In Part 1 of this series, I introduced 5 simple suggestions for reducing your grocery bill while maintaining healthy menu options. Today, I complete this series with five more easy tips!
6. Brinner!
That’s ‘breakfast for dinner’ at our house. Omelets, fruit, and homemade bread (I got me a bread maker at Goodwill recently for $5 – told you I was cheap) are my go-to foods on this night. Eggs are fantastically cheap, nutritious, and so easy to cook. I like to do brinner at the end of the week to use up all the odd amounts of deli meats, cheese, and veggies we have floating around the fridge. Waste not!
7. Make friends with your slow cooker.
I love a good steak on the grill but serving it up to the family is costly. When I slow cook, I can use cheaper cuts of meats like bottom roasts and stew meat. The results are fantastic, preparation a breeze, and we don’t have to sacrifice meat eating altogether.
8. Cook once, eat twice.
Now that you are stretching your meals using the techniques I’ve outlined (in Part 1) and using your slow cooker like a pro, get some gallon freezer bags and start stuffing! From now on you will no longer drive home thinking, “What are we going to eat for dinner? Drive-thru?” Home cooked meals will always be in your freezer! Be sure to label each bag with the name of the dish as well as the date it was made. Lay it flat until it freezes solid so you can then stack your meals neatly in the freezer.
9. Coupon where you can
Again, skip the processed food garbage but do take the savings on healthy foods where you can get them. I routinely see coupons for frozen vegetables (yes, not great on their own but perfect for casseroles and pasta dishes), canned tomatoes, whole wheat pastas, cereals, oatmeal, and other healthy items. More importantly, use coupons to get your health and beauty items, paper products, diapers, etc. for cheap or even free. Reducing this portion of your budget means you will have more to spend on healthy foods.
Note: Coupons can also be a fantastic opportunity for ministry. Since prepared foods can be purchased so cheaply with coupons, consider using coupons for such items and then donating them to your local food bank or starting a food pantry at your church to serve those in need. You may not want to eat prepared/processed food but it can be a blessing to someone else.
10. Just say NO to dining out
Restaurant food is loaded with bad stuff and very overpriced. ‘nough said.
Don’t forget to add your favorite money saving tips to our comments section!
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Jamie
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