Cook Smart to Save Money
Posted by Gail | Filed under SensibleSpending
With food costs skyrocketing, it behooves the conscious consumer to look for ways to stretch their food dollars further. Have you noticed that packages are smaller but prices are the same or higher? There are plenty of ways to eat well for less.
Meat is expensive. So is chicken and fish. Finding ways to eat less is not only good for your wallet, it’s good for your metabolism. Instead of serving whole pieces, sliver or shred for stir-fries and combo dishes.
Substitute less expensive forms of protein. Eggs are a bargain, and what could be lovelier than a frittata served with a salad for dinner, especially after a run-off-your-feet day? Or how about breakfast for dinner? Turn your thinking on its head and save some money.
Learn to love beans and lentils, adding them to chili, stews and ground-beef dishes. Not only will you need less meat, you’ll up your fibre intake, which is very good for your heart. You’ll also fart more, which Dr. Oz says is very good for your digestive system.
Eat more veggies. They’re not only healthy, they can be far less expensive if you buy in season. (Hard to do in winter, I know, but still cheaper than meat.) Adding grated carrots and zucchini to chili, lasagna and other “combo” dishes not only adds volume to a meal to fill hungry teenagers, it adds essential vitamins and antioxidants to keep them healthy.
Don’t throw away food. If your veggies are getting close to their best-before date, cut them up and freeze them, or throw them in a soup or stew. If you’ve roasted a chicken or a piece of meat with a big bone, use the carcass to make stock. I buy my chicken breast on the bone, debone ‘em myself (only takes a couple of minutes) and then freeze the bones for my famous Mom’s Chicken Soup, which I mass-produce and hand out to sick friends and family. (Yes, it can cure a cold! Or at least make you feel better. That’ll save drugstore spending too.)
Since the grocery budget is one of our biggest variable expenses, putting in a bit of effort to feed your household well while spending less means you’ll have some money to save. Healthy bodies. Healthy bank accounts. Well done!
March 12, 2013 at 5:46 am
Love breakfast for dinner! Eggs are great!
March 12, 2013 at 6:39 am
When my bf and I moved in together we started meal planning and it has been a resounding success! Using an idea from Pinterest we have an 8-slot collage photo frame and we use the glass of each photo slot like a white board. It is “kitchen art” for us, but paper works just as well. Since we both have hectic student schedules we always have something in the freezer to “grab and go” instead of eating out when we are busy/stressed/studying. We decide on Friday night the food for the week by looking at the local flyers for what is on sale and using that as our inspiration. An investment in a small chest freezer and a bit of flexibility in our food budget means we can stockpile meat when it goes on sale to always get the best price. The other bonus is having fewer things spoil. If we need celery or lettuce or other perishables for a recipe we make sure to plan other things to do with those ingredients to use them up before they go bad. The crock pot is fabulous for making lesser cuts of meat taste fabulous and to stretch meals like Gail suggested with veggies, beans etc. Not only is my bf eating a lot healthier by having less processed convenience food but we have been able to spend about 25-30% less together than we did when we lived apart! We still have temptations to pick up take out some nights or to have something not on the menu, but there is comfort in knowing that we have that flexibility while still having a pretty solid plan that works 90% of the time.
March 12, 2013 at 6:43 am
Hi,
I do a ton of stuff to cut down on food costs, but a couple of creative things I found out recently that my friends are doing:
* any bits of veggies/fruit that are left over, run through the juicer, either drink or add to baking.
* add the pulp from your juicer to sweet breads.
* this is what my friend calls the “Bonnie Bucket”, she puts all the left over bits of meat, veggies, gravy, in a tupperware (bucket) in the freezer, at the end of the week, she adds stock, barley and some spices and turns it into a soup.
*collect your veggie peelings, ie. carrots, onion skins, parsnips peels, etc etc. to make a stock, just boil and strain to use in a soup later.
The biggest thing for me, is to be organized, whether it is saving money on food or anything else. Unfortunately, this does not come naturally to me, but I have recognized the value of being organized and really make a consorted effort every day.
Susan
Susan
March 12, 2013 at 8:25 am
We usually meal plan 6 dinners a week and wing it one night a week (breakfast for dinner, sandwiches or a soup/salad meal). We don’t usually assign the meals to specific nights, but every morning we check the plan and decide how much prep time there will be that night and take out any frozen items we’ll need. Every week there are a few meals that require virtually no time and others that will require as much as an hour for prep and cooking time. Normally there is some component of the meal where we purposely cook extra, with the plan to use it in a different meal the next night. We rarely do actual “leftovers” of a complete meal, since that all goes in lunch containers. When we cook a chicken one night, the extra bits become chicken enchiladas, leftover ham becomes quiche the next, excess rice one night becomes main course fried rice the next. We got a panini grill for Christmas and it’s been fabulous for turning random bits of leftover meat into dinner worthy sandwiches. We put out all the filling options and everyone makes their own. With a side salad or home made coleslaw it turns the leftovers from a few days into a proper meal that doesn’t look like leftovers. Last time each of us had a different meal and all were fabulous (beef, chicken, ham and salmon).
March 12, 2013 at 8:57 am
I’ve fallen back in love with my pressure cooker! Beans soaked overnight cook up in about 20 mins. Any extra freeze very well.
March 12, 2013 at 9:03 am
I second M’s recommendation to freeze beans. I make a big batch of chickpeas and lentils, then freeze in smaller containers for homemade hummous and soups.
I’m still enjoying the pesto I made over the summer, as I am the tomatoes, eggplant, and zucchini I grew, thanks to freezing.
My husband and I check out our flyers and plan our weekly meals around them. I find that preparing lunches-to-go is the hardest bit of planning, and even when making one’s own lunch, can be pricey. I’d love to hear what others pack for their lunches…
I’m pretty easy going. I could eat tuna or egg everyday. My husband, however, hates the taste of both. Sigh.
March 12, 2013 at 9:05 am
It’s funny, until I became a vegetarian I didn’t realize how much non-animal protein I was already eating. As in 75% of my daily requirement. People seem to think that they need a huge slice of meat to get their protein, but you can probably cut that back (even if you don’t want to become a full vegetarian) and still get all the protein you need!
March 12, 2013 at 9:10 am
We are meal planners too! We eat primarly a vegetarian/vegan diet because meat is expensive! We’re not starving or suffering for it – even though my husband is a carnivore! I recommend picking up a vegetarian cookbook for inspiration! Totally helped us break the meat habit.
As for lunches, I often have to eat dinner on the go, so I’ll batch cook something like quinoa, barley, couscous of pasta and make a salad with it. It’ll give a few lunches or dinners, and so much elss time in the morning! I will also occasionally make a soup and portion it out for lunches, so it’s a grab and go!
March 12, 2013 at 9:29 am
Doter, google mason jar salads for lunch ideas!
March 12, 2013 at 9:51 am
A big realization came to me was when we saw how much food we were wasting because the kids didn’t like the food we made. We made it clear that we were not a restaurant so we don’t make “food to order” and food like mac and cheese was a treat. So in order to alleviate this, I had to observe what they like or didn’t like. It was important that they have food from all the food groups. So they don’t like peppers. They love mushrooms and spinach. My older daughter doesn’t like the texture of meat, but she loves beans and drumsticks which I call “chicken lollipops”. Everyone in my family loves sausage but because it’s fatty, I cut up the cooked sausage (and try turkey sausage if I find it) and add it into homemade soups and stews. Fine-tuning recipes to cater to our family definitely helped us save some money.
Oh, and one more thing – homemade kale chips. Sooo good and much better than potato chips!
March 12, 2013 at 10:09 am
I wish there were alternatives to eggs. I would love to be able to substitute my meat with eggs, and get those lovely Omega-3s but I can’t stand them. The smell makes me nauseous, as does the taste. Wish it weren’t so, but it is. Any tips? I’ve tried just about everything…
March 12, 2013 at 10:15 am
A vegetable garden. Or tomato plants in a pot on the porch.
March 12, 2013 at 10:20 am
I’m learning to cook with beans and lentils. And I love recipe websites to try new vegetarian recipes
March 12, 2013 at 11:02 am
In winter, beets are ridiculously cheap, much easier to prepare than you’d think, packed with nutrition and totally delish. Wrap whole beets in foil and bake in a 425 oven for about an hour (until they are soft through when poked). I often do this in the evening, then pop them into the fridge to deal with the next day. I peel mine with a veggie peeler, which I find easier than rubbing off the skin. Then, I chop them up, add some olive oil, white balsamic vinegar and salt & pepper. So yummy! And, three beets make a huge bowl of beet salad, which I take for lunch all week. I think three big beets cost a dollar or less. You can’t “beet” that!
March 12, 2013 at 11:05 am
Planning is the key. I use coupons to stock up on the canned goods for use in the winter. Every Sunday afternoon I take all my veggies that are looking a bit ‘wonky’ and all my leftover meats and make soup. The canned goods (beans, chick peas etc) are perfect for soups/stews and adding the leftover meats, ensure that nothing is thrown out. I typically have leftover rice/potatoes or pasta to add as well. We eat the soup throughout the week…sometimes for supper and sometimes for lunch. Adding a salad for the dinner meal makes an easy dinner for the nights that our kids (4) have evening activities. We also make ALL of our pizza and save a tonne. Buy the mozzarella by the brick when its on sale and it freezes perfectly as does the pepperoni.
Over the past two years, I have paid special attention to our grocery expenses and am watching the numbers go down by $100.00’s of dollars a month. I throw NOTHING out. Its eaten or put into the freezer for later use. Just cutting the ‘waste’ is huge money all on its own.
March 12, 2013 at 11:09 am
@Momma — thanks! I will
March 12, 2013 at 11:34 am
Some great advice. We love having breakfast for dinner but we can’t do it often since I always make enough for at least four meals since we always take our lunches to work.
One tip I’d like to share is when making a meat sauce for spag or sloppy joes, etc, I grate up not just a couple of carrots to help cut down on the amount of meat but I also break up a container of mushrooms. I usually buy the creminis from Costco, pulse the whole thing in the food processor until it is roughly the same consistency of the ground meat. This way it more than doubles the recipe and I make a big batch, put single or double size servings in the freezer and have it on hand for lunches or dinners when cooking is out of the question. I usually get between 10-12 servings with just a pound or so of meat.
March 12, 2013 at 11:58 am
It is amazing when you start thinking outside the box how much more economical you can eat.
For instance, turkeys were on sale here last week for 1.38 a pound. I bought a 10 pound one but I have no intention of cooking a turkey dinner.
I will not be stuffing it, I will simply thaw, brine, and throw in oven at a time I am doing laundry, other stuff around the house.
Out of this turkey I will have;
1) turkey soup (using bones for the stock)
2) turkey sandwiches
3) HOT turkey sandwiches (yum)
4) thrill my cats with some turkey as a treat
5) a turkey cassarole
6) give away some turkey to a turkey lover
7)turkey potstickers
March 12, 2013 at 12:07 pm
I have saved a lot of money by buying items on sale that we use everyday. Milk in bags, breads, bagels, meats etc, bananas for smoothies, (yes the reduced brown ones are the best, just peel, cut into chunks and freeze um.) Purchase and freeze, it really does save a ton of money.
March 12, 2013 at 12:34 pm
JR – we normally use dinner leftovers for lunch as well, and certain breakfast for dinner items will still work well for that.
If you make pancakes, do extras and the next day instead of bread use them to make PB&J sandwiches. Leftover sausages can be rolled in a tortilla with honey mustard and lettuce. When we made fried rice for supper we usually add scrambled egg, peas and soya sauce to day old rice. I don’t see any reason you couldn’t use leftover scrambled eggs from supper and mix up the fried rice in the morning to take for lunch.
March 12, 2013 at 12:37 pm
Some people may I have an issue with this, I used to , but not anymore.
I will buy meat that is marked 30% off because it is at, or one day away from expiry. You just have to make darn sure you either use it, same day, or freeze it.
Last week we ate $30.00 worth of steak for $20.00 and that was a treat
March 12, 2013 at 12:59 pm
I try to eat meatless dinners once or twice a week – macaroni and cheese, spaghetti… and I buy a small roast to ut up for stew. Same with chicken. Cutting these up yourself saves a lot of money and is easy. I also have one cereal I only eat (high in fibre) so when it is on sale for $3.50 or $3.99 (instead of $5.99 I buy 6. By the time I’ve used it up there’s another sale somewhere. And yes, soup from leftovers.
March 12, 2013 at 1:20 pm
My parents used to buy a quarter of beef all packaged up for the freezer. It was the norm to have a large roast with Yorkshire pudding on Sunday, reheated beef with gravy for dinner Monday, beef sandwiches for lunch on Wednesday or Thursday, and shepherds pie with the remainder, as well as all the left over potatoes and vegetables, on Friday. I’ve never bought a beef roast since I left home many years ago. However I do tend to cook double or triple the amount needed when doing anything that takes time so that I can have another meal or two in the freezer.
March 12, 2013 at 1:46 pm
These are all fabulous ideas! I love the Mason Jar salads. This is not always a money saver (depends on where you live), but if you live in an agricultural area you can get great value by buying a CSA membership (community-supported agriculture), buying you a share in the produce of one farm for a season. But I know that in some areas these are not great value. In our case, we live in the Midwestern US, and there is high demand for these shares which has kept prices fair, so we pay about 700 dollars for 40 weeks of deliveries of organic vegetables and fruits, with the box ranging between 10 and 20 pounds of produce a week. We freeze the excess, so the vegetables last all year, and the quality is so good that the produce hardly ever goes bad before we can eat it. And we feel so much healthier and energetic because we eat way more vegetables than we used to!
March 12, 2013 at 2:49 pm
We only eat meat/seafood 2-3 times a week as we only purchase free-range grass fed & finished meat which is higher priced for the higher quality. The meat is a lot more delicous than the terrrifying stuff in the supermarket and it’s a lot healthier for you and the environment. I can garunatee you if you ever visited a farm factory that supplies your supermarket with your meat you would never eat meat farmed that way again.
We cook with a lot of beans and lentils, tofu and veggie ground and just consume smaller portions of meat. Not only do we feel much better for it but were doing our enviroment, those poor factory farm animals and local free range grass farmers a favor!
People get all in huff about food prices. Well food used to consume a lot more of a persons income back in the 20’s before the industralization than it does now. People become obsessed with providing us with cheap food .. and thats what we got … cheap food full of chemicals that are making us sick and non-seasonal food being trucked 2500km’s just so we can have asapargus and strawberries in the winter
Industrializing our way of bringing food to the table did no one any favors. Especially our environment, our health and the ethical treatment of farm animals.
Try buying local in season food, free range grass fed and finished meat and organic bulk grains and nothing in a box. You’ll feel better and look better. Heck you won’t save any money but not everything is about saving money ….
March 12, 2013 at 4:53 pm
I find this area a particular challenge since I am only cooking for me. I end up throwing up a lot which is so wasteful. Any tips for the single chef?
March 12, 2013 at 5:10 pm
Dr Oz also suggests going vegetarian during the week and saving meat for weekends. Better for your health and wallet! I find using meat as the “garnish” instead of the “main event” saves quite a bit. One chicken breast, pork chop or small steak can feed the family of four in a stirfry, soup or stew. Or a dinner salad with the meat literally sprinkled sparingly on top. Using beans in soups and sauces makes the meat go waaay farther too. I’m not afraid to tell my meat manager or produce manager when something is close to expiry – quite often he’ll whip out the sharpie pen and wite “N/C” (no charge) or “50% off” over the regular price right then and there. If I can’t make it that day, it heads straight for the freezer for another time.
PS I just picked up a copy of “Money Rules” today and am excited to dive in ASAP
March 12, 2013 at 7:17 pm
Laura, as a single chef, you can still meal plan. Make sure you are buying foods you enjoy and know you will eat. You can still cook for 2 or 4 and portion off your meal to freeze.
OR meal plan with friend, split on the groceries and get together to prepare some meals together.
March 12, 2013 at 8:22 pm
Meal planning is definitely key. I make my grocery list and my meal plan is on the side, so i am reminded of what i am shopping for as i go. I’ve really started to use my deep freeze and my extra storage for stocking up on items when they go on for a good sale, cooking ahead and making easy grab ‘fast’ food is great for me too. I price match, have gotten more into couponing (mrs. january.com is an AMAZING site, i am hooked!) doing these 2 things i’m knocking 20-30 dollars off every grocery bill. I pack all of our lunches and making extras to heat up the next day at work is great for us. Also, i bake muffins every sunday for snacks at work/school, and occasionally if i have time, i’ll do up a soup or pasta and portion out 10 portions so hubby and i can have hot lunches every day.
March 13, 2013 at 1:49 am
I’m a lifelong vegetarian so I can’t compare my costs with meat, but winter is pricy for certain veggies! These are my cheaper, easy-to-cook, nutritious supper ideas:
Baked potato topped with baked beans and salad on the side
Indian dal with rice and yogurt, and some raw tomatoes or cucumbers on the side
Veggie chili, optional cheese, sour cream and bun
Stir-fry with broccoli, carrots, tofu, ginger and garlic + brown rice
Spaghetti squash with spaghetti sauce and kale
Homemade soup (lentils, carrots, celery, barley, whatever else is on hand) with homemade bread
Miso soup and homemade cucumber sushi
“Pizza” – tomato sauce, veggies and cheese on a tortilla in the oven for 10 minutes
Dal, chili and soup can easily be done in the slow cooker, so much easier. Leftovers = lunch.
My other packable lunch ideas – wraps (veggie and cheese or hummus and spinach), cottage cheese and fruit, grain salads, pasta salad (maybe include beans or a hardboiled egg for some protein), lentil salad (a cup of cooked lentils, a grated carrot, lemon juice, a dash of salt and some spices – very filling!) Someone else also mentioned baking a batch of muffins once a week and taking those as snacks. Carrot-raisin or zucchini muffins are pretty good and not too expensive!
It really helps if you know you are going to be using an ingredient more than once. Ie, if you only need the one egg for the muffins and you aren’t going to use the other 11, don’t buy a dozen eggs. 1/4 cup of applesauce replaces eggs in baking, or you could borrow one from a neighbour.
I buy my rice, lentils, oats, etc in bulk and shop at the discount store for staples like tomato paste. If I was really organized I’d chop up all the veggies on Sunday night … in a perfect world.
March 13, 2013 at 6:55 am
I find it hard to cut back on some food costs as I can’t eat eggs,dairy or gluten.
March 13, 2013 at 9:54 am
A very inexpenseive but healthy alternative to meat in things like chili, lasagne, etc is TVP (texturized vegetable protein). You can buy it at Bulk Barn. It has the same texture as ground beef, but it has no flavour on its own. We use it all the time in lieu of beef in our cooking, and many people haven’t known the difference.
We give up meat for Lent every year, because it is expensive to buy and harder on the environment than a vegetarian diet. It always feels so refreshing to eat such a healthy diet, we keep saying that we will keep it up all year, then barbecue season hits and we fall back into the meat eating habit . . .
As for not liking the smell or flavour of eggs, my son was like that too — he knew it was healthy but he just couldn’t handle it. I started making him scrambled eggs with LOTS of cheese mixed in, or even cheese omelets . . . he loves cheese, so he gobbled it up. I gradually decreased the amount of cheese until we reached what I consider to be a more reasonable amount but it still gives him the taste he likes.
Great topic Gail!!! Thanks so much!
March 13, 2013 at 10:40 am
one of my favourite tricks is meal planning. We bought a baguette at walmart for 1.27 we use it for a meal then i cut it up and make our own croutons, small pieces of bread for the next meal. We work at using our pantry alot and do pantry challenges to keep the costs down. If we dont use all the food budget we put it in savings
March 13, 2013 at 10:56 am
Laura-when I lived on my own, I’d make a big pot of stew/chili/spaghetti sauce, eat it for a day or two and freeze the rest. After a few weeks I had a big stash of single serve frozen meals so I didn’t have to cook every single night and didn’t have to eat the same thing for a week (though sometimes I don’t mind this I must admit.
March 13, 2013 at 6:24 pm
The biggest pain with many veggies is cooking time and convenience. Ask your friends if they have a pressure cooker and give it a shot. More healthy, better tasting, larger batches for freezing, and cooks in 1/3 the time.
March 14, 2013 at 2:13 am
I know it may sound wasteful but we do our meat shopping once a month at our local butcher. I spend about $80 – 100 per month, and we get cuts we like so nothing is wasted. The order is normally the same unless something is on sale or we have a special event coming up. Once I get it home, I use a kitchen scale and portion it out into meal size vac packs and freeze. We try to allow for 4 oz of meat per person per meal. I would rather get a good cut of steak and have less than have a larger steak that is cheaper that I don’t enjoy. Dinner is usually some type of protein, 1 carb, 2 or 3 vegetables plus a salad. We do most of our produce/grocery shopping at Costcos weekly and just use our local grocery store for things like milk, peanut butter (organic) etc. In the summer we visit our local farmers market, and I try to grow the veggies we like in the back garden. We have found over the years that if we buy the things we like, there is very little waste and the family looks forward to meals.
March 28, 2013 at 7:15 am
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