Tag Archives: frugal food

What is the Dirty Dozen List?

One of my little frugal dreams is to one day walk into a store and see plump juice organic strawberries for very little cost. That dream may have a hard time being actualized, since organic strawberries, even when in season, can get expensive. Conventional strawberries, on the other hand, may be on sale or even available as a “loss leader,” an item that the store loses money on in the hopes of getting shoppers in the door. Still, it is a rare day when I buy conventional strawberries. They are just too high on the list of produce with the … Continue reading →

Cheap Food for a Large Crowd: Snacks

Whether you are hosting an event or just trying to feed your large family, being able to prepare good, inexpensive food in large quantities is important if you want or need to keep your food budget from exploding. Here are some ideas for frugal food recipes. With our family or five, we need a large refrigerator that can hold at least three or four gallons of milk for the week. In addition to our kids, we often have a few extras over at dinner or lunch, especially on the weekends. So, I’m starting to get good at producing inexpensive meals … Continue reading →

Where to Buy Food

If you are tired of the high prices at your local grocery store, try the following places to by food. You may just find your grocery bill shrinking while your stock pile increases. Dollar Store People tend to be a little hesitant about purchasing groceries at a dollar store. I am not exactly sire why this is the case. After all, you can see the expiration dates on the food and check them. I guess it is just the association of cheap stuff and food. Most of the brands will be generics, but there are also quite a few name … Continue reading →

Beware of the Grocery Store Sales Aisle

Most grocery stores these days feature a sales aisle where you can conveniently shop all of the sales at once. While this seems like it could be so convenient, you just run in and pick up the sales and then go before you are tempted to buy anything else, it can actually sabotage your grocery budget and make you spend more. Her are my reasons to avoid the sales aisle at all costs. Oh the Temptation Hey did you notice that crackers were on sale? You just can’t pass that one up, even though crackers weren’t on your list. The … Continue reading →

Three Recipe Ideas for Overripe Fruit

You may have heard me say this before. Americans routinely toss out 25 percent of their food! Can you believe it? A good portion of that waste can be attributed to produce that goes bad before it can be used. Here are three recipe ideas that you can use to use up overripe fruit instead of tossing it out. There are other ways we waster food. We just tossed a huge bag of chocolate chips (my kids will eat whole wheat and flax as long as it has chocolate chips in it) because of our recent mouse problems. Boy did … Continue reading →

Freezer Cooking Tips

Ready to start some freezer cooking? It can save you quite a bit of money when you take advantage of bulk buying and having meals prepared ahead of time. Here are some basic freezer cooking tips that you can use to get started. Go Easy on the Spices Some spices can change or grow stronger when placed in the freezer. Make sure to season lightly. You can usually add more spices when reheating. Know How to Reheat Some foods, especially dairy, may separate when frozen. This usually isn’t a problem if you keep sauces separate from the other parts of … Continue reading →

When Stockpiling Doesn’t Make Sense

Stockpiling is a good way to save money. Having things on hand that you bought on sale gives you the insurance that you won’t have to buy something at full price out of obligation because you’ve run out of the item. Stockpiling food in a pantry can also ensure that there is always something that you can cook at home, eliminating the need to run out and buy and expensive restaurant or take out meal. But, there are some times when stockpiling just doesn’t make sense. Here is a guide that you can compare against your own stockpiling habits to … Continue reading →

Inexpensive Options for Snacking Out

Even though we try to eat at home most of the time to save money, the reality is that we have kids. And, even though we can feed them before the house, the reality is that there are often frequent “snack attacks” when the kids get hungry. I try to prepare for this fact by keeping a cooler by the door that is filled with water, granola bars, crackers, fruit, etc. that can be grabbed when we leave the house. Inevitably, though, we sometimes get caught with being away from home without snacks. With three hungry kids, as well as … Continue reading →

How to Have Healthy but Cheap Food

Many people on tight budgets forego healthy food because they think it is expensive. While some organic choices and produce can cost more than some processed foods, the truth is that there are many good ways to eat healthy but cheaply. Substitutes Instead of buying inexpensive white bread (it is cheaper than whole grain) learn how to make your own wheat bread. A bread maker can be picked up at Target or even a thrift store. Just add the ingredients and let the machine do the work. Hot dogs are cheap, but they are loaded with nitrates, preservatives, fats and … Continue reading →

Low Cost Recipes

Groceries are one of the biggest expenses in a typical family’s budget. You can easily spend $200 a week or more for a family of four. Finding ways to cut the grocery bill can make a big impact on your food bill. The first thing to do of course is to cut out a lot of the processed foods. But once that is done, how can you create meals for your family that are nutritious and low cost? One way to do this to to take advantage of the knowledge of others and then apply it to your own family. … Continue reading →