So, we’ve talked before about unusual budget ideas for spending less in the kitchen. I want to revisit that with a few more ideas that I may have mentioned before, but it’s always good to be reminded, right?
When we talked about saving money in the kitchen, we said that cooking in bulk is definitely a good thing, although I do find it a little bit overwhelming to always cook in bulk. I’ll choose certain things that I know freeze well, and that I’ll use again to cook in bulk. Getting the meat and the vegetables in bulk often saves money. Plus, somehow, if you divide your meal into two, you get by with a little bit less for each meal, instead of having a little extra and it going to waste. Doubling up on a meal is a good thing to do, whether it’s a soup, a stew, a casserole, or a lasagna – all of those freeze well for another meal.
Also, as I think I’ve mentioned before, if you have a meal with some leftovers, instead of just putting it into the fridge, make an actual meal. Maybe this’ll be for lunch for your hubby, or somebody else who needs a work lunch. A complete meal will have all the meat, vegetables, and starch all in there, ready to warm up and eat for a lunch in the future. This is far better than just putting odds and ends in the fridge that may go to waste.
When I’m freezing something with rice, I often put the meat and sauce on top of the rice, because when you reheat it, the rice can get a bit hard. This won’t happen if you use the microwave, of course, but we use the oven quite often. Also, you can reheat it in a pan with a tiny bit of water and a lid. That’s a nice way to reheat something in a glass dish. I’m sure you agree that glass dishes are far superior to plastic ones.
A similar point to this is using your leftovers creatively. You could repurpose your leftovers into a new meal. For example, if you’ve had roast chicken and you have leftover chicken, shred it and make a chicken noodle soup, or a chicken broth with some vegetables in it. Then you get a whole new meal out of it again, instead of just putting the odd bits into the fridge.
Cooking in bulk and buying in bulk are well known tips for saving. For me, it helps to do complete shopping sessions as well, whether I’m going to the grocery store or ordering online. I like to make sure that we have everything for the meals we want, because otherwise you’re gonna need another shopping trip, and then you’re going to waste money, so make sure you have a vegetable to go with each meal. Make sure you have all the odd things like sour cream to add to your stroganoff. Make sure you have the staples that sometimes run out, like butter and cheese. Make sure that you think through each meal as you make your shopping list or do your online shopping. Then you don’t need to go back for some small item.
I enjoy shopping online because I can think as I go, and when I think of something I need, instead of having to make a shopping list, I just add it to my cart. Every time someone says we’re running out of this or that, or I think of something I’ll need for a meal, I just add it, and then it’s so much easier to finish that shopping at that time. When bulk shopping, it’s good to look for things on special, and things that cost less per pound if it’s in bulk. Lamb chops, beef mince – those things are great options for buying in bulk.
Planning your meals is important, obviously looking at what’s in your pantry, and what’s in your freezer, and planning around those things. Perhaps when you see what’s on sale, you can buy those in bulk so that you have them in your freezer or pantry for the future, and then make sure that you plan your meals around those. I’ll often make a list of the proteins that are in my freezer or pantry, whether it’s tins of lentils, sausages in the freezer, roast chickens in the freezer, meat for stroganoff, or tuna in tins in the cupboard, and then I’ll plan my meals around those. I’ll just quickly list out the meals according to the proteins, and then I’ll add the vegetables or the starch, or whatever else is needed to the shopping list for those things.
Using lower cost proteins helps to save money. I try to balance out the more expensive proteins like lamb, whether it’s for a lamb stew or roast lamb. I find that more expensive, so I balance it out with a cheaper cut of pork, some chicken breasts, or some ground beef, which are cheaper. Some other kinds of beef, like stroganoff, are quite cheap. Beef sausages can also be cheap. So, make sure you’re balancing out expensive proteins if you’re going to have them. Fish is another very expensive protein! Having the cheaper ones in the same week makes sure that your budget is not stretched too much. Canned tuna is also a good way to balance the budget if you’ve spent too much in a week.
You can stretch your meat with other ingredients. For instance, adding vegetables, lentils, or beans does this. Grated carrot and zucchini are delicious in bolognese, and help to stretch it and add some more nutrients. Adding something to your chili – having a little bit of meat, and then mainly beans – is always cheaper. You can also use starches to stretch your meals. As long as you don’t use too many, this is also a way to reduce the cost of the meal overall.
Then, focus on vegetables that are not too expensive. Broccoli is expensive, Brussels sprouts are expensive. Some more affordable vegetables that I try to use more often are carrots, onions, and cabbage. Cabbage is great, as it stretches meals, and it can be used in so many diverse ways – everything from sauerkraut to cabbage soup to bulking up a stew, and it can be used in a salad even. That makes it very filling. Frozen vegetables are sometimes cheaper, although I don’t generally use those because I don’t think they taste quite as good, but perhaps frozen peas and frozen corn are a good way to stretch a meal.
Using the whole ingredient helps. For example, if you buy celery, and you use it sliced in a dish like in a stew, then it’s great to use the rest of it in a soup. Maybe you could have a soup container in your freezer where you put lamb bones, leftover celery and carrot, and any leftover vegetables that you think would enhance your soup. It’s a great way to keep those, and you can even make stock from your freezer dish. Broccoli and cauliflower stems also work great in a soup, because you blend it up and they bring that good flavor.
Snacks can be a big cost cutter if you do things like making your own crackers. Cheese crackers with salt are very delicious, and healthier and cheaper than buying pre-packaged snacks. Home-made popcorn is better and cheaper. Homemade granola is good, as granola can be very expensive.
Freezing your fresh fruits before they get old is always helpful. Freezing bananas that are getting towards their end is great for making banana bread or banana muffins in the future. Freezing bits of mango, peaches, or nectarines is great for making pies or cobblers, or for using in smoothies.
Growing your own herbs and vegetables can be so helpful. Having a bush with rosemary outside, some basil plants, or perhaps some oregano or parsley is good. It’s really helpful because it stops you having to buy the dried herbs or the fresh herbs regularly, but whenever you need them, you can just pop out and get a sprig from your garden.
Also, staying on top of your meals can save you money. That way, you don’t have to rush out at the last minute and get takeout, or rush to the grocery store for some pre-frozen meals like I have to do now and then. It’s really helpful to stay on top of things. For me, that means having the meat that I need for the week in advance; having it in the freezer, and then defrosting it in the fridge a couple of days in advance so that when I want to cook it, it’s there.
Also for me, that means having a couple of meals cooked in advance and put in the fridge. I find roast lamb is better on the second day. I’ll cook it in the crock pot, put the whole crock pot in the fridge if I have space, and then reheat it the next day in the crock pot on a low setting. Or maybe I’ll cook some corned beef, or perhaps make some beef stroganoff, and those are very easy to heat in the oven a day later. Always knowing what I’m eating the next day really helps me to stay on top of things.
But, of course, there are always days when suddenly meals catch up with you, and you realize you have nothing for lunch or dinner that day. In those cases, I often do end up ordering something frozen from the grocery store. For me, the cheapest things are things like cottage pie, which is usually cheaper than lasagna, or something like kebabs or sausages for the grill, and that’s nice and easy. Even hamburgers are good to grill. That’s a nice one that’s not too expensive.
Having good equipment also really helps save in the kitchen. I find that if I have and use my instant pot and my slow cooker effectively, then I don’t end up with meat that’s inedible and tough, or some kind of failed meal, because I know what to use for each kind of meat. I know which ones work best in the crock pot – the roast lamb, and the chicken. I know that beef often works best in my instant pot, whether it’s beef stroganoff, short rib, or roast beef, it works best for me in the instant pot. Then I don’t end up having to throw something out, which has definitely happened in the past when I’ve tried to do beef in the crockpot. So, make sure you know what works for you and your kitchen, and what’s been a success for you in the past. Make sure that you have lots of ingredients for those meals already.
Another way to save is to shop what’s in season, especially at farmers markets. Then you’re paying the original prices, not the grocery store prices, and the fruits and vegetables that are in season will always be much cheaper than the imported ones.
Often you’ll find that generic brands can be okay when money is tight, and you can get those instead of specific brands that you usually buy, whether it’s pasta, rice, beans, or any other grocery store items.
Sometimes you should think about the amount of meat and vegetables that you cook for your family, as I often find I have a little bit left over. Sometimes for my family of seven, I’ll be cooking three packs of chicken breasts, but then I decide, seeing as I usually have half of one left over, I’m going to just cook two. Then I cook two packs of chicken breasts, and that’s what there is. Somehow people compensate. Maybe I’ll add a sauce that doesn’t cost too much more, and there’s rice, there’s vegetables, and then I’ve saved on the meat. Then I don’t have any leftovers, and everybody’s still satisfied. Just choose something to do slightly less of than you usually do. You may find that you didn’t need the extra anyway, and it works out.
An obvious instance of this is limiting convenience foods and pre-packaged foods like pre-packaged snacks, and either going without, or making something similar at home. One of the cheapest snacks, of course, is popcorn because it’s just endless. It lasts so long. If you know how to make it well in a pot with a bit of butter, it’s delicious. Not buying the things that you used to buy helps. For example, granola bars, or store-bought granola itself – anything that you can actually do without, try thinking of alternatives for.
It’s also quite expensive to buy dried fruit. Something like raisins is better and cheaper than dried mango and dried pineapple, et cetera. Dried fruit wise, one of my favourite snacks to make at home was dried apples. I say “was”, because it was in the time when I had a dehydrator. It was really easy. You soak the apple slices in pineapple or apple juice to stop them going brown, and then you dehydrate them for about 12 hours on low. I think you can also do this in the oven on the lowest setting for a few hours. It won’t be as low as a dehydrator, but still it can be effective, and much more delicious and cheaper than buying dried apple.
Trying to make your eating out an occasion helps. Instead of just grabbing something as a takeout from a restaurant because you’re tired, as then it’s not great quality food, and it costs you more, try to not eat out unless it’s a special occasion. You can decide that you’re going to eat out once a week or once every two weeks as a special family occasion. We like to dress up and go to a nice restaurant, and that way you really enjoy it, but you’re not just eating out because you’re on the run and you didn’t plan well.
Try to think what snacks are good in advance for when you’re on the run, and then try to think how you can easily get those together. If you have something in the fridge that you can grab, to take with you that’s helpful. One of my favorite treats is a no-bake cheesecake that you can just spoon up into a little container and take with you, because it’s both a treat and a meal, because there’s a lot of good protein in there. I think my recipe for that is on the post for Easy Snacks for Moms. I think that’s episode number four. There are some other ideas of easy snacks on there as well.
My last money saving tip for you is to use your leftovers. Sometimes we forget them in the fridge or the freezer. Have a day when you dig in your freezer the night before to defrost stuff, or you grab all the things in your fridge to warm for lunch, and then you don’t need to spend other money on that meal.
