Winco and QFC (Kroger)

QFC has a buy six, save three sale.   Most of the time, those sales are t a real bargain in,sea you can match with coupons.   I bought six, saved six.

4 Ragu pasta sauce.    Sale 1.99 less .75 coupon 1.25 net
2 milk at .99 one reg, one chocolate.  .99'each


Store calculated savings 56 percent
Spent seven, saved nine


Winco

Fries , 5 lbs. 3.18
Sandwich bread 1.18
Rolls for meatball subs .76
Street taco shells (24) .98

Sugar free BBQ sauce 2.98

Olives .68

Blue bunny ice cream 3.00 w coupon

Frozen vegetables .74 w coupon

Armour  meatballs 1.98
Tomato .74
 Total 19.77

Total per week for 2 quarter.   53.00

Fred Meyer ad for Sunday

Sunday's ad for Fred Meyers (Kroger)

Cantaloupe .99
2 lb strawberries 1.99
Pork shoulder roast 1.69

Best foods mayo.  2.99. $$
Hillshire Farms smoked sausage 2/5

Peaches 199

Nathan's hot dogs 2/5

Cottage cheese, sour cream 4/5


About it.

Coupons worth noting in Sunday's paper

Ritz snack crackers at FM 3/5 : .75 off two.    1.295 each.  
You don't have to buy three if you don't want to buy three.  

Coupon for sure jell if you are making jam

1.00 off Birdseye or c and w veggies
 50 off any dole canned fruit,
.50 off five  yoplait yogurt.  

Note Winco wanted .69 for Yoplait.
I paid .23 with a coupon last time including chocolate.  

And who says coupons are only for garbage food.  

mind set - what can I do with instead

I was watching a u tube grocery haul.  It is a lady that feeds he family of four for thirty dollars  a week.   No easy feat considering  her family consists of two adults and two teenagers,    She does live on the south and she has a discount grocerynstire that has amazing prices. Like chicken sausage for .50!   I suspect it's on the edge and she needs to freeze it or eat it soon.

The point is, I can still see ways for her to cut.

Cream soup base is cheap and even at fifty cents, it is cheaper than canned and better for you.    Potatoes back there are really expensive.  Like twice what they are here.    I suspect we have cheaper potatoes because Washington and Idaho are producers of potatoes.    Lol.   But, scratch potatoes are probably cheaper than the .79 she paid.   She does get marvelous prices.    She sticks to the tried and true inexpensive meals and ones that children typically love.  

The whole time I was a single mother, my main question I would ask myself when I hit a road block, was what can I do instead?    Sometimes if I just went out and played catch with my son, or made a batch of bisquits , the ensure woukd come to me,   Sometimes I would have to break out the big guns and call my sister for a brainstorm session.   She always had good ideas.    A least she had a different perspective.  

Tips : some might be duplicates from before for new people.

• White sauce, or cream soup base is a lot cheaper than canned, takes less room, and there are several recipes to accommodate low fat, low sodium , or no preservatives    Refrigerated or not.   
• Peasant bread or refrigerater bread is a good way to drastically cut your cost of bread.    It's about thirty cents a loaf when flour and yeast are purchased in bulk at Costco and artisan bread cost upwards of three dollars here.   Hands on time, about ten minutes.   
• Simplify meat cuts, buy meat cuts that are flexible and butcher your own.  Protein is the most expensive part of your  meal.  A good place to start the economy,    Pork loin can easily be cut into meals and one of the cheapest, low fat meats. Split  chicken  breast Can have the ribs cut off and cooked for stock , the bones licked for meat for tacos, salad, burritos, soup....., and frozen.    Hamburger can be cooked as taco meat, crumbles, and meatballs.    
• Frozen vegetable sometimes are fresher than fresh ones and a lot cheaper if you watch sales.   Buy what's on season.  It will taste better and be less expensive,  steer clear of the discount stores ( Grocery Outlet ) because their produce is on the edge and they dint make it good of it is bad.    
• The dollar tree is a good source for some things, but you need to know your prices,  some things are more expensive.   A big basic for 1/2 price groceries is to know your prices.   My mother used to say that some people wouldn't know a bargain if it got up and bit them in the butt.   DONT BE THAT PERSON !   Don't take any signage at the market as gospel.  Know your prices.   I still have people call me to find out where the best price for a particular item is.Keep a price book if necessary.  You don't have to know the prices of everything you use,   Just know the things that you buy on a regular basis.   Everyone has a basic list of things they buy: things they use often.   Most families have a list of about 15 items.  If you can't remember, wrote them down on a card and put them in your coupon book, your purse, or your wallet.    They won't do you any good on the desk.    Lol.   Stick to th RBP on those things,    
• When you find a RBP, buy enough to last you till it goes on sale again or enough for you to use up before the use by date.   Don't overbuy.   The green beans you buy ahead this week will be replaced by the 25 lbs of flour you buy next week.  You should be able to spend the same amount, but have twice the food,
• Going to the store, one store, and buying just what you need for a week is like going to the casino.  The odds are against you.    If nothing else, go to two stores and buy the bargains that you can use to make a meal.   You can just about get that if hamburger patties are on sale at one store, the buns won't be.  Some stores are notorious for having the best price for some things,  know which stores have the best prices. If you need that thing, xo solder going to that store.  Don't go for one thing, but usually, you can group certain things together,  be flexible, time changes things.    I can usually get English muffins in a giant sack for 1.67 at Freddies.  Hamburger and hot dog buns are cheapest at Winco.  Neither of those things are cost effective to make scratch.  
• Find efficient recipes for scratch cooking of the things that you use or can use on a regular basis.   Some things just aren't efficient to make and buying is actually cheap enough not to bother.    A 3 ring binder thrifted or from the dollar store , some plastic sleeves , and recipes for efficient cooking can be your best friend.   Teaching a youngster how to cook is another good idea.   Even small children can learn some things.  We started baking at 9 yo.  My mother hated to bake.  Unfortunately, she hated to wash dishes and iron too.   Lol.  My mantra for little ones is no sharp, no hot, and no raw meat.  Safety first.    Our 5 yo can make scratch pizza with supervision. It's a confidence builder and teaches self preservation.   Our schools don't teach home ec the same as they used to.  Children need life skills.  

10 ways to cut food costs

10 ways to cut you food costs without shouting it....

1. Meatballs are two dollars for almost a pound at Winco (armour ) .  They are airier than my homemade, but cheaper than the cost of the hamburger.    
2. French fries that are frozen at Winco are cheaper than real potatoes at times.    They are not the perfect length always, but your body will  ever know.    
3. Many times you can get good food at grocery outlet ( discount overstock ) store or the dollar tree that has been for a test market and didn't fly,    Recently I got tomato paste - Hunts  ingredients: tomato  paste, citric acid- period.  The same volume as the can, but in 2 ounce packets.    Less waste, less money. ($1.00) .  It is also found at the dollar tree.   I also got wishbone salad dressing for a quarter.    Needs  to be used soon - but, hey summer is coming and we eat a lot of salads.   
4. An easy way to beat the heat on the kitchen when hot times come is to make salads, cottage cheese, etc early morning,   Add a hotdog, hamburger or grilled meat at dinner time and dinner is done.    You can even make big batches of salad  on the weekend and eat all week of you need to.   
5. Buying what is on sale and buying inexpensive  cuts  of meat, but buying  the highest quality of those cuts keeps you from feeling deprived.    
6. Sneaking  in a special treat every now and then doesn't hurt either.    Asparagus?  Steak?  A special desert?   
7. Scratch cooking makes everything taste better and special.   
8. Take advantage of every coupon, freeze, and good sale on anything that you can make a meal from that you come across.   Kroger has freebies every week.  Somh e aren't to our liking and I pass if I can't use them, or don't know anyone that can.  Kitty treats go to grandcat, Mac and cheese to the food bank.    
9. My daughter bought green onions,   She cut what she wanted to use from the tops and placed them on a small jar of water.   Within two days, they had replaced themselves.    
10. Adding that little  extra condiment to a sandwich, etc makes a lot of difference,   That pickle or a carrot or celery stick.   

Costco haul

Costco haul today, less beer and meds, soap.

Bacon 4 lbs 12.89
10 inch tortillas 5.02 - note 8 inch are 4.99 for the same quality ( 40)
Bananas 1.39
Feta 4.29
Pickles 3.57
6 brownie mixes ( GHIR) 10.38 triple chocolate 1.73 each,  


That makes the month of June at less than 50.00 a week.  

Thursday bullets: things to make from ground meat

Thursday bullets -  Ten things to  make from ground meat

• Spinach meatball subs 
• Bacon wrapped hamburgers 
• Beef stuffed French bread - a good use for leftover potato 
• Beef and corn cassarole 
• Tangy meatballs over noodles 
• Taco soup 
• Pasta pizza soup 
• Potato topped meat pie 
• Enchaladas 
• Stuffed sourdough sandwiches 

All from taste of home 

Recipe remake - stuffed tomatoes.

Stuffed tomatoes.    You could use this recipe for tomatoes on season or any peppers.

4 medium round tomatoes. ( or 1/2 peppers )
3/4 lb ground meat
2tsp onion flakes
2 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and pepper
Healing quarter cup of grated cheese
1/2 cup cooked rice
1 egg, beaten


Directions
Cut a slice of the top of the tomato and scoop out the insides.  
Reserve the pulp and hold out about a drained cup and drain the tomatoes.  

Cook beef and onion over medium heat on skillet until the meat is no longer pink.
Stir on the seasonings and the reserved pulp.  Simmer aBout ten minutes or until liquid is reduced.  
Stir on rice, cheese and beaten egg.  Heat.   Fill shells.

Place stiffed vegetable in a baking pan and bake at 350 for 20 minutes or intilheated through.  

When using pepper shells ,you may want to cook the shells a few minutes in the microwave until they are crisp tender.

Safeway haul -

Quick Safeways haul.
First, a porkloin didn't exist.

Catalina coupon for 1.50 off folders coffee

Food 11.36 less 2.55 overcharge is 8.81
Treat 6.23

We bought the sparkling water, no sodium, no sugar for  2.00
And cherries for 4.23 they are inky in season here a short time and a real treat.


Barilla ready pasta 1.50 less a dollar coupon it is only 8 plus ounces and I surely wouldn't pay 150, but for fifty cents it would be a quick fix for granddaughter if we were going out.


Eggs  seventy eight cents

Butter one dollar ninty nine cents

Pork cube steaks were BOGO. Each steak will cost .57 or 1.14 a meal.

Please excuse the lack of numbers, my reader sometimes decides to quit using the shift keys,    Lol.

Ways to bulk cook hamburger / ground meat

Buying a bulk package of ground meat when it is a RBP is a good tool to use in lowering your food bill.     It's not only good for the bottom line, but it also affords you no wasted portion control.   In some families, if you cook 1.25 pounds and put 1.25 pounds on the table, they will eat 1.25 lbs, even if they do t need to,  

I usually cook between three and five pounds because there are three meat eaters here.    I wouldn't tackle more than ten pounds.   Divide or up after you decide which meals you might prep for.  

• A two pound meatloaf - save some for sandwiches or fake meatballs.   
• Hamburger crumbles 
• Taco meat 
• Meatballs 

Meatballs can have seasonings, catsup and breadcrumbs (homemade, of course) or oatmeal for filler same as meatloaf.   I use a portion scoop- ( Amazon or Costco business) and place them on a rack over a sheet pan.   The grease drips into the sheet pan and it takes only a short time to cook small meatballs,   Check them frequently.    Allow to cool and place in bags or containers in portion controlled  meal  portions.   Date the bags.    

Meat balls. And be speghetti and meatballs, meatball subs, or just meatballs in a cream sauce or gravy over noodles or rice or mashed potatoes.   

I usually eat meatloaf the day I am bulk cooking of I make meatloaf.  

Hamburger crumbles and taco meat take a lot of time out of dinner at dinner time.   Tacos can be a matter of minites.   

5 food items to buy at the DT.

OMGosh.  Yes I said dollar tree.    One caveat here, not all DT food are created equal.   You,need to read labels and check their origins and pull dares.    But, there are good buys on some foods.   These are name brands and made in America for the most part. Somethings are temporary and some things are almost always in stock.    Dollar tree and grocery outlet buy food that I surmise was a food that was test marketed,    Its good food .  many times its national brands, and it always is far below the market price.

A few years ago it was a meal sauce.    You know, add this to your meat and make a meal.   The sauce cost more than the meat.    It didn't fly.   There were coupons out there and I bought all that I had coupons for.   It made it FREE.   It goes without saying, FREE is a very good word when you are feeding a family and money is tight.

1. New now.   Hunts  tomato paste in packets.   The ounce weight is similar to a small can and it's cheaper than a small can and there is no waste.    Good for pizza sauce or any time you need tomato in a sauce.    How many times have you opened a can and then had to figure out what to do with the other half of the can. Ingredients : tomato paste  and citric acid.  Period.   
2. Pepperoni.    There are almost always coupons out there, 1.00 off two.   That makes 2 packages for a dollar and 1/2 a package can do a pizza, especially when you add bits of sausage, or leftover meats and a lot of veggies.    The same package is 1.69 at Winco.   
3. Suddenly salad.   A good start to a pasta salad.   It has pasta and dried veggies.   You can use the seasoning packet, or add your own.    It's upwards of two dollars in the stores.  Like closer to 2.50.   
4. Pretzels.    Many shapes.  Some name brands 
5. Name brand pizza sauce.    Cheapest ever.   Another savings of about half or more.    Take what you need and freeze the rest on ice cube trays and after it freezes, place in a freezer bag and pull what you need.   It defrosts quickly on the counter or you can zap it a few seconds in the microwave.   

Five things NOT to buy: 

1. Garlic 
2. Frozen fruit : I did get ore ida  potatoes one time.   
3. Cake mix : it's cheaper and a better brand at Winco.  
4. Instant potatoes : again cheaper at Winco: I paid .38 . 
5. Canned veggies. Again cheaper at Winco or on sale at FM.   

Chain store ads 6/21

Alberways 

Cherries 1.88

Salads 8-14 ounces 5/5

Butter 1.99

Eggs .78

Nathan's 3.99

QFC

Peppers .99

Strawberries 3/5 

Buy 6, save 3 - your best bet is when there are coupons to stack 

Milk, including  chocolate .99

 Breyer 3.49

Lean cuisine 1.99

Ragu 1.99

FIber one bars 199

That's about it.    

I'm not finding any rotation meat.    Safeways has some BOGO , but they aren't touting prices, sour can't tell if they are bargains or not.   

Facebook posts

This climate we are living in has given way to sensational post titles on facebook  that, if at first glance sound sensational rhetoric.  

Case in point:   KIRO  posted a piece ....you're going to die if you eat French fries.    if you just took the heading as gospel, you would never eat another French fry in your life. After reading the article, what it is saying is that trans fats that some people cook the potatoes in us bad for you.   we all know that trans fats, hydrogenated oils, HFCS, too much salt, sugar, fake sugar, and processed meats are not good for you.  

In truth, potatoes are good for you.   they have vitamins and protein . If you cook them in the oven and toss them with olive  oil and some non salt seasoning, they actually taste good and are better for you.    I also cook carrots, potatoes, radishes, and sometimes broccoli the same way.  Oven roasted root vegetables.    Yes, I know, broccoli isn't a root vegetable.    radishes take on a sweet taste.   you could also add turnips and rutabagas, although they aren't a fan of most people.

The same thing happened when they were bad mouthing Nutella.   the reason why Nutella is supposed to be bad is that it has palm oil in it.  True, palm oil is bad for you.  It is a hydrogenated oil. but, it is curious to me that Nutella is bad for you, but fake butter is not.    Many fake butters that people are buying because they are supposed to be healthier than butter have hydrogenated oils in them too.  Some studies have found that hydrogenated oils thicken the blood.   Not exactly what a heart patient needs.    the only oils that are not hydrogenated are olive oil and canola oil has had some bad press too because it has GMO?  you have to use something and without vegetable oil, shortening, or hydrogenated oils, there is not much left.  we all need some fats in our diet.  I guess you have to take the least of the evils.  Peanut butter has hydrogenated oil too, some more than others.  Read the labels.   T

It seems that these days everything is bad for you.  My take is that everything in moderation. and I can omit some things that history has showed us is bad for you and use moderation for the rest.

I remember when liver was supposed to be good for you.   Eggs for a while were supposed to be bad for you, now they say that they are some of the best protein and the cholesterol is good cholesterol like olive oil is.

Bottom line, you can eat reasonably healthy avoiding the foods that are age old proven bad for you, avoid salt, sugar, trans fats, HFCS, and hydrogenated oils and still maintain a small grocery allowance.  

that's  what this blog is supposed to be all about.  

Add on: last night on Facebook,  it came out about how there were 11 things that are not good buys at Costco.   The funny thing about that article, is the one thing that they thought was a great buy, isn't a great buy at all.    Fake news has become a buzz word since the hacking of our election.  It seem to have given way a new kind of news.  

For the record.  Anyone, especially the poor, can benefit from buying some food items in bulk.   It, as usual, takes some common sense.  Like the lady on extreme couponing  that bought 52 boxes of couscous and her family that had never eaten it before,  you probably shouldn't buy something you don't ordinarily buy in quantity.   We buy rice, flour and oatmeal in bulk.    Rice and floor come in 25 pound bags and oatmeal comes in ten pounds.    That lasts is about three months for the flour and rice, and less on the oatmeal.     It is, not wasted as the article stated.  

What the article did say was that the five dollar rotisserie chicken was a bargain.   Not so much.  It's true it is a convenience and it is cheaper than going out to eat. But, pound for pound, it is one of the most expensive purchases of chicken you can make.

Let me explain,  the break even point on a whole chicken is three pounds.  At three pounds, you are paying for as much bone as you are meat.   So, a three pound chicken at Costco deli is 3.33 a pound,   Whole chickens , the best local brands are .87 a pound frequently.    Costco s chickens here are Draper valley.  

There are ways to cook a chicken 🍗 fast and easy.

Dont believe everything you read. ......

the internet is full of fake news these days.   kiro , for instance, posted a piece a few days ago that would give you the impression that French fries were bad for you and you were going to die if you ate them.    If you took the headline at face value, you might not eat another fry in your life.    The actual truth is that French fries cooked in hydrogenated , trans fats are bad for you.

Potatoes, although a starch, are actually good for you if you cook them in olive oil or canola oil.   they can be cooked in the oven when tossed with olive oil and seasoned with a non salt seasoning.    of course, anything in moderation.    

This post was done on a lap top that I am trying to get to work.    actually, I am pulling my hair out by the roots and wanting to throw it through the window.   lucky for it, our windows are too small for it to fit.   LOL.    

kitchen management June 19

Kitchen management is a tool used to organize and prep your meals for the week in a block of time, usually about 1 to 2 hours.  A hour or so once a week can save a lot of time when you are getting dinner on the table during the hectic dinner hour.

Based on sundays post for meal plans, here is a sample of a kitchen management.

• chicken can be cooked in the insta pot from frozen.   wash potatoes enough for baked potatoes and french fries in the oven.  I use a dedicated brush and vinegar water.   store in colander for air circulation.   
• pizza dough can be made ahead for a day, or you can make it the day of the meal.   
• wash and cut veggie sticks and store in fresh container. 
• mark the meal plan the day before you are going to have pork chops to set them in the fridge to thaw.   
• wash veggies for green salad and place in fresh container. 
• wash and disinfect counter tops and drains.   j
• clean fridge, dump anything to bad to salvage and salvage anything that might be on the edge.  Blanch and freeze or dehydrate if appropriate,    
• Wash the floor. 
• Pick a monthly cleaning chore and rotate it.   Waxing cupboards, or washing them if they are painted, putting the stove fan screen through the dishwasher ,   (Metal) .  Organizing the pantry,or clean the oven,       

A few minutes can save a lot of time and clean up down the line.   I usually take that opportunity to bake something so it can be baking while I clean , or start bread dough so it can be rising while I go on with the other tasks,    

I would probably make rice at the same time I cook the noodles for speghetti.   Multi tasking saves time,   

Winco haul

wimco haul with prices


Hamburger and hot dog buns .75
Ic cream 300
Blueberries 4.98
Strawberries 1.58
Raspberries 2.98
Granny Smith apples 398
Cucumbers .48
Hot sauce , salsa 1.58
Tortilla chips 1.68

Total 23.90
Prev  17.00
Total  40.90

Meal plans -week of 619/17

Meal  plans for the week that is taking advantage of the bulk purchases I got at grocery outlet .

• Pizza 🍕- granddaughters favorite because she can make it.    LOL 
• Breakfast 4 dinner 
• Hot dogs , oven fries, veggie sticks 
• Pork chops, sweet potatoes. Peas and carrots 
• Chicken, baked potatoes. Chopped broccoli 
•  Speghetti and meatballs , salad 
• Tacos. Spanish rice 

Notes 

•  pizza cost 1.30 
• Eggs were .78 and are still .79 at FM this week,     Total quiche and fruit 3.19 
• Hot dogs are Nathan's that I got for 2/5 so a 1/2 a package is 1.25 bums are cheapest at winco, 2.75
• Pork chops were from 1.49 pork loin.   Sweet potatoes are .33 at grocery outlet, and green beans were .33.  ( 1.12, .33, .33) 1.78 /3 =.59 
• Chicken was free. Potatoes are cheapest at Winco, chopped  broccoli was .89. Total .77 w chicken 1.65 
• Tacos: taco kit was a dollar at grocery outlet. Taco meat was from 3.28 a pound 1/4 lb.   add cheese, lettuce and tomato.    Rice is almost free- .03 per serving.    2.67
• spaghetti and meatballs: spaghetti .44, meatballs 1.00. Lettuce .75, tomato 🍅.50.  Total 2.69

Total.   16.03 or .76 a serving.   Now, we are seniors and a small child and I plate the normal RDA for protein .   I also do not add pantry items such as flour, sugar, oil for cooking  etc in my calculations.  

Bullets - kitchen hacks

Just a few kitchen hacks

• When cutting vegetables, olives , etc for a salad, hold a little back of anything that can go on a pizza.   Stick it on a quart bag and out in the freezer door.    I also get pizza sauce at the Dollar Tree and freeze it on ice cubes.   It takes two or theee cubes for a 14 inch pizza of younsoread it with a pastry brush,  ( silicone ) we call this almost free pizza.    Any bots of meats like the end of the sausage or a couple of tablespoons of ham cubes go on the door shelf too.    
• Don't store coffee, hot pepper sauce, onions, tomatoes, garlic in the fridge. 
• You can cut the top part of onions, green onions, lettuce, celery, and put them in water,   Then plant them.    Green onions just keep growing and you can cit parts off as you need hem,    
• Always start the thing that takes the longest to cook when prepping a meal.    You can fit in the rest while the first thing is cooking.    Cook the pasta for a pasta salad, while the pasta is cooking , you can chop veggies and make the dressing, for example. 
• One of the best timesavers for dinner prep so to cook all the bulk ground meat including sausage at a time,    De- fat it to reduce your trans fats by up to 17 percent,    This is especially important for sausage or more than 7 percent fat content ground meat,   Portion control on quart bags the ground beef and place the quart bags in a gallon bag.   Date the gallon bag and label.    Dinner is amsnap when the meat is already cooked and you will find that you are more likely to de-fat a batch at your leisure than you would of you are doing it on the fly,   
• Always buy multiples of anything that won't spoil and you use on a regular basis of it's a steal of a price.    It's just more bang for your buck.   Some people think they need to be minimalist, but you can be a minimalist so,where else in your life. There is a line between hoarder and being prepared and cutting your food bill.     You don't have to have a coat closet full of sodas. Lol.   But six cans instead of one can of green beans when you are paying .33 instead of .58 really helps you bottom line,   Just buy something else on sale the next week in place of,the beans , buy the corn or diced  tomatoes.    It all comes out on the end, but the end result is that you paid 1/2 or less for your food.    So,emfor this week, so,e for next if ):);  happens  in your life.    A job loss. The streets flood so trucks can't get to the stores. the kids get sick.    Any number of reasons 

Fred Meyer ad for Sunday

Cherries 199

Chick roast 2.97 

Eggs .79

Peppers, 99

 English cucumbers .99

Note : this is a good example why you buy things ahead of time and when the orice is low.   The retailers know you are likely to buy at any cost when their is a  holiday.  Sweet baby rays is 4/5.  That's 1.25 each.   A few weeks back, they were 1.00 and with the coupon , they were .65.   That's half price.   

Buns are 3/5.   That's 1.67.   They are .88 or less at Winco,    That's half price again.  

Johmsonville  sausage 2/5 

Kroger ice cream 2/5 

Nathan's franks 7.99/ 2 lbs. 

strawberries 2/5 

Zucchini .99

Radishes 2/.99

Tortinos paety pizza 100$$ for 1.00 off 4 

Foster Farms split chicken breast 1.69. A few weeks ago they were .87.  (give or take  a penny ) again , that's half price.    

The insert with the Sunday paper has coupons for hummus and blue bunny ice cream .    

Who says there isn't coupons for real food.   LOL.  

Protein.

Protein is the highest priced group of foods.   That means to save on protein it is imperative  to save on your grocery bill and cut your grocery expense in  half.   Duh!
Most of us eat far more protein than we need.

The RDA for protein is .08 grams for killagram of your weight.  That's far to technical for me to fathom.   The bottom line is about 46 grams for women and 56 for men.  

To put thing in perspective there is 61 grams in 8 ounces of chicken breast,   A woman would need six ounces of chicken breast and 1 egg ( 6 grams) .

Consider that protein is in a lot of incidental foods.   There was 5 grams in our tomato soup and that was before I added some blue cheese.   We also had cheese in cheesy garlic biscuits and milk in our chocolate desert.

I think what I am saying, is that no one needs to eat the best part of a two pound roast.

Eating realistic amounts of protein can drastically cut yournfood budget.   Almost always serving a slice or whole chicken breast is eating too much protein and increasing  your cost.   Americans eat far more protein than any other nation.    A whole piece of meat shouldn't cover more than the palm of your hand,  your plate should be a quarter meat, a quarter starch, and a half vegetable to be healthy.

I find that easier in the summer where you can eat more salads.  Lettuce this week was two dollars a head at QFC.  The darker the green, the more food value it has.   Romaine is better than head lettuce.

Again, NO food is going to do your family good if you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.
There was a joke om Facebook about kale and cocoanit oil .  Cocoanit oil has MORE saturated fat than a four ounce piece of sirloin   steak.   It's a fad.   Fads might as well start with a Dollar sign surrounding them.   Learn to differentiate between a trend to be more healthy and a trend to separate you from  your money.   I think some trends  are marketing ploys to get you to spend more money at places like Trader Joe's and PCC, and Whole Foods.

Case in point ....I bought a carton of strawberries 🍓 at QFC.  They put the organic strawberries in woth the regular ones.  The organic ones were five dollars, the regular ones were a dollar and eighty eight cents or more than double the price.    In two days they were rotten.  Again. No food will do your family any good if you are  feeding it to the garbage disposal. I had the same thing Halle to carrots at Costco.

Organic doesn't mean that your food has no pesticides.   They can still grow organic in a field that has been pesticide free for three years.   HEY people, some  pesticides live  longer than three years in soil that has been full of pesticides for years. Wash your produce in vinegar water, peel it if appropriate.   Never buy organic bananas.  Themskin id too thick for anything to penetrate and you are paying more for nothing.   I'm not convinced that organic is better.   This is my opinion, take it or leave it.

Thursday bullets- emergency recipes

Five things you can make yourself in a pinch

1. Soda crackers 
2. Cheese from dry milk 
3. Sour cream from dry milk 
4. Buttermilk 
5. Sweetened condensed milk