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Have you started to hold your breath just before the final tally on your grocery bill? Here is a laundry list of things to think about when you plan your weekly meals.
1. Freeze your Food: Buy and cook in bulk, separate into individual entrees, and freeze for dinner at a later date. (Make sure to put the date on the lid.)
2. Read the Grocery Store Circulars: Don’t throw away those circulars! Find out when the sales run during the week and plan your grocery runs accordingly.
3. Clean Out your Cupboards: Don’t just buy things because they are on sale. Clean out your fridge, pantry, and cupboards to make more room for more bargain buys. The pasta you bought for a bargain may have been sitting there for ages, so make sure to use it or donate what you don’t think you’ll use to a food pantry such as Island Harvest (islandharvest.org) or Long Island Cares (licares.org).
4. Keep an Eye on the Scanners: You spent so much time shopping for bargains and scouring the circulars, don’t forget to check the amounts as items are scanned at checkout, or review your receipts to ensure there are no discrepancies.
5. Know your Butcher: Meats can get very expensive, though if you speak to your butcher and find out what days the markdowns take place, you can schedule your meat pick-ups accordingly. Plus, they might be able to tenderize less choice meats, which can give you even more of a price savings.
6. Avoid Pre-Cuts: Try to buy food items that are not pre-cut or shredded, as these can be more expensive ounce per ounce. Buy a chunk of cheese and put it through your shredder or cheese cutter at home. Don’t buy the bag of pre-cut veggies; buy fresh whole produce and slice it up the way you want for your meals or snacks; these will be cheaper and more nutritious, as just-cut produce retains more of the nutritional value.
7. Get the Store Card: Sign up for additional savings by obtaining the store cards that can attach to your keychain. You can often save several dollars per visit by purchasing items specially priced for members.
8. Is Bigger Actually Better? When deciding whether to get the large box versus the smaller one, check out the unit price posted on the store shelf, as sometimes the big box will actually cost you more, so it helps if you do the math. Also, if it’s a cereal or other item that you rarely eat anyway, think twice before buying the large size because it can spoil before you actually finish it.
9. Go Low: Strategically, grocery stores place higher-priced items at eye-level, so don’t forget to check the items on the bottom or top shelves. There you can often find the supermarket brands, which tend to be cheaper and just as good as the name brands.
10. Make a list and Check it Twice: Before you tackle the aisles, be sure to survey your pantry for ingredients you need. Try to stick to your list and not buy impulsively.
11. Shop with a Strategy: Most pre-packaged and ready-to-eat items—which are the most expensive items in the store—are located in the center aisles. Shop the perimeter of the grocery store first—where the fresh ingredients such as produce, meats, and dairy are located—then shop the aisles for the rest of the ingredients that you need.
12. Don’t Shop When You’re Hungry: There have been plenty of times that I’ve grabbed a bag of chips and other unnecessary items out of hunger. Plan your grocery trips separate from your mealtimes, or grab a bite to eat beforehand if you’re just hungry and you’ll find you make fewer impulse buys.
13. Do a Grocery Store Review: Some grocery stores market themselves as having Everyday Low Prices while others are generally known to be high-end. Compare items that you regularly buy at the ELP stores versus when they are on sale at the high-end ones. You might find that the sale prices at the high-end grocery stores are a bit cheaper.
14. Protect Your Produce: Bought some great veggies from your local farm stand? Keep them fresh longer in a FoodSaver, vacuum container, or zipper bag. Don’t use the plastic bags from the grocery store, as the stored produce will have a shorter shelf life.
15. Cut Down on the Junk: Commercial snack foods are expensive and unhealthy. Instead, make a homemade spinach dip with an array of veggies as dippers.
16. Make Dinner Light: Dinner tends to be the heaviest and most filling meal of the day. Graze on healthy small snacks throughout the day so you end up with a lighter dinner bill.
17. Cut your Meat Intake: Try to make your meals meatless, or use less expensive cuts, since meats can get expensive. Substitute meats with beans, chili, tofu, and grains.
18. Reinvent Those Leftovers: If you’re tired of eating baked chicken for 2 days straight, slice the chicken and add it to a noodle or fajita dish, or use it in soups, salads, or sandwiches.
19. Clip Coupons: Don’t forget to check out the coupons on grocery store receipts in addition to cutting out newspaper coupons or visiting coupon sites online. These can give you added savings—especially at stores that offer double coupons.
20. Load Up on Veggies: Check out your local farm stand or join a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program. As already mentioned, meats can get quite expensive, so prepare smaller portions of meat and make meals heavy on fresh and flavorful vegetables. It’s just plain healthy!
Luella Semmes is a personal chef for Your Kitchen Companion, LLC (kitchencompanion.org).
organicgal, Tuesday, August 19, 2008 at 05:50 PMHow timely is this article!!!
This should be read by....EVERYONE!!!!
Great article! Love Canvas!!
The one thing not mentioned (otherwise, I think everything is in this piece) is to start a food co-op with friends to buy bulk and get deep discounts. Neshaminy Valley in PA, www.nvorganic.com , is a great source for co-op items and will deliver to our area with (what used to be) a $350 minimum order.
Thanks!
