Fred Meyers is going to a weekly ad that starts on Wednesdays and goes to the following Tuesday.
We picked up our hamburger order today. It came in one pound frozen packages. At least I dont have to package it. I do have to thaw it before I cook some for the freezer. I like to keep a certain amount cooked so that it is simple to make dinner in a hurry. I can have tacos or enchaladas made in a hurry. Tacos from cooked hamburger is a good way to stave off the take out demons.
Chicken can be cooked from frozen in the insta pot.
There is still time for the digital coupons at qfc. It goes through sunday. Cheese .99; ground turkey 1.99., brats 1/99 and prego .99. I have not found a coupon for prego.
Buying things when you dont need them immediately goes along ways to cut your grocery budget. Cheese and brats can be frozen. Prego is the start of a cheap dinner. Add 50 cent spaghetti and some parm that is .99 a 8 ounce container and you have a good start on dinner. Meatballs are 2.00 for almost a pound at Winco. The same ones are 3.50 a almost pound at Safeways.
Its not what you buy as much as it is when and where you buy it.
Frozen blueberries are 3.99 for a pound bag. They are 2.00 a pound at Costco Business. They may be that same price at regular costco, I haven’t checked. That’s half price. Knowing the best price and buying at the best price is way to cut your food bill.
Saturday, April 7, 2018
Friday, April 6, 2018
DT and GO Hauls
Dollar Tree and Grocery Outlet -
Dollar Tree
Bagels
French Buns
Hamburger Buns
Pizza sauce
Pineapple, Libby’s
Total 5.00
Grocery Outlet
Ancient Grains Taco shells .99
Pancake mix .50
Wings sauce 1.99
Sliced ripe olives .69
Lasagna 1.99
Bacon 2.99
Sliced cheese 2.29
Total 19.51
Dollar Tree
Bagels
French Buns
Hamburger Buns
Pizza sauce
Pineapple, Libby’s
Total 5.00
Grocery Outlet
Ancient Grains Taco shells .99
Pancake mix .50
Wings sauce 1.99
Sliced ripe olives .69
Lasagna 1.99
Bacon 2.99
Sliced cheese 2.29
Total 19.51
Friday - notes
Friday notes : Chicken wings in the Insta Pot is on Dinners: Better, Cheaper, Faster.
Yesterday’s Haul made me go over budget by 5.49. And, I am picking up a case of hamburger tomorrow. I suspect I will not have to buy a lot of anything but perishables the rest of the month. Buying groceries when they are at the optimum price makes you sometimes have to invest and go over budget for. A week. Fortunately, the food is an investment and it will allow us to eat better for less the rest of the coming months. Its all about averaging.
Last night I made chicken wings. We hadn’t had chicken wings for ever because they used to be ten a pound. Then they became popular for ball game fare and the price went up substantially.
That’s ridiculous, they are all bone. I paid the same amount for boneless, skinless chicken breast and I got the chicken for a dollar a pound. It is all local chicken .
Groceries on the Cheap is not about depriving yourself of good food. We have good quality food and we have real, not fake food. We just pay 💰 the smallest amount we can for the food. Buy buying food at its optimum price and adapting to a simpler grid, we eat better for less.
Simplify, pay less, and always have food in the house. Its a winning concept.
By picking cuts of meat that are versatile, you don’t get bored and you still have a limited number of bins in the freezer. Organizing an upright freezer by using baskets from the DT is a good thing to do. You know where everything is and you can tell at a glance what things you need to put on a watch for a sale list.
Its always a good thing when you are not forced to go to the store. Going at your leisure means you can go with a clear mind and the fortitude to avoid the impulse buy traps. LOL.
Please share. I am still trying to grow the channel.
Thursday, April 5, 2018
QFC Haul
Spent 60.00
5 Bratwerst 1.99
5 cheese .99
Chicken wings .99
2 bell peppers .77
Grapes 1.99 lb
Total 24.39
Savings 54 percent.
5 Bratwerst 1.99
5 cheese .99
Chicken wings .99
2 bell peppers .77
Grapes 1.99 lb
Total 24.39
Savings 54 percent.
Thursday Notes
Alberways has cheese for 2 lb for 4.99 or 2.50 a lb. It is two dollars a pound at QFC if you use a digital coupon and you buy it on a specific day. Limit 5, or 2.5 pounds. Costco Business has it for just over 2.00 a pound in five pound bags. Grated cheese freezes well.
Its not what you buy, its when and where you buy it.
Let’s talk leftovers. I cant tell you how many people have told me that their husbands don't want to eat leftovers. By planning your meals and making what our home ec teachers called planned overs , you can cook once and eat twice without dealing with “leftovers”.
Rice and beans have a very short refrigerator life. They go bad fast. They, however, should be good for three to four days, stored in small batches. You have to use your own judgment. That’s the scoop I got off the Internet.
Making one batch of rice for two meals in the insta pot saves time and energy—yours and the grids. You can make Spain’s rice out of 1/2 of it and use the other half for a stir fry.
A batch of beans can be chili and it also can be re fried beans or black bean burgers.
Cook a couple of chicken breasts , and you can make chicken pot pie and stir fry or warm shredded chicken in a mixture of water and taco seasoning for tacos or a burrito bowl.
I always cook bulk hamburger when I get it home. Use the largest frying pan you have and fry t until it is no longer pink. A potato masher or a tool made especially for frying hamburger helps. I found one for six dollars.....twenty six was a bit much for me. LOL. Drain the fat into a pot to discard later and pour boiling water over the meat in a colander over the sink. This de fats the hamburger and looses up to 17 percent of the fat. Put it in portion controlled bags and freeze it. We use quart bags from the dollar store and put the quart bags into a zip lock bag and mark the bag once, not every bag. I bag the amount we need for tacos. Its easy to grab multiples for other dishes.
This saves a lot of time at the rushed dinner hour and you are more likely to go to the bother of de fating if you are doing it once, rather than every time you cook ground meat. It takes minutes to thaw. How many of us have fussed with tryng to cook a block of frozen hamburger?
Bummer.
Tacos can happen in 15 minutes or less. Spanish rice takes hands on time of about 3 minutes.
I am a firm believer in tomato, chicken, vegetable , and beef bouillon . You can get low sodium and it is much cheaper than buying stock in a box or an can. It takes less room in the pantry and is always at the ready. It adds depth of flavor to soups and stews.
Using pieces of meat instead of a slab of meat cuts your meat consumption. Too much meat causes cancer and kidney disease according to some doctors. The portion of meat that is recommended is a four ounce portion. That is about the size of an average palm of your hand. Unless you are feeding a linebacker or body builder, you don't need to serve those portions. You can use less meat in a dish if you are also using cheese in the dish, like tacos, or lasagna.
I have found that the instapot has cut my time in the kitchen tremendously. Rice and beans from scratch are so easy, that I never buy them instant or ready made. That has saved a lot of money.
It costs .0125 a serving for and and .02 a serving for rice. Ready rice is over .50 a serving. A can o
f beans is upwards of a dollar. It has 4 servings .
Pasta cooks in two minutes plus time to pressurize and depressurize. That time is not hands of time.
You can leave it alone and cook your sauce teach when it is cooking. No watching the pot. You do have to catch the pasta close to its depressurize time, it over cooks if left in the hot water. I set the timer.so I can leave the room and come back when I need to manual release.
The insta pot and our food processor are workhorses in the kitchen. They hae more than paid for themselves.
Its not what you buy, its when and where you buy it.
Let’s talk leftovers. I cant tell you how many people have told me that their husbands don't want to eat leftovers. By planning your meals and making what our home ec teachers called planned overs , you can cook once and eat twice without dealing with “leftovers”.
Rice and beans have a very short refrigerator life. They go bad fast. They, however, should be good for three to four days, stored in small batches. You have to use your own judgment. That’s the scoop I got off the Internet.
Making one batch of rice for two meals in the insta pot saves time and energy—yours and the grids. You can make Spain’s rice out of 1/2 of it and use the other half for a stir fry.
A batch of beans can be chili and it also can be re fried beans or black bean burgers.
Cook a couple of chicken breasts , and you can make chicken pot pie and stir fry or warm shredded chicken in a mixture of water and taco seasoning for tacos or a burrito bowl.
I always cook bulk hamburger when I get it home. Use the largest frying pan you have and fry t until it is no longer pink. A potato masher or a tool made especially for frying hamburger helps. I found one for six dollars.....twenty six was a bit much for me. LOL. Drain the fat into a pot to discard later and pour boiling water over the meat in a colander over the sink. This de fats the hamburger and looses up to 17 percent of the fat. Put it in portion controlled bags and freeze it. We use quart bags from the dollar store and put the quart bags into a zip lock bag and mark the bag once, not every bag. I bag the amount we need for tacos. Its easy to grab multiples for other dishes.
This saves a lot of time at the rushed dinner hour and you are more likely to go to the bother of de fating if you are doing it once, rather than every time you cook ground meat. It takes minutes to thaw. How many of us have fussed with tryng to cook a block of frozen hamburger?
Bummer.
Tacos can happen in 15 minutes or less. Spanish rice takes hands on time of about 3 minutes.
I am a firm believer in tomato, chicken, vegetable , and beef bouillon . You can get low sodium and it is much cheaper than buying stock in a box or an can. It takes less room in the pantry and is always at the ready. It adds depth of flavor to soups and stews.
Using pieces of meat instead of a slab of meat cuts your meat consumption. Too much meat causes cancer and kidney disease according to some doctors. The portion of meat that is recommended is a four ounce portion. That is about the size of an average palm of your hand. Unless you are feeding a linebacker or body builder, you don't need to serve those portions. You can use less meat in a dish if you are also using cheese in the dish, like tacos, or lasagna.
I have found that the instapot has cut my time in the kitchen tremendously. Rice and beans from scratch are so easy, that I never buy them instant or ready made. That has saved a lot of money.
It costs .0125 a serving for and and .02 a serving for rice. Ready rice is over .50 a serving. A can o
f beans is upwards of a dollar. It has 4 servings .
Pasta cooks in two minutes plus time to pressurize and depressurize. That time is not hands of time.
You can leave it alone and cook your sauce teach when it is cooking. No watching the pot. You do have to catch the pasta close to its depressurize time, it over cooks if left in the hot water. I set the timer.so I can leave the room and come back when I need to manual release.
The insta pot and our food processor are workhorses in the kitchen. They hae more than paid for themselves.
Wednesday, April 4, 2018
Chain Store Ads
Alberways
Cantaloupe 2/3
Cheese 2lbs 4.99 **cheaper at costco business
Bread .89@@
Milk 1.79@@
QFC
Tide buy 2 @ 2/10. Coupons are in the P and G .c 3.00 off tide pods,not simply pods. 1.00 off of tide.
Peppers .77
Grapes 1.99
Milk .99 **cheaper at Alberways
Breyers 2/5
Draper valley wings or drums .99
4 days only TH, F,S, SUN
Digital coupon -5 times
Cheese .99
Ground Turkey 1.99
Italian sausage 1.99
Prego .99
These are store coupons.
Cantaloupe 2/3
Cheese 2lbs 4.99 **cheaper at costco business
Bread .89@@
Milk 1.79@@
QFC
Tide buy 2 @ 2/10. Coupons are in the P and G .c 3.00 off tide pods,not simply pods. 1.00 off of tide.
Peppers .77
Grapes 1.99
Milk .99 **cheaper at Alberways
Breyers 2/5
Draper valley wings or drums .99
4 days only TH, F,S, SUN
Digital coupon -5 times
Cheese .99
Ground Turkey 1.99
Italian sausage 1.99
Prego .99
These are store coupons.
Tuesday, April 3, 2018
Buy this, not that .......
Sometimes, a simple substitution or a few minutes of doing something yourself can save a lot of money.
A do this, not that......you need to fuel your body during the day. Its not good to eat a small breakfast, and then nothing until dinner and gorge yourself at dinner. You are carb loading and don't have time to wear off the carbs before you go to bed. I lost a ton of weight when I was in the rehab recovering from a broken hip. We are a hearty, protein filled breakfast at 8 am. A ‘dinneer’ that was skimpy by all accounts at 12:00 and a snack sized dinner at 5 o’clock. Nothing until 8 the next morning. I survived. But I lost 10 pounds that month and I exercised twice a day. It was controlled. I didn’t exercise for hours, but I also didn’t carb load to compensate for the added exercise.
Buy bread, not bread crumbs. Bread crumbs are the easiest thing to make. My 6yo granddaughter can make them—- all but setting up the food processor. It can be make with the plastic blade. Breadcrumbs cost 2.40 a lb. I got hamburger for 2.44 a pound. Personally, I’d rather eat the hamburger,it has more nutrition.
Buy real Parmesean cheese, not the take stuff in the green can. It is full of wood pulp to keep it from caking. If Parmesean is too expensive, buy any hard cheese. Sometimes we grate our own with a micro plane, sometimes, I buy it shredded . It’s a little luxury that makes a big difference.
Because of the way it is made, it has no lactose, so I read.
Buy butter, not fake butter. The nutritionist told me that using a skim of butter was better than using fake butter. Many fake butters have hydrogenated oil in them. The scientist say that hydrogenated oil thickens the blood. Read labels. If palm oil is supposedly going to kill your children in Nutella, it can kill you in fake butter. Just logic. Ingredients have to be listed in order of volume. There is more of the ingredient first listed, than there is of the things you cant pronounce at the end of the list.
Making your own pizza saves a ton of money . You can make a pizza for less than a dollar using ingredients that are purchased at RBP’s. Its not hard and a 1.50-2.00 pizza dough costs .19. Save up bits of veggies and meat from meals made during the week and keep them in the freezer door. I call it almost free pizza. Its labor free because the veggies and meat are already processed and it takes less time than ordering a pizza and waiting for delivery or standing in line for take n bake. Pizza sauce is a dollar for a name brand at the DT and you can freeze it in an ice cube tray (also at the DT) and pop it out into a quart bag. We use 2 cubes for a pizza. This doesn’t waste sauce. You get 5 pizzas out of a jar of sauce. We started our granddaughter a couple of years ago. She is to the P.O. t where she can take a pizza from the dough ball to the ready for the oven herself if the ingredients are
set out for her. You may get a smiley face with the pepperoni , but what the heck. Too many college graduates are unable to boil and egg. They don't teach life skills in school anymore, I am told. Children can learn little things from the time they are small. We don't let her deal with raw meat, anything sharp, or hot. But, there is a lot of things they can learn and you know what they are doing while you are making a meal.
Not boxed mac and cheese, but scratch Mack and cheese. Boxed mac and cheese is full of preservatives and tsp. Tsp is the detergent that we sold at the paint store so that painters could clean the grease etc off walls before they painted them. You need to wear rubber gloves so that it doesn’t eat your hands. Annies is the same as Kraft except Annie’s has more fat.
Basically, real is always better than fake. If you are worried about fat, or salt, use less of it. We
have processed meats, we just cut back to using them sparingly. A piece of bacon on top of a casserole that feed 4-6 people, is not as bad as a pound of bacon. 1/ 2 of a five ounce package of pepperoni on a pizza give you the flavor, but you can supplement it with chopped peppers, mushrooms, and olives.
A do this, not that......you need to fuel your body during the day. Its not good to eat a small breakfast, and then nothing until dinner and gorge yourself at dinner. You are carb loading and don't have time to wear off the carbs before you go to bed. I lost a ton of weight when I was in the rehab recovering from a broken hip. We are a hearty, protein filled breakfast at 8 am. A ‘dinneer’ that was skimpy by all accounts at 12:00 and a snack sized dinner at 5 o’clock. Nothing until 8 the next morning. I survived. But I lost 10 pounds that month and I exercised twice a day. It was controlled. I didn’t exercise for hours, but I also didn’t carb load to compensate for the added exercise.
Buy bread, not bread crumbs. Bread crumbs are the easiest thing to make. My 6yo granddaughter can make them—- all but setting up the food processor. It can be make with the plastic blade. Breadcrumbs cost 2.40 a lb. I got hamburger for 2.44 a pound. Personally, I’d rather eat the hamburger,it has more nutrition.
Buy real Parmesean cheese, not the take stuff in the green can. It is full of wood pulp to keep it from caking. If Parmesean is too expensive, buy any hard cheese. Sometimes we grate our own with a micro plane, sometimes, I buy it shredded . It’s a little luxury that makes a big difference.
Because of the way it is made, it has no lactose, so I read.
Buy butter, not fake butter. The nutritionist told me that using a skim of butter was better than using fake butter. Many fake butters have hydrogenated oil in them. The scientist say that hydrogenated oil thickens the blood. Read labels. If palm oil is supposedly going to kill your children in Nutella, it can kill you in fake butter. Just logic. Ingredients have to be listed in order of volume. There is more of the ingredient first listed, than there is of the things you cant pronounce at the end of the list.
Making your own pizza saves a ton of money . You can make a pizza for less than a dollar using ingredients that are purchased at RBP’s. Its not hard and a 1.50-2.00 pizza dough costs .19. Save up bits of veggies and meat from meals made during the week and keep them in the freezer door. I call it almost free pizza. Its labor free because the veggies and meat are already processed and it takes less time than ordering a pizza and waiting for delivery or standing in line for take n bake. Pizza sauce is a dollar for a name brand at the DT and you can freeze it in an ice cube tray (also at the DT) and pop it out into a quart bag. We use 2 cubes for a pizza. This doesn’t waste sauce. You get 5 pizzas out of a jar of sauce. We started our granddaughter a couple of years ago. She is to the P.O. t where she can take a pizza from the dough ball to the ready for the oven herself if the ingredients are
set out for her. You may get a smiley face with the pepperoni , but what the heck. Too many college graduates are unable to boil and egg. They don't teach life skills in school anymore, I am told. Children can learn little things from the time they are small. We don't let her deal with raw meat, anything sharp, or hot. But, there is a lot of things they can learn and you know what they are doing while you are making a meal.
Not boxed mac and cheese, but scratch Mack and cheese. Boxed mac and cheese is full of preservatives and tsp. Tsp is the detergent that we sold at the paint store so that painters could clean the grease etc off walls before they painted them. You need to wear rubber gloves so that it doesn’t eat your hands. Annies is the same as Kraft except Annie’s has more fat.
Basically, real is always better than fake. If you are worried about fat, or salt, use less of it. We
have processed meats, we just cut back to using them sparingly. A piece of bacon on top of a casserole that feed 4-6 people, is not as bad as a pound of bacon. 1/ 2 of a five ounce package of pepperoni on a pizza give you the flavor, but you can supplement it with chopped peppers, mushrooms, and olives.
Monday, April 2, 2018
Why?
The why of cutting your food bill in half is a no brainer. Groceries is often the most expensive discretionary item in your budget. The why buy in bulk at the lowest price is another story that may need a bit more explanation.
If you are going to the store many times a week, you are setting yourself up for being bombarded with a lot of retailers phycology to make you impulse buy. Retailers make 70 percent of their profit on impulse buys. Let someone else take the hit.
When you make a list, check it twice, meal plan, and try to remember everything you need for specific meals, you take a lot of time and open yourself up to making another trip to the store because you forgot something..
When you have a particular list that you know by heart because it is simplified and you know that all you are looking for is dairy , vegetables and fruit, and a bulk protein item, there’s no list, and you can get in and out of two stores in record time.
You are making meals from your pantry/freezer and replenishing stock when they are at their RBP. You buy more of one thing, and buy less variety of things. Its just simpler.
Simplify, spend less, always have food in the house.
I made homemade refried beans (aka bean dip) last week. I noticed that the canister ( reclaimed bulk popcorn packaging.) was low. Next time I went to the DT I bought three 1.5 lb bags. Done. Won’t have to do it again for at least three months. I had already noticed that the black bean canister was low and I dont use as much of them. I picked up some from the bulk isle at winco. Winco is a chain that is in the west and southwest. Basicly, I think they are wherever Aldi isn’t. We have Trader Joe’s, but they are more inclined to carry alternative food. I went for bargains, I found a basil plant and a package of gorgeous strawberries that were 1.5 times the price of the berries at the regular grocery stores.
I digress.
The point is, I am not buying beans every week, or even every month and at any point in time, if there was an emergency, great or small, I can make any meal I want from my pantry.
If I dont have russet potatoes, I have dehydrated mashed and sweet potatoes and probably a few scalloped potato mixes. I have eggs, and dehydrated eggs. Milk and dehydrated milk. It works.
There was a day when I had emergency surgery years ago, I sent my husband to the store for a weeks worth of food. He came back with a 12 pack and 2 pomegranates. I sent my college age daughter with a budget. She was more resourceful and came back with a weeks worth of dinners including meat and veggies.
My plan has developed over the years. The last part was cooking more detailed things like bread fro scratch and finding easy , efficient, scratch meals. Having the proper equipment helps a lot. The insta pot and food processer are my workhorses. I have saved more than their costs many times over. Bread crumbs are 2.40 cents a pound. They use basicly garbage. Scratch beans and rice are pennes of the cost of buying ready made in bags or cans. Sometimes a piece of steak or roast is cheaper than 95/5 hamburger and you can grind it in minutes with the food processer.
If you are going to the store many times a week, you are setting yourself up for being bombarded with a lot of retailers phycology to make you impulse buy. Retailers make 70 percent of their profit on impulse buys. Let someone else take the hit.
When you make a list, check it twice, meal plan, and try to remember everything you need for specific meals, you take a lot of time and open yourself up to making another trip to the store because you forgot something..
When you have a particular list that you know by heart because it is simplified and you know that all you are looking for is dairy , vegetables and fruit, and a bulk protein item, there’s no list, and you can get in and out of two stores in record time.
You are making meals from your pantry/freezer and replenishing stock when they are at their RBP. You buy more of one thing, and buy less variety of things. Its just simpler.
Simplify, spend less, always have food in the house.
I made homemade refried beans (aka bean dip) last week. I noticed that the canister ( reclaimed bulk popcorn packaging.) was low. Next time I went to the DT I bought three 1.5 lb bags. Done. Won’t have to do it again for at least three months. I had already noticed that the black bean canister was low and I dont use as much of them. I picked up some from the bulk isle at winco. Winco is a chain that is in the west and southwest. Basicly, I think they are wherever Aldi isn’t. We have Trader Joe’s, but they are more inclined to carry alternative food. I went for bargains, I found a basil plant and a package of gorgeous strawberries that were 1.5 times the price of the berries at the regular grocery stores.
I digress.
The point is, I am not buying beans every week, or even every month and at any point in time, if there was an emergency, great or small, I can make any meal I want from my pantry.
If I dont have russet potatoes, I have dehydrated mashed and sweet potatoes and probably a few scalloped potato mixes. I have eggs, and dehydrated eggs. Milk and dehydrated milk. It works.
There was a day when I had emergency surgery years ago, I sent my husband to the store for a weeks worth of food. He came back with a 12 pack and 2 pomegranates. I sent my college age daughter with a budget. She was more resourceful and came back with a weeks worth of dinners including meat and veggies.
My plan has developed over the years. The last part was cooking more detailed things like bread fro scratch and finding easy , efficient, scratch meals. Having the proper equipment helps a lot. The insta pot and food processer are my workhorses. I have saved more than their costs many times over. Bread crumbs are 2.40 cents a pound. They use basicly garbage. Scratch beans and rice are pennes of the cost of buying ready made in bags or cans. Sometimes a piece of steak or roast is cheaper than 95/5 hamburger and you can grind it in minutes with the food processer.
FM and Winco Food Hauls
Yesterday , we went to Fred Meyers and Winco. They are the two stores with the best prices. No one store has all good prices. That’s why taking a few extra minutes to shop two stores is fruitful.
Fred Meyers
Milk .99
Mustard 1.59
Avacado .88
Apples .99
Naval Oranges .99
Blackberries .99
Total 10.24
WINCO
Mustard .98
Coffee 5.48
Frozen french fries 🍟 1.37
Parm 2.68
Romas 1.39
Turkey lunch meat 2.78
Cucumbers .58
Bananas .56
Broccolli 3.96
Asparagus .98 lb
Blueberris 3.48 - 2 lbs frozen * they are 2.00 a lb at costco. Checking the quality
Total 25.86
We were out of mustard except for the kids kind. LOL
Saturday, March 31, 2018
Meal Plans for week of April 2
Meal Plans keep us on track and save time and money.
- Tortilla soup (chicken )
- Pizza
- Buffalo chicken pie, lettuce, tomato
- Mac and cheese, peas and carrots
- Pork chops , apples, and cranberry dressing. Green beans
- Salmon, seasoned rice, broccolli
- Breakfast for Dinner.
Notes
- Soup is a good go to meal if the house is busy, people can eat on demmand, uses diced tomatoes I need to use.
- Pizza is always a inexpensive , favorite
- Buffalo chicken pie is from the Betty Crocker cookbook
- Mac and cheese is another favorite.
- Pork chops are browned on both sides and placed on top of bread dressing with an addition of dried cranberries and chopped apple. Bake off until pork chops are done.
- Salmon baked, rice medley, and broccolli
- Breakfast for Dinner is another favorite and everyone participates.
Fred Meyer AD——changing
The Fred Meyer (FM) ad is changing to come out on Wednesday’s like Alberways and QFC.
Note 10 percent off senior discount on this Tuesday with coupon .
DIGITAL COUPONS FOR THURSDAY, 4/5 TO SUNDAY 4/8
CHEESE .99
PORK SPARERBS .99
KROGER BRATS 1.99
PREGO .99
YOU CAN USE 5 TIMES.
Blackberries , apples, oranges, pears .99
Pork Loin 1.69 ( i think it is sill 1.39 at Costco Business )
Milk .99
NOT A BARGAIN
Breaded chicken tenders 6.99
I paid .99 a lb for chicken breasts . They were 1.25 pounds for a 1/2 breast. Since there are 3 of us eating meat, I cut the tenders off . Breading is made from bread crumbs. Its our garbage heels add bread that I purchase for a dollar that is going stale. An egg costs . 08 or less. I have dehydrated eggs I got for .065. Basicly, you are saving almost 6.00 a pound.
We, however, like a breading of equal parts of dry bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, and chopped nuts....walnuts or pecans.
This is a 10 day ad to accommodate the ad change. If the ad doesn’t come in the mail like the others, we will get it on line.
Friday, March 30, 2018
DT grocery haul
Quick grocery haul before we start no spend april. We have had about a thousand dollars worth of extra bills this month. So, in the interest of balancing the budget, we are going to go for a no spend month. That means that only perishables will be bought.
- 3 pkg pinto beans - grown in USA, non gmo
- 1n pkg bagels -Thomas
- 1 extra large can Campbells spaghetti o’s
- 1 pkg pepperoni, Olberto
Total 6.00
RBP and staple list
One of the ways GOC keeps the budget low is to only buy things you use on a regular basis at a RBP or a target price (nothing to do with the store with the red balls )
Green beans, canned .50 ( I recently paid .39)
Corn -canned, .50 ( this too was .39)
Chili, Hormel .99
Tomato or cr/mushroom, chicken noodle soup .50
Pasta sauce, canned .88
Pasta sauce , jar...1.25 (I have paid as low as .59)
Canned sliced olives .72
Canned diced green chillies .66
Jar pizza sauce 1.00
Salad dressing .75
Mayo 2.50
Diced Tomatoes .50 (Ive got as cheap as .39 with BPA free cans )- and .33 organic. )
Cold cereal 1.00 max -seldom
Instant Potatoes .86
Suddenly salad .75 - (I’ve got as cheap as .50)
BC. Cake mix - 1.00 ( as cheap as .88)
Boxed bread stuffing mix - 1.00 (as cheap as .75)
Pasta - .48-1.00 (free is good)
Bread products are a dollar at the DT- Orowheat, Thomas, Sara Lee.....
Milk -1/2 gallon 1.00
Sour cream 1.00
Cottage cheese 1.00
Eggs 1.00 (1.50 is my max)
Butter 2.50 - i want 2.00 and have got it at 1.50 before with coupon.
Ice cream 2.99 (tillamook)
Frozen vegges 1.00 a lb.
Tomato bouillon.
Chicken bouillon.
Vegetable bouillon.
Beef better than bouillon.
Prices vary, Costco is cheapest .
Lots cheaper than buying those cartons at 1.00-2.00 a box
Vinegar for cleaning. 2/4.29
Hamburger 80/20 2.44 - ( as cheap as 2.00-limited quantities )
Chicken breast , Boneless, skinless - 1.77 ( as cheap as .99-Zaycon)
Pork Loin 1.69 or less ( as cheap as .99)
Sausage is up to 3.50 the last two I got were free. Waiting for a good price. Or we will make our own. (Less sulphate )
Cheese : 2.50 a lb. ( I have got it as low as 1.85) it is close. To 2.00 at Costco business in 5 lb bags. Both cheddar and mozzarella.
Thursday, March 29, 2018
Four Plus one is five.
Four people, 1 meal, 5 bucks .......based on two adults and 2 school aged children.
- Spaghetti and meatballs, green beans.
- Pasta sauce .88, pasta .48, meatballs 2.00. Peasant bread .25, green beans .39. Total 4.00
- Based on GOC prices. It pays to rotate purchases.
- Tacos , refried beans, Spanish rice.
- Taco shells ..49 hamburger1/2 lb 1.22, cheese ,50, lettuce .25tomato .25 Refried beans 1.00, Spanish rice .08 total 4.51
- Based on GOC prices, it pays to rotate bulk purchases
- Chicken breast stir fry, rice
- Stir fry vegges 1.50, 1 lb chicken 1.00, top ramen noodles only, .25, rice .08 total 3.55
- Based on GOC prices . It pays to rotate bulk purchases
- Pizza , green salad
- Pizza crust .19. 1/5 jar of pizza sauce .20., 1 cup cheese .50, total .89. Add 1/2 package pepperoni .50 totals 1.39. Green salad : lettuce 1.00, tomato .55, cucumber .33. Total 3.27
- Based on GOC prices, it pays to rotate bulk purchases.
- Vegetable bean soup.
- Vegetable broth, 2 cans diced tomatoes .78, beans .30, carrots, celery .45, 1.53 toasted cheese sandwiches bread 1.00. Cheese 2.00. 4.53
Totals 3.97 a meal.
Wednesday, March 28, 2018
QFC GROCERY HAUL
THE WAY TO CUT YOUR GROCERY BILL IS TO PAY 1/2 PRICE FOR YOUR GROCERIES . That means that sometimes you need to buy things that you do not immediately need.
Grapes 1.48
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Strawberries 2.99
Butter 1.99.
Cottage cheese .79
Sour cream .79
Total 16.95.
Grapes 1.48
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Strawberries 2.99
Butter 1.99.
Cottage cheese .79
Sour cream .79
Total 16.95.
Chain store ads
Alberways
Spiral ham 1.37
Shank ham .97
Strawberries 2bs 3.77
Quaker cereals .99 includes bars @@
Best Foods Mayo 2.49@@
Note: whole roasted chicken 6.49. That’s less two pounds. The break even point on chicken is THREE pounds. You are paying more for bone than you are chicken . Which means you are probably paying 6.49 for about a pound of chicken. Chicken often is .88 a pound. NEVER buy a chicken that is less than three pounds. The optimine size to buy is 5 lbs or just under 5 lbs.
Libbys vegetables 2/1
QFC
Spiral Ham 1.27
Strawberries 2.99 lb
Grapes 1.48
Buy 6, save 3
Butter 1.99
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Post cereal 1.99
Ritz crackers 1.79
Sour cream or cottage cheese .79
Canned biscuits 1.49 - coupons out there.
April, this ones for you.
Ground turkey 3.99 lb.
LOL
Spiral ham 1.37
Shank ham .97
Strawberries 2bs 3.77
Quaker cereals .99 includes bars @@
Best Foods Mayo 2.49@@
Note: whole roasted chicken 6.49. That’s less two pounds. The break even point on chicken is THREE pounds. You are paying more for bone than you are chicken . Which means you are probably paying 6.49 for about a pound of chicken. Chicken often is .88 a pound. NEVER buy a chicken that is less than three pounds. The optimine size to buy is 5 lbs or just under 5 lbs.
Libbys vegetables 2/1
QFC
Spiral Ham 1.27
Strawberries 2.99 lb
Grapes 1.48
Buy 6, save 3
Butter 1.99
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Post cereal 1.99
Ritz crackers 1.79
Sour cream or cottage cheese .79
Canned biscuits 1.49 - coupons out there.
April, this ones for you.
Ground turkey 3.99 lb.
LOL
Tuesday, March 27, 2018
How to meal plan
There are different ways to meal plan. Meal planning is a necessary part of a organized kitchen on the cheap. Planning helps not waste food and keeps the take out gremlins away.
A matrix helps too. If you have some kind of an outline, it’s easier to plan efficiently. We use a protein based matrix. 1 beef, 1 fish or shellfish, 2 vegetarian. , 3 chicken or pork. Some people use a standard ten meals—one for spring and simmer, one for fall and winter and make ten meals that they make ver and over. This makes a standard grocery list and makes it easier to bulk purchase food.
Bulk purchasing sources of protein on a rotation basis saves a lot of time and money . Simplify, save money, and always have food in the house.
Having a couple of days that are stable go tos helps too, We have pizza and breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is a family affair and everyone cooks. Pizza is easy and cheap and a family favorite. Both are versatile .
Pinterest and a good cookbook keeps your meals fresh.
A quick inventory of your pantry and freezer gives you a sense of what needs to be used up soon.
A meal plan can be varied dur8ng the week. Plans can change, but having a plan is a good base.
A matrix helps too. If you have some kind of an outline, it’s easier to plan efficiently. We use a protein based matrix. 1 beef, 1 fish or shellfish, 2 vegetarian. , 3 chicken or pork. Some people use a standard ten meals—one for spring and simmer, one for fall and winter and make ten meals that they make ver and over. This makes a standard grocery list and makes it easier to bulk purchase food.
Bulk purchasing sources of protein on a rotation basis saves a lot of time and money . Simplify, save money, and always have food in the house.
Having a couple of days that are stable go tos helps too, We have pizza and breakfast for dinner. Breakfast for dinner is a family affair and everyone cooks. Pizza is easy and cheap and a family favorite. Both are versatile .
Pinterest and a good cookbook keeps your meals fresh.
A quick inventory of your pantry and freezer gives you a sense of what needs to be used up soon.
A meal plan can be varied dur8ng the week. Plans can change, but having a plan is a good base.
Monday, March 26, 2018
Monday Kitchen Management
We had a houseful of guests last night, so I made the vegetable bean soup and a loaf of bread. A vegetarian soup is a good way to please everybody around here.
Refrigerator Bread is a recipe I found on the Internet . It is King Arthur Refrigerator bread. It takes a matter of minutes and makes multiple loaves. Sixty four cents makes 2-3 loaves depending on the size of your loaf. Or, about 21 cents a loaf. A little more work than peasant bread, but about the same price.
Finding scratch recipes that are efficient and taste good is not hard. It makes a difference in how things taste, and reduces your exposure to those ingredients you cant pronounce.
Your food shouldn’t be a science experiment and your food bill shouldn’t be an arm and a leg.
You can eat well on four dollars a day. I’m not going to tell you that you can feed the 17 yo linebacker on that, but you can do it for a regular family.
Eating and exercising some portion control is a good thing. If you can't see any white of your plate you are probably eating too much. We have a problem with obesity in this country. A lot of it in my opinion is due to portion control. 4 ounces of meat is ample unless you are building muscle for some reason. Que the 17 yo linebacker. Check with your nutritionist. We still eat more than the RDA of nutriments.
Buying your food at a rock bottom price and paying attention to labels and pull dates is a good thing. We got organic diced tomatoes this weekend for 3/1. They have an April 2018 pull date. We ate them last night. I’m sure that food doesn’t go from ok to spoil on a designated date. We should have some wiggle room. But I don't tend to be adventurous. That’s why I suggest a 4-6 week supply of food. That is enough to cover yourself if you have a family emergency, but not too much so that you are strapped for cupboard space and have trouble keeping up with it. There is just some smug satisfaction of knowing you beat the system and have yourself covered when life throws you a little curve ball. Studies have shown that the stress of not having food in the house can reduce your life expectancy. So can drinking sugar laden drinks.
Refrigerator Bread is a recipe I found on the Internet . It is King Arthur Refrigerator bread. It takes a matter of minutes and makes multiple loaves. Sixty four cents makes 2-3 loaves depending on the size of your loaf. Or, about 21 cents a loaf. A little more work than peasant bread, but about the same price.
Finding scratch recipes that are efficient and taste good is not hard. It makes a difference in how things taste, and reduces your exposure to those ingredients you cant pronounce.
Your food shouldn’t be a science experiment and your food bill shouldn’t be an arm and a leg.
You can eat well on four dollars a day. I’m not going to tell you that you can feed the 17 yo linebacker on that, but you can do it for a regular family.
Eating and exercising some portion control is a good thing. If you can't see any white of your plate you are probably eating too much. We have a problem with obesity in this country. A lot of it in my opinion is due to portion control. 4 ounces of meat is ample unless you are building muscle for some reason. Que the 17 yo linebacker. Check with your nutritionist. We still eat more than the RDA of nutriments.
Buying your food at a rock bottom price and paying attention to labels and pull dates is a good thing. We got organic diced tomatoes this weekend for 3/1. They have an April 2018 pull date. We ate them last night. I’m sure that food doesn’t go from ok to spoil on a designated date. We should have some wiggle room. But I don't tend to be adventurous. That’s why I suggest a 4-6 week supply of food. That is enough to cover yourself if you have a family emergency, but not too much so that you are strapped for cupboard space and have trouble keeping up with it. There is just some smug satisfaction of knowing you beat the system and have yourself covered when life throws you a little curve ball. Studies have shown that the stress of not having food in the house can reduce your life expectancy. So can drinking sugar laden drinks.
Sunday, March 25, 2018
Meal Plans
Meal plans keep you organized and on track. They help in kitchen management and make life a lot less hectic come mealtime.
- Spaghetti and Meatballs, salad
- Out , potluck, refried beans (scratch)
- Pizza
- Roast Pork, mashed potatoes, honey ginger carrots , pickled beets
- Vegetable bean soup, rolls
- Pork sliders, oven fries, vegetable platter
- Breakfast for dinner
Notes
- Meatballs are at winco.
- Chicken pizza , -ranch dressing, chicken, blue and mozzarella cheese, red peppers Homemade pizza dough costs .19 and takes less than 5 minutes.
- Roast pork does double duty,
- Vegetable bean soup is made in the slow cooker part of the insta pot. Make beans first.
- Pork sliders use dinner rolls.
- Refried beans are made in the insta pot. Easy.
- Breakfast for dinner is a quiche.
The buying of a core list of ingredients and buying them at low prices , you can always have some food in the house on a limited budget and eat well. Buying versatile bulk meat in rotation based with sale prices affords you the luxury of. A varied diet and low-fat meats.
Our 2017 food costs averaged 55.05 a week. So far , our food costs are at 50.00 including a bulk chicken purchase.
Costco and Grocery Outlet Haul
Costco
Bananas 1.39
Pickles 6.89
Total 8.28
Grocery Outlet
Beets , canned, sliced 3/1
Organic diced tomatoes 3/1
Gingerbread Nature Valley Bars 24 ea .99
Sliced cheese 2.00
Total 8.98
Month total including bulk chicken purchase is at 49.45 a week.
Bananas 1.39
Pickles 6.89
Total 8.28
Grocery Outlet
Beets , canned, sliced 3/1
Organic diced tomatoes 3/1
Gingerbread Nature Valley Bars 24 ea .99
Sliced cheese 2.00
Total 8.98
Month total including bulk chicken purchase is at 49.45 a week.
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