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Everbody has their own tastes. I'm not huge on meat yet it is touted here often about buying meat and what to do with it. Is meatless cheaper overall?
OP - I do a lot of rice & beans (cook from dry beans first). This freezes well also.
With the rice and beans I will have as a side to tacos/quesidillas, in a bowl with scrambled eggs, by itself with some cheese and salsa, and with sausage on occassion. Beans are awesome anyway - chili and mexi casseroles (no meat).
Eggs all the time. You can do a bunch things with eggs. I do crustless quiche (with cheese,milk, vegetables), breakfast casseroles (potatoes, milk, cheese), scrambled with vegetables, hardboilled for breakfast at work, poached on toast, fried with beans, etc etc....
Do you have to take lunch to work? I used to eat well but started doing just peanut butter sandwiches, tuna, hummus or turkey wraps. Brothy soups are good too.
I dont know how many people you feed, but I've done plenty of pancake or cereal nights. I'm also good with carry out specials, like a large pizza for $7 that I can get three meals out of it.
I also get a lot of stuff from Aldi. I've reduced my bill about 30% overall.
Planning is key. If I buy lettuce I plan each leaf of that LOL. I like it on sammiches but also plan side salads and whatnot. I also share produce with my mum - like carrots and celery we have too much of since it only comes in big packs. Freeze immediately on things you dont have a plan for. Like, I dont eat much bread, I dont let it go to waste, it goes right to the freezer. Onions and green peppers, chopped, freeze well too. That is something that used to go bad for me all the time.
Farmers Markets cost a fortune here but YMMV. I cant afford to shop at them, even when I had a better salary. Is your shopping good? Dont assume a store claiming to be cheap is cheap - it might be on some items, not others. Like Whole Foods has cheap 1/2 1/2 - cheaper than Walmart - and cheap peanut butter. Expensive stores has some gems too. (i live in a populated area with many many stores, YMMV). Also sign up for a rebate site, I just started doing that. I spent $70 on groceries this first week and got almost $10 in rebates. This was on no name basics as well as name brand stuff. Like "any milk, any orange juice" received rebates, stuff I buy all the time.
I can get boneless/skinless at Sam's or Walmart for that price all the time. It's not a sale price. Whole chickens here are usually 7 or 8 dollars and they come with a bag of giblets and a neck that I can't use, plus wings and a back that no one in my house will touch, and all the skin that none of us are going to eat.
Here, giblets go to the dogs (or, on occasion, I'll make chopped liver--but those usually go to the dogs, too)-- necks/wings/backs make the most delicious chicken soups EVER (I freeze them if I'm not going to use them immediately)-- either fresh or frozen, just throw them in a pot, cover with water-- add a splash of vinegar-- bring to a boil and let simmer with some carrots, onions, garlic, etc. Once it's simmered for a few hours and just before serving, I toss in some mushrooms (and bok choi or spinach, if I'm feeling fancy).
Chicken skin is either eaten or made into 'cracklins' and served on top of salads in lieu of croutons. This is what happens when you're a granddaughter of a butcher and not allowed to let anything go to waste, lol-- my grandfather would likely haunt me if I dared to toss any part of a chicken that could be used
But if you can routinely find boneless/skinless for under $1/lb, go for it. Here, boneless/skinless is over $2/lb, even for thighs-- and more for b/s breasts-- I often buy bone-in thighs and with a few snips from poultry shears, they're made boneless and I then use those bones for soup, too. But if I could routinely find boneless/skinless for the same price as bone-in, then I'd happy use that instead.
Here, giblets go to the dogs (or, on occasion, I'll make chopped liver--but those usually go to the dogs, too)-- necks/wings/backs make the most delicious chicken soups EVER (I freeze them if I'm not going to use them immediately)-- either fresh or frozen, just throw them in a pot, cover with water-- add a splash of vinegar-- bring to a boil and let simmer with some carrots, onions, garlic, etc. Once it's simmered for a few hours and just before serving, I toss in some mushrooms (and bok choi or spinach, if I'm feeling fancy).
Chicken skin is either eaten or made into 'cracklins' and served on top of salads in lieu of croutons. This is what happens when you're a granddaughter of a butcher and not allowed to let anything go to waste, lol-- my grandfather would likely haunt me if I dared to toss any part of a chicken that could be used
But if you can routinely find boneless/skinless for under $1/lb, go for it. Here, boneless/skinless is over $2/lb, even for thighs-- and more for b/s breasts-- I often buy bone-in thighs and with a few snips from poultry shears, they're made boneless and I then use those bones for soup, too. But if I could routinely find boneless/skinless for the same price as bone-in, then I'd happy use that instead.
I get the boneless/skinless breasts for $1.97/lb...comes out cheaper for me than using bone in chicken.
My mom used to buy whole chickens and we used all of it, but I always ended up with a wing or the back.
Chicken leg quarters, followed by thighs and whole (cut up) are usually the cheapest in my area.
Mine as well. With the popularity of wings has gone up, so have the prices. I used to be able to get them extremely cheap, but not any more. Now it's leg quarters, then thighs. then legs, then whole, then frozen boneless breasts, then fresh breasts (bone in OR out). Even though I don't like chicken, I do buy it for my husband so I'm always looking for the least expensive parts. I'm just glad he LIKES the thighs and legs some people won't eat the dark meat. I've only purchased boneless, skinless, fresh breasts once or twice - we wait for the large bag of frozen ones to go on sale then use those. With a little planning, you can thaw them out in plenty of time for a dinner.
When I buy frozen veggies, I always buy Santiam brand. They are always good, always clean, and the price tends to be lower than national name brands. The veggies are just as good as the famous brands. They also sell frozen bags of vegetable blends that are good.
I buy the big bags, pour out what I need, put a twist tie on the bag and it goes back into the freezer.
My family loves green beans cooked with onions and bacon. The fresh green beans are about $5 a pound. A 3 pound bag for frozen, I can buy for about $3. Once they are cooked, you can't tell the difference, except in my wallet. ( a lot of veggies, I can tell fresh from frozen but not with the green beans with bacon)
Santiam sells a very good bag of frozen chopped strawberries. I buy those and make "ice cream" out of them. Bowl of frozen berries, a couple tablespoons of milk and stir until the milk freezes. The bag of berries lasts a long time becasue I only take out a small bowl full each time.
The brand of food is certainly important. I worked at two different canneries when I was in college. I would have no problem opening any Santiam brand frozen food and eating it raw. It was great food. I also think Birdseye frozen vegetables are good quality and will buy them on sale.
I also worked at a DelMonte cannery, and to this day I refuse to buy DelMonte products. I also refuse to eat any food processed in China, no matter how cheap it is.
For economy shopping, I am impressed with the Western Family store brands. They don't pack their own, but seem to keep a tight leash on quality.
If possible buy your fruits and vegetables from a farmer's market instead of the grocery store. This past weekend I bought a whole pineapple ($3), 3 zucchini ($1) 2 heads of romaine lettuce ($2), 4 oranges ($1), green beans ($1) and 2 peppers ($1) all for $9. These same items would have cost me about $20 at the regular grocery store.
LOL. What parallel universe do you live in where farmers markets are cheaper??
LOL. What parallel universe do you live in where farmers markets are cheaper??
If they live in Florida, or other warm weather states, it's VERY possible to get produce for FAR less than grocery stores. In South Florida, I routinely purchased an embarrassing amount of produce for next to nothing from (permanent) farmer's markets. I'd get 4-5 grocery bags full for $20-$30.
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