Then the well of coupon craziness went dry. Everybody and their mother (including mine) started couponning. There were stupid reality shows about it. Manufacturers couldn't afford to give our as many good coupons, so , instead of getting $1 off something, we get $0.25 off. I'm not complaining, I promise. Manufacturers have to make money. I get that. However, it has made saving money on groceries tougher. I've had to go back to basics to keep us in budget.
- BeansDave Ramsey suggests eating "rice and beans, and beans and rice" to save money. Beans are FULL of fiber, protein, and other nutrients. A one-pound bag is anywhere from $1.25-$1.75. They're even more economical if you buy larger bags.
Growing up, I never ate beans because my mother never made them. She didn't like them (and didn't know how to cook with them), so they never made their way to our table. My husband comes from a Southern family. Beans are a staple. Black beans, red beans, black eyed peas, pinto beans, lima beans (baby and large), and the list goes on. When we got married, he made beans and made me try them. Yes, I felt a bit like a 5 year old being told "Try it. You might like it." But he did it with the love and humor, not in a patronizing way. A crazy thing happened- I fell in love with beans! Now, one of my favorite lunches is brown rice cooked in homemade stock with black beans, and some red onion. Lentils take 25 minutes to cook and don't require soaking, so they're very popular in our kitchen.
I credit this book with teaching me to cook with beans and lentils. I had no idea that beans can be used in so many ways! Now that I have Pinterest, I get new bean dish ideas all the time. They best part is that they taste REALLY good. I have a bunch of easy, delicious bean recipes in the works. I'm hoping to have a couple of them up by the end of the week. - Cook more from scratch/ Use the freezer
I lump these two together because making use of my freezer allows me to cook from scratch, even when I don't have a lot of time. Often, I can throw made-from-scratch meals into the Crock Pot and cook some spinach or make a salad to have a complete meal. Other times, I'll have the most time-consuming part of a meal ready in the freezer.
When I was couponing, we ate more convenience foods than I'd like to admit. Not as bad as many Americans, but still. The lack of amazing coupon deals combined with my resolve to get crud out of my family's diet, especially with 2 young kids, lead me to get back to real cooking. I can make homemade "helper" for pennies, surprisingly cheaper than I could buy it even with coupons.
My big money saver is broth. It's FREE! When I cut up vegetables, I toss the scraps into a gallon-size freezer bag and store it in the freezer. When I get a couple of bags worth of peelings and ends, I throw the contents into a pot and cover with water. I add some salt and pepper, and let it cook down for a couple of hours to release all of the flavor and nutrients. Then I strain it, and freeze 2 cup portions in freezer bags.
Like I said, I like to have the most time-consuming part of the meal done with and hanging out in the freezer. Taco meat and shredded chicken are prime examples of this. We buy our meat in bulk. (Thanks, Costco!) I take 1-2 hours to do my freezer cooking from start to finish. I brown ground beef with salt and pepper and freeze some of it as it is and add taco seasoning (homemade, not from a packet) to the rest. I bag it and freeze it. On the nights we're having tacos, I take the bag out of the freezer (because I never remember to defrost it) and put it in a pan to heat up while I cut up tomatoes and lettuce. A full taco dinner is on the table in under 20 minutes!
I boil boneless, skinless chicken breasts in a pot with salt, pepper, a bay leaf, and onion powder. (While they're boiling, I'm browning the beef.) When the chicken is done, I put 3-4 breasts at a time into the bowl of my Kitchen Aid mixer and use the paddle attachment to break up the chicken. It takes about 30 seconds. After the shredded chicken cools, I bag it and freeze it in 2 cup portions. I use this chicken all the time! I use it in my Enchilada Zucchinis (recipe to come), and I add it to soups, pasta dishes, and quesadillas. I add some barbecue sauce to make sandwiches. The possibilities are endless. - Make the most of what you buyI may be aging myself a bit here, but I remember these things called leftovers. They were nasty. They had a weird texture, and their temperature was always wrong. Most of the time, they became science experiments that got thrown in the trash. So what's a thrifty girl to do when she has extra food? Use it, but use it in a different way. Those left over green beans aren't going to taste as good if you just microwave them, but they're delicious in soup.
- Meal PlanI know, I know. You're probably sick of hearing this one, but it really does work. My meal plan is based on three things. 1) What's on hand. 2) What's on sale. 3) What's in season.
I make my plan on Friday morning, so I can do my shopping on Friday afternoon or Saturday morning. I browse the ads of my local grocery stores, and check my pantries, freezer and fridge. I see what needs to get used up and build meals around those things. This week, I noticed that I have apples that are getting old (something very rare in our house of fruit-lovers), so I've planned to make stewed apples with the pork chops I have planned for Tuesday night. I've also planned to add them to the baked oatmeal I'm making for Saturday's breakfast. - Not buy
This one is the hardest for me. I grew up with my Depression-era grandparents. I was taught to always stock up on food, because you never know. I've had to learn some self-control. If something isn't in the budget, no matter how good a deal, it isn't in the budget. Period. If it's that important, I need to put something else back.
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