Does anybody meal plan/spend very little on groceries?

[~Amanda~]

Better yet, can you help me to learn? I need to do better with our $ spent on groceries. Dh was laid off last week, and I need to cut stuff out. We still haven't managed all of our books for homeschooling this year, so we're already struggling. any helpful information would be appreciated. We try to eat "real food" more traditional, WAPF, but honestly? I don't know if that can be maintained.

[anmom]

We eat "real food" on a budget, so it can be done! What helps me the most is menu planning and sticking to that. You are welcome to PM me and I can try to answer any specific questions you have.

[angela in ohio]

I used to make a meal plan and then buy for that, but I found it is *much* cheaper to stock a pantry with what is on sale or in season, and then plan meals from that.

 

One thing I also did that helped was to figure out the price per serving of different items. For example, if my dc could pick eggs and toast, or cereal and yogurt, or oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, which was cheaper? If it was a significant difference, then I mandated the number of times each was eaten.

[curlylocks]

I used to make a meal plan and then buy for that, but I found it is *much* cheaper to stock a pantry with what is on sale or in season, and then plan meals from that.

 

 

 

:iagree: -- I started shopping at a liquidation center and then shopping sales. I also cut WAY back on paper products such as towels, napkins and plates.

 

I also stopped buying sandwich bags and we now use reusable sandwich and snack containers in DH's lunchbox.

[Random]

Better yet, can you help me to learn? I need to do better with our $ spent on groceries. Dh was laid off last week, and I need to cut stuff out. We still haven't managed all of our books for homeschooling this year, so we're already struggling. any helpful information would be appreciated. We try to eat "real food" more traditional, WAPF, but honestly? I don't know if that can be maintained.

 

 

A few websites I like for this kind of thing:

Budget101

Heavenly Homemaker

Dollar Stretcher

 

Best wishes to you. I'm sorry to hear about your husband's layoff. :grouphug:

[Audrey]

IRT shopping to a meal plan... It is better if you look through the local sales flyers first, then meal plan according to what you know is available cheaply that week. Also, look in your pantry to make best use of what you have on hand.

 

So... sales flyer + pantry = meal plan for the week. Then, make your shopping list and stick to it.

 

If you are stuck for ideas on how to meal plan from the sales and your pantry, there are several recipe sites that have a search feature that allows you to select or input what you already have and it will generate recipes for you based on that. The search feature at All Recipes is one of my faves. And, remember that you can freely adapt or substitute in recipes. I rarely follow a recipe exactly, but rather use those recipes as ideas/suggestions.

 

Disclaimer: It is true that we grow an awful lot of our own food, but we have a short growing season for produce, and we only raise a few cattle and hogs. I do know what it is like to have to shop and plan and, I certainly know what it feels like to have to pinch pennies so hard they scream. ;)

[~Amanda~]

I like the "pantry shopping idea" and buying whats on sale when its on sale. like, last week chicken packages were buy 1 get 1 for a penny, so we bought like 8 lbs of chicken for the freezer. we're set in chicken lol.

[Audrey]

:iagree: -- I started shopping at a liquidation center and then shopping sales. I also cut WAY back on paper products such as towels, napkins and plates.

 

I also stopped buying sandwich bags and we now use reusable sandwich and snack containers in DH's lunchbox.

 

:iagree: with this as well. I use plastic containers to freeze things, too. It takes up more space than flat plastic bags, but it saves a surprising amount of money. Instead of paper towels, use rags. Cloth napkins are very nice to use, IMO. I get to feel a little bit posh. :001_smile: And, we never used paper plates, but if you do, that would be an easy one to give up, I'd think.

 

You could also save a bit if you reduce the variety of cleaners you use in your home. I use ammonia cut with water for the kitchen and bathroom. It cleans and disinfects and cuts grime and cleans mirrors/windows very well. If that's too strong for you, vinegar & water does a decent job, too. I use that for other rooms. Either of those can replace any general purpose cleaners you buy.

[~Amanda~]

I use bronners and vinegar for nearly all cleaning. we cloth diaper, cloth napkin, and SOME of us even us family cloth. I use mama cloth.... we never buy paper plates or cups...

[Audrey]

I like the "pantry shopping idea" and buying whats on sale when its on sale. like, last week chicken packages were buy 1 get 1 for a penny, so we bought like 8 lbs of chicken for the freezer. we're set in chicken lol.

 

That's great! You can meal plan from that. Chicken will freeze up to 3 months, so you don't have to use it all at once. You can spread it out. Keep an eye out for great deals like that and you'll soon have a good stock from which to meal plan, leaving you less and less shopping to do weekly.

 

Another thought is to incorporate more meat-free meals and/or meals that use far smaller portions of meat. Pasta dishes are good for that, as are casseroles. That will just help stretch your most expensive items a bit further.

[~Amanda~]

bacon is meat candy.

[Wabi Sabi]

I used to make a meal plan and then buy for that, but I found it is *much* cheaper to stock a pantry with what is on sale or in season, and then plan meals from that.

.

 

Absolutely

 

Also, we eat very seasonly. There was a time this spring when asparagus was $0.99/lb. Most of our main meals involved a meat/protein + asparagus for a week or so. That also coincided with the pineapple season and at $0.99 each we ate lots of those too. We buy produce at the peak of its season when it's at it's cheapest, enjoy it and know that it won't be back for another year. A few weeks ago it was zucchini- everyone wants to give away extra zucchini it seems. Right now it's tomatoes: tomatoes and cottage cheese, tomato sandwiches, tomato sauces, tomato everything. Cucumbers and peppers round it out. Cherries, peaches and nectarines are also in season and cheap so those are the main fruits the kids have been snacking on.

 

The other thing that saves us a ton of money is shopping at a bakery thrift store for all of our breads. The same good quality whole wheat bread that is $4.50 at the grocery store can be bought 5/$4 at the bread store. I buy a dozen or so loaves at a time and keep it in the freezer until needed. I'm convinced that's it more cost effective than making our own bread!

[Audrey]

Yep. One of my local stores regularly runs specials on chicken quarters. This week they have them for .29 a pound. I often use those for soup.

 

Sometimes they have pork loin for 99 cents a pound (15 pound minimum) and they will cut it for you for no extra charge. So basically 99 cent per pound pork chops!

 

I recently bought a meat grinder attachment for my Kitchenaid. I just tried it today in fact. We eat a lot of ground turkey. But you figure per pound they charge quite a bit. So I have turkeys in the freezer I bought when on sale (one for 59 cents per pound in fact). I ground up the larger pieces of meat and threw the rest in the crock pot for stock/soup. I'll get about 6 meals out of a 10 pound turkey that cost me .59 cents per pound.

 

 

You can make very fancy speciality sausages with that, you know? If you hand roll them before cooking, you don't necessarily need to bother with casings. Or, they can be patties or sausage balls.

 

My favourite recent sausage experiment was chicken and rice sausage. I ran the chicken, cooked rice, minced garlic, fresh parsley, black pepper, salt and dried chilie through the grinder. I cased some (I do have a sausage stuffer) and made the rest into tiny patties. It was goooooood stuff! I like playing with sausage!

[Audrey]

Absolutely

 

Also, we eat very seasonly. There was a time this spring when asparagus was $0.99/lb. Most of our main meals involved a meat/protein + asparagus for a week or so. That also coincided with the pineapple season and at $0.99 each we ate lots of those too. We buy produce at the peak of its season when it's at it's cheapest, enjoy it and know that it won't be back for another year. A few weeks ago it was zucchini- everyone wants to give away extra zucchini it seems. Right now it's tomatoes: tomatoes and cottage cheese, tomato sandwiches, tomato sauces, tomato everything. Cucumbers and peppers round it out. Cherries, peaches and nectarines are also in season and cheap so those are the main fruits the kids have been snacking on.

 

The other thing that saves us a ton of money is shopping at a bakery thrift store for all of our breads. The same good quality whole wheat bread that is $4.50 at the grocery store can be bought 5/$4 at the bread store. I buy a dozen or so loaves at a time and keep it in the freezer until needed. I'm convinced that's it more cost effective than making our own bread!

 

 

We eat seasonally, too. We kind of have to. When the garden is ready, the garden is ready. I do can and freeze a lot of it, but when there is fresh stuff, we eat it! Shopping in season does save money, but it also makes you appreciate food more, IMO. You look forward to that asparagus, or those acorn squashes, or those gorgeous cherries, or what have you.

[melissad2]

bacon is meat candy.

 

:iagree:

[ereks mom]

I only buy meat when it's sale. I stock up and plan my menu according to what's in the freezer. I also shop at Aldi and Save-A-Lot for canned goods, crackers, chips, etc. My in-laws have a garden, and they also alert us to deals at the farmer's market, so every summer we stock our freezer with produce.

[Soror]

I used to make a meal plan and then buy for that, but I found it is *much* cheaper to stock a pantry with what is on sale or in season, and then plan meals from that.

 

One thing I also did that helped was to figure out the price per serving of different items. For example, if my dc could pick eggs and toast, or cereal and yogurt, or oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, which was cheaper? If it was a significant difference, then I mandated the number of times each was eaten.

 

:iagree:

That is what I do as well now.

[MiniBlondes]

I coupon for many things (I refuse to buy laundry detergent or toothpaste EVER again). I shop at Aldi for meat and produce and things that I can't coupon for. It's SO much cheaper! Combining these things with a meal plan, I can feed my family of 4 with about $50/week and we eat WELL. I cook from scratch about 5 nights a week.

 

Here are a few quick ways we cut back.

Coupon

Shop at Aldi

We stopped buying paper towels. We use rags instead.

We make our own soaps and dish detergent whenever possible.

I won't buy drinks/juice boxes for the kids. I buy frozen juice and make 2 jugs a week. That's a total of $2 instead of $10!

Pasta... lots of pasta.

Buy frozen chicken breasts in a bag instead of the fresh ones.

If all else fails... RAMEN! :lol:

[~Amanda~]

we don't have an aldi. or a costco. or a savealot. we have walmart, our local grocery chain brookshires, and sams club. I don't have a sams membership.

 

we've not had success with making our own laundry detergent. I do make our own toothpaste. we mostly drink coffee tea kombucha and water kefir, sometimes coconut water.

[Desert Strawberry]

Here's my very in-depth blog post on eating good food on a tight budget http://cajunstrawberry.blogspot.com/2012/04/how-to-spend-less-on-groceries-without.html

[anneofalamo]

Menus are mucho important in our home.

Breakfast has the options, if you can cook it, you can have it. If not, you have cereal or pull a premade (I make tons of french toast, pancakes and freeze) and pop in toaster.

Lunches are left overs or sandwich

Dinners are planned.

 

The number one loss of money for us, was waste of food. Vegi's rotten, fruit not eaten, left overs gone bad.

Saturdays are FEND for, you get only what is in those containers.

I can stretch a pork roast for 3 meals: BBQ sandwiches, burritos, and then into red enchiladas.

Left over chicken is put in casseroles or soups.

hamburgers can be broke down and put in burritos, toss them on the skillet and some sauce(cream of shroom soup) and smothered burritos with some ever ready refried beans.

meatless dinners are a welcome treat

Breakfast (eggs and pancakes or omelets made with left over bits of vegi's and meat) are a great dinner

I have 7 children and 4 are teens!! They can eat, one of the things we also do is a mid afternoon snack (on the menu) todays was one package of pepperoni split 7 ways, cheese (cut off a block) and crackers. It takes away the hungry hungry at dinner, and makes for a nice afternoon. We have yogurt (I buy big containers and put in little bowls), or fruit cocktail, cheese quesidillas, celery and pnut butter, and for a treat I get bag of chicken nuggets, they get 3-4 with grapes. It isn't a meal but a snack.

[FO4UR]

I have been very lazy lately, but I have lived on a tiny food budget for long periods of time.

 

 

My biggest down-fall is the need for quick, last-minute meals b/c when your food budget is that low, you are inevitably short on time for cooking....b/c you are probably trying to save $ in other ways (like preparing your own school materials:tongue_smilie:). Balance what saves the most $, kwim. It's worth either the lack of nutrition (serving Ramen) or the spending an extra $ (serving easy-to-fix) for a night in order to dedicate time in ways that save $$$.

 

 

I always buy meat on sale, and I usually put it straight into the freezer. I have my recipes for cookies and pancakes. I never buy these things from the store. I can use good WW flour and pack some nutrition while saving $. I make breads too, but the cost of 100% WW bread has gone down so much that it's more for taste than economics. (Read: I buy bread most weeks.)

 

 

Make a list of meals that your family likes. List out the main ingredients for those, and start searching for good sales and stock your pantry well. Learn to make things efficiently. Cook up big batches of ground beef, grilled chicken, etc...and freeze in family-meal-size portions so you can whip out already cooked meat to add to your meals. Add beans when possible. Reduce the amount of meat slowly. I buy frozen veggies at no more than $1 per pound...with the exception of broccoli (and I only buy florets) b/c it's such a good nutritious veggie that my kids will actually eat.

 

 

Get multiple meals out of one. Eat a roast chicken one night, and have chicken noodle soup the next. Make the broth out of the carcass. Use leftover veggies in the soup so that the 2nd night's meal is practically free. Leftover spaghetti turns into a "pasta bake" miraculously after sprinkling some moz.cheese on top and reheating in the oven. Leftover spaghetti sauce can be used to make pizza boats. Pull out "leftovers" before serving the meal to be used later.

 

 

Lock away pantry snacks. Pop your own popcorn on the stovetop and let that be eaten freely. (It's so much better than microwave popcorn...yum!)

 

 

My only warning: Try to vary the meals, even if you are using mostly the same ingredients. My dc will not touch spaghetti now...we survived the unemployed and underemployed months and we haven't eaten spaghetti since. It's too bad b/c it is such a cheap and easy meal. sigh!

[cjzimmer1]

Better yet, can you help me to learn? I need to do better with our $ spent on groceries. Dh was laid off last week, and I need to cut stuff out. We still haven't managed all of our books for homeschooling this year, so we're already struggling. any helpful information would be appreciated. We try to eat "real food" more traditional, WAPF, but honestly? I don't know if that can be maintained.

 

 

Well I know this won't be popular but have you considered applying for food stamps. I know many people don't want to rely on government assistance but it truly meant the difference between having enough to eat and not when my DH was laid off.

 

Other things that we use to keep costs down. I do not have an open kitchen. Children are NOT allowed to help themselves to food. We have 3 meals a day plus a snack. If I know someone hasn't been feeling well/not eating or has had an exceptionally active day or is on a growth spurt, I will get them extra food but I will decide what. They are allowed to ask i they are hungry but they have to accept the answer may very well be no.

 

Reason why - We had a kid staying here for a week while I was gone and he and my oldest went through more food in a week than our family of 7 does and of course they didn't eat oatmeal or rice they ate the entire container of ice cream that I bought that would have lasted our family through 2 full birthday celebrations. They raided the expensive yogurt I bought (at $1.00 a container. I don't buy this except I'm on an antibiotic and I'm pregnant and I'm trying to make sure my intestine tract stays healthy while dealing with a stomach that is very finicky about what will stay down) They went through enough frozen fruit that it was easily a months supply of what I would have added to their morning oatmeal. Etc.

 

Also my kids will eat A LOT more food of something they like versus something they think is just okay. If I don't do portion control they will easily eat double the amount of food just because they like it. If they eat oatmeal for breakfast the total morning cost with fruit is probably about $2.00 and they can have as much as they want (2-3 bowls each depending on the kid). If I were to let them eat as much as they want of cold cereal they would go through 2-3 boxes which would easily cost $5.00 or more depending on the kind.

 

I also buy things in bulk. I find my best prices are at places outside of grocery stores. Amish stores are cheap, food co-op tend to sell big bags of things, even farmer's markets especially at the end of the day can yield big pay offs if you take a lot of something. Earlier this year I was at one where they started off selling snow peas for $5.00 a pound, at the end of the day they were $4.00 a pound. As he was packing up, I got them to sell me everything left on the table for $10.00 and he threw in a bunch of rhubarb for free (it was selling for $3.00 a bunch). I got home and weighed the peas and there was over 7 pounds. We were able to eat them all fresh or in stir fries but if we hadn't they are very easy to freeze for future use so either way nothing would go to waste. And the rhubarb made some very tasty muffins.

 

At least once a week we have dabs and doodles meal, usually on the weekend. Whatever small bits of leftovers are left are used up. No one will get served the same exact combination. I take into consideration who like what as well as making sure everyone gets a meat, a starch, and a veggie or two but otherwise everyone is surprised cause they just don't know what they will be served till their plate is set in front of them.

 

We also live by "You get what you get and you don't through a fit" I'm not a chef, we don't live in a restaurant, and you don't get to decide what you will eat for a meal. I know some consider it harsh but it's a sanity saver for me.

 

Definitely stock up when things go on sale. Recently a store had Prego spaghetti sauce on sale for 99 cents and no limits. I haven't seen that low in a couple of years. I walked out with 5 cases (60 jars total). I'm set on sauce for the next year (it has a long shelf life). And since I caught it before they unloaded the cases it makes it even easier to store because the cases are shrink wrapped and easy to stack and store.

 

I found it really help to look at each thing I normally bought and decide if that was a good choice or not, was it necessary, could I get it cheaper somewhere else, could I make it myself for less, could we substitute something else or do without it altogether? We love black olives but they have gotten just too expensive so we no longer have that as a topping for mexican or pizza. While it's something we enjoyed, it doesn't make or break the meal so we just skip it. So you really have to analyze what you are spending on and decide what you can change. Meal planning helps but first you have to figure out the cost of the ingredients to determine how to create a cheaper meal plan.

[Tutor]

I used to make a meal plan and then buy for that, but I found it is *much* cheaper to stock a pantry with what is on sale or in season, and then plan meals from that.

 

One thing I also did that helped was to figure out the price per serving of different items. For example, if my dc could pick eggs and toast, or cereal and yogurt, or oatmeal and fruit for breakfast, which was cheaper? If it was a significant difference, then I mandated the number of times each was eaten.

 

Ditto. This has saved us a substantial amount on our grocery bill *plus* it has forced us to eat healthier and try new things because I start shopping in the produce section then build from there. When I'm out of money, I'm done shopping, but at least I've hit the healthier things first.

[Soror]

Other things that we use to keep costs down. I do not have an open kitchen. Children are NOT allowed to help themselves to food. We have 3 meals a day plus a snack. If I know someone hasn't been feeling well/not eating or has had an exceptionally active day or is on a growth spurt, I will get them extra food but I will decide what. They are allowed to ask i they are hungry but they have to accept the answer may very well be no.

 

Reason why - We had a kid staying here for a week while I was gone and he and my oldest went through more food in a week than our family of 7 does and of course they didn't eat oatmeal or rice they ate the entire container of ice cream that I bought that would have lasted our family through 2 full birthday celebrations. They raided the expensive yogurt I bought (at $1.00 a container. I don't buy this except I'm on an antibiotic and I'm pregnant and I'm trying to make sure my intestine tract stays healthy while dealing with a stomach that is very finicky about what will stay down) They went through enough frozen fruit that it was easily a months supply of what I would have added to their morning oatmeal. Etc.

 

Also my kids will eat A LOT more food of something they like versus something they think is just okay. If I don't do portion control they will easily eat double the amount of food just because they like it. If they eat oatmeal for breakfast the total morning cost with fruit is probably about $2.00 and they can have as much as they want (2-3 bowls each depending on the kid). If I were to let them eat as much as they want of cold cereal they would go through 2-3 boxes which would easily cost $5.00 or more depending on the kind.

 

I also buy things in bulk. I find my best prices are at places outside of grocery stores. Amish stores are cheap, food co-op tend to sell big bags of things, even farmer's markets especially at the end of the day can yield big pay offs if you take a lot of something. Earlier this year I was at one where they started off selling snow peas for $5.00 a pound, at the end of the day they were $4.00 a pound. As he was packing up, I got them to sell me everything left on the table for $10.00 and he threw in a bunch of rhubarb for free (it was selling for $3.00 a bunch). I got home and weighed the peas and there was over 7 pounds. We were able to eat them all fresh or in stir fries but if we hadn't they are very easy to freeze for future use so either way nothing would go to waste. And the rhubarb made some very tasty muffins.

 

At least once a week we have dabs and doodles meal, usually on the weekend. Whatever small bits of leftovers are left are used up. No one will get served the same exact combination. I take into consideration who like what as well as making sure everyone gets a meat, a starch, and a veggie or two but otherwise everyone is surprised cause they just don't know what they will be served till their plate is set in front of them.

 

We also live by "You get what you get and you don't through a fit" I'm not a chef, we don't live in a restaurant, and you don't get to decide what you will eat for a meal. I know some consider it harsh but it's a sanity saver for me.

 

Definitely stock up when things go on sale. Recently a store had Prego spaghetti sauce on sale for 99 cents and no limits. I haven't seen that low in a couple of years. I walked out with 5 cases (60 jars total). I'm set on sauce for the next year (it has a long shelf life). And since I caught it before they unloaded the cases it makes it even easier to store because the cases are shrink wrapped and easy to stack and store.

 

I found it really help to look at each thing I normally bought and decide if that was a good choice or not, was it necessary, could I get it cheaper somewhere else, could I make it myself for less, could we substitute something else or do without it altogether? We love black olives but they have gotten just too expensive so we no longer have that as a topping for mexican or pizza. While it's something we enjoyed, it doesn't make or break the meal so we just skip it. So you really have to analyze what you are spending on and decide what you can change. Meal planning helps but first you have to figure out the cost of the ingredients to determine how to create a cheaper meal plan.

 

I do a lot of this as well. I have some snacks that are more free range but mostly it is not anything goes because kids can gravitate towards the unhealthiest and most expensive option there is.

 

In addition to stocking the pantry as I mentioned earlier (from the food co-op and other places) I also cook seasonally as well. We cook gf/sf/preservative/dye free and limited dairy. I cook from scratch most everything, with the exception of a few condiments and a few rare luxury items.

[Jpoy85]

We feed a family of 5 for about $400/mnth. (give or take).

 

I just spent $75 for meat for a month. I went to Save A Lot and IGA and bought the "family packs" of meat. I then divided it up into meal portions in the freezer.

 

As for extras- canned and boxed items come from the food pantry and if they dont, i get them from Aldi, Save A Lot, IGA as cheap as possible.

 

Fruits and Veggies come from same stores, but i only buy a limited amount.

 

Drinks are water, Iced Tea, Kool-Aid.

------------------------------------------

Ive tried the coupons, etc and it did work, but not like i wanted. I dont shop sales/flyers, etc. I DO meal plan Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner every day for a month. That way i can switch up the days if need be, but i have the stuff to make it. I use the crockpot AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. I make our bread too. I take a calculator and cash with me to the store with my meal plan and list. I also go to the food pantries. we dont qualify for Foodstamps, but money is tight, so I need some help. I can go 1x a month to all 3 pantries in my area. Speaking of, i can go tomorrow actually. :)

 

Its hard, we dont have pop or snacks, but we make it. We are fed and happy. Tonight we did eat out at McDonalds after VBS, but we did it cheap. No one got a happy meal or pop. We fed 4 for $10.

[KungFuPanda]

It was goooooood stuff! I like playing with sausage!

 

This is a family site! We don't need to know about your kinks!

[jgoodal08]

hahahahaha that's too funny

[HeidiKC]

I try to have about half of my meals super-cheap. I mean things like beans/rice (which is very tasty). Even adding summer sausage to a package of red beans and rice is very cheap. I like to see how little I can spend per person, and still have something healthy and tasty. Then a couple of times a week I'll have something like pork chops or salmon patty - more expensive.

 

Stuffed baked potatoes can be very inexpensive.

 

I love it when I can make meals that are just over $1/person! Can be done with rice/bean dish and side veggies. Same with meatless pasta dishes.

[KungFuPanda]

I made this tonight. It's yummy and makes a LOT cheaply. It freezes well too!

 

http://www.skinnytaste.com/2011/01/slow-cooked-sweet-barbacoa-pork.html

[DawnM]

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Guide-Groceries-under-ebook/dp/B00703HTGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344342347&sr=8-1&keywords=2012+family+guide+to+groceries+under+%24250+a+month

 

She used to have a free version for how to feed your family for $200/mo. You may still be able to find it on her website.

 

http://www.budget101.com/

 

The key is really to make everything from scratch. I am not great at that because I really dislike cooking.

Edited August 7, 2012 by DawnM

[Nestof3]

I can tell you how NOT to do it from experience, and I'm still working on this. I have completely fallen out of the meal-planning routine, go to the store to get basics, stock up on sale meat (especially Laura's Lean Beef or good chicken), load my cart with produce and check out.

 

After a week or more, I'm tossing fruit and veggies in the compost bucket. I know it's horrible. I am seduced by the peaches, berries, bananas, etc. and don't make sure my boys eat them. I buy too many vegetables to eat before they will wilt or turn slimy.

 

Another problem is the boys don't eat all the vegetables I buy because they are so picky (dh is too to some extent). So, the bunch of asparagus ends up only being for me. They go bad before we can finish them off.

 

One of my goals is to get back to planning meals for one week that uses the same vegetable or medley more than once. I am also starting a fruit and veggie requirement list for the boys for a while to get them into better habits. For example, they must eat two fruits and three vegetables through the day.

 

It is truly ridiculous to throw away perfectly good food for lack of planning. I am sure you are not doing this. But, what you can learn from this is that planning is better for everyone. You could plan this on a Sunday when the sales papers come out. Look to see what items are in season and on sale and build your menu from that. Cook extra one night and serve it either the next night or the night after.

 

A couple ways to save money:

 

For sandwich meat, roast an entire chicken, pull off chicken, store what you can eat in a few days and freeze the rest. Use the drippings for broth.

 

For broccoli, make broccoli and cheese soup out of the stalks and heads rather than thrown them out (what I do).

 

Make leftover soup. I do this often with leftover meats, grains, veggies. Put some broth in a pot, put your leftover stuff in it, add some onion, garlic, salt and pepper and any other little bits of veggies you have. I have known people who have a container in the freezer in which they put their leftovers for leftover soup.

 

Our Kroger sells milk from a local dairy for $2.99 a half gallon. I get $2.00 back when I return the bottle. The milk comes in creamline and homogenized options -- skim, 2% and whole. It's hormone-free. I have bought their quarts on clearance for 99 cents, then returned the bottle and made $1.00. :D

 

I always go at night once each week to get the meat sales -- stocking up on wiser choices of beef and chicken.

[~Amanda~]

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Guide-Groceries-under-ebook/dp/B00703HTGS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1344342347&sr=8-1&keywords=2012+family+guide+to+groceries+under+%24250+a+month

 

She used to have a free version for how to feed your family for $200/mo. You may still be able to find it on her website.

 

http://www.budget101.com/

 

The key is really to make everything from scratch. I am not great at that because I really dislike cooking.

I have this! It was free one day and I got it. I have read it, and I actually started to reread it yesterday.

 

I have read so much stuff. I have so many blogs I follow, and I study to get the idea of how to do this. Implementing it is completely overwhelming!

[Shellers]

Here's what we do:

 

 

 

• Plan a menu for the week before going grocery shopping. I tape the new menu to the inside of one of my cabinets.
  
  • Bean based dinner once a week
    
  • Soup night once a week
    
  • At least one dinner with a whole chicken, I get them for $5. My DH's fav is Smothered Chicken.
    
  • Sausage night. I don't like sausages but my family does. I get them for $2 a pack at Grocery Outlet. I cook them under the broiler for a cheap fast dinner.
    
  • Buy eggs in bulk - I get chorizo for $0.99 and cook up a big batch of Chorizo Eggs at least once a week. Two packs of chorizo and about 18 eggs. My kids love making burritos out of it. They'll eat these eggs for breakfast, lunch, or dinner. :)
    
  • I have a bunch of recipes for cheap side dishes. A lot of them using ingredients I always have in my pantry.
    

   

   

   

 

 

 

• Make a shopping list based off your menu. I then go and look in my pantry for things on my list and cross off what I already have.
  
• We drink iced tea or water.
  
• We don't eat any sweets.
  
• We don't eat boxed, frozen meals, or convenience foods.
  
• Save your grocery receipts. I like to add them up at the end of the month and see how much we really spent. I also then look through the receipts for things we didn't really need to buy. All those little things really add up.
  
• Here's where I really save money - I only go grocery shopping once a week. I first hit Grocery Outlet, which is clearance grocery store. They have a lot of premium lunch meats, cheeses, sausages, canned foods, fruits, veggies, etc at very low prices. I then finish up my shopping at another grocery store.
  

 

Edited August 7, 2012 by Shellers