Help reducing grocery bill?

[AnnaRaven]

do you have a yard you can rip out and grow a garden? raise meat chickens?

in the summer our grocery bill is about $25. but we use what we have, we what we grow, and grow what we eat.

as for you DH's diabetes.. the pasta is probably the worst thing he can eat. can you switch him to whole wheat instead? (i know, sacrilege)

good luck!

DH hates chicken meat! We've got eggs from the chickens though. And I'm currently sheetcomposting to start a veggie garden this summer. The chicken poop will is also going in the composter to help make good veggies.

I have switched him to whole wheat and multi-grain pasta mostly. He's gotten used to it. It took a long time (months where it was one meal of the week, slowly increasing...) We've checked and it doesn't spike his blood sugar. (Actually, regular pasta doesn't either but he can only have 2 oz of regular, while he can have 3 oz of whole wheat.) So he's okay with the whole wheat so it's more filling.

Your grocery bill is amazing. Good for you!

 

[AnnaRaven]

Even if you don't usually eat chicken it might still be cheaper to make your own chicken broth (since you are buying the expensive kind), you should sit down and figure it out. YOU could always eat the meat yourself. Or try the cooked shredded-with-your-fingers meat on a pizza, who could not like *that*?

Pat

Oh. That's a good idea. I could use it to make tacos too. DS and I can have the chicken tacos and DH can have pork or beef or something...

I'm not sure how many of those I can do but I can try doing a couple to see if it works.

 

[AnnaRaven]

Another big one is frozen pizza. I figured out how to bake a pizza that rivals DiGiorno.

Are you able to make it ahead and freeze it? Or is it a make it and cook it thing?

Hrmmm - maybe I can do calzones for DS instead of pizza. They're more "freezer friendly". Think if I partially bake them, and then freeze them, it'd work? Or should I just freeze them uncooked?

 

[murphysranch]

Hi Anna. I'm Barbara, and I lived in Saratoga for many years. We moved to the foothills in Aug 09, just one month after a surprise layoff (me) from high tech. So extreme frugal is now my mantra.

Join your local freecycle group. I was a member of Campbell, Los Gatos and Saratoga groups. I got lots of stuff that well off ppl didn't want anymore - a dehydrator, tons of canning jars and rings and lids, etc. Early bird gets the worm, so don't sign up for their daily digest. As for a canner, WalMart has the best price for both the water bath and the pressure. Once you own them, you won't need another in your life time.

I used to only buy the clearance meat from Safeway - you know, the ones marked down by 30% and occasionally the 50%. Believe me, as I'm a food scientist by education, they are perfectly fine to eat. Also check out Safeway's clearance rack for canned goods, etc. Sometimes, not always, there are bargains. Sign up for the Safeway Just for You program. My lettuce has been 50 cents, and the cucs 29 cents and the Activia yogurt $1.88 for the 4 pack. You select what you buy, and as long as you use the card, that is the price you will pay, regardless of any sales, etc until the price expires. Many of mine expire on the 11th, but there are new offers now available on other products. I don't buy much processed food, no cleaners, no laundry soap, etc. But the produce and yogurts, etc have been money savers. Too bad my nearest Safeway is 25 min away in Sonora, now. Savemart is the local big chain grocery, and I do well on their clearance veggies, and sale items.

For Italian meats, check out Smart & Final for their bulk products. I know that they carry reputable manufacturers, like Columbus, and others. Also Trader Joes has the best cheese prices around (except for Costco).

more later....

 

[AnnaRaven]

I really appreciate everyone's input on this. There's some great ideas out there - two that I'm going to implement immediately:

1) for getting control of what I'm spending - spreadsheet with prices, stores, etc so I can see what I'm spending on
2) avoiding the expensive convenience stuff (canning soups and broths)

I'm going to start a new thread in kitchen on picking a pressure canner (and do a search to see if there's anything).

I am off now to pick up the CSA box. I look forward to reading more when I get home. And *thank you all for being so kind and generous with your time and for not making fun of my stupid spending habits.

 

[ORChick]

Hi Anna, welcome to SS. Reading through this thread I see so many similarities between you and me. My DH is from Germany, and also a computer geek. We lived in Silicon Valley for 25 years (Sunnyvale for most of the time). He also has a European mindset when it comes to food, and doesn't like a lot of things that Americans grow up eating, and I grew up cooking . You have been given a lot of good advice here; the one piece I would re-iterate is making a price book of some sort. I was astounded when I found the vast difference in prices between stores. There are so many store choices in a place like Silicon Valley, and without some sort of record it is really hard to keep track of things unless you buy them often, or have it written down. Another thing I have found to be helpful is to read German cookbooks (or Italian in your case). A lot of "typical" recipes from "the Old Country" (wherever that may have been) are for "peasant" food, which often use less expensive ingredients. I recommend, if your Italian is good enough (I assume it is as you lived there?) to get cookbooks (or internet sites) in Italian, rather than written for Italian Americans. In my experience the true peasant cookery gets "fancied up" once it reaches our "land of plenty". I did a very German dinner just last night, and DH is still raving about it - just like Mutti used to make!
Oh, one more thing, Trader Joe's has pretty good prices for wine and liquor. I actually stock up on liquor at TJ's when I go to California, as the prices are so much better than in Oregon. I'm usually only down there once a year, so its a little embarrassing doing my yearly purchase

 

[Dace]

I think that you have gotten a lot of very good advice and I just wanted to add my two cents

One thing that hasn't been mentioned that I think an important aspect to saving money at the store is to plan your meals around what is on sale. I know that you said you buy organic grass fed beef and you are not likely to find good sales on that very often....but chicken, seafood, veggies, fruit....build your meals around what is the best deal this week. Take 30 minutes and browse thru your weekly store fliers and develop a menu based on what is cheap!

 

[Wifezilla]

So telling hubby "We're too poor to be picky!" and beating him with a chicken carcass until he comes around is not an option?

 

[raiquee]

Anna)

Whining IS the number 1 Italian sport, take it from a Sicilian!! I love whinning.


You may also just have expensive eating habits!! There is only so far you can lower a grocery bill with what you're able to do outside of the home, and this may be your limit?

Europeans eat to eat, Americans eat to live I find European ingredients and dishes cost more to make/buy and American dishes can be made with cheaper ingredients. Maybe you can try making more american meals? They generally are cheaper...

 

[tortoise]

Another big one is frozen pizza. I figured out how to bake a pizza that rivals DiGiorno.

Are you able to make it ahead and freeze it? Or is it a make it and cook it thing?

Hrmmm - maybe I can do calzones for DS instead of pizza. They're more "freezer friendly". Think if I partially bake them, and then freeze them, it'd work? Or should I just freeze them uncooked?

My mom bakes pizza ahead and freezes them. They are so yucky heated up in the microwave!

I half-bake the crust and top it. Then to cook it is just like a store-bought frozen pizza.