Frugal Food Tips - Add Yours!

**SusieJD** · 05-11-2004, 03:41 PM

Many recipes can be frugal if you pay attention to prices, stock up when things are a low price, and don't waste food.

Notice the price of dried beans vs. canned! Yikes! Buy the dry ones and cook them up, then freeze in 2 cup portions. Make bean soups and cornbread for dinner. Serve beans as a side dish.

Notice the price of canned broth vs. FREE! Okay, you have to pay something to heat the stove and it's better with some seasonings...but learn how to make your own broth and freeze it in one cup portions so you can pull it out when you want. (Use cleaned yogurt, margarine, whatever containers to freeze the broth, then take it out of there and pop the portions in a freezer bag.)

Coupons are great if they are for things you normally buy. Most of the ones I see are for heavily processed foods, which are both unhealthy and expensive.

Watch out for the packaged stuff. If you have kids, use that magic younger age to your advantage. My eldest was about 8 before she figured out that "lunchable" was a box you bought in the grocery store. Until then, when she asked for a "lunchable" to take to lunch, we cut up turkey or salami, packaged some crackers, sliced some cheese and she was in heaven! (Of course, she was also about that age when she figured out that the "music truck" also sold ice cream!) Sometimes packaged things can be convenient when you're short on time and money. Try making your own baking mix for a compromise.

Make expensive items treats, rather than everyday standards. Red meat is expensive. Eat it once a week and cut your grocery bill down.

Keep a price book, a little booklet in which you record how much things cost at different stores. If a warehouse store has a good deal on something, make a monthly trip to it and do without if you run out in the meantime. But don't be fooled that the warehouse stores automatically have the best deal on everything. Once you start writing things down, you'll be amazed at where you sometimes find good bargains!

Susie in MN

**BlessedMommy** · 05-11-2004, 04:16 PM

Great tips, Susie!

Avoid the bakery dept. and cookie aisles at the store and bake from scratch. A 5 lb bag of sugar purchased on sale for .99 = 10 cents per cup. A 5 lb bag of flour purchased for .69 = less than 4 cents per cup. 2 eggs = about 20 cents if you get the dozen for a dollar. Add in your shortening/butter, salt and soda for just pennies more and it's hard to beat the price of homemade! )pluse no preservatives!)

**MMP** · 05-11-2004, 04:23 PM

Watch for reduced meats, fruits/veggies and dented cans. Most stores have a certain area where they put these items.

**SusieJD** · 05-11-2004, 04:28 PM

Here are more:

Organizing Tips
Okay, here's a confession. I hate people looking in my pantry. Not because it's a mess, although it can be at times. But because most people's reaction is "Wow! You've got a lot of food in there!"

Once you start paying attention to prices it's very hard to pass up a good deal. I do not waste food but I do stock up a bit more than I need to at times. And when my neighbor who was moving away offered me a free freezer, my friends and family just shook their heads and said "Oh, no!" Yes, it's stocked up too.

If you're careful to use what you stock, eat the oldest stuff first, and don't end up wasting food there's not much harm in it as near as I can tell. And there are some advantages.

A few months ago, I heard that a neighbor's husband was in the hospital. This happened just after his mother had been hospitalized and then had come home to stay with them for a while. I went to the freezer and pulled out a quart of homemade soup, and a couple of casseroles and delivered them to help out with the meals. I could not have done that so quickly had I not been stocked up on things and cooked ahead a bit.

At other times, I've suddenly had more people for dinner than were expected. I can usually pull something out of the freezer to stretch the meal or pull a few more pieces of chicken or a few more pork chops out to feed the extra guests without much effort. I like having people over for dinner and by stocking up I can do without the last minute stress. Here are some tips I use so I can stock up without wasting food.

Date EVERYTHING and put the oldest items up front so you use them first. It quickly becomes a habit to write the date on canned goods as you unpack them. I don't bother with the day but note the month and year and put the items behind the old.

Label EVERYTHING that goes into your freezer, unless you like playing "Guess what's for dinner".

Don't cook a big batch of something as an experiment. Scale down the recipe if necessary so you can ensure that everyone likes it .

Susie in MN

**ThriftyWife** · 05-12-2004, 12:20 AM

I try to always eat well before I go grocery shopping. When I am hungry (or tired) I always overspend out of desperation. Markdown meat has really saved us a lot of money too, it just has to be used immediately or frozen.

Vicky

**Karla** · 05-12-2004, 12:28 AM

Great ideas everyone.
I also found I save money if I shop alone.
It also helps to have a menu so you know what you need and can fix whats planned.

**Sinclairwife** · 05-12-2004, 08:46 AM

Originally posted by Karla
Great ideas everyone.
I also found I save money if I shop alone.
It also helps to have a menu so you know what you need and can fix whats planned.

I agree with that one Karla. It never fails to send me over budget when Pete goes shopping with me. He's worse than a kid.

**Sinclairwife** · 05-12-2004, 08:59 AM

I sit down and make meal plans based on sales and using leftovers at the start of each month.

Always make a list and stick to it, I do have 'planned' impulse buys too. Sometimes you see a new item and want to try it.

I always have something to eat before I go shopping.

Try shopping at different places, I find that Big Lots and stores like that have some very good prices most of the time.

**simplemom** · 05-24-2004, 09:09 AM

Great thread! Thanks Suzie for your great tips!

and Blessed mommy....it's really amazing how much we save baking from scratch...thanks for reminding us how inexpensive it is to use basic ingredients.

**babymav** · 05-24-2004, 09:59 AM

These are great tips

**Shell** · 05-24-2004, 10:05 AM

I have a question. How did you become the official baglady?

**paelthom** · 05-24-2004, 10:21 AM

Excellent tips all.

One thing we do that saves us money is to share food. No one at my house is a big eater and we split lots of things rather than waste them. One nice steak will feed all three of us and I always split my baked potato unless I'm having it as a meal in itself. We eat enough to be full but don't stuff ourselves into misery.

**SusieJD** · 05-24-2004, 12:17 PM

Me too Pat. My DH always waits, before taking seconds, to see if I'm going to finish my food. Nothing goes to waste!

I've been a bag lady just about all of my life Shell, and there are some days that I LOOK like a bag lady. LOL!

Susie in MN

**Sinclairwife** · 05-25-2004, 11:02 AM

Easy and quick ways to remove peels.

Garlic: Place the flat side of a large knife on top of the clove. Press hard, and the outer paper will crack open and easily peel back. Fresh garlic is so much better to cook with!

Potatoes, sweet potatoes, yams, eggplant, winter squash: All peel very easily after baking or boiling. It can take half an hour to peel some of these when they're raw, but you can scoop out the contents in a minute or two once they're done.

Carrots, cucumbers: A good sharp potato peeler makes short work. Or buy organic and don't even bother to peel--just wash.

Ginger, tomatoes, radishes: No need. Recipes may call for peeling, but you can almost always skip that step.

Apples: If you're making pies in quantity and peeling a lot of apples, invest in a hand-operated peeler-corer, available from kitchen specialty stores or country-kitchen catalogs. If you usually just eat the apples, eat the skins too--and for the once in a while you make a pie, use your potato peeler or a sharp small paring knife.

Oranges: Cut in quarters and peel each quarter away from the skin.

Coconuts (getting them out of the shell, not exactly peeling): Drill two holes and drain the milk (save it). Wrap the coconut in a plastic bag, tie it shut, and drop from a height of about four feet onto a very hard surface. I use my sidewalk.

**Gor2** · 04-19-2010, 10:20 PM

Originally Posted by BlessedMommy

Great tips, Susie!

Avoid the bakery dept. and cookie aisles at the store and bake from scratch. A 5 lb bag of sugar purchased on sale for .99 = 10 cents per cup. A 5 lb bag of flour purchased for .69 = less than 4 cents per cup. 2 eggs = about 20 cents if you get the dozen for a dollar. Add in your shortening/butter, salt and soda for just pennies more and it's hard to beat the price of homemade! )pluse no preservatives!)

Juan form Mexico: Please tell me the recepit of your cookies, cookies are very expensive in Mexico. Thx