Post written by Zen Family Habits contributor Melanie from Dietriffic.
With the state of our economy, many of us find ourselves needing to cut back a little. And, reducing our grocery bill is often one of the simplest ways to curtail outgoings.
If you find yourself living off generic-brand pizza and baked beans, it’s really not going to cut it long-term. So, where’s the middle ground?
You’ve probably heard the standard money-saving advice. It usually goes something like, cut out the junk food, drink water rather than soft drinks, buy in bulk, cook in bulk, eat seasonally. And, that’s all great advice.
However, I thought I’d share some of the things which have really helped me in recent years.
When my husband and I moved to Australia in 2007, we suddenly found ourselves living a long way from home, and surviving on one wage, with no possibility of that changing, due to our circumstances.
This meant we needed to get serious about our grocery bill, and fast. Here are some of the things I now do to save money on groceries:
1. Use a menu plan
This is the most useful piece of advice I can give. I simply cannot stress enough how helpful menu planning has been to us.
Before, I would aimlessly wander around the store, picking random items as they took my fancy. Ultimately, I ended up with a strange assortment of food, which left me feeling totally uninspired about cooking. And, I usually forgot something, which meant another trip to the store, and more money.
Perhaps it was my disorganized nature showing forth, but my strategy wasn’t working, and all hopes of saving a little money disappeared down the drain.
So, when I arrived in Australia, one of the first things I did was write a menu plan and shopping list. Granted, it takes a little extra time to plan things out, but I haven’t looked back, and I’m thankful for the time and money we’ve saved as a result.
2. Cook with nutrient dense foods
Personally, I think legumes rock! I know, that’s probably a little over the top, but I feel they are terribly underrated.
If you want bang for your buck, legumes are a great option, being a good source of protein, fiber, nutrients and antioxidants. They are also convenient, and extremely cheap.
This means, when money is a bit tight, you can still cook up a nutritious meal for your family, with very little expense.
Even if you’re not counting the pennies, you should try to include them at least two to three times per week.
Why not have a go at making your own bean dip; a big pot of lentil soup for lunch throughout the week; or add some peas or beans to your favorite curry or stew recipe? For the ultimate in money saving, use dried legumes rather than canned.
Similar cheap, yet important, foods include seasonal fruits and vegetables, brown rice, eggs, oats, and barley. These are good staples to build your meals around, which won’t break the piggy bank.
3. Enjoy the cooking experience
Food cooked from scratch is likely to be cheaper, healthier, and more satisfying.
I often hear people commenting that cooking meals from basics can be time consuming. But, driving to the fast food joint, then waiting in line to order, also takes time (is expensive, and unhealthy… ). This time could have been better spent cooking a tasty meal at home.
If you can, invest in some kitchen gadgets — a crock pot, pressure cooker, good quality knives, perhaps a juicer. These are great ideas for reducing your effort in meal prep in the kitchen. I know, we’re talking about saving money here, but with the right equipment, cooking is so much easier and more enjoyable, which means you’re less likely to head to the takeout for “convenience food.”
Batch cooking also helps with saving money. Make big pots of soup, stew, curry, and freeze in preparation for those times when you feel less-than-enthusiastic about cooking.
What’s the benefit of all this effort?
Well, not only will it help reduce your food bill, but you’ll feel healthier as result. Think about it, cutting all the garbage from your diet will mean you’re less likely to get sick, saving trips to the doctor to boot.
What are your tips for saving money on groceries?
14 brilliant commentsadd a comment
A meal plan has also helped us save lots of money on food. In fact, you’ve pretty much described our food strategy. :) I also would add that when I buy fresh produce I try to fit whatever is on sale into our menu plan if I can.
I find buying basic foods only, like flour, beans, pasta, rice, and lots of fresh foods save us a lot more money than trying to clip and organize coupons. In my experience most coupons are only for name brand processed foods, and even with the coupons it’s still cheaper to buy the very basics. Plus, it seems cheaper to me to go to two or three stores that have reliably low prices and buy only cheap foods than to use lots of gas and time to drive all over town just to save a few cents on whatever deal of the week there is.
Of course, it helps that my husband and I both love to cook and to experiment with new foods. Although we do spend more time on cooking, we have lots of fun doing it. I think we eat better and healthier than people who eat out at restaurants every other day, all while spending a lot less money even than people who eat boxed meals.
I totally agree with you on the menu plan. Often I would double prep one recipe to freeze the other half so I resist the temptation to eat out when I don’t feel like cooking. We also LOVE our rice cooker. We have one that is programmable, so we use it to make steel cut oats in the morning for breakfast. The porridge setting cooks it perfect every time, and the “Keep Warm” button keeps it warm so as each family member is ready to eat breakfast, it is hot and waiting for them.
I have a 6 weeks worth menu planners and shopping lists to go with the planners on the computer for weeks when I am really busy I can just pull a week off and not have to think about what I am going to cook. Takes some time to set up but really useful for those times when you are rushed.
I also make one meal that can be turned into others…..basic tomato sauce with added basil becomes one pasta dish, with chilli becomes pasta arrabiata and then add quorn mince to the tomato sauce to make spaghetti bolognese , this sauce can then make lasagne, chilli con carne etc. I do freeze some of these meals so that we don’t have pasta overload.
I have a huge saucepan for making the basics which my husband refers to as the cauldron!
We also grown some of our own vegetables. We have perpetual spinach which we seem to cut and cut and it just grows back. Adding spinach at the last moment to a sauce is a great way of getting your greens plus it is tasty and inexpensive.
Hi, I am writing from Germany (please excuse all my mistakes I will make) – I am following the different zen…habit-blogs for a while and really enjoy reading them. Here in Germany many people go out for lunch during lunch break and kids often buy food at school. I try to prepare a snack for my husband, me and our two daughters every day. I prepare sandwiches made of whole grain bread, fruits and vegetables like carrots, cucumber, etc. Sometimes I add a little chocolate for the kids, otherwise it is getting too boring for them. Still our snack is much cheaper and above all much healthier than all the stuff one could buy.
I also plan our weekly menu Sunday night. I love cooking and recently found an excellent tool were I stored all the recipes that I collect from the internet. They are all coming from different bloggers that write their recipes. I can even check my list from my mobile or any computer with internet access. I tag the recipes with categories like Chinese, Italian, Indian, Veggetarian, etc. So later on I can do a quick search to find it in case I want to repeat the dish. The tool I use is called Evernote and I usually check Alltop for new, quick and healthy ideas.
After taking a recent look at what we spend during the course of a month, I discussed with my wife this excellent post on menu planning. One thing I would like to add is that we decided to split up the week for the family members to pick what they might want to eat – 2 days for me, 3 days for my lovely wife, and 2 day for our wonderful daughter. Children may not necessarily pick veggies, but the side dishes can be filled in by ‘parental guidance’. This way everyone is involved in the process and ultimately can be involved in the prep as well!
Hello Leo!
Being an Indian (and living in India), cooking is a normal routine. My husband and I are very eco-conscious and a fairly minimalist lifestyle fits into our ideology to be environment friendly.
I buy my groceries once or twice a week, cook meals from scratch, and even grow some of my own produce in my balcony-curry leaves, lemon, spinach, lemongrass. This not just ensures that we spend less, but also ensures that we take in healthy, organic food. Eating seasonal vegetables and fruits and local foods also cuts down on the bill as against going for exotic foods (which are not fresh either!)
There are also ways to save gas/electricity and time – soak rice/pulses for half an hour before cooking. Use a pressure cooker to retain nutrients.
Maintaining accounts of expenses on a daily basis also keeps a check on overspending.
@Katie — I’m totally with you on cutting coupons. I really don’t have the time or inclination to bother with that, and I think you are right in saying a lot of the coupons are for name-brand processed foods, which I’d also rather avoid.
@Julie — I LOVE my rice cooker too. Perfect rice every time, it’s amazing. Although, I’m slightly jealous, yours sounds so much more high tech and fab, lol Great idea to program it the night before.
@Riffkir — oh, what brilliant ideas! I would like to have a go at growing some veggies too. I also like the idea of having perpetual spinach — it’s a favourite in our home. I use it in salads, curries, and right now I’m making “green smoothies” quite a bit, which tastes amazing!
@Valentine — an little treat is so important, in my book at least :-)
@Luis — I just had a look at Evernote, following your suggestion. It seems to be a really great tool. I’ve signed up and think I’ll have a go at using it over the next week. Thanks for the tip.
@BigKahuna — It’s so important to get kids involved in choosing and cooking food, I really think this is why I have such a love for cooking. As a child I loved to be in the kitchen with my mum, baking, cooking, whatever. It really stands you in good stead when you have your own family to look after.
@Aarthi — Good tips. Maintaining an account of expenses is so helpful, especially if you need to be really strict with your outgoings.
Great tips, Melanie :) I love cooking with beans, but I think my son might have an allergy/sensitivity to them. He’s gotten sick a couple of times after eating them, so I’m going to wait a while and try them again in the future. For now, I’m missing my chili con carne! That’s the best on a cold day. Haven’t tried many other legumes, but I’d like to this winter. Thanks again!
Hi Suzannah — my favourites are chickpeas and soy beans. I make a chickpea salad sometimes, which recently got the thumbs up from hubby, which is usually a good sign!
It’s really simple: 1 red onion (thinly sliced), ½ red chilli (deseeded and finely chopped), 400g tin chickpeas (well rinsed), generous squeeze of lemon juice, large handful of flat-leaf parsley leaves, black pepper to taste. You can crumble some feta cheese over to finish, if you like.
Great article and nice image too! He is my son :)
@Vince — what a cute boy!
Hi,
I recently dedicated a small part of our garden for growing vegetables, based on the idea of Square Foot Gardening. Check it out at http://www.squarefootgardening.com/. According to a guy who implemented and promotes this through his website (in Dutch only) an area of 1.2×1.2 m provides enough food for an adult for an entire year.
Hi Roland,
I absolutely love the idea of Square Foot Gardening, it sounds like such a doable option. I must admit, I find the thought of growing my own produce a little daunting, having never tried it properly. But, this is a wonderful resource, thanks for sharing the link.