What more can I do to reduce my grocery bill

**shoiji** · 10-13-2010, 04:56 PM

Ask the meat department at your grocery store if they ever have manager's specials. If so ask them what day or time of the month do they usually have them. I am always on the look out for manager's specials at the meat department. It basically is the only time I buy meat. I get really good quality meat then and save atleast 1/2 the price. Since this is the only time I purchase meat I allow myself a little extra money for it.

Is there a reason why your family does not eat beans. Only mention this since it is a great way to stretch a meal.

The crockpot is a great way to cook inexpensive meals. They always come out great. I have even turned the crockpot on before I go to bed. In the morning I have a meal. I would suggest doing this on a weekend. That way you can be around to let the contents cool down and package some for the freezer. When using the crockpot just cook double the amount. Soon you will have a freezer with meals ready for you to heat up.

I also think having breakfast for dinner is also a great idea. If you make a little extra you can take it to work for lunch.

My grandmother was always able to make a pot pie with just a handful of meat. Seriously, I remember watching her pull a small piece of leaftover meat from the freezer and proceed to make a pot pie feeding a family of eight!

Remember to buy produce in season. Also, frozen produce is just as good now.

It sounds as though you are really not making a big roast especially if it still has the bone in it. Next time you make a roast put two roasts in. This way you will be sure to have leftovers.

Try the coupon mom website. I find it very easy to use her website and saves me time. Hopefully one of your supermarkets is listed.

I also think you should probably not water down any milk that you give you littlest daughter only because she is still very young.

Your budget already seems pretty good for you size family. Fortunately you have this website with all the money saving reciepes.

**lisaflex** · 10-13-2010, 05:06 PM

agree w/ soup. what about split pea soup? very east, good and filling and inexpensive.

i just made an italian garlic white bean spinach soup that was delish and not expensive.

alot of people just plain dont like beans, i understand that...dont force the issue.

be careful before you start wasting printer ink and paper with printing coupons. some stores dont take them at all or only take certain ones. so i would call and find out about the stores near you.

pasta is always inexpesive. we use barilla. i boil mine w/ a chix boullion cube in it for added flavor. make a quick "sauce" of OO, onion, garlic and pepper. add spinach and some frsh lemon juice and sprinkle w/ fresh grated romano. yum. serve some baked tilapia.

there are options. just do some research.

personally, i think your grocery spending is awesome! i do a big shop every 2 wks and spend about $250 and then on the inbetween trips, i spend anywhere between $15 - 80 and that is at least three times inbetween the big trips!

**Sparklyfairy** · 10-13-2010, 05:21 PM

Oh yes, the watered down milk was only meant for the adults & older kids in your family - def not for your little one!

**Josephhgoins** · 10-13-2010, 05:38 PM

I know you said you didn't like beans, but if there was just one type of bean you could like, it would help greatly. Make sure to try a few different recipes too.

Also, can you grow some of your own food? Even simple stuff will help.

As Nikosan said, portion control is key. I know it sounds silly, but cut back on the expensive stuff they eat and if they are still hungry add more of the cheaper items. Not sure what that would work out to be for you. For me, I have plenty of beans and biscuits, but taters are few and far between.

If Grainlady was on here, she would mention to watch the parts of the food that you are throwing away. Can you just scrub the potatoes real well instead of peeling them and so on.

Also, a good trick is to increase the amount of fiber in your meals. The fiber fills everyone up more and they eat less food that way.

Good luck, but to be honest, $166 a month for that number of people sounds fairly good to me.

**MelAFwife** · 10-13-2010, 06:43 PM

I love my crockpot, not only for soups but for stews, chili, taco meat and whole chicken.
It really helps to plan ahead, so we have Thursday Taco Night, Monday Chili Night all made in the crockpot.
Every 2-3 weeks I roast a turkey (no stuffing etc.) and freeze the meat for future meals.
I like to have some quick meals in the freezer, so I try OAMC (Once A Month Cooking) on a small scale. I prepare and freeze 2 pans (disposable) of enchiladas and 1 lasagna, so all I have to do is heat them in the oven.
To stews and chili I add mashed/pureed beans to increase the amount and the fiber content.
My biggest helper is my menu plan and I try to stick with and shop accordingly. I include desserts in my menu plan, planning those ahead can save $ as well.
My grocery budget is $250/month ($50 is for formula) for myself, hubby, 2 girls (12 y & 9mos).
A great site: A Year of Slow Cooking A Year of Slow Cooking
Many Blessings,
Melanie

**shp1055** · 10-13-2010, 07:21 PM

Everyone has had great advice so far, I'd like to add my 2 cents
Do your stores run weekly sales? Around Thanksgiving last year, flour and meal went on sale for 50 cents for 5 lbs. I don't think it will go that low this year, but I would look at the weekly flyers and pick up on the "loss leaders". If the flour, meal, sugar, pasta go on a weekly sale for a great price, stock up in a major way. Freeze flour & meal for a few days & then wrap & store in a sealable food grade 5 gallon type bucket. Do some searches on this. Look at all of Grain Lady's past posts. They are very informative. If you don't know how to make bread, learn. It's cheap & filling. When I used to do "a large grocery shop" once a month and would see some of those same items on sale the next week, I could just kick myself. Weekly "Loss leaders" are lifesavers.

Best of luck to you.

**lisaflex** · 10-13-2010, 07:23 PM

the rotissieree chix on a year of CPing is wonderful! it is a hit everytime!!!

a good way to make beans is as follows (worth a try) buy a cheap can of cannellini (white beans) (i use dry and do in the CP but know that we will eat them)
sautee 1/2 red onion in OO, add some chpd frsh garlic and pepper, add white beans and some slivers of frsh spinach to warm. remove from heat. squeeze frsh lemon juice...it is a good lunch or dinner side
buy a cheap can of black beans (again, i use dried and do in the CP) sautee 1/2 red onion, frsh garlic, add beans to warm. sprinkle w/ frsh lime juice and hot sauce.

what about white bean and tuna salad? that is a great lunch and good for you. if tuna is on sale, even better! just chop up some celery and onions, add S & P to taste, add tuna and some white beans. stuff in a whole wheat pita. wala, lunch is served!

**mndtrp** · 10-13-2010, 07:28 PM

You say you don't eat many beans, you didn't say you don't eat any at all. I suggest starting to eat more, and learning to like rice. Both items are incredibly cheap, and help fill out the quantity of food.

Save all scraps in a tupperware container in the freezer until you have enough for soup. Save the trimmings from vegetables for the soups, as well.

Butchers sometimes have a collection of scraps that aren't good for much, but will sell at a discount for meals that are slow cooked.

**Paws** · 10-13-2010, 08:24 PM

A few of the ways I learned to save on my grocery bill was to make serious use of my Crock Pot, have "planned over" meals, stock up on items when they're on super sales, shop "loss leaders", cook mostly from scratch, make my own mixes and convenience foods, and freezer cooking.

One of my favorite time saving tips:

Throw several pounds ground meat into a slow cooker, add s & p, diced onions, and garlic if desired. Add a small bit of water, cook on low for hours until done. Let it cool a bit, drain-(I usually put into the dog food bowl), Measure out approx. 1/2 pound and put into zip top freezer bags. Make sure to label and seal, then freeze.

When ready to use, just pop out of freezer, and add to make a super quick meal. This pairs well with frozen veggies!

Of course, chicken can be roasted then deboned and frozen for quick meals also. I usually do this in my Crock Pot also. I always cook 2 large birds as once so I have plenty to freeze.

I noticed you cook roasts...Make sure to buy only LARGE ones or at least 2 smaller or medium sized ones. BEFORE dinner is served, take out the smaller roast or half of a large one. Dice and seal into a zip top freezer bag. Let cook, then freeze.
THEN serve the remaining to your hungry family.

If you have left overs, utilize them! Remake a dish instead of just having left overs. This is what I call "planned overs".

For instance, have roasted chickens on Monday, of course you've already deboned the one that's not being served...and saving both carcasses.

Tuesday have pinto beans with cornbread. (YUMMY) Save left overs!!

Wednesday, take the chicken carcasses and boil them for an hour or so. Fish out the bones and discard. Take some of the reserved chicken and add it to the pot. Season to taste. Add a bag of frozen mixed veggies and a large can of diced tomatoes...now you have chicken stew for your meal.

This can make quite a bit, so take the l/o's with you to work over the next few days.

Thursday, warm 3/4 of the l/o pinto beans, add onion, just a small bit of garlic, and maybe a bit of cumin or adobo seasonings. S & P if needed. Now mash the beans up a little-voila`-you basically have refried beans. Take some of the l/o chicken, or ground beef, and put some on a flour tortilla along with some of the refried beans, sprinkle a little cheese on it, and wrap. Bake for about 10-15 min, then sprinkle a little more cheese on top and place back in the oven until cheese is melted. Now you have burritos as this meal. As a side, you could have Spanish rice, which will become a "planned over' item too.

Now for Friday, take you remaining beans, taco seasoning, cooked and drained ground meat, a couple cans of tomatoes or rotel, and what ever else you would enjoy and make Taco soup.

Using food in this way, eliminates a lot of waste...PLUS saving a whole lot of time too!!!
Once you get the hang of it, it becomes second nature.

Don't forget about rice. This wonderful food stretches even the tightest grocery budget!! It's tasty, economical, and healthy. If white rice isn't right for you and your family due to health reasons, then choose brown rice. Minute brand rice is not economical, but it's easy to prepare. Personally, I prefer uncooked long grain rice...Jasmine, Basmati, white or brown.
Hope this helps...

**alotofgooddeals** · 10-13-2010, 08:59 PM

usually except for the last month or so.. we have been spending very little and i have been amazed at what we can do with so little.... so this month we are going to spend a little more than we have this past month so i plan to stockpile and save.... 166.00 a month for 5 people is very very good and i think you may have already did what you can...

**TJs mommy** · 10-13-2010, 10:21 PM

Originally Posted by lisaflex

the rotissieree chix on a year of CPing is wonderful! it is a hit everytime!!!

Just had to agree with this whole heartedly! Made one last week and fed my family of 3, then made soup with fed 5 the first night and my family of 3 for two more dinners & I have enough chicken left over for a pot pie. If my mom & grandma hadn't been here, it would have fed me, DH & DS 6 times! TOTALLY AMAZING!

**Siebrie** · 10-14-2010, 08:52 AM

I have a few questions re your original post:

- can dh contribute in preparing food at home?
- does fil contribute either with ingredients, time or money?

Leftovers don't always just 'happen', you can plan for them.

**farmgirl_82** · 10-14-2010, 10:07 AM

Originally Posted by Siebrie

I have a few questions re your original post:

- can dh contribute in preparing food at home?
- does fil contribute either with ingredients, time or money?

Leftovers don't always just 'happen', you can plan for them.

DH farms (with FIL) and isn't in the house much. The most he usually does for cooking is turn the crockpot on when I do use it.

FIL doesn't contribute at all.

**Judi Dial** · 10-14-2010, 10:09 AM

Originally Posted by NewLeaf

Make mixes ahead of time. I make gravy mix , hot chocolate mix and brownie mix. Take a weekend and do this with your kids. It will be a fun mess and you will have low cost mixes already there.

Find the nearest Salvage Grocery store and check it out.

Look for the Make a Mix cookbooks at your library for making your own mixes. Also, there's a directory of salvage grocery stores here on Frugal Village.

For that pork, try adapting some baked chicken dishes, the cookbook here can help.

Finally, there's two older books: Cut Your Grocery Bills in Half by Barbara Salsbury and the Food Inflation Fighter's Handbook by Judith Klinger...see if your library has them or can get them. Both of them are out of date in terms of prices/money, but the techniques they talk about are not.

IHTH!

Judi

**farmgirl_82** · 10-14-2010, 01:33 PM

Thanks everybody for all the tips. I will definately be looking into this a lot more as the new year gets closer. Which is when I plan to really start trying to save as much money as possible.