottom]

166. I'll say!

n/t

[WolverineDG]

44. these are local folks who use the HEB "Combo Loco" & build on it

(the "combo loco" is a weekly special where you buy one thing & get a bunch of stuff free)

Anyways, it's worth a look to see what they're doing.

http://thriftydiners.wordpress.com/

dg

[BillyJack]

45. A few more ideas that I haven't seen

I always bring my calculator with me to the store to figure out what the price per pound is. Stores are very tricky about how they price items to make you think you're getting a better deal than you are.

For example, at one of the stores by me they had a "sale" on ribeye steak portions. A 6 oz. portion was $3.98. Not too bad one might think, but that comes out to $10.61/lb.!!! That was more expensive than buying the regular ribeyes that were priced at $8.99/lb. (I didn't buy either. I went with something else that was much cheaper per lb.)

To calculate the cost per pound (using the ribeye example above): Take the price ($3.98) divide by the ounces in the portion (6 oz.) = $0.663/oz. Then multiply by 16 (there are 16 oz. in a pound) = $10.61/lb.

Another tricky thing stores by me do is advertise get 3 for $5.00, which may sound "cheap" but calculates out to $1.67/item. Depending on the item, that may be a good deal or not, but one needs to calculate the number out and know how much they are really paying for something. (I assume/hope that most people know you don't have to get "3" to get the sale price, you can just buy one and get the $1.67 price.)

I've been doing this for quite awhile now and rarely have to pull out the calculator b/c my "mental math" has gotten much better over time and I can calculate most of it in my head now. I figure all that mental calculating is good for keeping my mind a bit sharper longer too! lol

Lastly, for people who have the option of several stores to choose from, sit down with the store's weekly flyers and write down the best loss leaders that you want from each store. I divide my paper up into four columns - one column for each store - then I write the item & the price. I often will find that one store has say 1 lb. fresh strawberries for $1.99/lb. (pretty good deal), but then in one of the other stores strawberries will be on sale for $1.49/lb. (an even better deal!). So I scratch it out on the 1st column @ $1.99 & put it in the other store column at $1.49. By writing the price next to the item, you don't have to waste time going BACK to the first flyer to see who has the better price.

Hope this makes sense & is helpful.

[CTyankee]

118. Don't you have unit pricing in your supermarket, telling you the price per pound?

We do in CT.

As for 3 for $5, I have learned to do a quick division, even tho I am not good in math. That comes of being so old that I had to learn arithmetic without benefit of calculators...

[BillyJack]

123. We DO have unit pricing in our supermarkets, BUT they get tricky here as well....

Sometimes, not always - but often enough to be very noticeable to me - they'll put one jar/can/whatever in ounces and put another jar/can/whatever of the same thing per pound or per unit. Therefore one doesn't have an obvious apples-to-apples comparison as to which is the better value. Hence, the need for a calculator when the unit pricing on the tag is not uniform.

I'm glad to hear that you are good at the "mental math" or you just "know" from years of experience. Some of us, like me, are slower at getting it.

:hi:

[CTyankee]

125. Oh, math was my WORST subject in school. However, calculators hadn't even been invented

when I was learning short and long division. Everything was written out by hand. As for doing it "in my head" I can't really do that precisely but I get a general idea and that helps me figure it out.

Mostly, I find that, even with a sale plus coupon, the store's own brand has a better price...not always, but often...

[CoffeeCat]

46. I have become a crazy grocery saver...

...doing many of the things that others have mentioned. I clip coupons from the Sunday paper. A local
convenience store allows me to go in on late Sunday evenings and take the coupons from the unsold papers.
That way, I have 50 of each coupon. When something goes on sale, and I have a coupon--I can get it for
nearly free/free--and I stock up BIG TIME.

You mentioned that you don't have access to a big-chain grocery store and that you only have access to that
small store. I would suggest stockpiling more. When you find a great sale, buy 10 or 20 of that item. Don't
be afraid to stockpile frozen items or things that have a long shelf life. Your grocery bill may temporarily
rise, but in the long run--your bill will drop dramatically as you build that stockpile.

Does this small store take manufacture coupons? If so, I would cut those Sunday coupons out. See if you can
find others in your area who throw those coupons away. Even if you have 2,3 or 4 copies of each coupon, it really
helps to stockpile things that you would buy. Last week, I got free peanut butter, bagged veggies, frozen orange
juice and single-serve pizzas just by combining sales/coupons. I also get heavy discounts on toothpaste, razors,
shampoo, deodorant, etc. I haven't paid a dime for any of those things in nearly a decade--just by combining
sales and coupons. If you can save money on those personal items, that would help with your grocery bill too.

I mainly get the personal-hygiene and paper items (such as tp, paper towels) from Walgreen's and Target. I understand
you may not have those stores in your area--but if your small grocery store has those items and accepts
manuf coupons--you can find some good deals.

Do you have a Walgreen's, CVS or a Target near you? There are ways to get very cheap items there as well. Target
has online coupons AND you can combine the Target online coupons with manufacture coupons. THAT IS A HUGE
DEAL! I got Boca Burgers for $1 a box last week using Target coupons. These coupons are often very high value.
Just go to Target.com--scroll to the bottom of the page and you'll see "coupons". Click on it and select
the coupons you want to print. You can print 2 of each coupon. However, if you can print from the library,
work or a friend's computer--you can print 2 there as well. I can't stress enough the GREAT deals at Target
if you use their coupons + manufacture coupons.

It looks like your options are limited, due to limited access to grocery stores. However, you are being
frugal and doing well! Kudos to you and best of luck saving in the future. Don't be afraid to stockpile.
The savings really is extraordinary!

Edited to add: Is there a frugal living group on DU??? I would be willing to post the deals I find--that may help
others. I posted last week's Target frozen-food promotion. They had a deal last week...you buy 7 frozen food items
and you get a $5 gift card at the checkout. I would get my gift card, then buy 7 more items and use the gift
card to pay for those items. I purchased more than 150 items and I spent less than $40. The value of these items
was more than $500. If there's a place to post these great deals, I would do so. As another poster pointed out, there
are many great blogs/websites that teach people how to coupon and they point people toward super deals that are
usually national (Target, Walgreen's, Walmart, CVS and assorted grocery stores).

[Horse with no Name]

56. Yes. Great group it is. n/t

[noamnety]

131. Ha, I just did the frozen foods deal at target too.

That was crazy.

The birdseye veggies were $1.02 each. You could buy 6, use two dollar off 3 coupons, spend $4.12. Throw in a green giant frozen spinach with a 50 cent coupon, now you're at 4.62 and you get a $5 gift card back.

38 cent profit to buy 7 bags/boxes of vegetables.

I spent $35 cash and have $10 left in gift cards from there (so I'm out $25), and I got 4 boxes of dish soap plus 189 frozen items - enough veggies to carry me through to garden season again, frozen juices, boca burgers, etc. And I'm very proud of myself that I stayed away from the ice cream! I know I am not the only one having fake thanksgiving this weekend, we had to pull a turkey from the freezer to make room for everything.

[taught_me_patience]

51. Slow cookers

allow you to buy cheaper meats and slow cook them until they taste good.

Stews are good because they allow you to add mostly vegitables as a "base" and cut down on meat.

[SoCalDem]

55. and of course, pressure cookers:)

Love love pressure cookers:)

[KittyWampus]

54. Invest in a crock pot. It saves time and makes tasty meals out of less expensive

ingredients such as veggies past their prime, beans, cheaper cuts of meat.

Plus, the broth or sauce or gravy you get from cooking in a crock pot helps fill you up.

[RufusTFirefly]

57. Beans and rice.

Buy them dried instead of in the can and they'll keep a very long time and save you even more money. (Just soak what you need overnight. If you have a pressure cooker, your beans can be ready to eat in less than five minutes after a night of soaking.) You can often buy 50 pound bags of rice, which will also save you a lot.

Vary the beans and the seasonings and you can create all sorts of scrumptious dishes.

Here are links to a couple

Spicy black beans

Real Louisian Red Beans and Rice

[GoCubsGo]

69. You beat me to it.

I live alone, so I will cook up the whole bag of beans, and freeze what I don't use. The same goes for rice, and especially if you prefer brown rice, like I do. It takes so much longer to cook, so one might as well cook a bunch up at once.

[RufusTFirefly]

79. Re: brown rice

Totally agree on the brown rice. That's all I have at home. I'll only eat white rice at restaurants where brown is not an option.

As for cooking it, here's my solution



It's definitely a "set it and forget it" appliance. Also, this model is much smaller, which makes it almost perfect for serving just one or two people.

[firehorse]

81. +2 on the beans and rice

We eat this way several meals a week. We don't feel deprived and there's always leftovers for the next days lunch.

And we never get tired of it, because every version will have different kind of veggies added to it or spices. Some days its lentils, another day black beans with rice and fresh veggies in a lettuce leaf taco, another day it tastes like an asian meal, etc. Sometimes its leftover with an egg to make an egg burrito in the morning. Always tastes good, and costs very little.

[GoCubsGo]

86. Beans make great soups, too.

And, pureeing it will make it a whole different soup than having it whole and chunky. I never cared for lentil soup until I took my immersion blender to a batch of the stuff. Now, I love it! That's pretty much true for any bean soup, actually.

[Foo Fighter]

143. Freeze the beans in 1 1/2 cup measures as that's usually the amount

they mean when a recipe calls for a "can" of beans. When you want to use them, dump the frozen beans into a collander, run some hot water over them and they're ready to use for your recipe.

[Aerows]

100. If you live in Southern Louisiana and Mississippi

.. you already know what is for lunch (and probably dinner, too) on Mondays :smile:

[Horse with no Name]

58. One other habit that I do

is on the days I am cooking soups or chili, I will start cooking early. That way I can use the meal for lunch AND dinner as well as another meal or two for another day.

It is a timesaver.

[GoCubsGo]

89. I freeze portions of soup or chili.

I'm single, so I usually get sick of it after a few days. Not only can I have some variety down the road, I have easy for meals when I don't feel like cooking something.

[Fire1]

59. Wish you were near a "Kroger." Their "10 for 10" sales on

perishables and non-perishables are really good most of the time.

[GoCubsGo]

82. Another VERY helpful hit regarding Kroger...

You can load coupons onto your loyalty cards. Most Krogers will allow you to use a paper coupon on top of the e-coupon. AND, all paper coupons 50 cents or less will be doubled. For instance, if you have an e-coupon on your card for $1 off a box of Chex cereal, and a fifty cent paper coupon, you'll get $2 off, since the paper coupon is doubled.

I'm told that they may be changing their policy so that if you have duplicate coupons (e.g., two coupons for 45 cents off a can of Hunt's tomatoes), they'll only double one of the coupons.

And, with pretty much any chain, if that store puts out its own coupons (they say redeem at Store X only), you can "stack" a store coupon with a manufacturers coupon. It will say on each coupon whether it is "store" or "manufacturer". Manufacturers coupons are good anywhere, except if they have a store logo on them. I've had stores refuse a manufacturer's coupon because it had another store's logo on it.

[knitter4democracy]

60. All of those are good, and there are good ideas in the thread.

I just wanted to add that you're not alone; we are all in this one together, doing our best to cut down our costs as food prices skyrocket.

If you can, see if you can find a local butcher for the family farms. Ours has great meat prices because they're not paying for shipping. I buy meat in bulk whenever I can save up enough for it. I'm getting half a lamb for Easter from a teacher I work with (best lamb you've ever had, too, hands-down), and that will last us the year given that my kids aren't huge lamb fans. Getting half a hog or beef is much, much cheaper than getting it piece by piece, though it's a big up-front purchase.

The big thing that I do is make enough for leftovers for another dinner and at least one lunch. I take the lunch to school for me (cheaper than the lunch sold at school or at McD's down the street) and have the dinner put back in the freezer for another time or eat it later that week. I put that in the weekly meal plan, too. I like to plan our meals out by the week so I can take our schedule into account (crockpot dinners for nights I won't have time to cook, etc.), though I know moms who do it by the month or who have theme nights every night of the week (Monday chicken leftovers from Sunday, Tuesday beef, Wednesday pasta, Thursday soup, Friday fish, etc.). I've been toying with theme nights because the kids are tending to lean that way already.

[handmade34]

61. go over to W. Danville and

let my kids cook for you!! They are probably just laying around on the couch today (not shoveling the drive like they should)

[LWolf]

65. My mom has a Costco membership,

and she buys in bulk there, and then we split it.
When I lived in CA, Trader Joe's always had fresh food for good prices. Their selection and prices aren't as good where I am now, so I don't use them as much.

I buy on sale. I use coupons. I have free-range chickens, and eat a lot of eggs, and a few chickens each year when the broody hen hatches out a clutch.

I eat as simply as possible. In addition to sales and coupons, I do the rest of my shopping at my local Fred Meyer's; I have 2 family members employed there, and I like to do my part to keep them employed. I get coupons for deeper discounts and free stuff from them quarterly, and special "family of employee" discounts a few times a year.

I shop at the local farmer's markets in season. I work with someone who's family has a farm, and I get bulk produce from them very cheaply spring through summer that I can freeze.

I sprout beans and seeds for greens during the winter. My usual menu:

M-F:

Breakfast: unsweetened yogurt; add a little stevia and some raw almonds. (Bulk almonds at FM or from Costco or TJ's, depending on who has the best price when I'm buying)

Lunch: A sandwich on sprouted grain bread. Sometimes PBJ, Sometimes cheese & fresh veggies, sometimes meat and cheese, depending on what I've got on hand and what was on sale. Sometimes boiled eggs and a piece of fruit, or egg salad.

Dinner: Eggs; beans with a couple of pieces of uncured bacon, chopped, and some chopped veggies: garlic, onions, peppers, and fresh or frozen spinach; a pot of soup or chili or stew in the crockpot, with whatever I've got on hand, based on current prices and sales; pasta

Weekends:

Breakfast: eggs, toast
Lunch: salad of some kind or a sandwich
Dinner: buffalo or salmon burger, or a veggie stir-fry, sometimes with meat added, if I've got it on hand.

[midnight]

66. K&R

[kelly1mm]

67. If you have some time and have a grocery store that has "gas points"

you can actually make money at the grocery store and get "free" gas as well. Let me explain:

In my area there are several competing grocery stores that have gas stations attached. As part of their marketing, they will give you 10 cents off per gallon of gas (up to 30 gallons) for every $100 you spend. That is not the good part - they also offer "bonus gas points" where you buy x number of items and get 20 cents off per gallon. Often times the items end up free or actually they end up paying you such as this week Celeste Pizza for one is $1 each, buy 7 get 20 cents off. Here is the math on that:

7 x $1 = $7 - $6 (20 cents off per gallon x 30 gallons - bring gas cans to get all 30) = $1 for 7 mini pizzas or 15 cents per pizza.

So, you are saying to yourself "I don't eat that crap!", never fear, just donate it to the food bank, get a receipt from the food bank, attach your receipt from the store and take a deduction at tax time (assuming you already itemize). I am in the 15% federal bracket and 6.2% state bracket so that $7 donation is worth $1.48 total back to me at tax time. So just to recap, for $7 out of pocket I get 7 pizzas to eat for lunch and $6 worth of gas or $6 worth of gas and a $1.48 tax deduction. If I do the deduction it is the equivalent of saving 9.25% on gas or 31 cents per gallon at $3.40 per gallon.

But that is just the basics. Now we add in coupons. Here is a deal I got a few week ago.

Old el paso taco seasoning packets were 3 for $2, buy 8 get 200 gas points. There were coupons on ebay for buy 2 old el paso get 75 off. I bought these coupons for $5.25 delivered for 40. My store will double coupons up to the price of the items and you can use 4 similar coupons per order (not per day, so just do multiple orders). so here is the math on that deal

80 x .67 = $53.60 + $5.25 for the coupons off ebay = $58.85 - $53.60 for the 75 cents off 2 coupons doubled = $5.25 - $60 in gas = (-$54.75). That is the equivalent of 91% off gas or a $3.09 OFF per gallon (in other words, I got gas for 31 cents per gallon!)

Now, a couple of more tricks to kick this into the money making arena. My two favorites are garage sales and ebay. Ebay is good for small, light things that are relatively expensive by weight. For example, gravy mixes and taco mixes. I have done gravy mixes in the past and net, after all fees/shipping, I got $11.56 per 20 packs. Taco seasoning sells for slightly higher but lets just use those numbers to see what that does to the above deal:

80 x .67 = $53.60 + $5.25 for the coupons off ebay = $58.85 - $53.60 for the 75 cents off 2 coupons doubled = $5.25 - $60 in gas = (-$54.75) - $46.24 (4x20 packs x $11.56 per set) = (-$100.99). So, for about 4 hours total work (getting the coupons, going to the store and through the line 10 times, posting on ebay, shipping etc) I put $5.25 out of my paypal account, get $60 worth of gas, and get $46.24 put back in my paypal account. Equivalent of just over $25 per hour take home ($32.17 per hour taxable equivalent).

Or, if you have more heavy bulky stuff you can sell it at a garage sale. Last year I got over 100 cans of olives and after gas points I had about 13 cents into each can. Way to heavy to sell on ebay buy I sold all 100+ at 50 cents each netting 37 cents per can at a garage sale (I had other grocery store stuff there too - sold it all and made about $700 total!)

Last year I ended up spending $248 net on 570 gallons of gas or about 44 cents per gallon.

[Liberal_in_LA]

68. This is a great thread! Thanks for starting it. Bookmarking for later reading

[Forkboy]

84. What she said.

:thumbsup:

[AsahinaKimi]

78. I can tell you what I did...

For a long while, I was very short on cash. I wasn't making much. I was not able to qualify for food stamps because I was working part time. (No full time job.) So, I would go to the Farmers markets and get veggies very cheap. Things like onions, zucchini, Mushrooms, Chives, yellow squash, Green Peppers, Bok Choy, and tomatoes.

Then I would go to our local Asian markets and buy Rice for really inexpensive prices. I think a 5 pound bag went for about $3.95. It was far cheaper then buying it at the super market. Asian markets are great for foods that are inexpensive. I would get Soy sauce, Peanut oil, Chinese curry,and Ramen there. For drinks, I would buy Asian Tea in tea bags. You can make a lot of tea with a big plastic container.

I bought a Rice cooker at Walgreens for around ten dollars. It works great, and I can make a pretty big batch of rice. Some I put in the fridge and some in the freezer, for later use. Veggies don't last long, so some things like Bok choy and Onions can be frozen and later nuked in the microwave and served on top of Rice.

This money I saved, allowed me to purchase a whole chicken at Safeway, which I would broil in the oven, and then later cut up to be used with my Ramen, Rice and veggies. The cooked chicken can also be frozen if necessary.

I felt really great that I was able to do this, on the little money I had. Of course it meant each week going to the Farmers Market on Wednesdays, but I always enjoyed having fresh veggies to work with.

[Divine Discontent]

95. good ideas, AsahinaKimi! it's also very healthy eating. thx

:hi:

[Littlecat]

87. I have a great recipe for

a casserole that my family just loves! It's called Souper Chicken Casserole. 1/2 cup herb seasoned stuffing ( the big bag not like stove top), 1 can of any cream soup,1 cup of milk, 1/2 cup of any shredded cheese, 1 cup of dried pasta (elbow, shells, mini pene, anything on the smaller side) cooked, 1/2 bag of frozen veggies ( little ones like peas and carrots or mixed) and 1 cup of cubed chicken or turkey. Thats it, you just mix the milk, soup cheese and whatever seasonings you like (pepper, garlic salt etc) in a casserole dish. Then stir in the cooked pasta, frozen veggies and chicken. Cook at 400 for about 25 min, sprinkle dried stuffing on top and cook for 5 min more. I mix a little melted butter in with the stuffing, it just makes it a little richer. We can get 4 big bowls from one batch and everyone loves it. The best part is that I can get 3 casseroles worth from one box of pasta, 4 or 5 from the stuffing, two if I only use 1/2 of a bag of veggies and you can use leftover chicken or skip it all together. I also buy shredded cheese when its on sale and freeze it, you can't tell the difference. I can usually find the pasta, veggies and soup on sale for around a buck a piece, I just stock up. You can make it a totally different meal depending on what veggies, soup and cheese you use. I never figured the price per serving but it's cheap and good!

[prolesunited]

88. If you have access to Jewel-Osco

check out your local store to see if they are running the freezer promotion this week. It usually is only a couple of days and they go QUICKLY. You buy the freezer for $150 and you get an equal amount of coupons for FREE items. I did it two years ago and it really paid off. The freezer is big enough but not too big and it's been awesome for saving money by stocking up, preparing in bulk and storing from your garden or the farmer's market.

It is an awesome deal and worth every penny.

Here's the link:
http://www.jillcataldo.com/

[northernlights]

92. I bought a couple of those spiral cut ham butts for $1.50/pound

The ham sliced up and added to potatoes, sweets, other veggies etc. gave me 24 meals at <$1.00/meal.
The tiny not-as-nice bits get added to the dogs' kibble or used with the bone. The bone with last bits of ham went into a pot with white beans and veggies and made another dozen meals at <50 cents/meal.

All the meals except a couple days worth went into ziplock bags and the freezer. I'm just about through (2 more frozen bones to make into soup though), so will buy another ham in March.

Everytime chicken goes on sale, I buy and throw it in the freezer. Same with beef. Salmon went on sale for $3.99/pound, so I loaded up on it, but it's gone now. It was a one-shot deal; the store buyer accidentally ordered the wrong amount.

Mostly, I just have been buying and throwing in the freezer. Now I only buy when on sale and work off the backlog.

For fruit, I have a small orchard and froze a couple bags of peach slices from it. The apples went straight into the oatmeal, so nothing stored for over winter.I get tons of raspberries,too, so those are in the freezer and go into the oatmeal now. I did buy one bunch of bananas for variety and two boxes of tangerines because I love them.

Last year I splurged and bought the extra freezer, a solar cooker (hotpot) plus rototilled an extra 2500 square feet. This year I splurged and bought a *lot* of seed (mostly heirloom), a solar dehydrator and a second solar cooker (on backorder -- they sold out!!!). So I've spent quite a bit up front, but expect to save a lot now that energy is about to go through the roof.

I also picked up a couple books on food storage without canning or freezing. Hope to free myself as much as I can from the supermarket, although some things I will get until they just aren't available.

[knitter4democracy]

162. Canning is easy, just time consuming.

The best part of canning is that it's shelf-stable and leaves room in the freezer for the fruit, veggies, and some meat. I was surprised at how easy it was to can the venison my brothers gave me this fall.

If you can, get a pressure canner. Then you can put up stock, soup, meat, and lower-acid foods. It's totally worth getting one, even a small one.

[maddezmom]

176. thanks for the tips

spent an hour or so online researching canning as I make all my own sauce, soup, etc with and without meat. Lots of guidelines to follow but looks pretty straightforward...will definitely get a pressure canner.

[knitter4democracy]

179. I think canned soup is easier than frozen, too.

It's easier in the end, anyway, and I like that I have more room for canned items than for frozen.

[csziggy]

182. For safe canning, don't rely on internet sources

The Ball Canning Book is pretty much a Bible of canning - but get the most recent version. Or download the various sections of the USDA Canning Guide: http://extension.usu.edu/utah/htm/fcs/food-preservation-canning/usda_home_canning

Older guides to canning and word of mouth methods may not be as reliable as you need, especially if you are canning non-acid or non-sugar foods. Meats and non-acid vegetable canning is the most dangerous - if you get it wrong, you can poison your entire family, so you want to make sure you use the most up to date information.

If you have never done canning before a good way to learn is to go to classes at your local county extension office. In many communities they offer classes at this time of year. Check to see if your local office has any - start here: http://www.csrees.usda.gov/Extension/

For those who have not gardened or who need help learning about local conditions or about basic food preparation, the county extension offices are a tremendous resource. The one caution is that traditionally they have been reliant on chemicals, but they are beginning to change.

They do have great information dating back to the 1930s on economical cooking and food storage methods. I don't know if they still do, but when I was a kid they also had information on sewing, raising backyard animals for food, and all sorts of other subjects for basic living. At one point, I even had one of their publications on safe butchering the animals that could be raised in the backyard.

[knitter4democracy]

187. Get the bigger Ball canning book, too.

It has great, great recipes. For meats, soups, and stocks, you can only use a pressure canner, and honestly, I tend to add an extra five minutes to the time, just to be on the safe side.

[csziggy]

195. Yes, though I was surprised at the number of recipes in the USDA free PDFs

Some of those sounded good. I have an old Ball book and it is great. If I start back canning I will have to get the new one. We still have a couple of jars of apple butter I put up in 1993. Hubby opened one of that batch last year and it was still good! I guess I did it right.

My worry these days is physically being able to handle the work of canning. Just walking is hard, standing and monitoring the cooking, lifting the jars and the pots of water, and all the prep work on the various foods is probably more than I can do. But if it came down to it, I know people who would pitch in and we could all share the results.

I have the proper sized kitchen for it, a big country kitchen with room for two work tables in the middle - though right now it is all electric. If we had to, we could put in a wood stove for cooking and for heat, but I would hate to have to can on a wood stove in Florida in the summer! I think we would put in an outside kitchen just for that - many Florida homes had summer kitchens and/or detached kitchens.

[Retrograde]

194. There's a significant intial outlay

for the canner, jars, rings and lids. The first three can be reused, of course. Otherwise, it's just a matter of observing proper hygene and following the instructions on how long to process the jars (and once they cool they'll tell you if they sealed properly). I do 10-15 pints of chicken stock every few months because I have more shelf space than freezer space.

You can usually do fruits and tomatoes with just a hot water bath.

[knitter4democracy]

196. Check overstock.com for canners, Big Lots for jars.

I can get a case of jars there for cheap when they get them in (usually in the spring), and I found my canner on sale at Tuesday Morning for $80 for an entire set (canner, tools, insert for steaming and a few other things). I've seen just the canner for cheaper.

[Whisp]

96. some things...

We don't buy any or much prepared foods. Meat and potatoes, beans, chilis, soups, that sort of basic stuff. Home made bread too, that saves a ton of money over time. My god a big loaf of rye bread is almost $5.00!

So my first suggestion is getting a breadmaker. You can probably find some used ones for a pretty good price. We got ours as a gift from mom in law and have made hundreds of loaves. Now store bought tastes funny and chemically.

We went grocery shopping last night and it seems every time we go it goes up up up. We don't really buy much off track stuff like frozen pizza (ugh!) - once in a while a treat of a big bag of shrimp or something like that. I don't plan menus ahead because I just buy whatever is on sale - especially the meats and cheeses.

But we do spend way too much money on stuff like bbq sauce, spices (the store brand is just as good as the overpriced big brand names so will have to remind myself of that more often) salad dressings, gravy mixes and those expensive little envelopes for Sheperds Pie spices, bottled flavours, etc. That takes a large chunk of the bill and now we will have to rethink that. For example, I've made Shepherds Pie (one of my husbands all time favourites) without that stupid little $2 envelope and it tasted just as good or better. It's a habit I will have to get him out of, just grabbing stuff, then complaining about it after we walk out. ;). I've made some pretty good sweet and sour sauce and gravies from whatever is in the fridge to boil down. We love our gravy.

Last fall I bought a large bag of cooking onions and boy am I happy I did that. They are keeping well and has saved a nice bit of coin over the months. We love onions. Supermarket we go to sometimes charges almost $4 for a little bag of 4, maybe 5 onions. Got a 50lb bag of potatoes as well but we go through a lot of those and ran out - will have to get 3 bags next season. $17 for 50 pounds of potatoes from a farmer not far from us.

Sometimes I do take peeks at other peoples shopping carts, and omg. Pure junk. Chips, cookies, frozen prepared, pepsi pepsi pepsi, doughnuts, poptarts. Just trash. Not a carrot or a green pepper in the bunch. But that's their business, I just can't imagine eating like that though.

Ramen noodles go a long way too. I like to boil them, then drain and add that little envelope spice that comes with them, fry some onions, carrots or whatever is around, add a bit of sweet and sour and it's quite nice.

Oh, and no sodapop, (or hardly ever) at our house. It took a long long time to wean ourselves off that shit. I know people that drink a litre of that a day. Water, and beer. That's what we drink. Cutting way back on fruit juices too.

[upi402]

103. Asian store near us has MUCH cheaper veggies

Mama noodles, like Ramen but from the Asian store - much better! We put leftovers/scraps in the soup -chicken skin etc.

We cruise the local grocery store for past date meat and chicken and manager specials -all the time> saves on milk, eggs, cheese, and yogurt.
We buy discontinued toothpaste, soap, shampoo etc even when we don't need it yet. So we never pay retail for it.

[Horse with no Name]

112. What is the best way to store potatoes and onions?

I live in an area with fairly high humidity and when I buy in bulk they almost always go bad.

[Whisp]

167. I live in the cold north.

We leave our potatoes and stuff in the garage, which is semi heated. Usually store in the basement but work is being done down there.

They need a cool dry place to stay well otherwise they will sprout and try to grow.

I would talk to the sellers in your area about how best to store them in your climate

[KittyWampus]

102. Another- learn to butcher your own meat. Buying larger cuts and processing saves quite a bit.

[kelly1mm]

121. Processing the whole animal is even cheaper. Chickens and rabbits

are easy - about 10 minutes from pen to freezer. Goat, lamb are a little harder. Pigs are fun but a whole day affair. We make it a family get together every fall and butcher 2 pigs. Use the whole animal as well. Headchese, hog maw, home made sausage, craklins - yummmmmm! I never have butcherd cattle though - that looks like a ton of work without some serious power equipment.

[Tatiana]

110. I participate in the Share Food program.

Basically it is a discount food program where food is purchased wholesale and the costs are passed on to the participants in the program. Anyone can participate; most share food programs are operated by independent or community agencies. My church operates the one I use. You can even use food stamps, if I recall correctly. Usually there is an menu of the available items to order for the month, you pay your fee and then you go pick up your food when it is in. My typical bill is maybe $20-30 per order depending on whether there are fresh fruits and vegetables available as well. Most of the time seasonal local produce and/or products are available for purchase.

Here's an example of a sample order form:

http://www.sharewi.org/orderform.pdf

Most of the time these programs are operated by volunteers and if there are not enough volunteers, a few volunteer hours may be required of participants in the program, but I've always found that it is more than worth it.

NC, SC, 406 Deep Creek Road, Fayetteville, NC 28301, 910.485.6923 & 1.800.758.6923 http://www.ncsharenetwork.com/

NC, TN, VA, WV, 644 W. Main St., Radford, VA 24141, 540.633.2850 http://www.swva.net/nrca/about-share.htm

VA, Newport News, 9912 Hosier St., Newport News, VA 23601, 757.596.7188

IL, IN, WI, 13111 W. Silver Spring Dr., Butler, WI 53007, 262.783.2500 & 1.800.548.2124 http://www.sharewi.org

MD, DC, PA (S), WV, VA Northern & Newport News, 5170 Lawrence Place, Hyattsville, MD 20781, 301.864.3115 & 1.800.217.4273 http://www.sharedc.org

FL & GA, 1405 E. 2nd Ave., Tampa, FL 33605, 813.248.3379 & 1.800.536.3379 http://www.shareflorida.org

NM, 505.565.9054, Espanol: 505.306.3924

CO, NE, NM, SD, WY, 9360 Federal Blvd., Denver, CO 80221, 303.428.0400 & 1.800.933.7427 http://www.sharecolorado.com

CO, 9360 Federal Blvd., Denver, CO 80221, 303.428.0400 & 1.800.933.7427

KA, MO, NE, OK, Share CO 1.800.933.7427

Iowa, Missouri, Eastern Nebraska, 1102 South 7th Street, Oskaloosa, IA 52577-0328, 641.673.4000 & 1.800.344.1107 http://www.shareiowa.com/

Illinois & Indiana, 1825 NE Adams St., Peoria, IL 61603, 309.637.0282 & 1.800.637.5508

WA, 4020 South 56th Street, Mail: Suite 100, Street: #103, Tacoma, WA 98409, 1 [phone]

CA, 517 West Bradley, El Cajon, CA 92020, 619-590-1692 http://www.goldensharefoods.com

[dionysus]

111. when you can, cook big batches and freeze stuff for later use.

[DiverDave]

113. Bookmarked, thank you,everyone

and keep em coming.

We buy store brand and the one thing that I used to do is get to the market very early on sundays or mondays alot of stores have meat and veggies cheap, the leftovers from sales on the weekends.
One store around here used to cut hamburger down to .99 per lb to get rid of it.
They stopped grinding their own and dont have it now.
Stores that grind their own have to get rid of the excess and cut the price.
AND the 10K pound lots that the big packing houses produce can be contaminated, so we buy from a meat store that grinds their own

[southernyankeebelle]

115. Found Fast easy cheap meals by 94 yr old depression area lady? Continued.

YouTube: Titled: Great Depression Cooking with Clara.

Really cheap easy cooking and story telling by Clara. Try them.

[cali]

116. wowzer. thanks one and all for all the great tips.

[Catherina]

117. 1 dollar a loaf? Bake your own bread. Very easy method here

has saved me a fortune, tastes better, more substantial nutr. value than industrial bread and pennies a loaf.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=236x83974

Make a few at a time, pull out of the oven about 5 minutes earlier and freeze. When you reheat them, will finish cooking.

[noamnety]

132. I bake my own bread too.

Way cheaper, and far better tasting.

I have an older handgrinder for grain that attaches to a kitchen counter. It's a bit of a workout but it really gives a better flavor to the loaf than just the store bought flour.

I did enough product reviews on viewpoints.com over the last two months to earn $21 in amazon credits, which will pay for 25 pounds of rye that I can grind on demand for rye bread. (not sure of the shipping charge, if it's a lot I'll scale back to 10 pounds and use credit for shipping too.) On viewpoints, they run occasional promotions where if you write ten or eleven reviews over a specific two or three week period, you earn ten or eleven bucks on amazon. The reviews are short - 900 characters (not words) so something about like this post would earn me a dollar.

[Foo Fighter]

146. No question. Home-baked bread is the way to go.

I grew up on home-baked bread. We baked 5-10 loaves every Saturday. (Yeah, we went through a LOT of bread.) The stuff they sell in the store is horrible. Baking bread isn't hard to do and it tastes soooo much better. Not to mention that you get to avoid HFCS and all the other nasty additives they throw into commercial offerings.

There's absolutely no comparison. Baking bread is cheaper AND healthier for you.

[bemildred]

122. Avoid meat, eat less, and never eat fast food. nt

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

151. Meat can be incredibly cheap for the protein & calories.

Especially chicken & eggs due to massive subsidies.

[Matariki]

124. Buy bulk broccoli seeds and sprout them. Cheap, healthy and fresh.

[jeff47]

127. Step 1) Cook everything yourself

1) Cook everything yourself
The ingredients to make your own bread are much cheaper than a pre-baked loaf. Even from a bakery outlet. And virtually every "convenience" meal can be made much, much cheaper if you cook it instead.

As a bonus, once you are doing all the cooking, you can make food so you like how it tastes.

2) Now that you are cooking everything yourself, it's time to scale up. Since you know what you'll use and how fast you'll use it, a wholesale club (Costco, BJ's, etc) can provide great bargains - because you're buying your ingredients, not the finished products they sell.

As an example, ribeye steaks cost $12/lb or more here. A whole ribeye at BJ's costs $6/lb. You'll have to cut it into steaks, if you happen to be feeling extravagant enough for steak. But there's plenty of cheaper cuts available in bulk with similar savings.

3) Look for a used Kitchen-aid stand mixer if you don't already own one. Especially if you can also get a grinding attachment. They last forever, so a used one isn't going to break on you. It will make it much easier to do the baking, plus the grinding attachment means you can make some poor-quality meat into a tasty burger or chili. Grinding some pork with a low-quality cut of beef will really help the flavor of the resulting meat.

4) Use food stretchers. Fast food companies put a lot of breadcrumbs in their hamburger because it's difficult to taste the difference. But the result is trading expensive meat for cheap leftover bread that you're already baking. If it's too 'bread-y', an egg can help with the texture. Chili is also good food stretcher. There's a lot of filling and calories from inexpensive products (beans) yet it doesn't taste like you're being cheap.

5) IQF-sorta. When you buy frozen veggies and similar products, they are "individually quick-frozen" or IQF. That's why they don't come out of the package in a single block of ice. It also really helps with the texture of the food. Unfortunately, to properly do IQF you need a freezer that's a lot colder than the freezer in your kitchen. But you can freeze food in a way that gets closer to IQF:

1. Put a cookie sheet in the freezer for 30 mins.
2. Pull it out and put the food on the cookie sheet in a single layer (if it's a "wet" food, you'll want to use a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet to keep the food from freezing to the cookie sheet).
3. Make sure the food is spread out, so that there's plenty of space between the food for air circulation.
4. Put the cookie sheet back into the freezer for 30 minutes to two hours (time varies based on the food).
5. Once the food is frozen, bag it up and store normally.

6) Learn to fry food properly. When done properly, fried food isn't greasy. But it's also a way to make very cheap food taste extremely good. The main trick is to make sure that you don't over-fill the pot, and that you set it up for the temperature to recover quickly after you add the food to the pot. You can save and re-use the fry oil several times (if you fry fish, make sure you don't fry anything other than fish in the same oil).

7) Real BBQ - BBQ in the south was invented as a way to take lousy, cheap meat and make it edible. A very long, low and slow cooking on a cheap brisket can result in some very tasty food.

8) If you have any space, grow a garden from seeds. They're absurdly cheap, yet produce tasty food. Even a pot outside an apartment can save you a lot of money on herbs and spices. Heck, we grew corn in a 1/2 whiskey barrel on the tiny porch of our last apartment.

[WillowTree]

130. Make soups.

Boil a chicken. Now you've got at least two meals for a family of 4; one to use most of the chicken in a casserole or chicken/rice dish and the other to use a small amount of the meat cut up along with noodles for soup.

Cook a smoked butt in the crockpot. Again, most of the meat goes for meal #1 with potatos and vegetables with some left over to cut up and add back to the broth along with some grated carrots, chopped onion and a bag of split peas for another hearty soup.

Soups can really stretch your grocery budget and are healthy and satisfying. Among the zillion things I thank my late, great Mother for teaching me.

[lonestarnot]

138. Yes. Don't eat.

[FeelingBlue]

139. Plant, tend, and harvest from pots or a garden. n/t

[wickerwoman]

141. It's a bit time consuming...

but I cut my food costs in half by reindexing all my recipe books into a word document. I created categories based on "trigger ingredients"- things I either wanted to use up or that were likely to go on sale. Then I tagged the recipes with other ingredients that are hard for me to use up. So it has a lot of entries like:

Stale Bread:

Panzanella (MD177)* (basil, red wine vinegar)

Then whenever I have stale bread, I know I can use the recipe from my Mediterranean Diet cookbook, I have the page number, I know it's a super cheap recipe because it has one star and it also uses up basil and red wine vinegar. Or if I have tons of basil, I just use the "find" function in Word to search all my recipes with basil.

Then when I do meal planning each week, I look at the flyers, find the loss leaders (I price track on my recipe index too so I know what the lowest possible price for each ingredient is), for any given ingredient (say whole frozen chicken) I have about twenty different recipes. I choose the one that requires buying the fewest other ingredients (or that uses up the most other things I want to use up).

I've been doing this for a few months. It took four or five days to reindex all my cookbooks but I'm down to about $30/week on food for one person and it has the benefit of lots of variety so I don't get bored eating rice and beans all the time. Plus meal planning takes half as much time now too.

[Liberal_in_LA]

185. You can do that on the web also. Just type in the ingredient and word "recipe"

[wickerwoman]

188. I haven't had much luck with online recipes.

They tend to be pretty hit and miss. I'd rather use books with established authors.

Plus my just typing "chicken recipe" doesn't give me the same flexibility to compare secondary ingredients. Maybe whole chickens are on sale but I'm also trying to use up basil, bread crumbs, ground pork and garlic. I can scan my document in five seconds and find which recipes use up most of these ingredients. Whereas online I would have to do multiple searches, compare information on different pages and then not be sure about the reliability of the source. I also tag recipes based on whether I would cook big batches or small and I wouldn't have this kind of customized information online.

Prefer my own system, but YMMV.

[OneTenthofOnePercent]

150. Buy in bulk... prepare your own food... cut out nonessentials... buy things on sale

Maybe trim fruits down to a few sleect healthy fruits instead of a bunch of fruits. Fruits and vegetables vary in price based on season. Rotate the purchasing of fruits so you don't have to buy a bunch at once possibly buying out of season fruits.

Nonessentials would be things like honey, coffee, candy... you don't really need stuff like that. You can save a fortune on cutting back or changing brands on soft cleaning goods (TP, paper towels, napkins, etc...)

Don't be brand loyal. If you need "bread" or "milk" or "cereal" then just buy what's on sale. There are probably 4 different makers of "o" shaped baked grains or wheat flakes... no need to pay 2X as much for "cheerios" or "wheaties". Bakeries do this alot too - around here "day-old" loafs of bread are like $.99 or you'll often find managers specials on meats and dairy they're trying to move soon... just use or freeze when you get home.

Pasta. It's cheap and a solid source of complex carbhdrates. 1 lb ground meat, 1 lb pasta, 1 jar sauce, lettuce, cheese & dressing ... BOOM! Decent Italian meal for 3-4 for less than $10.

Buying in bulk always wins. We have these "food clubs" around here that require an annual membership (like $30-$50 or so). GFS, BJs, Sams Club... Some of the cheapest food anywhere. These are the kinds of places that supply restaraunts. The only catch is you gotta buy huge quantity packages. If you have a few mouths to feed or a decent freezer then you're in business.

Buy those green "freah" produce baggies. they really do keep veggies and fruit fresher longer resulting in not wasting spoiled food.

Don't eat out (especially without coupons or promotions).

[Paper Roses]

154. Use this site to check everyone's sales on a weekly basis.

http://www.sundaysaver.com/

They show fliers from all types of stores. There are some voids. We have a PriceRite near us and I go there. They have a weekly flier but they don't send it to my town.
In my area, their prices seem be be the best. No matter where you shop now, the upswing in costs is staggering on some items, ridiculous on others things.

Always shop with a list and on a full stomach.

[yellowwood]

157. First, Congratulatons!

Your diet sounds much healthier than the average American's. You will probably avoid the obesity diseases that are so prevelant now.
I'm not on a food budget, but my husband and I often remark about how much less it costs us for groceries since we've paid attention to healthy diets.
Here are tips:
Make sure that what you do buy is nutritious. We cut out most "whites." No empty calories. We buy whole wheat flour and brown rice.
Almost no "processed" foods--no chips or crackers.
We cut down on meat-- which is not that good for you.
Dry beans and lentils.
We bake our own bread. Wheat flour, of course.
We like salmon patties. A can of salmon at Aldi's costs $2.00. Mix with some onion, egg, a little milk and oatmeal. Fry like a hamburger
Dry fruits make good snacks.
None of those dry cereals. Too much salt, too much sugar. Expensive. Oatmeal is great. If you price Cheerios by the pound, you will be amazed at how expensive it is.
Read labels. A lot of items such as juice contain very little juice. Are mostly sweetened water.
Olive oil instead of butter. Never use margarine, not good for you.
Use store label goods.

So this recipe is great--
Curried Carrot Soup.
1 two-pound package carrots cut up
2 big chopped onions.
Cook in 3 T. olive oil or butter
1 T curry
6 C chicken stock.
1/2 t. chili powder.
Cook until vegetables are soft. Blend for soup.

[HereSince1628]

164. Take a shopping day and look for what is cheaper to buy.

A little reconnaissance of your favorite stores and some online recipe searching will help you introduce cheaper unprepared foods that will help stretch your dollars.

Go with the unprepared stuff. Avoiding take-out and prepared foods cut per item costs dramatically. Cooking has a bad rap as a brutal toil. It isn't all that time consuming, an entire meal built around unprepared food typically takes less than 15 minutes prep--think about all those fancy cooking shows that are only 30 minutes during which 2-3 entres are prepared.

DON'T BUY WATER! Don't do it in plastic bottles or in prepared soups and soft drinks. Water is delivered to your house at an amazingly low price per gallon.

Shift your diet away from meat it's expensive. It shouldn't be more than 10%-15% of most people's diet

Think like a produce manager--don't plan to hang on to perishable fruit and vegetables for more than 2 days. Extend the life of produce by proper storage, don't leave things in plastic bags unless the bags are treated to absorb ethylene.

If you must buy a whole week's worth of something perishable, plan on caring for it. Lettuce leaves are alive! You can treat head lettuce like cut flowers by making a fresh cut on the heel and setting them in a non-reactive bowl with water for 15 to 20 minutes. The lettuce will absorb the water and 'crisp' the head. Shake it out and put it into the crisper drawer. Ditto for celery. Collard greens (in Milwaukeee, the non-organic type can be bought in oriental groceries for 80 cents a pound) can be kept out of the frig in a vase, be sure to make fresh cuts in the stem.

Consider the squashes, the cabbage family stuff (including cheaper greens like collards), and look at the root vegetables that you always pass over (rutabaga and turnips in season) in favor of sweet corn.

Don't overlook the various dried beans and bulk rice. Indian groceries often have these staples at very reasonable prices.

[ChiciB1]

165. Just Came Back To This Thread And Wanted To Say I GOT So Much GREAT

INFORMATION from here. Given out current status here in America FOOD is getting more and more expensive, so jotted down the links people offered. Checking them out. I think I'm going to buy the Sunday paper from now on, but so many store coupons say I can't use them with OTHER coupons.

BUT THANKS for all the input, and I will continue with Angel Food Ministries... they DO have good food and I think it's worth checking into.

[RSillsbee]

168. My wife hits the food banks

There's one she goes to where its all day old produce. we haven't bought food in months

[RSillsbee]

169. Another idea my wife puts to good use

She looks on craigslist and finds people that are giving away canned goods and dry goods and takes them. Granted it's sometimes very weird food (Gefeltfiske anyone) but if you get hungry enough you'll eat it

[Contrary1]

175. I save money by reusing bags...

The inner wax paper bags that cereal come in are great for freezing foods. I also use bread, chip, cracker bags, etc. I put them in ziploc freezer bags, that I can use over and over again.

Small amounts of leftover veggies are thrown together into one bag until I have enough for soup or stew.

I was always throwing out buttermilk and half and half, because I didn't use it up fast enough. Now, I freeze it in ice cube trays, put them in a freezer bag. I've figured out how many "cubes" I need for pancakes or biscuits, or whatever. Now there is no waste.

[Le Taz Hot]

178. 1. Raise as much produce as you can.

I supplement a great deal of my grocery bill through my 3 very small raised gardens (4'X 4') and what I can grow in pots.
2. Buy in-season and learn how to can/preserve. My grocery bill goes way up in the late spring through early fall, but drops dramatically the rest of the year because there's so much I DON'T have to buy.
3. I take advantage of great sale prices on turkeys and hams during the Thanksgiving/Christmas seasons and stock up -- usually buying 3-5 turkeys and 3-5 hams.
4. Whenever there is a good meat sale (we don't eat that much of it), I buy 3-6 months worth AND I make sure there are bones to use as stock/soup/stew.
5. I use coupons.
6. I shop sales and buy extra.
7. I buy in bulk.
8. I make virtually everything from scratch, including pasta, bread, marinara sauce, etc.

Our grocery bill averages about $300.00 a month for 2 people and 7 cats plus whatever entertaining we do. The food is all low-sodium, low-fat, fresh, mostly local ingredients, nutritional and made from scratch.

[Tsiyu]

183. Trying to eat healthy here, so I buy very little processed food

I read an article in The New Yorker that followed "flavor tasters" as they sampled different foods to try to replicate them in the lab. The article mentioned one manufacturing plant where they were mixing a slurry - slop - with very little cost or nutrition - that they intended to add flavoring to and sell to us. That's what processed food is: cheap slurry mixed with artificial flavor to make you THINK you're tasting something good when in reality it has no nutritional value (that isn't added in later). They charge you five dollars for something that cost $.10

This is America: all image, no substance, even in the food we put in our bodies. Okay, off the soapbox.

Since i have only a 1.2 cubic foot refrigerator, i can't buy a lot of perishables (but I have a very low electric bill)

I save money by: Always having staples: flour, yeast, baking powder, soda, oil, honey, sugar, potatoes, garlic, herbs

Making everything from soup to bread to dessert from scratch

Shopping at United Grocery Outlet (southestern chain). Last time I got salad dressing 3 for a dollar...good stuff.

Shopping at Wildwood center - seventh day adventist store that sells bulk staples

Ingredients I love:

Feta cheese...lasts forever and you only need a little to flavor baked potatoes, veggies, sandwiches, salads ( my favorite salad is fresh greens - I splurge on organic at the pig in winter but it lasts me a week if I store it right - sunflower seeds, sliced beets and Feta crumbles - delish)

Parmesan cheese; good on pasta, taters, in eggs, as chicken coating, in rice. Adds a tang without a lot of $$$$

Sunflower seeds; they can go in oatmeal, salad, or mix with raisins or craisins etc for a snack. I buy the store brand bulk.

Craisins: they are great in chicken salad, oatmeal, cookies,

Cocoa powder: can make brownies, chocolate cake, pumpernickle bread, hot cocoa, and chocolate milk very cheap

Green tea: make my own tea/juice mix - no waste bottles and very cheap

Steel cut oats: once you try steel cut, you will wonder why you ate the rolled. I buy organic and cook up extra ( it takes a half hour) and then refrigerate excess.

Oregano: good on potatoes, in eggs, on pizza. Grow the Greek kind...I grow almost all of my own herbs - they are hardy and easy to dry.

I also save money gardening and with my own hens' eggs (I don't make them lay in the winter - no light on them but they should start laying again soon.) Three hens lay almost two dozen eggs a week.


Great thread, info we can all use.

[Liberal_in_LA]

186. thanks about the steel cut oats tip, didn't know there was much of a difference

[Tsiyu]

197. I didn't either til I was sous chef at a place

and had to make the oatmeal. ( we served it with bowls of self-serve brown sugar,honey, pecans, golden raisins and cinnamon and organic yogurt/milk. Yum) Now i can barely stand the rolled kind, and I used to love it.

Steel cut has a "chew" to it and more nutrition so they say. But it isn't instant!

[otohara]

184. Make Your Own Cleaning Supplies

I buy vege based products and dilute, spray.
vege based products are very concentrated and a little goes a long way.

I shop at Big Lots for paper products (tissue/toilet paper) NO KOCH - if it's $1.00 at evil Walmart, it's .50 cents at Big Lots

I'm lucky to have a Sunflower Market in my hood, veges and fruits are so much cheaper

[Contrary1]

189. Props to last1standing for this one:

I haven't bought brand name laundry detergent for 3+ years now. I also use this soap in my dishwasher with great results. Very hard well water here. Does just as good if not better than name brands.

3 Pints Water
1/3 Bar Fels Naptha Soap, Grated
1/2 Cup Washing Soda
1/2 Cup Borax
2 Gallon Bucket
1 Quart Hot Water
Cold Water

Dissolve Fels Naptha in 3 pints of water over low heat. Add washing soda & Borax. Stir until thickened, and remove from heat. Add 1 Quart Hot Water to 2 Gallon Bucket. Add soap mixture, and mix well. Fill bucket with cold water, and mix well. Set aside for 24 hours, or until mixture thickens. Use 1/2 cup of mixture per load.

[LynneSin]

190. If you live in PA or VA and near any of these stores - great grocery deals

http://www.sharpshopper.net/index.html

Sharp Shopper features closeouts from the grocery industry. Closeouts become available because of overproduction, packaging changes, seasonal items, warehouse damage, or short date codes (click here for our Product Dating page). Closeout grocery items may be a national or private label brand and are discounted well below regular retail prices. Our inventories constantly change because of the changing availability of products. Customers say this adds a "treasure hunt" dimension to shopping at Sharp Shopper.

In addition to closeouts, Sharp Shopper offers fresh bread, dairy products, produce, bulk foods, soft drinks, etc. for your shopping convenience. Sharp Shopper operates under all the same state and federal Department of Agriculture regulations as any typical grocery store.

What can you expect when you visit Sharp Shopper Grocery Outlets? You will find great products at low prices without worrying about clipping coupons, carrying bonus cards, or keeping up with the latest gimmicks. You will also find easy-to-read price labels on our products, uncluttered and wide aisles, and efficient, personal checkout. Each of our stores is also handicap accessible with several mobility carts available for use. All of this is why we say: "You can expect great products, low prices, and friendly service at every location!"

My mother lives near one and we usually stop by when I visit - they have amazing prices there for product that has been discontinued, seasonal or close to expiration. Cheap brand name cereal always plentiful here because many kids cereals are tied into movie promotions. Once the movie is in the theater the product is pulled from the shelf.

[Withywindle]

191. Does anyone have tips for small-apartment dwellers w/roommates

where fridge/freezer space is at a highly-fought-over premium and lack of storage room makes buying in bulk difficult?


This thread is AMAZING, btw. Bookmarked for LIFE. Thanks to everyone who has posted here. :loveya:

[physioex]

198. Surely.....

Go to an Indian grocery (assuming one is available) purchase dry goods like chick peas and lentils. These items are fairly cheap and can be stored for a long time, and being high in protein, they are really good for your health.

[Withywindle]

199. Oh yes, I have good ones very nearby.

When I hear about people who can afford the space to freeze half a deer, or store 36 cheap rolls of TP, I get envious. Ain't never gonna happen for me. Also, I'm single, so buying perishables is something I really have to watch lest even a small package go bad before I get around to eating it.

I am nurturing some potato seedlings in my window, though. Cross fingers - best I can do to plant them in a box on my balcony.

[wickerwoman]

206. Last year I had one fridge shelf, half a freezer drawer and one cabinet.

Four roommates.
Total hell on earth.

I could still buy budget cuts of meat, but I had to eat it all in a row (vs. with more space I could have a variety of frozen meals). I did roast chicken and corned beef and then ate leftovers for four or five days. "Going Solo in the Kitchen" is a great book with lots of sub-recipes for using up leftovers from big roast meals in creative ways. It also has a great section on what and how to freeze things, and (wonder of wonders) recipes with single servings sizes.

Some budget cuts don't take up a lot of space. Chicken livers are cheap and small. Shoulder cuts (like lamb and pork) are cheap, smallish and don't produce a punishing amount of leftovers for single people. I'd buy fattier cuts because they're more calorie dense but then watch the serving size.

Don't bother with lettuce. It takes up a lot of space, doesn't keep and the price per 100/cal is terrible. I just got broccoli or cabbage. You can calculate price per 100/cal by going to the USDA nutrient data lab website at http://www.nal.usda.gov/fnic/foodcomp/search/ find your food, get the number of grams for a kilo and then divide it by the price per kilo (or do the same for pounds). You can set up a spreadsheet to do all the math and calculate what your cheapest proteins, fruits and vegetables are. Really useful for comparing different cuts of meat to see where the real bargains are (as long as you use common sense about fats). This was a huge eye-opener for me with a few foods- like canned tuna, which in my area is one of the most expensive proteins, and kiwifruit which is my cheapest fruit.

And I had to really push myself to use things up before I bought new stuff. Restricted myself to one kind of vinegar, one box of cereal, one bag of frozen veggies, one type of flour etc. at a time. Instead of having Chinese, Thai, Mexican, Italian and French sauces and condiments all sitting around at the same time, I would focus on a particularly cuisine for a few months until I finally managed to use up all that fish sauce or hoisin or capers or whatever. If you have soy sauce, you can make teriyaki sauce and if you have tomato paste you can make ketchup. I never buy pasta sauce- I always make my own from canned tomatoes. I also never buy baking mixes that lock you into pancakes, muffins, cake, whatever or things like taco seasoning or soup mixes. I'd rather spend my limited storage space on basic ingredients and seasonings with a lot of flexibility.

Like they said above, try shopping more often and at Asian markets, particularly Indian stores with lots of bulk bins and only buy what you need for a few days.

[kenny blankenship]

200. Raise frogs and snails in your flooded basement

[Raine]

201. Go vegetarian, not only will you save money

but you will be much healhier in the long run and do a good thing for the earth. Good stores to get inexpensive food is Big Lots and 99 Cent Store.

[Petrushka]

202. If you like yoghurt, think about making your own . . . using a live-culture yoghurt . . .

. . . such as Dannon's, as a starter. If and when you decide that you like homemade yoghurt better than what's available in the supermarkets, try one of the many freeze-dried cultures available online . . . for instance, one of the heirloom varieties here ---> http://www.culturesforhealth.com/starter-cultures/yogurt-starter.html


And . . . here's a how-to for making homemade yoghurt ---> http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20070226100857AAwDy0k

[Hannah Bell]

203. jail hedge fund ceo's.

[grahamhgreen]

204. This is the real issue. Also - grow your own, community garden, if available

Keep chickens for eggs

[Forkboy]

205. Kick