Sunday notes

My husband ran in to a lady that was so nice that she offered to return our cart to the store.   She was impressed that I had a coupon book/binder.    That must take a lot of time, she sad.   No, actually it took a little time and very little money to set up a coupon book.   I got the binder from the goodwill.  The dividers and pencil pocket from the dollar store, and some sleeves from office max.  It's not hard to set up and binder with dividers.  

I spend about twenty minutes the week of the month  pulling old coupons while I watch tv, and downloading the coupons for the new month.   Click and print.  Then separate them into categories and file.  Done.   

The inserts from the papers that come in the mail and the paper I get for a dollar at the dollar tree get marked with the date (if I remember ) and filed in a file folder.  Minutes.    

I check favado before I go to the grocery store to see what they think is on special and pull any coupons that will get me more bank for my buck.   

I have got as much as 75 percent off my purchases that way.   I do the math,   If it isn't going to be worth while to coupon or make something from scratch, I don't do it.    

Spending all Sunday afternoon clipping every coupon in five papers even if I'll never use it is a waste.    

We know what we will buy, that we buy on a regular basis.    The junk food....,it can stay in the paper. LOL. 

Onward and upward.   

Our meal plans went out the window last week.   I regrouped and went to easy things I had on hand that my husband and daughter could cook.   

We had 

Roast beef a jus sandwiches and waffle fries ( dollar store fries, not so good) steak fries are good.   

Shrimp stir fry 

Speghetti with red sauce and meatballs. 

Sausage , potatoes and peppers.   

Pizza

Back to normal.    

I spent 10.00 at Winco yesterday .   I'll finish at Fred Meyers today.    My loss leader meat will be chicken breast if they have them, and the cubed ham I got from Winco.    

Fred Meyers has milk for a buck and sour cream and cottage cheese for 2/4.   I already have eggs.    

Cantaloupe, blueberries, and some romaine and radishes should balance the vegetable Bin out.   

That should be it unless something is a grand unadvertised special I really have to have.   

Ps: this isn't meant to be all about me......I'm trying to show how with a stock , in adversity, you can punt and not revert to take out.   All we brought in from the outside last week was a bag of roast beef from the deli, because I was hungry for a jus sandwiches.   And, how you can make best use of the specials and just buy what you need to fill in your perishables and make best use of your protein dollar.    

Thanks for stopping by 

Please share 

Jane 

fm ads - for tomorrow

Foster farms split chicken breast/ drums or thighs   .99
Blues 399
Milk 100@@
Kroger ice cream 1.99
Radishes 2/1
Cantelopev2/5
Red Barron 3/10
Cottage cheese/ sour cream 2/4
Philadelphia cream cheese .99@@

5 ways retailers get you to spend more at the grocery store.

 It's no secret that retailers have spent a lot of time and research to get you to spend more money at the grocery store.  To be forewarned is to be forearmed.

1) they place a really good buy on something really desirable by the entrance to the store.   The plan is to get you into the mindset of putting things in your oversized cart.    Of
If its empty, you have to fill it up, right.  

2)  I just ate a dinasour!   All those taste tests are placed around the store to divert your attention train of thought  and make you want to buy more.   

3) 70 percent of a stores profit is made from impulse buys.   Stick to a list.    If you don't have a specific list, stick to a meat, produce, and staples you need to replace list.   Some stores have no 

Store flyers, so you are flying solo.

So called loss leaders and coupons that at for dollars off a specific total amount purchased  are a way to get you into the store.   They are hoping that you will impulse buy, especially if you have "free money,". Many times the regular things we normally buy every week are at FBP.     Beware.    Buy specials that you need or will need in the near future and stop buying when your total reaches the xx. Dollars.   Figure the percentage of the "free money" and calculate on your head or with a calculator of an ite, is a good RBP.    The more you go over the limit, the less percentage you are going to get off.   

4) just because something is on an end cap doesn't mean that it's a bargain and signs at eye level can be .for the thing on the bottom of the display.  .  Read carefully.   

5) manufacturers  pay slotting fees for the best shelf space.   The expensive stuff is at eye level.   Look up and down for the good buys.  Many times the store brand is just as good and a whole lot less-- sometimes better.    Winco canned beans have beans, water, amd salt in them.   Other higher priced beans have chemicals in them.   Always rinse beans and discard the liquid.    

To reduce distraction 

1) go by yourself .

2) eat before you go.  But, not so much that everything doesn't appeal to you.

3) stick to a list

4) group your list by department so you don't backtrack.    The longer you spend in a store, the more money you will spend.   Get in and get out.

5) if an isle doesn't have anything you need don't  go there.  If you don't have a baby or a pet, why go down that isle?  You are wasting time,   Avoiding the candy and bakery departments won't tempt you.  

6) if you have a husband that hates to shop, but has to go with you, send him on a hunt.   It's in his instincts and you are able to concentrate.   Have a specific coupon, he can find it.  

Freaky Friday.

QFC s freebie is a chocolate egg.    Woohoo.    Chocolate, did somebody say chocolate.  

I haven't grocery shopped . Maybe tomorrow.  

It's good to have easy meals in your pantry or stash to have when the main chef in the house is unable to cook. Wednesday we had shrimp stirfry..I got up and tried the crockpot rice.    I had never tried it before, so I only made about a quarters worth.  It turned out as stickey  rice and a put a reasonable amount of olive oil in it.    We like our rice more like individual grains.    I love my husband and daughter.  

Yesterday I asked my husband pick up just enough roast beef sliced thin at the neighborhood deli.   Surprisingly, enough for two sandwiches was only three dollars.    He cooked waffle fries and the sourdough baguettes in the oven and he made a jus.    Roast is so high or iced, I don't cook it very often.   I still came in with enough food to feed four of us for five bucks.    My daughter made lentil soup.   It looked very good, but I'm not fond of lentils.

Tonight I hope to cook.    Otherwise, we will have speghetti and meatballs.  My daughter is a pro at cooking pasta and the rest just needs to be heated up.

Stocking helps.   I haven't been to the grocery store.  We could have skipped the roast beef sandwiches, but I saw a picture on Pinterest  and was hungry for them.   We could go for some time more.  

After having emergency surgery , I sent my husband  to the store for perishables. He came back with beer and  Pomegranates .   I sent my college aged daughter to Costco with a budget, amd she came home with two weeks worth of real food.

Stocking covers your rear.  

Don't believe everything you hear and only 1/2 of what you read.

I have been reading a lot of grocery and health articles lately.   Mostly because I'm sick and that what can do in bed.   lol

A lot of things might have been true a few years ago, but some don't pass the logic test.    Yoplait yogurt has no HFCS  and no fake sugar in its low calorie yogurt.    Before you go ballistic on somvetching you read, it's best to do a little research.    There is a lot of hype where there is no merit behind it.  

I can believe that boxed Mac and cheese is processed, organic one report said has more fat in it.

Hamburger meal boxes are processed and have very little product in them.  

A study, however, said that processed lettuce in bags or crates has less germs in it than of you wash it. Yourself.  
Sometimes processed just makes sense especially if you have a small family.   Costco stir fry vegetables are a good price. They are frozen and you can take just what you need out of the package. I would cost a lot and take a lot of time to buy all those veggies separately.  

Frozen French fries are as cheap as raw potatoes, there is no Waste.   ( buying at RBP.) cooking them in the oven is good.

Look at what the ingredients are on the package.   How much per pound are you paying.   Is it easy  to make yourself.   Does it have a lot of oil, HFCS, or sugar of salt in it.   Will it save me money if I make it from scratch, or will it take a lot of time.  I made pita bread.... Once!

I read an article today about raised bread.    No gluten, no sugar, to HFCs, no this,no that...WHAT DOES IT HAVE IN IT.

I got mission tortillas for a quarter for ten.   Not worth my time to make them.  

Buyer beware.  Sometimes the healthier version  isn't really that healthy.  

Learn to read labels. Sugar has a lot of names.    Total carbs on the label is the total  carbs less the dietary fiber.  

Ingredients have to be listed in order of volume.  The thing that has the most in the ingredients has to be first and on down the line.   So when a tub of fake butter has water for the first ingredient, I'd be looking twice.    HudroginTed oil has a lot of names.    Palm oil. Coconut oil. Soybean oil, amd probably many more.   They are manufactured oils that use metal in the process.   They stay as a thick substance on the blood.    Not the best, my guess, for heart patients.    I'm not a doctor, I'm just giving an educated guess.

Of something doesn't have as a first ingredient the product it's suppose to b, I'd look again.  How about cheese sauce with no cheese!

Ingredients on labels  are easy to research.   And so is a logic test.  Protein bars , as one person stated, have oodles and oodles of sugar.    If they have well under 20 carbs, that's not oodles of sugar.

Read labels amd ask yourself it it passes the logic test.   Do the pros and cons.  Before you make a life changing decision.

Apples, tomatoes, broccoli, oh my.....

And what do they have in common?        They are all good for us and cost under a dollar a pound.    Wonco always has some variety of apple for a dollar a pound. QFC has broccoli for .99 a pound and a can to docs tomatoes is anywhere from  .38-.68 a can . And, they are good for you.  

I think the biggest yuk factor in the eyes of people towards broccoli is that most people over cook it.    Broccoli is a vegetable that you threaten , not cook.     Cook it until it is crisp tender.    I saw a picture on something) that I thought was cute.   It was called Mac and trees.    They put blanched broccoli in a bowl of mac and cheese.    $how fun is that!  

Apples are good just by themselves, or on a crisp, or cut up and put with cinnamon on your oatmeal.  
How about dipping it on peanut butter.    I found a peanut butter that had very low hydrogenated oil.   Read the labels.     We like apples and craisens in bread stuffing under oork chops.    Gandmas apple cake is moist and wonderful-  just don't try to use fake sugar!     ( doesn't work) .

Canned diced tomatoes are a staple in our household.   They can be side in many ways.   Out of salsa?    Dead of winter and want a green salad!  Chilli, vegetable bean or sausage and bean soup, red sauce?    And many more....


Vegetable and bean soup in the crock pot

Sauté 1.5 cups of the following ( total)  in any combination until soft.

Onion. Celery. Carrot chopped or sliced thin, colored peppers, chopped.
Add to the crock pot

Now open some cans and dump in crockpot.

2 cans of diced tomatoes (15.5 ounces ea)
2 cans of beans, rinsed and drained
4 cups vegetable or chicken broth

2T Italian seasoning
2tso garlic powder.

1 cup cooked sausage if desired.

Cover and cook on low for 6-10 hours.   We usually predict when we want dinner and count back.  
Garnish with parm cheese or croutons.


Apple cake

Combine :
1-1/2 cups vegetable oil
2 cups sugar
2 eggs
2 tsp vanilla
3 cups chopped Apple

Mix together
1 tsp soda
3 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup chopped nuts ( optional)

Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix by hand ,
Batter will be stiff.
Bake on greased 9x13 pan at 350 for 45 minutes or until a knife inserted in center comes out clean.

This is not the healthiest cake, but, really is any cake!     It's desert!  
We don't eat desert often.   I try to cook come thing once a week.  
Some weeks  I don't get to it.  
This cake is easy and really good.  

I suspect that olive oil would be too heavy to substitute for the vegetable oil.   Maybe some bitter melted for part of ot?   I. Sure you could cut the amount of the sugar a bit depending on the tartness of the Apple.  

That's about all.


Jane

The ads .....

I just got th ads....including grocery outlet!    

Grocery outlet
Foster farms chicken .79. Check pull date!  

Albertsons

Ground beef, 7 percent 3.99
Roma's .99
Grapes 199

Friday only

Progreso veg classics 5/5
Strawberries 2/5

Chicken noodle .69@@$$
Ragu  149@@


Safeways

Ground beef 7 percent 3.99

Ragu and chicken soup same as Albertsons with coupons ( stack manufacturers and Safeways, )

QFC

Grapes 1.99
Broccoli .99

1/2 loin 1.99

Buy 5, save 5 net prices

Butter 1.99
Cereal 1.88. CK for coupons
Red Baron pizza 3.99
Freschetta 4.49
Colgate toothpaste 1.99 CK coupons
Classico sauce 1.49
Mayo 2.49


That's all.  

Stocking for wealth

Buying your groceries consistently at 1/2 pice is paramount o having good food on the table all month and having food in the pantry when the month is over.  

It is just common sense that one should have food in the pantry in case of an emergency.....which can be as simple as a child being home sick so you can't get to the store or that dreaded "s" word.......snow.

Having a controlled pantry is not hoading,    The extreme television shows have given couponing and having more than two cans of beans a inflated bad name.

Our grandparents did it for years.....it was called putting up the harvest for the winter.    1/2 price foods is operating in the same premise as a stockbroker.    Buy when it's low, and sell ( use) when it's high.  

It used  to be that you bought enough product of your staples to last you until  the next sale.    Now I am finding stable prices on some things and sales a little more often, but limited quantities.   How much you stock is up to you.   I have three or four months of some things.    My object is to buy at 1/2 price and hold enough to carry us through the months when we reach the donut hole. ( a Medicare reality) .
I would want a month minimum.  

This will take time.    One can or package at a time.     If you are on snap. You have the luxury of having all your money at the beginning of the month.   That can also be a curse if you don't wisely  budget.    Know your prices, do it on paper before you go to a store.    Buy your monthly bulk purchases first, then divide up the remainder of the money for a weekly budget.   Do it on paper first so that you don't overspend and not have enough for the perishables .

This is what I buy, you might very well have different items.

I buy a ten pound box of oatmeal and a five pound bag of cheese .  Both are from Costco ,  bit sometimes cheese is cheaper at grocery outlet.   You can freeze cheese.   They used to say that grating your own was cheaper.    When I grate my own, we use twice as much because it is a coarser grate.

I have non fat dry milk and bread flour and yeast in my pantry on case we can't get to a store.  

I stock

• Diced tomatoes (.49) Winco or Fred Meyers.    
• Various beans (.49) -.58. Winco ir Fred Meyers.    
• Idahoian mashed potatoes (.60 w coupon) Winco 
• Refried beans, (.88) - Costco or Winco.   
• Pasta sauce, hunts (75-1.00) Winco, FM, dollar store 
• Pasta (.49-1.00)  obviously, I would prefer .49 and double fiber or vegetable 
• Black olives ( less than 1.00) 
• Some chicken noodle soup, pineapple. A backup of catsup, mayo, and mustard.  Best deals around Memorial Day and 4th of July 
• A cake mix and a brownie mix (.88) - Winco 
• A stove top stuffing, preferable for free . 
• Salt, sugar , soda, flour  ( replenish when low) best deals around Christmas and thanksgiving 
• Spices.- Winco has a great bulk isle, you can also it's always get them cheap at the dollar store or grocery outlet     Like a buck.   Chili powder was 3.39 for a Costco sized bottle

• Rice That's about it.    

Thanks 

Jane 

Please share . I have a 120 hit goal.    

It's Monday!

It's Monday morning....the start of a whole new week.     I need to do meal plans ; I have already printed coupons,    Tomorrow there should be a lot more.  
15 minute dinners take less time than driving threw the fast food line. There are many ways to achieve a 15 minute dinner,   The Internet is full of what I call dump dinners.    Basically , they are in three categories

1) slow cooker
2) stir fry
3) oven dinners.

We love a quiche ( aka impossible pie) with sausage and cheese or cheese and vegetables.    There has to be a zillion possibilities.

Soups are easy in the slow cooker.   Anything from split pea to vegetable bean, chicken and orzo. Navy bean.  Clam chowder or potato soup. Chilli.

Costco has the organic, tomato and roasted red pepper soup back.   It comes out to be two dollars a box and is a whole lot cheaper than buying it even at grocery outlet.   We Doctor ot up with basil and blue cheese.

Stir fry veggies are a good price at Costco and go a long ways.   You can add shrimp or chicken that has already been cooked .  Cook it while the rice is cooking, or add ramen noodles.  
Otherwise, you can get stir fry veggies at the dollar store or T Winco for 1.29 or so.   Prices vary.

Mac and cheese ( scratch) is a winner here, as well as tuna noodle, enchiladas, pork chops on top of stuffing with apple and craisens.  Pork chops with pineapple and green pepper, or chicken with pineapple and green pepper.  

Baked potato bar with cheese, broccoli. Chili. Sour cream,

Tex -mex is always a hit.   Nachos, tacos, enchiladas, burritos. A pie baked in a small round casserole with layers of tortillas. Cheese, refried beans, chicken or ground meat taco seasoned,  topped off with refried beans and cheese.   Baked in the oven.  

Pizza, glorious pizza.   Everyone likes it and it can be tailored to everyone's taste.  .

Pasta: speghetti. Meat sauce, primavera. With shrimp and alfredo sauce. With tomatoes, parm, peas and peppers and cut up cooked chicken breast., olive oil.

Breakfast for dinner.

What's for dinner at your house!



 Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different

 pro spective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

fm ads

nite: this week Tuesday, March 1st is a ten percent off for seniors day.  Clip coupon and certain things are exempt.   It only works in private selection and natural choices food.  

Oranges .69
Broccoli. Cauliflower .99
Barilla pasta .89. Limit six .  The coupon pit there won't work.   @@
Kroger tomatoes or beans .49@@
Strawberries 2/6

That's about it.  

Couponing. -- far from extreme.

It used to be that couponing meant that you could get a lot for free.   Especially at places like Rite Aid. 
I'm not seeing a lot of regular necessity things on big rewards.    By watching coupons when we need heigene items, I can usually get them for near free.   I don't carry a lot of those things,  I buy toilet paper at Costco and that's about it.  When I can find detergent for free or almost free, I go for it, otherwise, I get Costco.    

As far as food is concerned, we are trying to avoid a lot of ready made food.  It isn't always good for you and it's almost always more expensive.   Cookbooks are full of easy ways to make good food fast.    I do buy instant mashed potatoes, and some canned soups and frozen pizza.   

There are still a lot of coupon opportunities for what I call real food.    Coupons.com loads coupons the first day of the month.   You are allowed to print two coupons per household.    There is a limit on how many coupons can be printed, so the high dollar ones go fast.  You snooze, you loose!    Common courtesy says don't print all the coupons. Just the ones you are likely to use.    

Favado is an app for your phone or other electronic device that is supposed to tell you the sales for a particular store.   They aren't always accurate , but a good benchmark.  They match coupons and tell 
you where the coupons are located.    You still have to read the fine print because they don't  always do that.  

Our ads come on the Tuesday mail for Alberways!    And QFC ( Kroger) if they have an ad that week.   Grocery outlet and Winco don't have ads.   And Fred Meyers comes in the Sunday paper.   I can get the Sunday paper on Saturday at the dollar tree for a dollar.    I pull the inserts and the Fred Meyer food ad.   I put inserts on a file folder after I date them  and give them a quick look-over for things that I know I always buy on a weekly basis, like yogurt.   It makes it easy when I find a coupon matchup that give you the name of the insert and the date it was released.    I keep back three months.    

All this takes minutes a month.    It saves sometimes 75 percent off you bill.   Usually about five dollars or so a week.   Hey, it usually means about three hundred dollars , or another ten percent off our groceries a year.   It all ads up.   That's like thirty dollars an hour and I can do it in my pj's LOL.  

There is no double couponing on this state that I have found and most stores will not let you make money on a sale.   The only time that happens is with Ibotta or sometimes with reward points.   

Ibotta is an ap that gives you rebates on food--even things like bread, milk, and veggies.   When you have enough credited to your account, you get it back in a card to anywhere from Starbucks, Amazon, Walmart and more.    

I don't calculate Ibotta money against my food budget.   I spend 75.00 a week for two of us plus supplementing two others and that includes keeping a stock.    

The USDA has stats for  4.income levels based on number of people in the family and their ages.    
It is for actual food eaten.   We are at half.    Which makes sense, because I try for  our food at  1/2 price.   

No one thing makes that happen , it is a combination of efficient scratch cooking. Couponing, watching sales and trying to match coupons to them, only buying our everyday staples at 1/2 or less and stocking.

You can eat well on four dollars a day and have food in the pantry at the end of the month.    It takes time, it takes patience, but it can happen.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different
 pro spective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food( shelf- stable/ freezer staples )at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop, rather than purchasing just what you need for a day or a week, you  buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table consistently  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

De- fating ground beef

One if the ways you can make ground beef healthier, is to defat it.    Beef is still a good source if protein  that has iron and vitamin b-12 that is hard to get in good qualities in other foods.   It's expensive now, and we eat it once or twice a week because if it's cost.

It used to be that batch cooking would be ten pounds or so; now three pounds to five pounds is plenty.   

It is a more manageable quality and mess of us eat it.    

Meat loaf in meat loaf pan so that the fat drips away from the meat and the meat isn't cooked in its own juices.   Meatballs are cooked on rack over a sheet pan to drain fat.   Meatballs were placed on rack using a portion scoop so that they are  all the same size to facilitate even cooking.   

I buy seven to nine percent fat hamburger --  Fifteen percent max.    The way to compare prices is to multiply the percentage of fat plus 1. By the price.   In other words of hamburger is 1.00 a pound and its 7percent fat, the net price is 1.07 or 1.00 X 1.07. ; if fifteen percent hambirger is 1.00, the net or ice would be 1.15.   That way you can tell which hamburger is the cheapest.   

De- fating the hamburger ( or other ground meat,   Ground turkey and sausage don't have a fat content listed.   ) 

1) brown the meat until it is no longer pink.  Pour into colander.   Set over bowl of you don't want the fat to go down your sink drain.

2) remove bowl, and pour boiling water over meat.   Return drained meat to clean pan.   

Heat and add taco seasoning, drain or separate some  into portion controlled batches and add taco 

seasoning to some.

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different prospective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food shelf/ freezer stable staples at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop you don't buy just what you need for a day or a week.   You buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table and feed your family on a consistent basis good, nutritious meals  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Cake for dinner. ....

My granddaughters answer to what did she want for her birthday dinner was. Cake.    I told her she could have meatloaf cake with mashed potato frosting and we would spell out her name in parsley.    She wasn't impressed!  

Last night we had pizza from scratch.   1/2 pepperoni and black olives, 1/2 cheese and black olives.    

Tonight we are having breakfast for dinner.    

After a long day. What"s  for dinner is the last question you want to hear.   Years ago, every once in a while I retorted with " whatever you cook! ".  That had them standing with their mouth open! lol? 

I digress......    

What do you want to see covered in the blog.YOU CAN COMMENT BELOW.   IF YOU DON'T  HAVE TO HAVE  A GOGGLE  ACCOUNT, YOU CAN COMMENT UNDER ANONOMOUS.   

What to do with what you have.   

Chicken - whole. Or Thighs when  appropriate.  

• Chicken pot pie
• Chicken tacos or nachos 
• Roast chicken dinner 
• BBQ chicken thighs. Legs, and wings.    
• Chicken soup
• Chicken noodle casserole 
• Chicken and cheese stuffed shells 
• Buffalo chicken pizza 
• Chicken and vegetable stuffed baguette.  

Pork Roast ( loin) 

• Roast pork
• BBQ pork sandwiches 
• Pork and vegetable stuffed baguette 
• Pork pie 

Other inexpensive    protein sources :  ground turkey or hambirger (7-9 percent fat) , cheese, beans, rice, eggs, sausage .   

Groceries on the cheap is looking at the Put Dinner On The Table meal train from a different prospective.  The emphasis is on purchasing good food shelf/ freezer stable staples at the lowest possible cost and purchasing enough to last you until it goes on sale again -- Keeping a controlled non-perishable stock of the things you use on a regular basis. It means that when you shop you don't buy just what you need for a day or a week.   You buy a loss leader protein, produce you will need on sale, a stock item if it's a RBP, and dairy instead.    This allows you to put well balanced meals on the table and feed your family on a consistent basis good, nutritious meals  for a four dollar a day budget per person.   You spend more time on the planning and shopping end of the meal train and less on the cooking end by cooking efficiently.    

Four dollars a day is the target amount for people on snap.   My premise is that of you can do it on four dollars a day, spending more isn't hard.   You still get more bang for your buck.    

Om gosh...it's bad for you....a parody.

Hey, I have been watching way too much in the Internet about food that is bad for you, so I have come up with my own ideas......


1) WATER.     Omg.   It hydrates you,,,,and then you have to pee.......and my husband says that it rusts your pipes !

2)  American cheese slices.....OMGOsh.......the first imgredient is cheddar cheese!  

3).  Food at the dollar tree..... Potatoes , frozen potatoes and their from IDAHO!     Need  I say more.

I have been reading a lot on the subject of what you should and shouldn't eat.   Some of it contradicts itself.   Somethings I've checked, and just isn't true.    When in doubt, read the labels.   Some suggest  you make product  yourself.  I am reluctant with the amount of food borne illness that can happen.   I think you are better off leaving things that need precise monitoring to the professionals.   Not to mention, all that takes time.

The things that have been identified that are really bad for you that we can pretty much buy into are  hydrogenated oils, ( thicken your blood) , HFCS, concentrated sugar, nitrates ( cancer causing ) , and fake sugar.  

I'm still staying within the guidelines of four dollars a day per person or less.   A lot of things I can and we already don't eat.

 We love pepperoni and sausage.   I am just limiting our consumption to once every week or two.

   A lot of HFCS has been eliminated by manufacturers and I count carbs closely, so a lot of that concern is not a problem.    We don't eat a lot of catsup or BBQ sauce.  I almost never drink soda.  Our cookie consumption is not a problem,.

The things that will be a problem are the hydrogenated oil and fake sugar.   I already drink coffee and tea black. I drink a lot of water.     I do use some things that are sugar free because of diet restrictions.

Hydrogenated oils are a problem because they are in so many of our foods .   I use olive oil in our cooking almost exclusively.    We use real butter.    I think it is remarkable that the fake butter  that is supposed to be good for you , that costs twice as much as real butter, is actually worse for you than  the real thing.    I looked at two fake butters.   One had water for its first ingredient,   The other was a bit better, it had olive oil in it as well as hydrogenated oil.  

We bake our fried potatoes, I don't buy potato chips and the like, I use olive oil in dressings, and we don't use a lot of salad dressing. Mayonnaise comes with partial olive oil, I get tuna packed in water.

But, there is a lot of hidden oils in our foods.   Not buying a lot of ready makes helps.    Reading labels helps.   Remember,  ingredients are listed in order of volume.    I read several jars of peanut butter at the grocery store.  There was actually some that had very little oil and sugar, not HFCS.  
The cost wasn't  prohibitive either.

  You can't believe everything you hear about a product, read the labels for yourself.   There is a lot of misinformation and generalities out there, but it can be clarified with the simple reading of a label.    Some brands are better than others and  cost doesn't seem to be a factor.   I looked at two cans of beans.    The Winco brand, the cheapest had beans, water, amd salt.   The other brand had beans, water, salt and a couple of preservatives.


The above information is based in a lot of reading. I am by no way an expert.  I am just repeating what the consensus of opinions were.     I think I read that the FDA was mandating that the manufacturers fix cake mixes and frosting mixes by a particular date.    The problem might be that they are having a problem finding a suitable substitute.

This weeks meals

meal plans for this week.  


monday: roast chicken, mashed potatoes, green salad with cucumbers and tomatoes.

Tuesday: out

Wednesday : BBQ pork sandwiches, salad , waffle fries mixed fruit

Time go away from  me, I skipped the fries.   Plenty of carbs from the bread.  









Thursday : homemade pizza

Friday : tuna noodle casserole,  peas and carrots

Saturday: tacos, refried beans, rice.  

Sunday : breakfast for dinner.   : eggs, hash browns ( oven) mixed fruit , English muffins,



2 pork or chicken
2 vegetarian
1 fish
1 beef
1 parents night out.  


Notes :
Monday
green salad is romaine and cucumbers from Winco purchase less than target prices.   Chicken eas .87 a pound.    2.85

Wednesday :
BBQ pork sandwich is part of the pork roast purchased do 1.69 a pound , a baguette at .95 and
More of Wednesday's green salad.   2.50

Thursday
Home made pizza- scratch crust from winco  .98, pepperoni .50 from FM with coupon, cheese .50 1/2 pound, tomato from yesterday's homemade BBQ sauce.    2.00

Friday
Tuna casserole,    Noodles purchased for a dollar. Tuna from Costco, peas and carrots purchased at QFC for .65 .   Home made cream sauce.    3.65

Saturday
Sausage purchased for 3.00 (  mixed with cheese and vegetables ) , peppers frozen from 6/3 at grocery outlet, and potatoes 1.50 for five pounds.  
3.95

All less than five dollars a meal.

Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Quality foods

I just read an article that indicates seven foods that if you eat too much if, can hurt you.    Lately, I have been researching a lot.  For every idea, there is someone to d bunk it.    I tend to research the source before I repeat them.    Bottom line, use common sense.    Most of the "new age " foods are over processed.  Isn't that what the foodies are trying to avoid?  

I give everything I read a taste of common sense.    Is it  Logical?    Who's funding the study?   Some lady told me the other day that nutritionists only say what they learned.   Well, duh!  

There is too much contradictory out there.  Our  grandmothers USDA food pyramid has been revised to deal with the too much salt, sugar, and fat.   It has worked for years.   My grandfather was 92 years old when he died.   This new-age food has not stood the test of time.   I'm not sure that substituting one thing for another isn't just opening a new can of worms.  

There are far too many picky eaters out there.   I think that is more of a problem than eating a tried and true balanced diet.    Vegetables are only good for you if you eat them.  

My take.....

Eat basic food.   Make it tasty.  Buy the best quality of regular food you can afford.   You can eat cheaper food; just eat good cheaper food.    

We eat hot dogs seldom.   When we do we eat them , I only buy Hebrew National or Nathan's.   I only buy good white albacore tuna packed in water.   Foster Farms chicken. Buy good food cheap; not cheap food.

I go back to eat in moderation. There  are a lot of foods that aren't supposed to be good for you. ( this week)   If you eliminate every food that someone says is bad for you, you would die  from mal-nutrition--there would be nothing left to eat.  

My take :   Just eat a well balanced diet of a wide variety of foods in moderation.   You can't fool Mother Nature.    Fake is never better than the real thing.    

Basic, bottom line, if you are trying to feed your family on four dollars per person per day, you can still eat good basic food and have enough to eat.    You don't have to resort to beans every night or leave out whole food groups.    You can avoid or use in moderation the things that are bad for you. That is, that have been proven to be bad for you.    Even the experts acknowledge that to omit all the substances that are bad for you would be nearly impossible.   

Some manufacturers are working  on the HFCS and the hydroginated oils.   I use a lot of olive oil which is better for you.   It just doesn't work in a lot of things.    You can avoid some of the things, but all of them would be hard.   Mayonnaise does come  with part olive oil and it is the same price as regular mayo.    

Ingredient labels in  this country have to list ingredients in order of their volume.   If the first ingredient is hydroginated oil or water.......think again.   If it is the last on the list, you're probably ok. 

Buying food 1/2 price means you can be picky about what foods you feed your family and be mindful of the best quality you can afford.    

Five things that will derail your food to the table train.

Five things to avoid buying,  

1. Bottled water. Seriously, you are paying a buck for water ?     Water is free. ( kinda) .  It is necessary  for  you to drink it; but ,why pay a buck essentially for a thin plastic bottle.     Basic rule  :  don't pay for MT calories.    Water has NO calories.    You want the MOST bang for your buck.
2. Pre - packaged  individual servings:  no surprise here.  You are paying for the labor and all that plastic or paper-- not to mention extra space to ship.   It's like buy your oatmeal in bulk, it takes,no more time to measure out a 1/2 cup from a canister than it does to open the package.    It takes one and a half minutes in the microwave to cook.   Just add water and cook.  Scant one  cup water, 1/2 cup oatmeal, and 1- 1/2 minutes.   Add a banana, 1/2 an apple chopped, some raisins or craisens.....keep cinnamon sugar in a shaker......the possibilities are endless. 
3. Meal boxes or frozen meals.    Again you are paying for something that takes so little of your time if you are efficient.    Many are not what they are cracked up to be and are full of preservatives and things you can pronounce.    Many take no more time than making them from scratch,   There are a lot of easy meals out there that don't make you take something out of an over priced box.   My daughter and I tested a hamburger meal box a few years ago. They have improved their boxes since then, but the same premise  holds true.  My daughter cooked one, I cooked the meal from scratch.   We both used cooked "hamburger" .  The difference in time was seconds.    Mine looked better, had more product and had more cheese and vegetables.    The meal box consisted of little more than four ounces of pasta, and 1.57 ounces of a cheese sauce that you added the milk to to make it cheese sauce.    I suspect that Mac and cheese in a box consists of a small amount of macaroni and a cheese packet you add milk to.    Scratch isn't that hard.    There is a recipe for no brainier pasta I made up on another blog.  My nephew made up the name.   LOL. 
4. Snacks like potato chips and such.    Don't buy empty calories, make your calories count.    A lot of us are on diets to loose unwanted pounds or because our doctors have diagnosed us with a disease that we need to adjust our diets for.    Most of them don't include high salt or sugar.    Make your money count and buy real food.   An apple or an orange is much better for you than a package of potato chips.   
5. Soda pop, carbonated beverages-- what ever you want to call them. They,  too are empty calories.    Some say that the carbonation leaches calcium from our bones, most doctors say we don't need the sugar and the alternative is not much better.   There is a lot of hype out there; and for every yin there is a yang.  Bottom line is the food value is nil.   

And one myth:    Scratch pasta sauce does not cost less than pre made.   Pre made sauces in cans are about the same or less than buying the tomato sauce.    When you can get them on sale, they are less.   

I see that dollar tree is carrying a smaller can than what I am seeing at the grocery stores.    Ina, still finding it for a dollar or less.    Hunts peels their tomatoes with steam,   Some other high prices tomato companies do it with chemicals.   If you have to buy your tomatoes, real scratch pasta sauce is really pricey.    Finding tomatoes less than a dollar a pound is rare on our world.    Most of the time they are close to two dollars.   It is definitely cheaper to buy it made.   

Thanks for stopping by 

Jane 

Dissecting hamburger box.   7/21/12
The above article is the sole opinion of the writer.    It's just my educated opinion.

The ads in Seattle.

It used to  be that I could gather the ads on Tuesday and analyze  them. Now, since Albertson's and Safeway's  were bought out they seem to be the same store.,  QFC sometimes has two week ads, Fred Meyer has ads that come out on Sunday, and Costco and Winco don't have ads, life has gotten more complex.  

I can analyze QFC and what I call Alberways . Lately my Alberways is a bust.   I have target or my RBP on the things that we use often,    Most of the time Alberways has few real specials.  Fred Meyers is better a lot of the time.  Their ads run from Sunday to Saturday.

I get the ads for Fred Meyers on Saturday for Sunday. Alberways comes out Tuesday along with QFC if they have an ad that week.    I can then analyze the two or three ads.   I go to Freddie's or QFC of they have things on my target list for a good price.   I usually go to Winco if I still need more or if om need things that Winco is always cheaper on.

Some weeks I go to three stores.   Some weeks I can skip all but a few perishables.     It averages out. It's not as cut and dried as it used to be.   I'm thinking when the dust  settles and Haggens gets threw bankruptcy and the Albertsons and Safeway stores are sold, things might be less crazy.

Costco is pretty stable, and we have a few things that we always get from them. We go to Costco on a need to basis.  

None the less. I am  still making it work.   I can be more efficient on the kitchen and spend more time shopping than cooking,    It all averages out, the difference is that I can feed us more healthy by paying 1/2 price and cooking in batches.  


Thanks for stopping by


Jane

Better for less chicken

Last  night we had a pork chop bake - we tried a new recipe from Betty Crocker on line cookbook.   I omitted the French fried onion rings.   My hubby doesn't like onions and it would have just bumped up the price amd added fat to the dish.  

Today o out the 5.5 pound chicken in the crockpot to cook.    I will divide it only o four portions.   Portion control is one of the best ways to keep costs down.   I'm hearing that we all need a out six ounces of protein a day, some of which needs to be egg.  

A balanced diet is the key.    Some families allow seconds, the children just have to have seconds of a little of everything.  

We cut the cooked chicken ( a lot less work than when it is raw) into two 1/2 breasts, the dark meat, amd the bones left for soup.   When we cook a chicken on the crockpot ( see prior recipe) I save the broth.    Four meals with a five pound chicken cost somewhere around 1.25 per meal for meat.    That makes a five dollar or less meal really work.

There are a lot of recipes that call for rotisserie chicken.   Cooked chicken is a good substitute.  
Betty Crocker on line cookbook is free.  You can plug in what you want to cook and recipes will pop up.   Many of them are easy.   Many can be adjusted to use your own mixes of necessary.  
Always be mindful  of your budget.  

Our favorites are chicken pot pie, chicken enchiladas, chicken tacos, chicken orzo soup, chicken dinner, ....... Ther is a list on a precious post, and Betty Crocker is full of them.   I choose Betty Crocker because they are up to date, but down to earth.   The recipes are tested and work. Most of the time, they are quick and easy.    

I spend more time on the front end of the meal train and less on the back end.   By dinner time, my get up and go has got up and went.   I want easy.  I cook in the morning when I have the energy, I batch cook.  It is cheaper to buy in bulk and batch cook; you save money,time, and clean up.  

Even if you don't take some thing out if the freezer, you can still put a meal on the table fast.  

Thanks for stopping by

Jane

Eating better for less

Last night we had Mac and cheese and broccoli.   The broccoli we got for free.   The Mac and cheese breaks down as :

1 package 25 times fiber macaroni.    .49
Cream soup base.........to little to cost out.
3cups ( 12 ounces) of grated cheese, ( I used feta I paid 1.20 a pound for, white cheese was 2.35 a pound, amd yellow,cheese was 2.08.   ) 1.50
Bread crumbs and Parsley
Parmesean cheese.    .25

Total.  2.24  I still have 1/2 the 9x13 pan for today's lunch.    Total dinner. 1.12

If you have  some really inexpensive meals a few times a week, you can have some more expensive ones and you will still average 5.00 a meal.  

Tonight , I am going to make pork chops out of the pork sirloin I got for 1.69 this week at Winco.   I found a recipe in the Betty Crocker on line cookbook for a  green bean and pork chop dish that you bake in the oven.     Planning to cut pork chops off of the pork sirloin and leave enough for a roast that can be sliced thin after a roast dinner and used for BBQ pork sandwiches.  

I will buy a chicken at Fred Meyers today as well.   When you find two loss leaders in one week, you can concentrate on canned goods or veggies and bulk dairy the next.   Or if there are good buys at several stores, bulk up the shopping trip and skip the next week.
Being flexible with the things you buy -- in other words, not buying the same things every week- gives you the luxury of not paying full, price.    The bottom line of that is that you eat better for less.

Here's  now this plays out :

Mac and cheese dinner   1.12

Pork sirloin.    4.94. - approx 3 pounds
Pork chop dish.   3/4 pound   1.27 , cream soup .40. Green beans 1.00, cheese .50. - 3.17
BBQ pork sandwiches  3/4 pound - 1.27 , .95, ( pork and baguette ) Cesear  salad, romaine .68, ( dressing and croutons ) staples .25 parm. 3.15
Pork roast 1.5 pounds   2.54, .60 mashed potatoes, glazed carrots 1/2 pound .24    3.38

 4 dinners.  10.82 Or 2.71 a dinner.  NOT a plate.  

That's for three people.  Or .90 a plate .


Now, I would freeze some of the pork and insert other dishes so we didn't eat pork three days on a row.   This was for costing out meals.    I did not cost anything that was a staple that would be really difficult to cost.   Croutons are made from bread scraps.  

This is an exercise to show what happens when you shop wisely and buy with coupons or when things are at their rock bottom price.  

Betty Crocker on line CB dishes to try ( adapt for expensive mixes if possible ) scratch is sometimes better without preservatives and cheaper )

1. Cake mix cinnamon rolls 
2. Spinach tuna casserole 
3. Herbed pork and red potatoes 
4. Pulled pork 
5. Cheesy chicken and bacon soup
6. Chicken enchilada chili 
7. Bow ties chicken and asparagus 
8. Berry orange monkey bread 
9. Chick n taco soup. 
10. Vegetable minestrone 
11. Broccoli, cheese, and ham muffins 

That s food for thought



Jane