The WinCo price list has been updated!

Winco does have a few new granola flavors, but they took out their new granola flavors that were on the endcap for two months.  They have also added vanilla beans in their spice section.

The biggest price increases were:
Pecan Halves - Increased from $9.28 to $10.61
Walnut Halves, pieces - Increased from $5.48 to $6.98
Taco Seasoning - Increased from $2.75/lb to $3.79/lb.

Also, something else I noticed as I was updating this list, is WinCo's bulk items that are "on sale" are given a green label. I thought it was interesting that the walnuts and pecan halves were on sale, but in reality their bulk price increased quite a bit from last month.  This may be a precursor to a substantial increase in price...we'll see.

Good Earth-
For those of you who live in Utah, I have decided to add Good Earth to my blog.  Once upon a time I had full list for Good Earth and Sunflower Market, but I think they must have been accidentally deleted.  I gave it a shot to go and write down all the bulk items they carry.  I was able to get through most of the bulk food section before I ran out of time, so the list does not contain the snacks located at the far wall.

I actually really like Good Earth.  I have a friend whose daughters first familiarized me to this store.  She was always bringing in yummy/healthy snacks and I had to know where she was getting them - Good Earth!  This was my first introduction to a real bulk food section, aside from bulk herbs.  Good Earth is a local family owned and operated health food store that has only a handful of stores in Utah.  You just cannot compare them to WinCo.  The bulk section is very different, carrying a broader range of grain, flour, and sweeteners, most of them being organic, and good amount being gluten free.

In my opinion, there is healthy, and then there is really healthy.  To me, Good Earth falls into the really healthy category.  Most of the bulk items are organic and non-GMO, and even a handful of the dried fruit is unsulfured. They used to have more unsulfured dried fruit to choose from, but that was over a year ago that I noticed some change.

If you want to compare prices against Good Earth, I would suggest comparing them with Azure Standard.  Azure Standard has a lot of organic bulk food, many of them being the same to what Good Earth carries.  Azure Standard carries a lot of 25 lb and 50 lb bags of grain and such, but they also sell things in smaller quantities like 1 lb, 2 lbs, 5 lbs, and 10 lbs depending on the product.  They also carry unsulfured dried fruit.

Xanthan Gum-
For those who are on a gluten free diet, Good Earth carries xanthan gum at a considerably lower price than WinCo.  I saw it as I was walking out of the store.  I'm not sure of all the locations, but at the American Fork location, the xanthan gum was located on an end cap nearest the registers as you walk toward the bulk section.  It is in a brown paper bag, and it is being sold for $12.67/16 oz.  That beats WinCo's $17.43/lb by quite a bit.

Our Experiment with “Cheese” Sauce

My kids and I did a test run on several vegan “cheese sauce” recipes that I have collected here and there and voted on the recipes that were our favorites. I’ve been curious about cheese substitute recipes and have tried one or two in the past (I am still experimenting with one that uses beans).

What is in a cheese sauce?

Most of the recipes we came across contained four or more of these ingredients:

Tomatoes

Pimentos

Onion Powder

Garlic Powder

Salt

Nutritional Yeast

Nuts of some sort

Lemon Juice

Red Bell Pepper

I want to find a recipe that appeals not only to me, but to my family. Out of the 5 recipes we tried, we narrowed it down to one. At the time, I didn’t happen to have any red bell peppers or cashews on hand, so none of the recipes we tested called for peppers or cashews.

Now keep in mind that when I ran this “test kitchen” I didn’t tell my kids that this was a substitute for cheese. I let them assume that these were merely different sauces/dips, and I wanted to see which ones they liked the best.  If they were in the mind frame that these were supposed to taste exactly like cheese, they would have been greatly disappointed.  With a bit of altering to our own preference, we were able to create a recipe that everyone was happy with.  None of the recipes I tried ever tasted exactly like cheese. The recipe we ultimately chose had a good taste (similar to that of cheese, with a twist), texture, and thickness.

The sauce does turn a darker orange color once it has been thickened.  It only takes a few minutes to warm and thicken and the sauce can scorch so be careful.

I opened the container of “Cheese Sauce” after it had been refrigerated for several hours and the aroma was not incredibly pleasing.  However, after re-heating it, the cheese sauce was not as potent.  If this happens to you - don’t fret. Just warm it back up and enjoy.

This is great as a stand alone sauce for dipping tortilla chips and raw veggies.  It is also great as a condiment for tacos and burritos.

Sauce blended, but not yet cooked.

Vegan Cheese Sauce

1 cup rice milk (unsweetened), divided

2 Tbsp fresh or canned tomatoes

¾ tsp salt

¼ tsp onion powder

2 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes

1/8 tsp garlic powder

1 Tbsp cornstarch

1/8 cup raw sunflower seeds

2-3 tsp lemon juice

Directions:

1. Blend sunflower seeds in blender/processor until well crushed. Add the tomatoes and ¼ cup rice milk and blend again until smooth. Add remaining ingredients and blend well.

2. Pour into a small saucepan and heat over medium-heat until desired thickness, stirring/whisking frequently.

Makes about 2 cups

Cheese sauce after it is cooked.

Alterations / Substitutes:

• Use cashews in place of sunflower seeds
• Use any milk of choice
• Add cayenne for heat
• Substitute 1 tsp vinegar for 2-3 tsp. lemon juice
• Pre-soak nuts or seeds to make it easier to blend smooth

Building a Food Supply Part 3

Fruits and Vegetables:

Building up a food supply comes with benefits.  For me, an initial supply is necessary.  Having a stock of food and gives me a window of opportunity to restock as sales or group buys arise.  I’m not at the mercy of the current store price if I suddenly run out of butter or flour.  For me, living frugally means planning smart and being one step ahead.

Fruits and vegetables are just as important to have on hand as whole grains and legumes.  These are space consuming, so if your fridge and freezer space are limited, there are a few other options as well.

Fresh:

I like to keep my refrigerator stocked with fresh fruits and vegetables, but space is limited and the variety available is dependent on the season.  There are lots of varieties to choose from in the summer and fall, but as the winter approaches, the produce is more limited and the prices increase. 

Frozen:

I try to have a good amount of frozen fruit and vegetables in my chest freezer, so if I need, I have an accessible variety in the off season, during the tighter budget moments, or when the price of produce is just not within my reach. 

Most times frozen produce that you can buy at the store is more nutritious than fresh.  Frozen produce is typically picked at the peak of ripeness then frozen quickly.  Fresh produce is sometimes harvested before it is even ripe, and even after that, it is stored in a warehouse.  A few of Costco’s frozen vegetables are organic, and the price per pound for organic is actually not bad.  They also have a handful of conventional frozen vegetables as well.  Costco also has a good selection of frozen fruit.  If you are looking for non-typical frozen veggies like greens, squash, or Brussels sprouts, most stores have general frozen vegetable sales pretty regularly.

Throughout the year, stores will have an “extreme sale” on fresh produce, and during those sales, I have purchased many things in larger quantities, storing some in my fridge for immediate use, and freezing the rest for later. If you happen to have an abundant harvest from your own garden, freezing is one way of preserving your produce.  We froze a little bit from our garden, but we mostly gave things away simply because I enjoy sharing.

Fruit is incredibly easy to prep for freezing, but vegetables do take more time.  Once you understand what needs to be blanched, what does not, blanching methods and times, it’s really not too hard.  The National Center for Home Preservation has good information on blanching food has well as other food preservation methods. It’s just a matter of weighing out the time and effort against the money saved to determine if it is worth it.  I have passed up some really great sales on things like broccoli and cauliflower simply because I just didn’t have enough time available to freeze them before they would go bad in my fridge.

Produce that I’ve stored in my freezer are:

Brussels Sprouts

Green Beans

Peppers, hot and sweet

Asparagus

Broccoli

Cauliflower

Celery

Corn on the cob

Pumpkin (pureed)

Summer squash

Peaches

Strawberries

Raspberries

Blackberries

Blueberries

Cantaloupe

Honeydew

Bananas

 Canned:

Canned may not be your first choice, but it is not a bad idea to have some on hand.  Canned food is easy to store, is pretty economical, and has a decent shelf life. Canned goods are also great for an emergency short term supply.

While canned food is not as nutritious as frozen, if nutrition is a concern, there are options.  Read the labels and the ingredients so you know what you are buying.  A lot of canned fruit is packed in syrup, but you can find fruit packed in fruit juice.  Canned vegetables generally have a lot of sodium, but I have also found vegetables with reduced sodium and even sodium free.  Canned tomatoes in many varieties probably take up more shelf space in my house than any other vegetable.  In the case of tomatoes, sometimes the brand does matter.  I have come across plenty of canned tomatoes with more “stuff” added to them than I originally assumed.  Hunt’s seems to be a big one for this.  I’m not exactly sure why, but even generic brand tomatoes seem to have less ingredients than some of the Hunt’s varieties I have come across. 

Dehydrated and Freeze Dried Food:

If properly packaged and stored, these two varieties can last a few years and sometimes even far beyond that.

 

Dehydrating produce is actually pretty easy, even though it is a bit time consuming.  My mother-in-law gave me a dehydrator for Christmas one year, and I was so excited, but I wasn’t quite sure on how to use it.  I pretty much used it to make dried and dehydrated apples.  One evening I came across several YouTube videos from a woman named Tammy (dehydrate2store.com) teaching about dehydrating.  I consider her to be the dehydrating queen.  She dehydrates every type of fruit and vegetable imaginable, and then some.  She answered every question I ever had about dehydrating and she quickly helped me to understand the difference between dehydrating and drying.  While I am in no way at her level, she has inspired me.  I have been able to dehydrate spinach, kale, strawberries, hot peppers, sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower, and several others.

Freeze drying is a different concept that is highly marketed.  The idea is to evaporate all the liquid out of the fruit or vegetable without comprising nutrition.  This method allows the produce to maintain its original shape and size.  I personally don’t buy freeze dried foods.  For the amount that you get, it is quite costly.  One small can is about $10 (depending on the product) and might last two meals if I stretch it, but no more than that.  If you eat the food in its freeze dried state, it is similar in texture to cheese puffs or Styrofoam.  After re-hydrating the food, I have found the texture to be no different than re-hydrating dehydrated food.  Freeze dried food looks prettier than dehydrated, but you can essentially achieve the same result with dehydrating when dehydrating at lower temperatures (under 115 degrees), resulting in a more compact form.

Dehydrating Ideas-

Fruit:

Freeze-Dried Peas

Apples

Apricots

Bananas

Berries

Cherries

Grapefruit

Lemons

Mango

Oranges

Pears

Pineapple

Plums

Dehydrated Peas

Pre-packaged frozen fruit

Vegetables:

Asparagus

Beets

Broccoli

Cabbage

Carrots

Cauliflower

Corn

Cranberries

Dried Strawberries

Greens (spinach, kale, collards)

Mushrooms

Onions

Peas

Potatoes, all varieties

Pumpkin

Squash (Winter and Summer)

Tomatoes

Pre-packaged frozen veggies

Herbs:

All varieties

Variety is Important:

I think that having a variety of fruit and veggies in their different forms are important.  I not only have an immediate supply of food for my family, but I have an emergency supply as well.  Hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and earthquakes are only some natural disasters that affect our nation, and sometimes they even hit in unexpected places.  While the intensity of a disaster can be predicted, the result is something we can never prepare for.  Some people are emotionally stronger than others.  Some people are creative and inventive when given only a minimal amount of supplies.  

Emergency preparedness isn’t only centered around mother nature.  Divorce, bills, death, and illness are only some events that can turn our lives upside-down, leaving us vulnerable.  I know from experience that having even a small supply of food greatly reduces stress during unpredictable events.

With the economy the way it is, and people losing their job without a moment’s notice, I feel lucky that my family can still maintain our self-sufficiency.  My husband has been blessed to be a part of a school that is not cutting teachers.  The administration has worked really hard to budget wisely and for that I am grateful. 

My husband and I have had a time in our life where money was incredibly limited and job availabilities were scarce.  Just one year prior, we had slowly built up a small and simple food supply. The time soon came where that food supply was needed and we used it gratefully.  Even though it didn’t eliminate all of our worries or stress, it did reduce them. 

Everyone has their own story and for me, I am thankful that ours was only a small circumstance.  I would love to maintain a variety of only fresh and frozen fruits and vegetables, but I know that for my family, we need to open more options for those unpredictable situations. Every family and every situation is different.  I recently came across a statement that sums it up: Store what you are willing to eat, and eat what you are willing to store.  It is as simple as that.

Building A Food Supply Part 2

Creating a Food Supply:

Start slow-

The initial start up can be intimidating, but they key isn’t to buy everything at once, especially if you cannot afford it. 

Once a month, evaluate your grocery budget and see if you can make room for one or two pantry items.  For me, I allotted myself $10-$20 a month on buying supplies.  Your monthly purchases can look something like this:

Example 1:      Buying everything

Month 1 - 1 HDPE bucket 

                 1 Gamma lid and 

                 1 PETE container 

                 1 Rubber Mallet 

Month 2 - 25 lb bag Rolled Oats 

                  2-3 lbs Dry Goods (beans, grain, sugar, salt)

Month 3 - 1 HDPE bucket 

                 1 Gamma lid and 

                 1 PETE container

 Month 4 - 25 lb Bag hard white wheat

      or 40 lb Bucket of wheat 

      Bucket opener

Month 5 -  3-4 PETE containers

                  3-4 Varieties of Dry Goods

Continue this process until you have the variety you want. 

Example 2:      Frugal Version

-Save and wash all PETE containers with lids for future use

-Find a local bakery that is willing to sell/give you their used buckets

Month 1 - Find a good price on Gamma Lids and buy 3-4 of them, 

                 especially if it is online (reduce shipping costs).

Month 2 - Purchase buckets if you prefer new buckets, spending 

                 no more than $5 a bucket.

Month 3 - 25 lbs Oats and 2 lbs Dry Goods

Month 4 - 25 lbs Sugar and 2 lbs Dry Goods

Month 5 - 25 lbs Rice and 2 lbs Dry Goods

Adjust food and containers around the sales and your budget.

Example 3:      

No Buckets - Just Containers

-Each month buy or reuse 

2-3 PETE containers  purchase 

and enough dry goods to fill them.

-Continue this each month until 

you have the variety of dry goods you want.

Food Storage / Bulk Food Sales:

Many stores in my area offer Food Storage Events, Case Lot Sales, Bulk Buys, or Group Orders periodically throughout the year.  Sometimes just the label “sale” can entice people enough to just grab and go.  You would think that if it is a store’s “semi-annual sale” (which is highly advertised), it must be a fantastic deal, right?  Unfortunately this is not always the case.  This is where already being familiar with prices comes in handy. 

Some items are a great deal, and are worth buying the whole case for, but some items are not.  Sometimes I can find canned tomatoes, tomato paste, fruit, beans, and soup at lower prices than at the case lot sales.  Sometimes I can even find comparable items at Costco’s retail price for lower than the case lot sale.  Familiarize yourself with prices so you can stock up when the price is right.

What I have learned:

• Grains and beans are cheaper in the summer and early fall and more expensive in the winter.  Of course if it is a bad crop season due to weather conditions, the price of your dry goods is going to increase.
• Buckets, bucket openers, and lids tend to go on sale in late November - December (right after canning season) and once or twice more throughout the year.
• WinCo offers a 10% discount from the bulk section price if you buy the whole bulk bag (25 lb or 50 lb).  It won’t hurt to ask your local health food store if they do something similar.
• If you’re not sure about an item, email the company.  A simple, pleasant inquiry will almost always have a quick reply.  Emailing has answered questions or concerns I have had on certain products, packaging, and labeling.
• Having a variety of dry goods, canned goods, and frozen foods on hand has been better for my family than all dry, all canned, or all frozen.

Building A Food Supply Part 1: Buckets and Containers

The hardest part about frugal shopping is building the initial food supply.  Even with a limited budget, this is possible, but you may need to be creative.  Over the next few days I’ll post methods and ideas that I use for storing food and building a supply without breaking the budget. 

HDPE Food Grade Buckets and Lids:

Bucket Opener

The bottom of my panty is lined with 4 and 5 gallon buckets.  I use buckets because I generally buy the food in a bulk 25 lb or 50 lb bag, and storing it in a large bucket is just easier.  Most buckets don’t come with an easy, snap on lid.  Generally, you have to open the bucket with a special bucket opener and pound the lid back on with a rubber mallet, which can be a pain to get in and out of.  I have purchased wheat from Lehi Roller Mills, and their bucket lids are easy to close without the mallet, but you still need a bucket opener to open them.  Bucket openers are good to have on hand regardless what lid you want to use.  They are typically found in a heavy duty plastic/composite material for around $3-4, but I have also seen them in metal for around $8-10.  The easiest thing for me was to buy a few Gamma Lids.  They have a wide ring that attaches to the bucket, then a gasket lid that screws on air tight. 

Some people have told me that they would never waste their money on the Gamma Lids, but I consider them to be an investment.  They can be pricey, but they work extremely well and the convenience is worth it to me.  The regular sized Gamma Lids fit 4, 5, and 6 gallon buckets.  They are also in the 2 gallon size, but those are harder to find.  I have seen the lids sell for as much as $12 each, but my local Wal-Mart sells them for $4.95 each quite frequently.  We also have a couple other stores like Maceys and Emergency Essentials that sell the Gamma Lids for around $6.00 each during their food storage sales.  Many online retailers sell the lids for under $7.00 each, so shop around and compare prices with the shipping charges.  I have seen the lids priced under $4.00 each if purchased in bulk.

 

Buckets are easy to find.  In Utah, you can find them just about anywhere.  Our WinCo sells them for a decent price and I would assume that other locations in other states would sell them as well.  A few times a year, my Wal-Mart will sell food grade buckets for $3.25.  Many bakeries and orchards are willing to sell or give away the already used buckets if you ask.  Bakeries sometimes have dry goods delivered to them in 5 gallon buckets like grains or flour, which would be preferable over things like frosting or glaze.  Just ask and they can tell you what the bucket was originally used for.

For storing food, buckets need to be food grade with the HDPE recyclable 2 label on the bottom.  I have also seen food grade buckets at Home Depot and Lowe’s as well, but don’t buy the yellow or orange buckets.  They must be food grade, and the price sign will say food grade or food safe.

I use the large 4 and 5 gallon buckets for:

• Unbleached, all-purpose flour
• Wheat Berries
• Sugar
• Rice
• Oats

PET or PETE Plastics:

PETE, sometimes labeled as PET, stands for polyethylene terephthalate.  These are globally recognized as food safe containers. If you look on the bottom of the container, it will have the recycle symbol with 1 in the middle and PETE or PET underneath. 

PETE Plastics are Reusable:

If you are someone who needs to have coordinating containers, WinCo sells ½ gallon and 1 gallon square PETE containers for cheaper than anywhere else I have found.  My WinCo sells the gallon size for around $2.48 each and the ½ gallon for around $1.98 each.  If you are up for reusing containers, most juice and peanut butter containers are recyclable 1 PETE containers.  As long as the PETE containers were only used for food, they can be reused. You can wash them and reuse them for your dried goods.  Many plastic containers found at Costco that contain cookies, nuts, chocolates, popcorn, juice, and spices/herbs are PETE.  These can all be reused.  Simply wash them, dry completely and reuse.  There are so many food products that come in PETE containers.  I think you’ll be surprised as to how many you’ll find. 

There has been so much going around about plastics and BPA as well as other chemicals.  I have done some research about this because I too want to keep my family safe.  Factsonpet.com  is a good website for summing up everything I’ve researched.  If you have any other information on PETE plastics or better storage container ideas, please email me.  I am still learning and would love to be updated on new findings and research.  I have a dear friend who has decided to stop using plastic altogether.  I am not sure as to why, but I am assuming it is somehow related to the chemicals in the plastic.  I am very interested as to what she has learned, and what she is replacing her plastic with.

Items I store in PETE containers:

• Rice Blends
• Flour, whole wheat, rye
• Sugar, easier container to manage than the bucket
• Sea Salt
• Corn Meal
• Dry Beans, all varieties
• Farina (Cream of Wheat)
• Steel Cut Oats
• Multi-Grain Cereal (steel cut and rolled)
• Durum Wheat
• Bulk Corn Starch
• Bulk Herbs and Spices
• Millet
• Split Peas
• Lentils
• Barley
• Rye
• Triticale
• Chick Peas
• Dehydrated Vegetables
• Pasta

Label Containers with Helpful Information:

Labeling containers makes items easier to find.  If I need a quick reference on how to prepare certain foods, I print the instructions on paper, and tape it to the container with clear packing tape, completely covering the paper for protection.  This makes it easier for me without having the hassle of flipping through my recipe book.

5 Ways to Support Your Local Farmers

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Supporting your local farms, orchards, and ranches isn’t necessarily inexpensive, but is very important.  A portion of the extra $20-$30 you put aside each month can go towards supporting your local agriculture.  You don’t have to involve yourself in everything if you can’t afford it.  Even a little bit of support goes a long way.  Not only are you supporting your local agriculture, but you are benefiting from great tasting, fresh food that you know where it came from.

1. Farmers Markets

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Farmers Markets are offered in the fall.  Homegrown produce tastes better than store bought by a long shot.  Farmers markets are generally reasonably priced, and often, the food is organic.  Venture out and see which venues you like best. 

2. CSA - Community Supported Agriculture

The CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) is another way to support local farmers. In a CSA you can purchase a full share or half share in exchange for produce, and even sometimes meat, milk, cheese, eggs, and plants, depending on the individual farms/gardens.  Some places even have reduced prices if you volunteer to work in their gardens/fields.  Utah has its own website of statewide CSAs available at CSAutah.org.  It was easy to find, so searching for a CSA in your state should be fairly easy.

3. Bountiful Baskets

Bountiful Baskets is a co-op that supports national agriculture.  Bountiful Baskets is a community co-op that runs strictly of volunteers.  The produce comes from different farmers in different states, including Arizona, Colorado, California, Idaho, Texas, Utah, and Washington. 17 states currently offer Bountiful Baskets within their communities.  More information about Bountiful Baskets can be found at BountifulBaskets.org/.

4. Local Farms, Ranches, Orchards, and Co-op

Family farms don’t stop at vegetables and plants.  Many also offer honey, eggs, bread, grain, jam/jelly, syrup, nuts, berries, and fruit from the orchard.  Local ranchers offer grass fed animals; processed and unprocessed.  Last year, about half of my grain supply came from a local farmer that put together a co-op.  LocalHarvest.org is a great website for information and nationwide locations to your nearest CSA, farmers’ markets, Co-ops, family farms, and ranches. 

5. Buy Produce That Comes From Your State

In Utah, produce, dairy, and other products sold in grocery stores that come from local agriculture are labeled as “Utah’s Own”.  I don’t know how many states have a similar set up, but recognize where your food is coming from.  Try to support your state agriculture as much as possible by purchasing food that is state grown.

9 Ways to Lower Your Grocery Bill

Groceries are getting more and more expensive, and unfortunately the economy is such, that our salaries are not increasing.  People are looking for areas in their budget that they can slim down on, and a lot of times the food budget can be tighten without having to sacrifice too much.

1. Start out with a list .

           

Making a shopping list may seem obvious, but there are actually more people than you may realize that don’t use a list.  Even if you think you can remember everything without writing it down, I still recommend creating a list.  Focusing on your list will blur out unnecessary promotions and other distractions, making your shopping trip faster and help you stay within your budget. 

I’ve gone to the grocery store many times where I find new things on the end caps.  End caps are there to show you items in the store that may easily be thrown into the cart without a second thought.  I wish I could blame my husband for the times where unnecessary items have been thrown into my cart, but he’s not the shopper -- I am.  I have been guilty of buying items I didn’t plan for, and items we don’t usually eat.  For me, focusing on my list distracts me just enough to curb my temptation to spend extra money.

If you need help making a list, there are many websites similar to savvyshopperdeals.com, where lists can be generated according to store sale items that you select.  Savvyshopperdeals.com has so far my first choice.  It’s easy to navigate and it allows you to narrow search results down to specific categories or price groups. 

2. Determine what your necessities are.

Necessities are different from household to household, so determining what your necessities are is up to you.  Necessities are items you can’t live without if you run out suddenly.  With a little planning, most non-grocery necessities can be purchase at reduced prices.

3. Familiarize yourself with prices.

This may seem daunting at first, but familiarizing yourself with grocery prices will be a valuable asset.  Start with a couple items of food that you purchase consistently, and pay attention to the price they are sold for.  After a few times of doing this, knowing the retail price and typical sale price will soon become automatic. This will pay off greatly in the end.  Stores do have unadvertised sales.  It is to your advantage to know whether it is a good price or not.  Also, understand that sales are not created equal.  Determine what sale prices you are willing to purchase items at.  As this becomes routine for you, you will soon pick up certain times of the year that certain products are at their lowest price.

4.  Shop around the sales, not around the meals.

           

Menus should be flexible.  Know what is on sale and adjust your menu according to your shopping list.  There may be that inevitable specialty item that your recipe calls for, but the overall cost will be reduced if you only had to pay full price for that one item.  If you know you can get ingredients at a better price, then just wait. 

In my home, we go through tomatoes like crazy.  The common non-sale price in my area is roughly $1.20 - $1.50/lb.  While some people in my household feel that tomatoes are a necessity, they are not.  There are plenty of other groceries I can substitute while I wait for a better price.  Most often I can purchase tomatoes (salad, beefsteak, roma, and tomatoes on the vine) for .50/lb, once in a while I can purchase them for .33/lb, and sometimes they will come up on sale for .25/lb.  Even if I purchase them at .50/lb, the savings is worth it.

5.  If it will save you time and money -- price match.

Yes, I know this is a touchy subject.  Some people are fine with price matching groceries, while others strongly disagree. 

Determine what is more realistic for you.  Is it feasible for you to run from store to store, or is price matching more realistic?  

I was never the price matching type until about two years ago.  We moved from the suburbs where stores were within an arm’s reach, out to a more rural area.  The closest grocery store is 15 minutes away -- and this is with two light signals and no traffic.  Ironically that closest store happens to be Wal-Mart.  I tried really hard my first year at our new house to drive from store to store, but it was just crazy.  It was an all day ordeal and depending on the store’s sale, some of the items I traveled so far to buy, were out of stock.  This ended up wasting my gas, thus lowering my food budget for the month.  If I drive to my local Wal-Mart and they don’t have the item I hoped to buy, then I have to assess the situation:  Is it worth driving to the actual store, or can I just go without it?

6.   Stock up when you can.

I always try and take $20 from my grocery budget each month and put it in an envelope for bulk buys.

My family doesn’t eat nearly as much meat as we used to, but when meat goes on sale, I try and stock up.  We bought a small chest freezer several years ago that we keep stocked with meat, vegetables, and fruit.  Chicken is a most typical example.  In my area, boneless skinless chicken breasts go on sale quite a bit.  The sale price is anywhere from $1.23/lb to $1.49/lb.  I’ll purchase it in larger quantities and store it in my freezer. 

A few days ago, green bell peppers were on sale for .33 each and I bought 9 of them.  Four of them are in my fridge and the other five I washed, diced, and stored in the freezer.  Blackberries were also another item that I stocked up on this month.  They were on sale for .88 each for a 6 oz clamshell, so I bought 12, washed 7 packages of blackberries and froze them.  Last month I bought an extra 20 lb bag of red potatoes that was on sale for $3.00 and I went to a local orchard that sold a bushel of irregular Fuji apples for $6.00.  I don’t have a basement to store them in like most of my neighbors, so they are in my garage, covered in a blanket for extra protection from the cold.

Know what you can stock and what you can’t.  If it is canned or boxed, make sure you can eat through the supply before it reaches the expiration date.  If it is fresh produce, know how much of it you can buy before it goes bad.   If you are careful with choosing your apples and potatoes, they can last for a several months if stored in a cool place.  Avocados can also last a couple of months if bought when they are green and stored in your fridge. Set them out on your counter to ripen and they will be ready in 2-4 days.

7. Make meals from scratch.

I have always loved a home cooked meal.  For me, there is nothing better than mashed potatoes made from actual potatoes and freshly baked rolls.  It is so easy to make mashed potatoes, but it does take a little more time than the 2 minute instant version.  In the end it is more delicious, more nutritious, and cheaper to make. 

I understand that schedules are crazy and spending time preparing a meal that takes more than 30 minutes can be almost impossible for some people.  Running to the freezer section and grabbing an already prepared meal is so easy, but the cost adds up fast. Replacing just one of those convenient meals with a home cooked meal is a start. 

When I was first married, Hamburger Helper and Bisquick were my friends.  Bisquick was very versatile and Hamburger Helper was a quick meal in a box.  After a while though, the boxed dinner wasn’t very appetizing.  With my mother-in-law’s help, I was able to experiment with her recipes, making delicious biscuits and pancakes from scratch.  Now I have made my fair share of disastrous meals, but with my husband’s enduring patience, I have been able to find simple, healthy meals that my family enjoys. 

8. Cut down on eating out.

Frequent eating out can easily put a dent in the food budget.  If one person was to eat out for lunch 4 times a week and limited it to $5 each time, it would cost $80/month -- $960/year before taxes.  If a mother and her two young children grabbed lunch 3 times a week, spending $13 total each time, they would have spent $156/month.  That’s almost $2000 year for just the mother of two.  If your finances are tight, imagine what you could have done with an extra $2000.  Bringing a sack lunch or leftovers to work is not the end of the world.  It typically costs only a fraction of what eating out would cost.  It’s all about balance.  Decide how much you are willing to change.

9.  If you can, plant a garden. 

This is a topic that I can go into detail about later.  I have had three years of trial and error with our garden.  Our soil was so bad; we couldn’t even call it soil.  My husband added a sprinkler system in our backyard our first summer, and the trenches he dug were perfect.  We didn’t ever have to worry about them caving in because our dirt has so much clay in it.  They were as hard as a rock.  We have had to amend the soil and bring in lots of compost for our garden.  This last spring was surprisingly successful.  My neighbor teased me of all the different varieties of squash we were growing.  She said that we must really like squash.  My response was that this was our third attempt at gardening and I wanted to make sure that we were able to grow something.  Squash is supposed to be very easy to grow, and from my experience, it is. 

Experimenting with a garden is a good idea, so you can know exactly what to do if it ever becomes a necessity.  For me, tending to my garden is relaxing and enjoyable.  It lets me step away from my kids for a moment and gives me chance to see some amazing aspects of nature.  There is no better feeling than to see the product of your hard work and care.  For the unprofessional gardener (like me), youtube.com has very helpful tutorials, ideas, and methods of gardening.