Meal Plans for week of 7/16/18

Meal Plans are a tool that saves money and time.   Being organized always makes life easier and reduces stress. 

• Chicken Parm, salad 
• Pizza - a family favorite 
• Minestrone , cheezy rolls 
• Beef enchaladas , lettuce, tomato 
• Beer chilli , bread sticks 
• Tuna cassarole,  peas and carrots 
• Breakfast for Dinner- another favorite, everyone cooks. 

Notes: 

1. Chicken parm is an easy, quick dinner.   Spaghetti remains to be a good price often.   It cooks i. 2 minutes in the insta pot.  Quick release.   Pasta sauce is less expensive than scratch.  Parmesean cheese is real and in a deli type container.   Watching at Winco and FM, you can find it on sale often.   If not parmesean, then a blend or Romano works. 
2. Pizza is a favorite.  A cheese pizza from scratch is a dollar.  Pepperoni is a dollar at the DT and there are 14 pieces in half a package.   Freeze pizza sauce from the DT .  One jar makes 5 pizzas.   Save veggies and meat scraps when appropriate.   Buffalo chicken pizza is an alternataive without tomato.  
3. Minestrone is meatless.   Cheezy rolls are a biscuit dough rolled out jelly roll fashio. And filled with cheese.   
4. Beef enchaladas are made with homemade enchilada sauce. Add lettuce and tomato. 
5. Beer chilli is from one of the DT cookbooks .  Cook beans in the insta pot instead of buying cans saves a lot of money.  Beans, hamburger (already cooked) Taco type seasonings, tomatoes, corn, and peppers and beer. 
6. Tuna casserole made with scratch soup base.  Frozen peas and real carrots. 
7. Breakfast for Dinner is a hit here.  Everyone cooks something.   

Groceries on the cheap takes a different approach to putting food on the table.   Purchasing groceries in bulk and when they are at their RBP saves time, money, and affords a piece of mind that cant be achieved buying your food one meal at a time.   Life happens.   Bleep happens to the best of us.  Being prepared and self sufficient is the gateway to piece of mind.  

Studies have shown that people that have to worry about where there next meal is coming from have a lower life expectancy .   Stress is not good for anyone,especially not children.   

You can eat well on four dollars a day.   We didn't set out to do that, it just happened.  I challenged myself to find every trick I could to lower food costs while maintaining a balanced diet .   It became a game.  Groceries are the most expensive thing in most peoples discretionary budget.   If one’s budget is tight, it is the most logical place to learn to economize .  

This blog is free from advertising.   I don't make money from this, I just want to help people.   Bee. There, done that.  I’m sharing.  Please share.   You never know who or when you might be helping someone.   

Dollar stores cook books

There are a few things...that we usually get at the dollar tree.   There are some name brand items that are just plain cheap and are the same quality as you can get other places for more money.

Cookbooks purchased at the Dollar Tree. 

All have really good recipes in them and use name brand ingredients.   Of course, you can always substitute scratch for the name brand ingredients or purchase the items on sale.   Scratch eliminates 

ingredients that you cant pronounce.  

It is always nice to get a different perspective on meals.   We all tend to get in a rut.   Something new is a pleasant change.   These cookbooks have many recipes that can be made efficiently and economically.   

And, who can turn down chocolate....did somebody say chocolate!

Classic baked apples 

Tomato topping for bruschetta

Pulled pork with cola bbq sauce 

Chicken tortilla soup 

Mama’s beer chili 

 Heavenly Harvest Pork Roast 

Boneless Pork Roast with garlic 

From the Crock Pot slow cooker recipes 

Beef Taco Skillet 

Pork chops Florentine 

Beef and Broccoli 

Cheddar penne with sausage and peppers 

Mexican pizza 

25 minute chicken and noodles 

Country chicken casserole 

Chili land rice 

From Campbell’s great for cooking 

Simply. Special brownies 

English toffee bars 

Chocolate and peanut butter fudge cheesecake 

Nutty toffee coffee cake 

Fudge brownie pie 

Easy chocoberry cream desert

Deep dark mousse 

From Hershey’s cocoa 

Well worth a buck.   

Thursday Grocery Haul

First:
Per week expenditures
2107 55.06
1QQ 18 —51.98
2Q 18 —52.40
July 52.57

This’s includes a bulk chicken purchase , bulk pork purchase and prorated beef.

Total below 33.13


Dollar Tree
Kosher spears
Sliced pineapple
Craisens

3.00

Grocery Outlet
Pacific Tomato soup 1.99. (3.49 at FM)
Stuffing mix .99
Cheese , shredded with bacon 1 lb 2.98

Total 5.98


Fred Meyers

Tortilla chips 1.99
Taco shells 1.00
Bananas .96
Gala apples 2.09
Blue cheese 4.99
Total 12.03

Total 21.01

Wednesday,, 7/11

Mission tortilla chips .99
Tillamook ice cream 2.99
Lettuce  .99
Bananas .45


Fred Meyers

Tomatoes 1.22
Pasta 1.00

Cherries 4.48

Concept: Chicken Breast

FM has split chicken breast for .88 a pound.   Chicken breasts here can cost as much as 8.00 a pound.
Foster farms is local chicken here.

Split chicken breast is the breast with the ribs attached.

Its not hard to get your moneys worth and its a good stock up price.

• Work on a sheet pan to contain chicken cooties .   LOL 
• Cut the rib section off of the breast.   Place the rib section in a zip lock bag. 
• Place the breast in a quart bag.  Uses tongs.  We use dollar store bags for this because then we put the quart bags in a zip lock gallon bag to label and freeze. 
• Before you go to bed, place the rib sections in the slow cooker, add water up to within an inch of the top of the pot. And add some vegetable trimmings and herbs of choice.   Set to Low. 
• In the morning.  Drain the stock into a pan through a colander and place in glass jars or deli containers up to an inch or so from the top .  Chill and freeze. 
• Pick the meat off the bones and place in freezer bag. 

Chain store ads; the best of them.....

QFC - we didn’t get the ad this week....my husband went down and got one from the store.  It was on his way to the beach. 

Strawberries 2 lbs 1.99

Raspberries, blackberries 3.99 - 12 ounces 

Cherries 1.99

Buy 5 save 5 

Tillamook ice cream 2.99

Kelloggs cereal 1.79 - should be coupons

Daves killer bread 2.99

NOT A BARGAIN.  Ground beef 5.99 lb 

ALBERWAYS 

Broccolli .99 lb 

Grapes 1.99

Salsa 24 oz 1.79@@

Tillamook ice cream 2.99@@

@@ means there is an in ad coupon or you can use a digital coupon.

FRED MEYERS 

MOST OF THIS IS SPECIALTY SALES; 

BOGOS 

FRANZ BREAD 

FROZEN FRUIT OUTSHINE 

SMOKED CHICKEN SAUSAGE 

TURKEY BURGERS 

4 days only:  W, TH, F.S

Pork ribs .99

Broccolli 99

Tomatoes on the vine .99

Eggs .99

Cherries 1.99

Ground turkey 2,99

FF CHICKEN:  SPLIT CHICKEN BREAST, THIGHS, LEGS, WHOLE FRYERS .88

Digital Coupons, Friday and Saturday Only, up to 5 quanity 

Ice craeam .99

Shrimp 4.77

Buy 5, save 5 

Kelloggs cereal 1.79

Cheese 4.99 

How did she do that?

Meal Plan Form including basic food list 

Meal Plans can be done efficiently.  We all are busy with life and meal plans help save time and money.  

The meal plan form was made in an excel spread sheet.   The left side has boxes for the days of the week and the right side has. List of basic foods .  A column for what you have and a column for what you may need to purchase.   A quick glance at the fridge makes a grocery list easy and simple. 

Add the things on sale from the grocery ads that you can use to complete meals.   What rotation meat is on sale?   What do you need to stock that is on sale?   

Using the list, and a matrix of your choosing, you can write a meal plan in a few minutes.  

Our matrix is protein based.  This allows for a variety of meals.  At a four dollar a day per person budget, its no surprise  that we don't eat a lot of steak and lobster.   LOL 

Example: 

Pork loin was on sale for 4 days only at QFC (Kroger ).  We purchased 2.   One was used for pork chops and stew meat, and one for 2 pork roasts.   We made three meals out of the pork roast: Pork Roast ‘Sunday” dinner, pork sliders, and sweet and sour pork.   With a matrix of 1 beef, 1 fish, 3 pork or chicken, and 2 vegetarian, that took care of the 3 pork or chicken.   Add tacos or nachos, pizza, breakfast for dinner, and a pasta with fish and you have a variety of 7 meals.   

Your standard grocery list would include perishables in the dairy and produce departments.  Frozen vegetable are a good bet if they are on sale.   Any fruit on sales rounds out a balanced diet.  

Finding the RBP on almost everything you buy is paramount.   Stick first to the basics that you use on a regular basis.   Bulk purchases make sense if they are versatile and a part of your regular diet.  Flour, oatmeal and rice are examples.   Making best use of what is in season and on sale is a good plan as well.   

The average family has a list of 7-10 entrees  that they eat on a regular basis...tried and true family favorites.   This makes meal planning easy.   

List your favorites in columns based on the protein used.   For 5 dollar dinners or less, the rule of theumb is to make kyour protein average 2.00.  That hasn’t changed here since the 70’s.  The meats, however, have changed.   We no longer can afford a real piece of beef very often.   I always check the markdown bin for bargains.   Here, unlike some stores in the mid west, they are few and far between.  .

Save grocery shopping can make it possible for your family to eat well balanced meals on a four dollar a day budget— even with heavy eaters.   We do it and carry a stock.  Carrying a 4-6 week stock is possible with that budgetary constraints.   

Having a four to six weeks stash is a good thing to enable you to be prepared for emergencies and it makes it possible to buy food when its on sale.   Almost all staple things work on a 4-6 week cycle.   

Setting goals as to how many of each staple item keeps you from over-buying.   If you use 2 cans of diced tomatoes a week, you need 12 cans ahead.   Putting the same can in the same section off the cupboard, lets you look a a glance tho see if you need to replentish when you see a sale.   

Keeping it simple helps save time and money.   Diced tomatoes are very versitile and with the push of the food processer or blender button, you can have tomato sauce.   

Simplify, buy at the RBP, and keep a stock.   Basic concepts for a budget friendly pantry.   

Monday Kitchen Management -notes

You can make a pork roast do double or triple duty, depending on the size of your family.   

• Pork roast, mashed sweet potatoes , green beans with bacon
•  Pork sliders, corn on the cob, salad

•  Sweet and sour pork, rice green beans 

Reminder of this week’s meal plan :

1.  Pork Roast, mashed sweet potatoes, green beans w bacon 
2. Pizza 
3. Pork sliders, corn on the cob, salad 
4. Mac and cheese, peas and carrots : a blast from the past. 
5. Chicken bake, rice 
6. Tacos, Spanish rice 
7. Breakfast for Dinner. 

Notes : 

1. Wash floor 
2. Clean out the refrigerator and dump anything dead.
3. Make note of things that need to be used up soon. 
4. Wash counter tops  and sinks and drains, disinfect. 
5. Wash the carrots for peas and carrots.   Use frozen peas and fresh carrots:  buying whole carrots instead of the ‘baby ‘ ones saves a lot of money.  A farmer years ago realized that he was having a trouble selling the not so perfect carrots.   His solution was to make baby carrots and pay for a  marketing campaign.    The end result was that carrot producers are getting a dollar or more a pound for their carrots when whole carrots are 5 lbs for 2.28.   Double the price .
6. Straighten the pantry.  

The cost on meals for 2 people. Note this is for a reasonable dinner, we aren't feeding a 17 yo linebacker.   Cost would be more for growing childcare or very active adults. 

Pork Roast dinner 1.66-  we had sweet potatoes left over but cost the whole amount out,,  Used 1/3 of a bag of frozen veg.

1. Pizza 1.50. Used scratch pizza with 1/2 package of pepperoni.   
2. Pork sliders: 1.45  Used rolls on sale and corn on the cob on sale for the 4th 
3. Mac and cheese, peas and carrots  1.75 uses cheese from GO with bacon 
4. Chicken baked , rice, carrots - 1.24. Rice is bought in bulk, chicken in bulk was .99 a pound.   4 ounce portions. 
5. Tacos, Spanish rice 2.04
6. Breakfast for dinner :   Eggs, English muffins, yogurt parfaits. 1.91.  Uses yogurt for .38, eggs at .88 a dozen , and English muffins bought for a dollar.   

Total 11.54 for 2 people.   

Its not as much what you buy, but when and where you buy it.   

Admittedly, this if for 2 adults that are not really active.   Portion control is a must.   That being said, the total is sooo low, that even if you have big eaters, you would still be in budget .  

Meal Plans for week of 7/9/18

Meal Plans are a necessary part of Groceries on the Cheap.   They save time and money. Making best use of the bargains you found shopping is a good way to save lots.

• Pork Roast , mashed sweet potatoes, green beans with bacon 
• Pizza
• Pork sliders , salad, corn on the cob 
• Mac and cheese, peas and carrots.  
• Baked chicken with stuffing 
• Tacos or nachos 
• Breakfast for Dinner 

Notes: 

1. Pork Roast is from Pork Loin bought at .99 from qfc. 
2. Pork roast does double duty sliced thin for pork sliders using bbq sauce purchased for .50. 
3. Mac and cheese is from grated cheese with bacon purchased at GO. 
4. Baked chicken with stuffing.  Stuffing purchased in a double box at GO.  Chicken breast was a dollar a pound at Zaycon. 
5. Taco meat already cooked in the freezer.  We purchased taco shells and tortilla chips this week. Taco shells were a dollar and the chips were two.  
6. Breakfast for dinner  is a family time: everyone cooks.   Eggs were .88 this week.   
7. Pizza is a cheap meal that everyone eats.   Pizza crust from scratch is .19 as apposed to 1.50-2.00 to purchase the dough.  Pizza cheese is low fat.   Pizza sauce is from the DT and one jar makes 5 pizzas.   Freeze the sauce in ice cube tray and pop into a zip lock bag.   

Saturday concepts.

Groceries on the cheap works on the concept of not paying full price for groceries.   We want the best quality we can have, but not at what my mother used to call top dollar.

QFC has 1/2 pork loins for .99 a pound with a digital coupon for a limited time.   I got 2.   Or, rather , my husband got two while I was getting my hair cut.

Pork loin can be cut into a stew cubes, pork chops, or roasts.   At a dollar a pound, it makes the highest component of meals cheap.   I also got chicken breasts for a dollar a pound and eggs for .88 a dozen.  That goes a long ways to cut food costs. You can still add a low fat hamburger and average two dollars a pound.   We eat beef once a week.  

Fresh fruits and veggies is also a component of a balanced diet.   If you buy the fruits that are on sale and in season, you can eat well on a low priced budget.  

Starch seems to be inexpensive a lot of the time.   The price of flour has taken a hike and it means youhave to be a bit more creative muting carbs.  We are all trying to cut carbs, but our bodies need some carbs to function.  Its all about balance.  

I was getting Barilla pasta for a dollar at the dollar tree and orowheat bread.  That source has all but dried up.   I will continue. To check, but lately we haven’t seen much.  I did stop at the Franz bread outlet and get some bread at a discount.  Wednesday is discount seniors and military day.   Since my husband is both, we took advantage of the discount.   Any discounts that you can find is a good thing.  Also, any free products that seem to be happening not only at Fred Meyers and QFC, but now sometimes at safeways.   Please dont take things just because they are free.  But, consider taking anything that they are offering that can be appropriate for the food bank or a friend.   I always take the cat treats for my grand cat.   We dont eat cold cereal , but it is more than approptiate for the food bank.  

This blog is about eating well for less and saving time in the kitchen.   This is especially appropriate during the summer months when kitchens can be hot for a lot of us, budget challenged or not.  

Ideas for food groups

Protein
Eggs, beans, cheese, pork loin, hamburger, chicken breast

Fruits annd veggies
Carrots
Celery
Lettuce
Radishes
Cucumbers
Tomato
Apple
Bananas
Nectarines
Strawberries
Blues

Starches
Bread, whole wheat
Pasta
Rice, in bulk
Stuffing
Potatoes

Recipe Friday

This blog is supposed to be about efficiently.   Its about buying your food in the most efficient manner in order to reduce your food costs.   Its also about cooking  efficiently to maximize your time in the kitchen.   “ I want to spend my entire day in the kitchen”. Said no one ever.!

Making mixes ahead of time saves time when life can be more hectic.  

A batch of 12 muffins costs five dollars at the store.   The cost of baking them at home is .94. and thats a gourmet recipe, not a basic one.   Silicone baking cups were 5.00 on amazon.   Considering a small package of paper liners cost a dollar even at the dollar store, it doesn’t take long to recoup your money and you arent adding to the landfill.   However, the paper is degradable and the silicone isn’t.

Mix : Makes 4 batches
8 cups flour
3 cups sugar
3T baking powder
2 t salt
2 tsp cinnamon
2 tsp nutmeg

Mix and store in air tight container in a cool place.

To make muffins

Mix wet ingredients together:
1 egg
1 cup milk
1/2 cup melted butter.  
Note:  do this in exact order, you dont want to cook the egg.

Measure 2-3/4 cups of the mix .  Add wet ingredients into dry ingredients.   Do not overmix or your muffins will be tough.  

Fill muffin cups ( greased, or lined with silicone or paper liners 3/4 full.

Bake at 400 degrees 18-21 minutes or until top springs back when touched or cake tester comes out clean.

Additional mix ins options

1/2 cup shredded apples and 1/2 cup cheese

Chocolate chips and 2 tsp instant coffee powder

3/4 cup shredded carrots.. 1/3 cup raisins


Muffins are a good breakfast or afternoon pick me up .


Find the recipe on line .

Thursday : hauls

Winco Haul

Salmon 1 lb 4.98

Large salad 2.68

Bananas .66

Corn .96

Roma tomatoes .91

Cherry tomatoes 2.28

Bacon (3) 1.98-5.94

2 strawberries 2.96

Total 21.25

Thursday 7/5/18

Safeways
Coffee 5.99
Eggs, 2 doz 1.76


Winco 7/5

Corn .20 - 1.00


Strawberries 3.36

Salmon 4.98
Blueberries 2.98
Nectarines 2.04

Total 14.24

QFC

2 butter
1 pork loin
Total 11.66

Total for 2 weeks is 54.90

Weekly store ads—chains

QFC
DIGITAL COUPON GOOD THURSDAY THRU SUNDAY
YOU CAN PURCHASE UP TO 5 OF EACH ITEM

DORITOS 1.99
BUTTER 1.99
PORK HALF LOIN .99

——-strawberries 2.49.


ALBERWAYS

90/10 GROUND SIROIN 3.77

FOURTH OF JULY ONLY
CORN 5/1

JUST FOR YOU
COUPONS- DIGITAL

CHEESE LIMIT 1 -3.99

ENGLISH MUFFINS .99
EGGS .88


APPARENTLY, FRED MEYERS WEEKLY AD ONLINE WAS CANCELLED FOR LACK OF INTEREST.

How did she do that: Suddenly Salad

Suddenly Salad is a box from Betty Crocker.   It is 1.00 a box at the Dollar Tree and at Winco this week. There is also coupons for it at coupons.com . The coupons are for 1.00 off four.   That makes them .75. 

Directions call for oil and water mixed into a dressing packet.   The salads come in various flarours.  We use olive oil because it is more healthy.   

Then  add chopped, seeded tomatoes, sliced black olives, chopped red or other peppers.  

Meanwhile, cook pasta according to directions.  

Note:  You can also cook it in the insta pot.  2 minutes with a quart of water for a full pound box of pasta.  You will need to adjust accordingly.  You also need to de pressurize manually almost immediately when it is done.   The water will be almost gone ,so putting too much water or letting the pot to stand will result in ‘mushy’ pasta.   

Drain Pasta and add dressing.   Chill. 

Concept: Making a recipe less expensive.

It is a misconception that just because one doesn’t have all the ingredients for a recipe that the recipes is off limits.   Many recipes come from the home economists that work for a food company.   Naturallly , their object is to sell their products.   That doesn’t mean that you can’t substitute scratch for something in a can or box and not sacrifice flavor.

1. Chicken boullion (low sodium ) can be substituted for a box or can of chicken broth.  Better yet, you can freeze chicken broth that is home made .  
2. Parmesean cheese can be substituted with any hard cheese.   Buy whatever is cheapest.   Sometimes a blend of Romano and parmesean is cheaper.   Buy fresh, in a deli type tub or a wedge.  Don’t buy the stuff in the green box.  It has wood pulp in it and the taste is a whole lot different. 
3. You can buy biscuit mix at costco pretty cheap, but you can also make it without preservatives and hydroginated oils.  
4. Shallots can be substituted with green onion tops ( cut off the tops and plant the bulb part and get more for your money. Or use chives . 
5. Taco seasoning is a lot less expensive than the envelopes and you control the heat. 
6. Instead of whip cream, you can use a little less milk. 
7. Canned beans can always be substituted for cooked dry beans for a fraction of the cost....like as much as a dollar a can.
8. Diced tomatoes can be substituted for any recipe that calls for tomatoes.   Buying one kind of canned tomatoes saves a lot of aggravation.  Simplify canned goods to make life easier. 
9. Homemade enchalada sauce is a lot cheaper than canned.   Canned sauce tends to be expensive.   Green sauce for enchaladas is easy.  
10. Almost everything you can make that calls for cheese can be made with mozzarella, Mexican blend, or parmesean.   Again, simplify.

Monday Kitchen Management

Kitchen Management is a tool that saves time and money.  Taking a little time ahead of the week, saves a lot of time when the hectic dinner hour is here.  

• Wash kitchen floor 
• Clean out refrigerator and dump anything dead.
• Take a quick inventory of thing that need to be used up soon.   
• Cook chicken for chicken enchaladas 
• Wash apples and potatoes, veggies 
• Make a green salad and fix it in a ‘Tupperware” 
• Wash kitchen cabinets.  
• Put the fan filter through the dishwasher. 
• Clean kitchen counters and disinfect countertops and sinks and drains. 
• Bake something.

Meal Plans -Week of 7/2/18

Meal Plans are a necessary part of cutting your food bill.   Make a plan, or plan to fail.   Having a plan saves time and money and planning a couple of easy meals helps to stave off the take out demons.

• Chicken enchaladas - scratch sauce 
• Pizza- homemade 
• 4th of July: Hamburgers, hot dogs, pasta salad, veggie platter
• Pork chops, apple/cranberry bread dressing, green beans 
• Baked chicken, diced potatoes, and green beans. ( facebook) 
• Salmon, baked potato, salad 
• Breakfast for dinner 

Notes : 

Planning meals around what’s on sale or free and stocking when things are cheap is a good way to stretch your dollar..   

1. Sauce for enchaladas is made from a “ white” sauce substituting chicken stock for the milk.   When done, add mild diced chillies (1/2 can) and sour cream to correct consistency.  
2. Homemade pizza crust costs .19.   Mozzarella cheese is made with low fat milk and i got it for a dollar for 8 ounces.  Pizza sauce is a dollar at the DT and you can get five pizzas out of a jar.  Freeze the sauce in ice cube tray and 2 cubes equals one pizza topping.   You can dump the ‘cubes’ into a quart zip lock.   We keep one part of the freezer door for pizza toppings and Sauce. 
3. Hamburgers and Hot dogs for the 4th- hot dogs ( Hebrew National or Nathans) were 1.99 at QFC on Friday.  The buns were 49 at Alberways.   There are coupons for Suddenly Salad on coupons.com right now and they are a dollar at the DT and I believe Winco.   
4. Pork chops were cut from a pork loin purchased for 1.00 a pound.   Make your own dressing or buy it for a dollar.   Add chopped apple and dried cranberries.  Brown the pork chops on both sides in a little olive oil, place on top of the dressing and bake it off until the chops are done and the dressing is heated through... 
5. There was a recipe on Facebook for chicken bake.   Grease a baking pan,  visually divide the pan and place cooked, diced chicken, new potatoes in a small dice, and green beans, in separate  sections.   Drizzle with vinegrette.   Bake off until potatoes are tender.   
6. Salmon, baked potatoes and salad is pretty self explanatory.   The salmon is frozen at winco and comes in portion controlled pieces that are individually wrapped.   We like peppercorn.
7. Breakfast for Dinner is a mainstay here.  The whole family cooks.  We got bacon at winco for 2.00 ..  ( 12 ounces ). Eggs were .79 last week.  Bread is inexpensive to make and biscuits are cheap to make too.   Children love to roll dough and cut with ‘cookie’ cutters.  

The Basics

Groceries on the cheap takes a different process of buying and cooking your food..   The net result is that you can feed your family well on four dollars a day each.   Four dollars is the proverbial amount of money that some say SNAP is based on.

Besides eating on four dollars a day, we also grew a pantry on that budget.   One of thee premises of groceries on the cheap is to have a basic stock on hand for emergencies.   Studies have shown that when people have to worry about where the next meal is coming from, they reduce their life expectancy.

This methodology is based on principles.   The more you incorporate them into your routine, the more money you will save.

1. The biggest:   NEVER pay full price.   Find the RBP on the things that you use on a regular basis. When you find an item that you use a lot of at a lowest possible price, buy as many as you will need until they go on sale again or as many as you need to fill in your specified amount of stock.   Keeping a four to six week supply of non perishables is a good benchmark.   
2. Plan your meals and portion control.   Portion control is a dirty word for many people, but your doctor will tell you that it is really important for your health.   The other word is balance.   Eating a well balanced diet has always been a good idea.   
3. Buy things at their lowest possible price in bulk quantities when it makes sense.   We buy oatmeal, rice and flour.   Oatmeal when purchased a Costco in bulk costs . 085 cents a serving. A serving of regular oats equals 4 servings of the envelopes of instant oatmeal, nutrition wise.   Flour is a real bargain when you use it to efficiently make bread and bakery items.   The savings are remarkable.   A loaf of artisan bread can cost upwards of 2.50.  The actual cost is a quarter to make peasant bread and takes about ten minutes hands on time.   
4. Efficient scratch cooking.   Another time and money saving concept.    Besides, you aren’t eating things you can’t pronounce.  Or soap!    Yes, there is soap in some foods your children want to eat. 
5. Plan your meals.   The best way to avoid temptation is to take it away.   If you have meals planned and prepped, life is easy even if you are tired. 
6. Use any trick that comes your way to cut food costs.   Waste not, want not—use up bits of things leftover and salvage a little of something before you make a dish.   Pulling a little sausage away from a tube of sausage you are using for breakfast just means you can use some of it for a pizza another night.   Ibotta, coupons, discount food stores, all help in making you get more for your buck.  

Why?

This blog is about a different way of buying your groceries.   A lot of people have a lifestyle that buys just what they want when they want it.   And, if it works for them, that’s all that matters.  

Some people, however, have time or budget constraints.   Give it because they are saving for that iconic trip to Disneyland or because they have fallen on harder times and need to stretch their money.
Others, have a full plate and need to be more efficient in the kitchen.   I have heard more than one retired person say they wondered how they worked, they are so busy.   Many of us have been through working all day and then coming home to dinner,dishes, laundry, and kids that need help with baths, etc.  

This blog is based on helping people save time and money on the biggest discretionary budget item .

Knowledge is funny, you never know when it will become useful.  As an accounting major, I never understood why I needed to know what happens when you produce lesions on the upper hyperthalamous of a rat.   Knowing how to fix food when you have limited resources may come in more handy.  

I remember a Fourth of July when we went with the boat to a Hidden Harbor at what seems to be in the middle of nowhere.   My husband got the flu.   We couldn't get home and there was a small deli and no grocery stores for miles.   It wouldn’t have mattered how much money we had, what we had was what we were going to eat.   I managed to stretch the food in the six square foot pantry and bar refrigerator for a week.   Life happens , and the more educated we are, the better we survive.


I don’t take money, I am here to help people that may need to get our of a jam— time or money wise.
I can’t  do that  if I can’t  reach people.   Please share.  You never know who you might help..   Its good give people food when they need it....we do that, but it’s also good to help them help themselves.   Knowledge is power.   Pass it on.  

How did she do that?

This is one of those...not quite a five dollar dinner.   I have not counted spices or anything that cost less than a dime.   

Salmon cakes 

Seasoned rice from homemade mix 

Green beans (frozen) 

Green beans were purchased for a dollar a bag.  They are frequently a dollar a bag at Winco and Safeways.   I used a third of a bag for 2 people. 

Rice costs 2 cents a serving.   Rice mix is made from chicken or vegetable dry bouillon, parsley I dried from the garden, and spices.   

Salmon cakes were made from homemade bread crumbs with Parmesan, onion and garlic, a slice of red pepper that was chopped fine., and an egg with a can of salmon from Costco..   

This would be a six dollar dinner for four people.   

One of those days where you can still average five dollars a dinner because some dinners are a lot cheaper than five dollars.   

Thursday Grocery Haul / QFC

QFC had a coupon for 5 percent off of 20.00 basket .

Cherries 3.74

Blueberries 3.49

Pizza 3.99

Kroger cottage cheese 1.99
Kroger sour cream 1.99

Sargento cheese 1.99 less coupon for 1.00 off two
Done twice

5 percent savings (1.31)

Total 19.85

The Franz bread store

Bagels
English Muffins
Doughnuts
9 carb a slice bread is 4/5 or 1.29 each

Bread sticks.....humungus sack. 2.00

Total 8.29
Price does not include the percentage off for hubby being old and a vet.

Total 28.15