Stretching Food

[MelissaV]

Just wondering how everyone stretches groceries? I add rice to ground meet and it goes so much further. No one even knows the difference. I sometimes reuse tea bags for a second cup of tea. I'm just wondering what every one else does. I'm always looking for new ways to be frugal and save a few dollars.

[Jessesbride]

Just wondering how everyone stretches groceries? I add rice to ground meet and it goes so much further. No one even knows the difference. I sometimes reuse tea bags for a second cup of tea. I'm just wondering what every one else does. I'm always looking for new ways to be frugal and save a few dollars.

We tend to make a menu (for 2-3 weeks) & stick to it as closely as possible. Sometimes if life gets really hectic (& we eat at Grandma's house or whatever) I just pick & choose what needs to be eaten now & just cross off the menu item off the list! ALSO by grouping leftovers together... if we had burritos 1 nite, we might have nachos the next if there are enough leftovers or we send the rest w/dh for lunch at work the next day. 1 thing that helps is actually buying things that you & your family will eat! otherwise you tend to buy things that is truly $$$ down the drain!

Good luck!

[rowdy35]

alot of times I will freeze the leftover meat, grilled chicken or extra beans in the freezer in a one meal size. When I am just too tired to cook, I will nuke the chicken to make quick tacos or sandwiches for dinner. The beans will make a nice side dish with the tacos. This is not really stretching the food but it saves money and time.

Also I add home made bread crumbs to ground beef to make my meat balls which I freeze up to use several different ways: Swedish meatballs, sweet and sour meatballs, pasta with meatballs or bbq meatballs. Just defrost and add the sauce, you have dinner ! serve with rice.

You can pre cook noodles and store in a zip lock bag in the fridge, just add sauce when you are ready to cook. (sorry not stretching idea but it works !)

sometimes I will chop up potatoes to add to taco meat

sometimes I will add beans to taco meat

[frugalwarrior]

I tend to precook hamb. to throw bit s in soups,casseroles,nachos,pizza etc. instead of making big chunks of hambergers or roasts. No one needs all that meat anyway. If you search archives there will be a million posts on such thoughts.

[frugalfranny]

You came to the right place to get lots of ideas. Lots of them posted all over and you will get lots of ideas for other good savings too.

[Siebrie]

Chili:

I serve chili with potatoes, macaroni or rice; sometimes 2x in the same week, with a different 'condiment' (i.e. potatoes etc). Also, I make the chili with plain brown beans, only occasionally will I add a small can of kidney beans for taste. Meat is usually ground beef, only a little bit, just for the taste. What it boils down to is that my chilli is mainly veg and beans and lots of chili pepper.

[Ceashels]

No matter what meat i cook, whether it is ground, a roast, meat loaf, brisket, ribs, etc. I always start with carrots, onions and celery to add flavor, aroma, an extra serving of veg, and to stretch the meat.

Meatloaf's get oatmeal, roasts get sliced and served with dinner portions cut for leftovers. Sloppy joes and chilis get half the "typical" amount of meat and the rest is replaced with beans.

[Sassyclass]

When I fix Hamburger helper, whether boxed or homemade I use 1/2 lb of hamburger instead of a whole pound.

Cat

[pat in east texas]

Knowing what a serving is really helps. Most of us eat 'way too much, just because it's there.

[Contrary Housewife]

Chopping or shredding meat will help it go farther. For example,

-- chop up some beef brisket and mix in bbq sauce and some chopped onion and make sandwiches instead of serving slices on a plate.

-- shred a chicken breast and do the same thing, makes a couple sandwiches instead of 1 serving

-- shredded chicken goes even farther in quesadillas (cheese, onion, chicken between tortillas)

-- I do the same thing with "country ribs", bake it or smoke it and then shred it. 1 lb of "ribs" makes a pile of sandwiches, and with beans and coleslaw on the side you have a cheap balanced meal.

[Grainlady]

As a person who has taught nutrition classes, it's not really possible to "STRETCH" food. You either get a serving size from a particular food group, or you don't.... Over-consumption of one food group doesn't make up for under-consumption of another food group. You CAN however, make less expensive choices. Especially when it comes to the most expensive portion of our food dollars - meat.

Let's dissect the ever-popular Tuna Casserole as a "food stretching" example. You end up with large amounts of inexpensive carbohydrates like pasta or rice, mixed with a "binder" (often a can or two of mushroom soup) and a can of tuna for a casserole that will make 6-8 servings. The casserole will be high on grain servings and low on protein servings.

You still have to figure that 5-1/2-ounce of tuna is two servings of protein for an adult. A 1/2 c. of cooked pasta is a serving from the bread/grain group. You can end up with 3 servings from the grain group and only 1/4-serving of protein when you figure a mixed food like a casserole. You would still require 1-3/4 more servings of protein for the day, and you've used up a considerable portion from your grain servings.

When I serve spaghetti, I know there is 1 serving of grain (whole grain if I use wholegrain pasta) because I serve 1/2-cup of cooked spaghetti (approx. 35 sticks per serving). There is approximately 2-3-oz. of hamburger in the sauce (per serving). So I know we consume one grain and one meat, plus some vegetable (tomato sauce).

Add an inexpensive protein (like a boiled egg) in with a more expensive protein (canned tuna), when making tuna salad. Add an egg as a binder when making meat balls or meat loaf, as an additional inexpensive protein.

Where you can save is to incorporate low-cost protein by choosing less expensive meat alternatives for some of your meals.

Have several vegetarian meals each week. We eat bean burgers I make with mashed cooked or canned beans, egg, cracker/bread crumbs, Spike all-purpose spice mixture.... So when bean burgers are combined with my homemade whole wheat multi-grain burger buns, that is a complete protein (grain and beans, or beans/grain and dairy = a complete protein).

Protein alternatives for 1-ounce of meat:
-2 T. peanut butter
-1 egg or 1/4 c. egg substitute
-1/3 c. nuts
-1/2 c. dry beans, peas, lentils, cooked
-4 oz. tofu

Most adults (unless you are very active or do hard labor) only need 2-3 servings of protein per day (5-7 oz.):

3-oz. lean meat, poultry fish, cooked (a medium baked chicken breast half - flesh only - equals approx. 3-oz. cooked meat and a drumstick (meat only) = 1-1/2 oz. cooked meat)

Three ounces look like the size of a deck of cards.

3-oz. lean ground meat - cooked

3-oz. lean game (rabbit, venison, bison, etc.), cooked

3 oz. fish or shellfish = 15 medium shrimp, 6 sea scallops, 6 clams, 15 small sardines

3-oz. lean sliced meat (ham, turkey, roast beef, roast lamb, etc.)

2-3-oz. flaked tuna

[elphie]

Homemade bread with dinner every night. I sometimes make rolls, loaves, braids, biscuits, whatever and we have it with every meal. Bread is cheap, filling, and delicious. Do a google search for potato bread recipes because you can make a big batch and keep the dough in your fridge for a week an do variations of it everynight so it doesn't feel like you are always eating the same thing.

We also serve ourselves from the stove and then sit down at the table, it makes people less likely to go for seconds and then you either have enough leftovers to freeze for another full meal or at least for someone's lunch the next day.

Fresh fruits and veggies are a staple in our house. A bag of apples costs more than a bag of chips but it also goes a lot further and fills you up so you are less hungry between meals. Watch for sales and figure out what actually gets eaten. Gala apples, bananas, carrots (not the baby kind, they are overpriced), celery and romaine lettuce never go to waste in our house but some other things we can only buy occasionally because we get tired of them. When I'm hungry between meals an apple is always the perfect pick me up that will keep me satisfied until the next meal time.

Use 1/2 the amount of meat a casserole or soup recipe calls for, you'll never miss it.

Dry beans are the greatest! Super cheap, super versatile, super filling.

If there are certain convience foods that you and your family love stock up when they are on sale and let everyone know that they have to last until the next sale, when they're gone you won't be buying more at full price.

Have a few meals in the freezer so if you have a busy week or something unexpected happens then you won't be tempted to order in or drive through.

As others have said there are more great ideas floating around here but these are a few of my favorites.

[MomToTwoBoys]

Just wondering how everyone stretches groceries? I add rice to ground meet and it goes so much further. No one even knows the difference. I sometimes reuse tea bags for a second cup of tea. I'm just wondering what every one else does. I'm always looking for new ways to be frugal and save a few dollars.

All we really do to "stretch" groceries is find new ways to make use of the leftovers. If we have items that don't necessarily make a complete meal in one aspect, we look for another creative way to incorporate them into a healthy and hearty meal. We make do with what we have and if it's looking a bit tight for us over the next little while, we'll go for the cheaper meals until that time has passed.

[joyofsix]

Two of my tried & true methods
I mix beans (I precook and freeze) in most dishes that use hamburger. I use half the burger and dump in some beans until it looks right. I put them in stroganoff/casseroles/hamburger helper type foods/etc.
I serve biscuits/cornbread/bread/bread sticks or some starch with lunch and dinner to fill up my bottomless teen boys. They get a serving of meat and then can fill up on all the bread/veg/fruit they want.

[Trishagirl]

I buy a roast on sale then make two meals out of it. First roast then tacos with the leftovers.