Bullet list : Easy steps

Groceries on the cheap is not a one day process.   It takes time and a commitment.   The good news is that any one thing that you do will help you get to your goal—whatever that goal is.  

• The easiest change you can make is to go over the ads and mark things that are a good buy—the ones that are healthy and are ingredients for a meal.   Pay special attention to any stock up items that are an extra special price.   This week, I found kroger cheese for .99 an 8 ounce package.   The same Kroger cheese was on a buy 4 , save 4 for 2.50.(the net price).  That’s the same as getting 2.5 lbs of cheese instead of 1 lb of cheese.    Cheese is a basic in our house.  There is a lot you can do with cheese and its a good source of protein and calcium.   
• Installing a good basic cookbook to your computer or tablet helps too.   Betty Crocker has basic recipes and a search engine that allows you to put in an ingredient that you need to us up and receipts appear...LOL. They also send you a calander every year if you ask for it and occasionally have coupons.  Many times I adapt recipes to include scratch instead of prepackaged items, but the basis is there.   Not all their recipes start with a mix.   
• When a muffin mix calls for yogurt, I have been known to substitute sour cream without a problem.   
• Often times, when you hear about recipe from Taste of Home, you can google it and the words taste of home and you can print it off the computer.   Taste of Home magazines and books are a good resource for home made recipies.   They are discounted at Winco and sometimes I find them at the Goodwill for .50.   I read them, download the recipes I might want to keep, an give the magazine back to the Goodwill to sell again.  A win, win situation.   
• If your family eats oatmeal, the box of oatmeal (10 lbs) is around 8.00 at costco. It makes a serving of oatmeal around .08 and takes 1.5 minutes in the microwave.   A serving of the regular oatmeal has FOUR times the nutrition as the little packets that are at least .10.   
• Watch your brands.   Some brands on the BUYXX, SAVEXX sales are not good quality.   If your family won’t eat something, its not a bargain.   Nothing is a bargain if you are feeding it to the garbage disposal.   Ditto Organic foods that spoil before you can use them.   I bought ten pounds of organic carrots one time at costco.   It was the second day when I discovered they were rotting.   I should have taken them back , but I set out and blanched and froze the ten pounds.   If you spend a little time planning a buyxx, savexx sale, you can clean up.   Buy matching coupons with the sale, I have saved as much as 78 percent, especially when there is a basket coupon running at the same time.   
• Eating a no meat dinner once or twice a week saves money.   
• Learning one scratch item a month makes a lot of difference.   The difference between a take and bake pizza can be 10.00 or 1.00.   And the time is probably no more than driving to the store to pick it up or making it.   Our 5yo can make it with supervision .   Its not hard.   Ditto something like peasant bread.  A loaf of sourdough costs 3.00 here at the lowest price I can find.   A loaf of peasant bread takes about 10 minutes if you are slow (hands on time ) an d costs under a quarter.   No preservatives.   Muffins are another item that takes almost no time, but saves a bundle.   Muffins can cost up to a dollar each.   
• Rotisserie chicken is a rip off......just saying....   another 10 minutes hands on time.