Saturday Share - Save Big Bucks on Food, Part 1

Image by Pabitra Kaity, Pixabay

Everyone is trying to cut back on spending, but it can be difficult to reduce spending on food. We all have to eat, but there is a way to save money in this area.

By saving money, I don't mean nickels and dimes. This can save you big bucks if you really embrace it. I learned all of these strategies when I was young and a new bride, and my husband and I didn't have a thin dime to spare.

Even now, I still use these strategies so I thought I'd share my food management strategy with you.

2 CHANGES REQUIRED

To save on your food budget requires 2 things.

(1) Change how you put meals on the table.

(2) Embrace some or all of these genius food management strategies.

Today, I'm going to discuss the first thing you need to do: Change how you put meals on the table. Next Saturday, I'll discuss those genius food management strategies. This is a long post, but I didn't see any way to make it shorter and still give enough information to get you started.

Both of these changes begin with changing your thinking. These smart food management tips are easy but may be alien to you if your lifestyle regularly includes deli food, takeout and fast food meals, dine-in restaurant meals, and restaurant delivered meals.

Regularly means you do it more than once a week. We all do some of this. 

The trick is to save those "expensive food  events" for special occasions—celebrations or "I worked a 14-hour day and I have a cold and don't feel like working."

Even then there are strategies you can employ to keep from falling into the "expensive food event" trap.

EXPENSIVE FOOD EVENT

Let's think about this. How much does it cost to grab a fast food burger meal for one person? A little less than $10 bucks. If you're feeding a family of 4, that's $30-40. Even if you do that just once a week, you're spending over $100 a month. How much food could that buy at the grocery store for $100? Enough to make far more than 4 meals.

Then most people feel bad about feeding fast food to their families on a regular basis so they opt for a "better" meaning more expensive takeout or delivery meal. It's a vicious circle.

CHANGE HOW YOU PUT MEALS ON THE TABLE

First and foremost, you must commit to cooking at home. 

Every night—or at least more nights than restaurant meals. 

A home-cooked meal tastes better, costs less, and is more nutritious. All of those are good for your family.

Home-cooked meals aren't difficult. A pasta meal costs pennies even if you buy a good quality marinara or meat spaghetti sauce. Most people love pasta. 

Spaghetti, salad, toasted French bread with garlic. Takes 10 minutes to cook pasta, maybe 5 minutes to warm sauce, 5 minutes to toast bread, a couple of minutes to empty a bag of mixed greens into a salad bowl. In less than 30 minutes, you've got a delicious home-cooked meal.

THINK, PLAN, PREP

Today is Saturday, the perfect day to embark upon this challenge that offers so many rewards.

(1) Make the commitment.

(2) Sit down with a calendar and plan a week's worth of simple dinners—easy entrees and side dishes that feature ground beef, rotisserie chicken, and maybe a roast beef in the Crock Pot.

(3)  Make a shopping list if you need ingredients then hit the grocery store. Never go to the grocery store without a list.

This first few weeks, go ahead and buy bags of mixed greens, a good salad dressing, and grab some "freezer" and "storage" food bags too.

(4) When you're home and have your purchases in the kitchen, it's time to either store them away or do a very simple food prep. 

Keep it easy. If you want something other than greens in the sallad bowl, chop and dice now—tomato chunks, cucumber, apple, grapes, etc. 

Bag each separately in small Ziplok storage bags and store in the fridge.

Many things can be prepared in advance so they're ready to go when you cook a meal. For instance, if you plan on having potatoes at any meal, peel, chop, and store in a bag filled with water.

Storing peeled potatoes in water keeps them from turning brown.

When you want to use the potatoes, simply drain, rinse, add fresh water, and cook.

An entire bag of pasta can be cooked in advance. Store in a Ziplok bag or storage container. 

When you want to serve pasta, simple place the amount needed in a pot of boiling water for a couple of minutes, drain, and serve.

Garlic bread can be prepared and toasted in advance. Store in the fridge and reheat in a toaster oven.

(5) When you have food left from a meal, don't think of them as "leftovers" but as Planned Overs. More on this next week, but for now think of a Planned Over meal as the 3rd day re-run of a previously delicious meal.

If you fixed spaghetti for a meal and have sauce and pasta left, don't serve it again the next night. On the third day, serve it again but do something a little different with it. Maybe put it in a casserole dish with slices of cheese on top and bake in the over until the cheese is melted and gooey.

A small amount of meat spaghetti sauce also can be the base of a really delicious Italian style soup or stew.

(6) Rotisserie chicken, the perfect Planned Over.

Best thing is to remove all the chicken immediately. 

Freeze the carcass if you don't have time to make bone broth immediately. 

Serve select pieces the day you buy it, hopefully along with some mashed potatoes and gravy or French fries.

(Buy a bag of frozen fries even though they're much more expensive than making your own,  but this is the "easing into this strategy" phase so it's okay.)

Store the rest in a Ziplok bag. Two days later, make a planned meal like Chicken Casserole—pasta, sauteed onions, cream of mushroom soup, chicken chunks, cheese. Bake and serve hot.

If you have any chicken left after that, skip a day and then serve a chicken dish again, like Chicken Pot Pie. Always save any tiny bits of chicken to small to feature in an entree. You'll use them in soup..

For the first week, you could actually alternate meals using your Planned Over ingredients of meat spaghetti sauce, pasta, and chicken with each meal being different and delicious.

Finish up with the chicken by turning it into Bone Broth. Place it in a stock pot or other large cooking pot, toss in a carrot, onion, and celery if you have it along with optional ingredients like thyme and bay leaf and fill with cold water.

Simmer for a couple of hours. Make sure the water level doesn't reduce more than half. 

Cool, strain, and toss in any tiny bits of chicken you saved. 

Store the resulting bone broth in the fridge and/or freezer. This will make the richest soups, stews, and gravies.

If this inspires you to save on your food budget while increasing the quality of the meals you serve, please leave a comment.

Look for recipes using rotisserie chicken, ground beef, and think of ways to use what's left from the meals you make. I'm always inspired by YouTube cooking videos and really enjoy watching Chopped episodes where chefs must use leftovers rather than pricy ingredients.

I hope you get the whole family involved in this which will teach kids the importance of good nutrition, time management, strategy, and how fun it is to be together and cooking.

TAKEAWAY TRUTH

I hope to see you again next Saturday. In the meantime, run the numbers and compare what you spent previously each week and what this food strategy costs you for a week. Happy cooking!

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