It's often difficult to shop when you only have one or two stores to choose from and have a limited selection.
My hubby and I buy a lot of our veggies and fruit from the local farmer's market which I find is a lot cheaper than the grocery store. I will buy a lot of things like broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, green beens, berries, etc near the end of the season and blanch and freeze them for the winter. We eat more cantaloupe, watermelon, berries, pineapple, kiwi and mangoes at this time as they are cheaper in the summer.
We also shop seasonally - which means the items are less expensive when in season. Strawberries are available here in December but at $4.00 a pint - ridiculous! So in winter we live off whatever I have frozen at the end of the summer and root vegetables such as carrots, beets, parsnips or whatever is on sale (and the occasional can of corn or sweet peas). We also buy things like apples, pears, plums during the winter and take those in lunches or I sometimes make pies out of them.
A good trick for making things like garlic and basil is to chop them up and put the in ice cube trays with a bit of water. Freeze the cubes then transfer to freezer bags. They last for several months and can be used in soups or pasta sauces. Freezing unpeeled fresh ginger in a freezer bag also makes it last for a couple of months. You just cut off what you need for your recipe and pop the rest back in the freezer. If you have a garden, balcony pots or a windowsill in your house you can grow fresh herbs during the summer so you don't have to buy them and fresh basil smells divine! I've also been able to grow cherry tomatoes on an apartment balcony
We shop at health food stores or a store called "The Bulk Barn" where things like pasta, rice, oatmeal, lentils, dried peas, soup mixes and spices are way cheaper. Baking ingredients are also cheaper at these types of stores as you only buy what you need and don't pay for the packaging. I cost me a whole 10 cents for 3 tablespoons of nutmeg whereas at the grocery store it was $2.79 for a small bottle that would have lost it's flavour by the time I got around to using it all.
In the winter I make homemade soup, stews, spaghetti sauce and freeze them to make quick meals during the week or to take to work for lunches.
I've also got a bread maker and use that quite often too for making wholewheat bread. I've also started baking more as I prefer knowing what I am eating. Packaged cakes, cookies and desserts have more sugar, hydrogenated oils and artificial ingredients/chemicals and tend to cost more.
I buy the large blocks of cheese at the store as one half the size is 4.99 and the large one is $6.99 for two dollars more I get twice as much
I then cut the block in 1/2 at home and stick one half in the freezer. I do the same with butter as we use so little of it and freezing it doesn't affect the quality or texture of the butter.
A toaster oven is also a good investment as it uses less electricity than an oven and doesn't heat up the whole kitchen in the summer. Same with a grill like the George Forman grill - it cooks quickly too.
I also stretch out my budget by cutting the amount of meat we eat and using smaller amounts of meat in stir fries, stews, pasta dishes and casseroles or make vegetarian versions of them like lasagna.
We both eat breakfast at home everyday and brown bag our work lunches and this saves a lot of money. That whole "latte factor" can surprise you once you starting adding up muffins, dougnuts and coffee!
Plus you eat a lot healthier at home.
One of the most important and effective things I do is sit down once a week with my cookbooks and meal planner and set up a week's worth of menus for breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks per day for myself and my hubby. I then make a corresponding grocery list. Basically if there isn't a plan for the item we are buying then we don't get it. This reduces impulse shopping and then we only buy what we need for the week - fruit and veggies are no longer left to rot at the bottom of the fridge
By doing this I save money and time at the grocery store and I know exactly what I am making each day so I am not freaking out wondering what to make for dinner when we get home from work. We also rarely eat out now because we prefer home cooked meals and that is another way we save money.
It takes some time, work and practice to get into the habit of meal planning and cooking but to me it is well worth it for both my hubby and I. We have both lost weight, feel better, have more energy, and neither of us have any health problems like cholesterol etc. I look at what we are doing now as preventative medicine for future health.
And no, I'm not Martha Stewart but I do love to cook!
Chron's . . .
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