Frugal Food Shopping and Recipes. - Page 3

jakasaki · #31 Apr 10, '12, 1:32 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by TrueLight

Wow, you have really motivated me to plan ahead and freeze foods.

I often work late and buy takeout more than I'd like.

Thanks so much.

I'm glad I was able to help.

I decided years ago to make a fresh start with the way I buy all sorts of foods & how to use them.

The first thing I did was empty my freezer. Then I took an inventory of what I had. I organized my freezer shelves according to product. I also wrote everything down, identifying items via their shelf's.

Once I was able to deplete what I had in my freezer to a low point, I only did small weekly shopping. And if I found something I needed or was running low, and it was on sale, I would buy it.

Bring it home & separate it. For example, I would buy the big family pack of Italian sausages & the family pack of Italian hot sausages. I would then take a middle size zip lock freezer bag and place 3 sweet & 3 hot sausages in that dag.

I would continue this process until the family packs where in individual bags.

I would now add them to my freezer inventory list and & would also include how many of the bags I have.

If I felt like sausages for the next days meals, I would take 1 pack out cause it has 6 sausages and leave it in the fridge. Next day it would be thawed out & ready for cooking.

Also, I love boneless pork chops - but I won't buy them. They are rather pricey. I buy a pork tenderloin when on sale and cut my own chops. I wrap them individually, tag and bag them.

For many many years or perhaps decades, I have not thrown out any meat whatsoever.

So......., above are some more ideas.

TheRealJuliane · #32 Apr 10, '12, 2:25 pm

Quote:

Originally Posted by AugustineFan

I am a father and husband to a great 2 1/2 year old daughter and wife. I am also the one that does all the grocery shopping and the majority of the cooking. I have noticed that we waste a lot of food, and it seems that the grocery bill is always climbing. I am looking for advice on recipes or how you stretch the food budget to make yummy and healthy meals for your family. I want to start to save more money, and also I need some new frugal and tasty recipes. Thanks in advance and God Bless.

There's a great cookbook I use - My feeling is that even ONE solid recipe that everyone in the family loves justifies the purchase of the cookbook.

It has full menus based around seasons, but it has an index so if you want a chicken dish, you can just look up all the chicken dishes.

Saving Dinner

It includes shopping lists.

If you want to stop wasting food you really MUST make up a menu for each week, or even a month if you are organized and have the freezer space. Otherwise you make repeated trips to the store and don't use up what you have. Been there, done that, many times. My husband traveled for the last 2 years and was gone 2 weeks out of every month. I got out of the cooking routine and now re-entry is difficult!

I have used this cookbook a lot, too. (It's got main-dish salads, casseroles, soups, etc.)

365 Easy One Dish Meals

Just cook for your wife and yourself and make your little girl eat at least some of the food that you do! I know, they can be very difficult but you really should not let her dictate what she eats. Some people disagree with this but I had a picky toddler and he really got to be quite a pain when it came to food. Eventually he outgrew it (middle school) but it took a long time and I blame myself for catering to him so much. He was my first, and I learned by the time his brother came along. Kids will eat when they are hungry and they won't starve themselves to death. I would tell her to take a bite of something, no faces, no gagging, etc. and if you really want to go hard-core, put a plate of whatever you are eating in front of her and say nothing at all except "Here is your supper (or lunch)" and if she refuses it, take the plate away and offer nothing until the next meal. Eventually she will eat what is put in front of her. And she won't die if she misses a meal or two.

But that's all I will say, and I don't want to start a sidetracked discussion on feeding picky toddlers!

twk001 · #33 Apr 11, '12, 12:07 pm

i like the Saving Dinner book too...

I can feel for you. I have an 8 yr old DD who is 5 ft tall, weighs 60 lbs and basically has a repatoire of about 20 foods that she will eat...pasta, rice, chicken nuggets, fries, pepperoni pizza, shakes, cereal, most veggies (raw only) and a few fruits...WOW...

for me, i make a big pan of browned ground beef monthly. i portion it into freezer bags (already cooked). I pitch them in the freezer. then i do the same with chicken breasts.

on monday we have tacos, on tuesday we have chicken, gravy and rice, on wednesday pasta with meat sauce, thursday is chicken casserole/pot pie or similar, friday is eat out pizza. DD eats what she likes, or has cereal, toast, soup or similar

saturday is when i make a big meal, sunday i play by ear...

this isn't every week, but i DO plan every week with some sort of game plan like this. i also plan for frozen veggie sides, salad, fruit or dessert, etc. we take leftovers for lunches, or a soup or something quick.in the summer i grow what i like and we use it until it's gone

i used to just go to the store with no game plan. i would cruise the adds and buy whatever looked good, with no plan for it. then it would sit in the fridge or freezer until i threw it out. now our grocery bill is cut by over 1/3 and we have a plan.

Rita77 · #34 Apr 11, '12, 4:53 pm

I make large batches of pancakes and muffins I also add wheat germ or flax seed oil (can't cook flax seed oil add like butter) for a great source of nutrients. freeze them and then just take what you need out and toast it in the am. pancakes don't have much sugar and can be made with wheat flour. they still tast sweet with the honey on top.

we use honey instead of syrup and sugar when we can.

fruit of your choice, ice, milk, yogurt, flax seed oil in a blender for a healthy smoothy my toddlers love it.

we only use real butter for baking and never use butter on toast or pancakes etc. most foods only need one topping anyway.

roasted carrots and green beans are so good. cover in olive oil and bake at 375 for 20 or so until roasted. it also makes cauliflower tolerable.

to save money with meat buy it derectly from the farmer in bulk. keep it in a deep freezer and put it in the frig for 24 t0 48 hrs to defrost.

freezing food allows you to buy and cook in bulk.

monicatholic · #35 Apr 13, '12, 6:56 am

Rita's post is a good one!

AFan, your toddler's diet is pretty good. Add blueberries to all the breakfast/ snack foods and you're doing not half bad!

At our house, I cook one meal a day. We eat it as early in the afternoon as possible. We add 2 to 4 more very small meals around it. Breakfast is typically a fruit yogurt smoothie ( with green food powder added) and a half whole grain waffle. The smoothie happens every single day. We never skip it.

Another meal might be a potato latke (from trader Joe s.) And apple sauce.

Trader Joe's has a nice whole grain pizza dough in the coldfood section. It's only 99c! I don't even make my own pizza dough anymore. But I will add grain like flax seed to it.

As for cooking and pureeing vegetables to hide in other stuff, I think so many of the nutrients are lost that way. Instead we use the juicer. A few times a month we throw carrots, apples, spinach in the juicer. We freeze some and drink some. Stuff like celery and kale makes a strong flavor so we skip it.

If I want to add vegetables to stuff to boost nutrients, I add them grated and raw. Finely grated carrots can get sprinkled right on a pizza or mixed into egg salad.

If the yogurt your child is eating are the small cup yogurts with fruits and toppings, they're expensive and less than nutritious. Instead trader Joe's has good organic plain yogurt. I add honey and blueberries and banana. Let your child choose cute cups with lids. Let her help mix up a batch and store it in the fridge in the cute cups.

Mostly, for a family your size, prep big, save small. Grate up carrots, chop celery, snip grren beans, cook black beans etc, freeze in the smallest size zip bags.

SummerSmiles · #36 Apr 13, '12, 8:25 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by monicatholic

As for cooking and pureeing vegetables to hide in other stuff, I think so many of the nutrients are lost that way. Instead we use the juicer. A few times a month we throw carrots, apples, spinach in the juicer. We freeze some and drink some. Stuff like celery and kale makes a strong flavor so we skip it.

Great post, Monica! I just wanted to clarify the bold portion a bit... yes, you will lose a lot of the nutrients in the veggies by cooking them. It is possible to still get them warm without cooking the nutrients away, as long as the temperature of the veggie stays below 108 degrees F. (This is how we make veggie soup at my house; just keep an eye on how hot it's getting and you've got yourself a warm, raw veggie soup.) Pureeing veggies actually makes it easier for the body to absorb the nutrients in the veggies. Juicing them can do this too, but it depends on what kind of juicer is being used. If it's a typical one that strains out the seeds and skins, then most of the nutrients are being thrown away. Veggies hold most of their nutrients in the skin and seeds. If you're using a food processor or blender that is capable of pureeing everything into a juice-like consistency, then you'll still hold on to all the nutrients.

My family also does the smoothie in the morning. We found that with spinach and kale, the flavor can be mostly hidden by using strong-flavored fruits, like banana or pineapple. If the banana is a bit on the ripe side, it doesn't take very much at all. And the longer it sits, the more the kale and spinach flavors come out, so my kids always drink ours straight out of the blender. They've learned that it's very much in their best interest to drink it right away rather than saving it for later.

And last night I remembered another frugal idea: loaded baked potatoes. Potatoes are cheap, and you can make them the main dish, rather than the side. We put everything on our potatoes: onion, a bit of ham, tomatoes, chives, etc. Get creative with it. Last night we just ended up using the leftovers that wouldn't make enough for a whole meal on their own. Add a green veggie on the side and you've got a full meal. My kids love green beans or asparagus. And it's easy as long as you remember to put the potatoes in the oven early enough!

monicatholic · #37 Apr 13, '12, 9:07 am

That's great info on heating/ pureeing, summersmiles! I LUV putting veggies into soup just to warm them.

Maybe it was mentioned, if not, I forgot to add: brown rice. What would we do without it? We buy organic, cook up big pots and freeze up mid-sized bags. Served half the nights of the week in dozens of ways. That also goes to stretching leftovers. Chicken broth plus cull the fridge for rice, beans, vegetable and meat leftovers. The zMulligans never ate so good. I've thrown au beaten potatoes int broth and vegetables and have found the results to be very wonderful.

But the twice baked potatoes you mentioned? Food for the gods. A good, scrubbed, lightly oiled, crisp cooked potato skin is definitely in the category of " yummiest food on the planet. And easy.

kristacecilia · #38 Apr 14, '12, 1:15 am

You have gotten a lot of good advice.

The BEST advice I can give you is MAKE A MEAL PLAN. Then you won't waste things you buy because you will only be buying what you plan to use. Personally... I hate making meal plans, but I have been shown time and time again that it really is in my family's best interest that I have all our meals planned, so I made that one of my Lenten penances this year.

It worked so well I really can't go back to not doing it now.

In my experience, which is limited to my four kids and a few other kids I have babysat, i *most* toddlers are picky for two general reasons. 1. They fill their dietary requirements over a week and not a day like an adult, so they might spend one day eating nothing but cheese only to turn around and only eat apple slices the next day. 2. They are allowed to be.

Now, maybe this doesn't apply to your daughter. If so, just ignore it. But I have to say, the pickiest kids I have were the first ones... because we allowed them to be picky. The least picky kids are the youngest ones, because they were expected to eat what I made and they generally liked it. By child #4 I finally have a kid who will eat pickles. I am thrilled.

My general rules for toddlers are:
- You must try at least ONE bite of everything on your plate.
- You will not be served special meals, but will be served the same as what I am serving the whole family (it's really not practical or fair to me with so many people to feed to be making multiple meals each time!)
- No routine snack times.

I make three homemade, filling meals a day. In general, I spend 6+ hours a day preparing food, serving food, and cleaning up after food. I concentrate on feeding my family whole food items, rarely things from boxes, and preferably no eating out (although at 37 weeks pregnant, we ate BOTH hamburgers from a fast food joint AND ordered pizza this week. But we'll just call that life.) I don't feel bad about not having snacks for my kids. I DO, however, try to keep fresh fruit and veggies stocked and my kids know that 99% of the time if THEY approach ME and say they are hungry that they will be offered a fruit or vegetable (and they will happily take it). If they are more hungry than that, they get offered a protein- cheese or nuts, usually.

So toddlers- offer an abundant variety of GOOD food- no packaged stuff. Or less packaged stuff, anyway. Maybe the chicken fries could be a once a week special lunch? Make sure they are offered plenty of fruit, vegetables, and protein. I would lay off the granola bars, personally. They are about as nutritional as a candy bar, and if kids think they are going to get a candy bar by being picky about their good food, of course they are going to take it.

Sit down with your wife and brainstorm meals you like. Here is a good guide to help you: https://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dd332...5cxq5tg7&hl=en I especially like that she includes all the sides that are 'traditional' for each meal. Nothing left to figure out later. And she mentions adding favorite meals from childhoods or restaurants that you can add to your own home cooked menu. I liked that, too.

Once you have your meal bank done menu planning is a lot easier! Use the grocery ads to help you plan meals around what is on sale at the store with the best prices. Plug them into your meal plan and make your grocery list. Voila! Done. Do your shopping and store your purchases properly for freshness.

Try and play breakfasts and lunches, too. Make them wholesome and filling with the occasional 'favorite' like the chicken fingers. Serve it with fresh cut veggies and fruit. My kids have ALL loved sliced cucumbers at that age. Add some plain yogurt sweetened with fresh fruit and a little maple syrup or honey and that is not a half-bad meal.

Oh, also... what does your toddler drink? If she drinks juice that could be affecting her pickiness. Juice, especially kid juice, is so SWEET. It can alter their tastes for other foods. Even 100% juice is too sweet. Treat juice like you would pop. It's okay for a special occasion. Offer her water instead. Make sure she is getting lots of WHOLE FAT dairy products, too. Whole fat yogurts, milk, cheese....

kristacecilia · #39 Apr 14, '12, 1:16 am

Here are some meal ideas:

Breakfast:
*Soaked Oatmeal served with maple syrup, nuts, dried or fresh fruit, and cream.
Sausages, ham, or bacon if extra protein is needed
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Dutch Baby Pancakes
Sausages, ham, or bacon if extra protein is needed
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Cottage cheese or yogurt with fresh fruit
Whole grain muffins (make a big batch one day and freeze for easy mornings, bonus points if you include a fruit or veggie- make carrot raisin muffins!)
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Quiche Lorraine (make ahead and reheat for the morning)
Fresh fruit
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Baked Oatmeal served with maple syrup and cream
Sausages, ham, or bacon if extra protein is needed
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Scrambled Eggs with cheese
Whole grain toast with butter
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

*Fried eggs
Bacon, sausage, or ham
Whole grain muffins or toast with butter
Water to drink for kids, tea or coffee for adults

(Don't misunderstand me, we don't eat breakfast meats more than a couple of times a week, I realize this short list looks heavy on them. I just included them in my list for times we do need extra protein. For example, I actually NEVER serve them with baked oatmeal and rarely with the soaked oatmeal. But my family expects them if we have fried eggs.)

Lunches:

Lunches are a little less planned and more laid back around here. We generally eat leftovers from previous dinners or I will make up egg salad, chicken salad, or tuna salad and we can have it on whole grain bread with fresh fruits and veggies and some yogurt. My kids have a love affair with PBJ so we do that once or twice a week. Leftover soups and homemade bread make excellent lunches. Once a month or so I make up a big pot of homemade mac and cheese as a treat.

Dinners:

Some of my kids' favorite dinners are:

*Spanish Rice (this looks close-ish to my recipe)
Corn

*Grilled Steaks
Grilled Potato Packets
Tomato, cucumber, and feta salad or a green salad

*Roast Chicken
Fettuccine Alfredo
Green Salad or fresh green beans in season or another vegetable in season

*Pot Roast with vegetables (in crockpot)
Mashed Potatoes

*Chicken Pot Pie (using leftover roast chicken, vegetables, and gravy/homemade stock)
Roast Sweet Potatoes
Creamed Spinach or other vegetable

*Beef Pot Pie (using leftover pot roast, vegetables, and gravy/homemade stock)
Leftover mashed potatoes
Green beans or other vegetable

*Pulled Pork Tacos(in crockpot)
Lettuce, tomato, cheese, lime wedges, onions, guacamole, tortillas, sour cream

*Pulled Pork BBQ sandwiches (using leftover pulled pork roast from tacos)
Coleslaw
Green beans in season
Potato salad

*Grilled Teriyaki chicken (boneless, skinless chicken thighs marinaded in teriyaki sauce, then grilled)
Steamed rice
Broccoli or other vegetable in season

*Broccoli Cheese soup
Homemade rolls
green salad

*Baked Beans
Hot dogs
Fresh cut veggies

*Homemade Hamburgers
(lettuce, tomato, cheese, onions, pickles, condiments)
Baked beans

Etc, etc.

**Zooey** · #40 Apr 15, '12, 4:10 am

http://mycce.org/Monroe/nutrition/Cr...0Casserole.pdf

This is a favorite of mine, which enables you to use whatever fooods are on sale, in season, & the like, to make a good casserole.
You may vary ingredients even farther by using your own sauce in place of the soup, & by including family favorites as the main ingredients.

Gordon Sims · #41 Apr 15, '12, 4:18 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by kristacecilia

The BEST advice I can give you is MAKE A MEAL PLAN. Then you won't waste things you buy because you will only be buying what you plan to use.

Just to illustrate how effective this can be, my grocery bill last week for my family of 7 was $30. We did have two nights worth of chicken and some other basics on hand, but otherwise the $30 took care of six dinners (we went to my parents' house one night) and a full week of breakfasts and lunches.

**JRKH** · #42 Apr 15, '12, 6:04 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Sims

Just to illustrate how effective this can be, my grocery bill last week for my family of 7 was $30. We did have two nights worth of chicken and some other basics on hand, but otherwise the $30 took care of six dinners (we went to my parents' house one night) and a full week of breakfasts and lunches.

This reminds me of a story my mom told...
The insurance man was over and he and my dad were discussing things in the dining room. Mom was in the kitchen. Dad called out to her asking, "How much do we spend a week on groceries?"
Mom replied, "Oh I guess about $10, not more than $15. This was about 1952 and mom and dad had 2 kids plus one on the way.
The Insurance man was shocked, "That can't be right. no one can get by on that little"
Mom responded, "Well we do".

The reason they could was actually three fold.
1) My mom was a very good money manager. She shopped mainly sale items and coupons. She would, as others has said, plan meals around what she had on hand.
2) My paternal grandfather ran a butcher shop and occasionally would drop off items that they had too much of at the store. This provided some interesting "treats"
3) My Dad and his parents gardened and canned many goodies. Plus Grandma and Grandpa kept cows and chickens - - -

Now I know that these advantages (2 and 3 except for gardening) are not possible for most households, but I still like the story...and thought I'd share...

Peace
James

Gordon Sims · #43 Apr 15, '12, 7:54 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by JRKH

3) My Dad and his parents gardened and canned many goodies.

We buy very little fresh produce from June through September. We tend to have great harvests from our garden, and I'm working on planting more and more perennial plants so that there's not as much start-up costs for the garden each year.

EasterJoy · #44 Apr 15, '12, 7:56 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by AugustineFan

It seems that I buy meat or other items and they don't get used, and then are spoiled. I tend to buy things and say "oh I will use this" and then don't have a recipe for it, or my wife does not want it. We also are having a very hard time with our toddler, as she hates to eat meat, and is a very fussy eater.

If your daughter hates to eat meat, don't force it if you don't have to. Try legumes, nut butters, and other vegetarian protein. Dairy is good, too, but you have to watch the saturated fat from dairy once a child is over two. I have also found that some "meat haters" actually hate the texture, and object the least to "hammy"-textured meats, such as lunch meat. Processed meats have a lot of salt, though, so you have to take care with that. You can also make dishes in which the meat is "on the side" or added as a sort of a condiment, so you don't have to do much in the way of separate cooking for her.

Obviously, when you hear "oh, I will use this", you are wrong too much of the time. There are people who can browse what is on sale and looks good and form menus in their head as they shop, but if you are not one of them, make a list and stick to it.

AugustineFan · #45 Apr 16, '12, 4:27 am

Quote:

Originally Posted by Gordon Sims

Just to illustrate how effective this can be, my grocery bill last week for my family of 7 was $30. We did have two nights worth of chicken and some other basics on hand, but otherwise the $30 took care of six dinners (we went to my parents' house one night) and a full week of breakfasts and lunches.

WOW! I would love to be able to spend like this. It seems that we go to the store without a plan, and then end up with a lot of stuff that is not needed. We are spending a 100 or so a week and it is just my wife, daughter and I. Getting frugal is not that hard, not sure why we cannot get on board. Thanks for the tips, all of you.