Posted on 08/24/2011 11:08:26 PM PDT by big bad easter bunny
I am a chef, I eat great and don't spend diddly squat on food, I am into food and love making something for almost nothing, you could say it's my forte. Here are things you can do to spend a lot less on food and help inflation;
1) Spend some time checking out what is on sale at 3-4 stores, the ads are in your mail box on Tuesday. Plan your shopping and do a bunch of stops, not just one for convenience. The sale items are also online...
2) If you are over-weight, buy less food, you eat too much, if you cut back that will create a surplus.
3) Vow to never throw out food! Food should never make it to the garbage, if you throw out leftovers, or rotten food; then shame on you! Knock it off! Freeze it, buy less food, feed it to the dog, give it to a neighbor, a guy on the street, someone on Craigslist. It's a sin, throwing away food is a sin!
4) Start a garden, anything you grow means a surplus.
5) Learn about slow cooked meats; Maui pork is a good example, 99 Cent pork, garlic, liquid smoke, foil and 7 hours at 250 degrees and you have some very tasty meat.
6) Don't plan meals, buy what is on sale and figure out a dish, if you buy into cravings you have to buy things that are not on sale, it can make a 50% difference or more in your grocery bill.
7) Make sure your fridge is clean and organized well and the right temperature. Clean helps with preventing rot and air flow, a packed fridge is not good. Store things that are not perishable in the door, very perishable in the low back shelves. If you have a crisper use it, take vegetables out of the bags so moisture and air flow can help keep down degradation.
8) If you like to cook ethnic foods go to ethnic stores. The price for high quality ethnic ingredients are way less than the crap the big boxes sell. Take my word for it.
9) Learn how to cook.
10) Drink great wine while you are cooking, Bon Appetit!
Refrigerate your bread! Wrap bread in paper bags with plastic wrap. Bread starts to deteriorate as soon as it finishes cooling.
Speaking of bread, Target has been sending me in-store coupons and they had some free bread in last week's deal.
Will have to try that pork! Thanks
11. Earn more money
Even when price was no option I have always done this, my mom taught me there is always a vegetable, a protein and a starch on sale.
I agree with your points. I used to try to plan a menu to save money...never works, as I end up not wanting to eat what I had planned to make. We started doing exactly what you suggested, making a note of what is on sale for the week, then thinking about what we could make with those ingredients....it’s actually fun to come up with ideas.
Kelsey on the Cooking Channel had a GREAT crock pot pork shoulder recipe...a little spice with great flavor. You end up with a ton of meat that can be used in several dishes. I made it one Saturday, and just froze the meat until I wanted to use it.
http://www.cookingchanneltv.com/recipes/kelsey-nixon/slow-cooker-shredded-pork-recipe/index.html
I used half of the pork to make tamales (YES I DID!) I had never done it before...made them from scratch, rolled them in parchment, and they turned out great. I have a bunch in the freezer.
We also cook a large chuck roast in the crock pot for one meal, shred and freeze the extra in the stock, then make beef and noodles, and vegetable beef soup later (three meals from one roast). Of course, your mileage may vary if you have a family of six (or a teenager...LOL).
Just posting this as an FYI: One of our local grocery chains has a full service meat counter. They cut and grind a lot of their meat on the premises, and have a ground beef that they advertise as “ground fresh daily.” Well, it turns out, that if you are in the store at the end of the day when they have not sold all they have ground, they put it on sale. I have seen it (90% and mostly sirloin/chuck trim) for as low as $2.19 recently. I’m sure they wonder why I’m lurking around at about 8:00 P.M...LOL!
Drink great inexpensive wine!
I drink great wine. I never spend more than $12.00 per bottle, and everything I drink is excellent.
The trick is to use the scoring of trustworthy reviewers, then stick to your budget.
My current requirements are 88+ / 100 points by Wine Spectator or Wine Advocate, two raters I trust. You have to check the vintage and the exact label against the shelf talker, because most stores misrepresent what they are selling.
But when you find a wine over your point score value (I need 88+ to be happy), and under your budget (< $12.00 for me), stock up!
I've had thousands and thousands of wines, almost never the same ones repetetively, I've tasted my way around the world, and never been disappointed on price or quality.
You CAN spend three times as much for lousy wine....if you don't shop carefully.
I read that initially as:
10 ways to hide high flood light costs.
I wish I knew what was going on; if you could just ignore me (it’d be greatly appreciated).
I haven’t checked out your videos, but can tell you this:
I grew up in a rural community, many of the older people lived through the depression. It is not uncommon to find large amounts of wine (that they made from all manner of things) stored in their basements, next to the jars of fruits and vegetables.
Oh, I forgot to add (and this is funny)...when I was in 6th grade in the 70’s, we made wine in science class...and our teacher poured us paper cups of the product to sample...LOL!
I agree! Marinade can also make an inexpensive cut of meat delicious.
To be honest I can’t see if the food inflation as huge enough to change any food habits.
You aren’t in Uganda or Somalia.
99 cent pork? What on earth are you talking about? I haven’t seen 99 cent pork since about 1973.
Don’t know where you are, Harris Teeter has pork butts for .99/lb right now.
Makes great BBQ in a crock pot.
The buying food on sale is also a great idea -- I started using that years ago when I realized my shopping expeditions ended with me getting nothing as I either couldn't decide what I wanted or I thought I disliked everything :-P
These are good tips from bbeb.
Hey my wife has bought these yellow looking bags which for some reason extends the freshness of bread (w/o refirgeration) for a couple of weeks. They work. Don’t ask me how.
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