Comments on: Frugal Eats! A three step approach to cut down the food bill

By: Jen@ flowers tea

Jen@ flowers tea — Fri, 12 Nov 2010 13:25:39 +0000

You’re definitely on target with those list. In this times of hardship, we only need to buy what we really need. Inventory is very important. Sometimes we can’t control ourselves from buying just about anything you can see on the grocery store. Your post is really helpful to remind us to be frugal and teach us not to waste.

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:50:15 +0000

ahem…it’s frugalgirl’s and her site is here:

http://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2010/03/food-waste-friday-yes/

You can post your own pictures too! Fun!

By: Steve in W MA

Steve in W MA — Thu, 01 Apr 2010 04:48:17 +0000

One thing I do is a weekly fridge and freezer “lookaround” once a week, usually on Friday. I pull all the stuff out of the front of fridge shelves so I can see *everything* that’s in there and root around to see what needs to be used next and if anything is bad (I’m trying to cut down on that! There is a woman who has Food Waste Fridays on her blog which is a pretty fun idea–she takes pictures of all the food that has gone bad during the week and posts it on her website).

Anyways, from that I can see what I need to eat next or freeze before it goes bad, do some basic planning, and tweak the shopping list with the goal of using up the fridge and freezer stuff before it goes bad. It really cuts down on food costs for me, plus the fridge is a lot nicer because of it.

By: Liz

Liz — Wed, 25 Mar 2009 05:52:52 +0000

Hi.
Great blog! I’ve been buying meat in bulk for years, and it’s fantastic for our family (two teens, two adults). I usually buy the biggest packages I can find (around 5 lbs), and cook one package with onions, drain the grease really well, and then add taco seasoning. I’ll let this simmer for awhile, cool, and then pack into 5 flat gallon freezer bags. If they are flat, they stack well, and defrost quickly! I also cook the other up with onions and garlic, degrease, cool, pack the same way, and then defrost for spaghetti sauce, Hamburger Helper, pizza toppings, etc.
I do this same exact thing with chicken–sometimes I’ll use the huge $5 rotisserrie chickens at Costco–and sometimes, I”ll use chicken on sale, etc. Either way, it’s easy/fast to store/defrost/reheat these big, flat packages–and I don’t get grumpy about making dinner anymore…it has saved us a ton of money! (I’ve started doing this with grilled veggies, now, too–but I don’t freeze them–I just use them for the week in omelettes, salads, sandwiches, salads, pasta, etc..yum!!
Thanks for a terrific blog–can’t wait to read more of your wonderful ideas!

By: karen

karen — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 03:09:05 +0000

Hi, I make frozen dinners all the time. I got tired a long time ago of eating frozen dinners bought from the store. I live alone. So one day I decided I would make my own frozen dinners. I will make a crockpot full of beef stew, or pork stew, or chicken stew and put them in glad containers and and put glad wrap over the top of the food to keep frost bite out and then put the top on. I can get 5-6 meals per crockpot. Put them in the freezer and I have a frozen lunch for work every day. I sometimes will make about 18-30 meals in a weekend..To give me a variety to choose from. Then when those get low…I start the process all over again. I also will make chili in the crockpot. I also make pasta sauce and freeze it without the pasta, also I make large pots of veggie soup. A large pot gives me about 12 meals which I freeze for lunch or whenever. I do this to make sure I get one really nutricious meal every day…rest of day will be fruit or a sandwich..etc.
I don’t buy cookies, chips or junk food..I gave up all that due to it not being nutricious and trying to keep my grocery costs down. This year I put in raised beds to start going my own veggies to keep costs down that much more.

By: Danielle

Danielle — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 19:44:10 +0000

@ Sue – For freezing items with lots of water in them, look for containers that have sides that slope outward (Like this \_/ ), as it freezes it will push up instead of out or down. We have a few regular shaped Rubbermaid tubs with cracks in them now

The canning area of your Walmart/FleetFarm etc will have specialized containers for this too.

We froze squash and pumpkins I got from my parents last fall and can use them in bread, bars, or with the squash just add some butter and brown sugar and serve them.

By: The Happy Rock

The Happy Rock — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 05:55:15 +0000

1 and 3 work great, but I have found that they are hard to make habits since real life usually interferes.

Having stuff frozen in the freezer is awesome, especially when life has you drained or on the run.

By: madsow

madsow — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 02:59:49 +0000

We usually put our bulk cooking in 1 quart freezer bags or tupperware (more like cheapo rubbermaid stuff at our house) so that everything is in neat and easy to microwave portioned sizes.

Perfect for busy schedules. 5-10 minutes later a home cooked meal is served. VOILA!

Madsow
http://www.engineeradebtfreelife.com

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:19:10 +0000

2 other things – one, we rarely have leftovers with a 13 year boy and a home improvement contractor in the house (LOL)! And 2, what do you put the bulk-cooked food in for freezer storage?

Sue

By: Sue

Sue — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 00:16:51 +0000

I just read this out-loud to my son (13 and hungry all the time!) and my husband, who does the cooking (our deal is he cooks, I clean up).

My hubby said we could even bulk cook chicken and pork roast. The bulk cooking would be especially helpful because during the week dinner can be a rushed affair due to boy scouts, karate, piano lessons, homework, working out, etc.

They liked the idea of only cooking the stuff on hand and we agreed to make an inventory this weekend.

I have a feeling that trying to get a week-in-advance meal plan may be pushing the envelope a little too far.

Thanks for the tips!

Sue
http://www.GPSforFinances.com
http://www.MrsMoneyMerge.com