Tag Archives: frugal cooking

Easy ways to cut your grocery spending

grocery-shoppingIt was less than a year ago that I was frustrated with our $85-$100 a week grocery spending. I didn’t feel like we were being extravagant, and yet we couldn’t seem to cut our spending. Looking back, I realize that we were making a lot of mistakes. By making a few simple changes, we’ve cut our spending by $30-$40 a week without feeling deprived. That’s a savings of over $100 a month!

These tips may not apply to you if you’re already living frugally. But if you’re just getting started or you’re struggling to cut high grocery costs, this may be a good place to start.

Plan your meals around the sales.

Every week, we look at the grocery ads for both of the stores in our area. You can do this online at MyGroceryDeals.com. After looking at all of the sales, we plan meals based on what’s on special that week, or we plan to stock up on staples that are on sale to save money in later weeks. Make a list, and stick to it! Impulse purchases are almost always unnecessary.

Stockpile when staple items are on sale.

We cook a lot of chicken-based meals. One of the first things I realized when we started cutting grocery spending is that buying just enough chicken for the week was eating up our budget. If we needed three chicken breasts for the week, we’d pay as much as $4 a pound just to buy what we needed. Now that I stockpile, I’ve realized that chicken breasts go on sale for $1.99 a pound once a month. When that happens, we stock up with 12 or 15 chicken breasts, freeze them in serving sizes, and use it throughout the month. You can do this with other meats as well as non-perishable or freezable staples.

Avoid snacks and other extras.

When I took a good look at our grocery spending last year, I realized that a lot of what we were buying wasn’t for meals. It was extra stuff that may have been on sale or just looked good that we were throwing into the cart. Cutting out these extra purchases will cut your spending and make it easier to avoid snacking at home. In the beginning we cut out everything that wasn’t part of a meal just to get used to the concept of buying only for meals. Now we’ve been able to work healthy snacks back into our grocery trips by shopping the sales and limiting ourselves.

Drink water or iced tea instead of soda.

Seriously. I still struggle with this one because I enjoy drinking a diet soda with dinner, but you can cut your grocery spending by $12-$20 a month just by cutting out soda and packaged beverages.

Clip coupons.

I’ll be honest. I’m terrible at clipping coupons, and this has not been part of my grocery saving strategy. But if you find you have a knack for coupon clipping, you can save a ton by matching coupons with in-store deals. We typically don’t purchase packaged foods, so I’ve found that coupons aren’t very useful for us for groceries.

Add a “leftovers night” to your meal plan.

You can easily cut about $10 a week from your grocery cost by planning for six meals instead of seven. This is also a good way to clear out your refrigerator and avoid wasting leftover food.

Our $50-$60 a week grocery budget is considered pretty high for two people in the frugal world. Many frugal families of four are able to eat well for $30-$40 a week. But we consider groceries to be one of our few luxuries because we love to cook and eat.

What about you? How do you keep your grocery costs down?

Photo by B tal

Menu Plan: 5/30-6/5

Our first cash grocery trip was a success! We put together a list, and then based on previous shopping trips and current sales I estimated the cost to be sure we were in the right range. I kept track of my individual price estimates for each item on the grocery list, and as we filled our cart I replaced my estimate with the correct price. I was only off for a couple of items, so my estimate was pretty close.

We ended up spending $9 under our $60 budget for a total cost of $51.63. That money will be put aside in our envelope to cover us in future weeks if we have to go over budget or hopefully it will make it to the end of the summer so we can use it for something fun!

I was definitely more mindful of our spending during this shopping trip than I usually am, but I don’t know if that’s because I was using cash or because I’m making an effort to spend less. I had an extra $30 in my pocket for entertainment and household expenses, so I can’t attribute our mindful spending to fear of spending more than we had. But I think knowing that we can’t just swipe our debit cards is making it easier for us to avoid overspending, since we know that this $90 is it for the week.

Kacie brought up a good point when I asked for advice on cash budgeting last week. She said cash budgeting made tracking expenses more difficult for her. Since I use Mint.com to automatically track my spending and budget, this is also an issue for me. My solution is simple: Mint.com allows you to split transactions and categorize them separately. Each week, I’ll save my receipts until our ATM transaction shows up on Mint, then I’ll split that cash withdrawal and categorize it according to our receipts. Whatever doesn’t get spent will remain “Uncategorized,” which means it won’t go into our normal budget. The only problem will be accounting for that extra cash when I spend it later. I’ll let you know if I come up with a solution to add that into our budget. It will only be a problem if I don’t spend it in the same month I withdraw it.

Here’s my $50 lower-carb menu plan for the week:

Saturday: BLT Salad
Sunday: Pork chops and green beans
Monday: Greek chicken salad
Tuesday: Chicken fajita tortilla soup (minus the chicken and tortillas to limit carbs and conserve chicken)
Wednesday: Mexican chicken skillet (Like a Mexican stirfry with peppers, corn, tomatoes, and chicken)
Thursday: Scrambled eggs and bacon (I’m not a big fan of breakfast for dinner, but it sure does save money!)
Friday: Barbecued chicken with corn on the cob

For more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie.

Menu plan: 5/23-5/29

We had an incredible but utterly exhausting weekend. We were only gone for two days, but it feels like we’ve been gone a week! I’ll write more about our weekend — and our change of plans that saved us a ton of money — tomorrow. For now, all I can manage is a menu plan for the week.

I’m trying out the low(er) carb thing by cutting breads, pastas, and potatoes from our diet. These are three of our main staples, so menu planning without them is a challenge.

I’ve been struggling to lose a pesky 10 pounds gained over the past year with no luck, and several people have suggested that cutting carbs might be the answer, especially since so much of our diet revolves around unhealthy carbs like bread and pasta. Last week I limited carbs and lost 2 pounds after months of working out and dieting with no results, so I have a feeling it might be working.

I don’t want to do anything too drastic, though. This has to be a lifestyle I can live with, so we’re working on planning our meals around low-fat protein and lots of veggies so we can maintain this new diet long term. And of course, our meals have to be frugal.

Here’s what we came up with this week. I’m pretty proud of how delicious it all looks!

Monday: Mini cheeseburger salad with honey mustard dressing
Tuesday: Fajita grilled chickenĀ  with sauteed onions, peppers, and corn
Wednesday: Chicken kabobs with peanut sauce & steamed vegetables
Thursday: Taco salad
Friday: Tomato-basil baked chicken with spinach salad

Tomato-basil baked chicken

Thin cut boneless, skinless chicken breast
Mozzarella cheese
Can of diced tomatoes
Fresh basil, chopped
Extra virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Sear chicken in hot pan with olive oil on both sides. Finish cooking in oven (about 20-30 minutes). Top with mozzarella in last five minutes and allow to melt. Heat diced tomatoes on stove top. Add salt, pepper, and a little olive oil. Top chicken with diced tomatoes and chopped fresh basil.

We just came up with this recipe, and we haven’t tried it yet. I’ll let you know how it turns out! For more menu plans, check out OrgJunkie.

Have a great Memorial Day everyone!

Menu Plan: 5/18-5/23

It’s Monday again, and you know what that means. Not only is it the beginning of the week (a week before a holiday!), but it’s also time for a menu plan.

Summertime arrives early in North Carolina, and that means fresh fruits and vegetables are not only delicious, but cheap! So we’re cooking with more veggies, eating fruit for snacks, and enjoying big salads.

I’m also trying to cut carbs again — not drastically, but we’re cutting back on pastas and potatoes in our meals. Since I’m avoiding heavy breads, our weekly Friday standby of homemade pizza is also out for the time being. :( Pasta and pizza are staples for us, so it’s a challenge for us to plan meals without them. I would love some suggestions for low-fat, low-carb recipes.

This week pork tenderloin was on sale, so we’re using it in three meals. Our total at the grocery store was $57. I’ll be eating salad for lunch at work when leftovers aren’t possible.

Here’s our menu for the week:

Sunday: Rosemary roasted pork tenderloin and green beans
Monday: Pork stir fry
Tuesday: Chef’s salad
Wednesday: Pork fajitas
Thursday: Grilled chicken breasts with vegetable succotash (we substitute the butter with a little olive oil in this succotash recipe)
Friday: Chicken Caesar wraps and steamed edamame

For more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie.

A Mother’s Day meal fit for a queen — the frugal way

lobsterThis weekend, my parents are coming to visit. I haven’t seen them since Christmas, and I can’t wait.

Last weekend my mom celebrated her birthday. And of course, this weekend we’ll celebrate Mother’s Day with her. We really want to do something special for her, so we started brainstorming super luxurious meals we could cook.

Since one of our goals for 2011 is cooking lobster at home and it’s one of her favorite foods, we decided surf and turf would be the perfect Mother’s Day feast.

Steak and lobster meals typically cost about $25 in chain restaurants, and even more than that in gourmet establishments. We figured by cooking it at home we could keep it healthier and save a little money. I was surprised to find out just how much this meal can cost even at home.

Tony really wanted to cook live lobster. At $14.99 a pound and roughly 1.5 pounds per lobster, we would have spent about $90 on lobster alone if we each ate a whole one. The most economical option is buying two whole lobsters, which would probably yield plenty of meat for the four of us. But that would cut down on the amount of tail meat that each person gets, and the lobster tail is the best part. Not only that, but I wasn’t too excited about the gruesome reality of cooking a live lobster. I’m a little squeamish about eating anything with eyes. Yuck.

We decided to go for frozen lobster tails instead. Our grocery store typically sells frozen lobster tails at $9.99 each for about 4.5 ounces. That’s about $35.50/pound. I had no idea lobster was so pricey!

In a tremendous stroke of luck, it turns out frozen lobster tails are half price this week at our grocery store. So we’re buying 4 frozen lobster tails for $20, or about $17 a pound. It’s more expensive per pound, but we’re not paying for the inedible waste we’d have with whole lobsters. I have a feeling that when you weigh only the edible parts of the whole lobster, the per pound price would probably be more than $14.99.

We were prepared to serve any type of steak, but after shopping around we discovered that we could get beautiful cuts of filet mignon for $7.99 a pound at Costco. We normally wouldn’t spring for a pricier cut of meat like that, but this is my mom’s birthday/Mother’s Day meal after all.

For side dishes, we’re serving creamed spinach and baked potatoes. All together, this feast for four people will cost less than $60, or about $15 per person, including a nice bottle of wine. That’s a pretty pricey home-cooked meal, but when you consider what we’d spend at a restaurant, I’d say it’s a steal.

Tony says lobster tails don’t count and he still wants to cook a live lobster, but I’m still going to cross that one off the list anyway. :)

Photo by tangaroo

Menu Plan: 5/2-5/8

We spent all day Sunday cleaning our apartment. We cleared our cabinets and closets, vacuumed under furniture, and tried to reach every crevass that has been neglected during the winter months. It feels great!

At the grocery store we spent $56. We’ve been getting really bored with our old standby menus, so we’re trying to change things up with a couple of new meals. My parents are arriving for a visit this weekend (yay!), so we’ll be going out to eat Friday.

Sunday: Chicken paninis
Monday: Taco salad
Tuesday: Chicken enchiladas
Wednesday: BLTs
Thursday: Pizza
Friday: Dinner with parents

For more menu plans, visit I’m an Organizing Junkie.

Hope you’re all enjoying the start of your week! Happy Monday!

I’m trying my luck at herb gardening again

herbs

I’ve tried herb gardening a couple times before, and the results were dismal. But I’ve never been a quitter, so I’m giving it another go.

Last weekend, I picked up three herb plants from Lowes — sweet basil, thyme, and rosemary. At $3 each, they cost the same as fresh cut herbs at the grocery store. I already had the window box and soil from my last attempt at herb gardening.

I planted them, and I placed them in the sunniest part of my porch. Unfortunately, even the sunniest part of my porch is pretty shady. I think it only gets a couple hours of direct sunlight a day tops.

It’s been a week and a half, and they’re still alive. The basil is looking a little sad after three days or so of clouds and lower temperatures. I’m hoping a little sunshine today will perk it up a bit. However, the thyme and rosemary seem to be doing okay for now.

I’m looking for a window box hanging device so I can hang them over the edge of the deck. Part of the reason they’re not getting enough sun is the roof overhang that shelters my porch. I’m hoping if I can get them out from under the roof, they’ll do a little better.

I’ve made it through the first week, but I’m a little worried about my basil. It’s looking pretty sad. :( I’m notorious for killing plants. I even managed to kill a pot of impatiens last year after my mom told me they were the hardest plant to kill.

Anyone have any advice for container gardening with herbs? I’m open to anything that might help me get better results this time!

Menu Plan: 4/18-4/24

This was quite an expensive week at the grocery store — $68. Yikes. But we needed olive oil, and we ended up needing two separate types of meat, something that doesn’t usually happen.

This week we tried to focus on planning lunches for me. I’ve been struggling to find lunch ideas that are healthy, cost-efficient, and tasty enough to help me avoid the temptation of my co-workers’ daily lunch invitations.

Here’s the menu for the week, broken down by lunch and dinner.

Saturday
Pizza

Sunday
Roast, potatoes, and green beans

Monday
Lunch: Leftover hash with roast, potatoes & veggies
Dinner: Leftovers/sandwiches

Tuesday
Lunch: Sub sandwich
Dinner: Pasta primavera

Wednesday
Lunch: Leftover pasta
Dinner: Tacos

Thursday
Lunch: Leftover tacos
Dinner: Balsamic chicken with baby spinach

Friday
Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly
Dinner: Pizza

For more menu plans, visit OrgJunkie.

Menu Plan: 4/11 – 4/18

It’s been a refreshing long weekend, mostly full of rest and relaxation. It’s time to get back to work, but even after the three-day weekend I’m feeling unprepared. Don’t you hate when that happens?

We’re keeping it very simple this week. Our menu plan is made up of staples and easy dishes. We’re making a couple of pasta dishes simply because I’m still struggling to find dishes that are easy and tasty enough the next day for lunch.

Here’s the menu:

Sunday: Stuffed manicotti
Monday: Sandwiches/leftovers
Tuesday: Whole wheat pasta with marinara sauce
Wednesday: BLTs
Thursday: Chicken and broccoli stir fry
Friday: Pizza

For more menu ideas, check out OrgJunkie.