11 Ways to Save Money in the Kitchen

From a scientist in San Francisco to a student in the UK and today, two food writers in Australia -- this week I'm posting top tips for saving on your groceries from other foodies in the blogosphere, no matter their geographic location

The beauty of going far and wide for dollar-saving tips is that you quickly become aware of the impact of the economic recession on the citizens of developed countries.

It seems we're all in the same boat rethinking where and what we're spending our money on and subsequently, where and how we can cut back.

Expenditure on food is one area that often undergoes household budgetary cuts. One of the reoccurring budget-wise tips is: Forgo eating out and cook and eat at home!

But eating well at home can add up too! However, if you peruse this week's four posts (the fourth will go up tomorrow) you'll discover practical, efficient and easy-to-implement tricks for eating well on the lean.

Today's tips, 10 Ways to Save Money in The Kitchen were posted in The Age, Melbourne, Australia's daily newspaper. The authors are food writers, Jill Dupleix and Simon Thomsen. I love these tips for their tongue-in-cheek humor:

1. When in doubt, make soup. Soup will save the world. Make a big batch of your favorite veggie soup, then do something different to it each time you serve it - blend in some curry spices, add tomatoes, throw in some lentils, top with bacon, serve with grilled garlicky bread.
2. Self-preservation. There is growing interest in the gentle arts of home preserving, baking, curing, brewing, sausage-making. So make like a squirrel or a grasshopper, and sock away provisions for the dark times ahead. A cupboard under the stairs full of home-made strawberry jams, chutneys and pickles is better than money in the bank. (In many countries, SO MUCH BETTER than money in the bank).
3. Listen to your grandmother: turn off taps when you’re done, save string, re-use bags and bottles, put lids on your saucepans (saves 20% energy, and speeds everything up), and cut out waste. Think twice before you toss anything out, it may be the best part. Greeks cook beetroot greens and toss in olive oil, Turks stew broad beans pods and serve with yogurt and dill, Chinese dry mandarin peel and add to stews for fragrance and flavor.
4. G-Y-O. Funny how we’re turning back to growing our own fruit and veg. The friend trying to get rid of a glut of apples, corn, tomatoes or even silver beet is now in demand, not to be avoided. Even if it’s just a pot or two of herbs you can keep on the windowsill, you will suddenly feel completely self-sufficient.
5. Eat with the seasons. It just makes sense. Because it’s in season, it’s more abundant, because it’s more abundant it should be cheaper. Even if it isn’t, it’s better value because it’s fresher and tastier. It also means the producers haven’t had to find new ways of preserving shelf life and storage.
6. Send the food processors broke. Not the ones you plug in and whiz, but the middlemen who buy fresh unprocessed foods and do things to them, offering them to you with extra flavors you don’t want or need. Instead, buy the fresh, unprocessed food yourself and keep your own ‘processing’ to a minimum, i.e. buy whole fish and whole chicken rather than fillets and pieces - you’ll get better quality, and learn how to fillet and joint like a celebrity chef. Whole lettuces last longer than bags of mixed leaves, and unwashed is cheaper than washed. Don’t buy ready-made vinaigrette, breadcrumbs, pre-chopped vegetables or pre-grated cheese. It’s money down the drain, when you can do it yourself and save.
7. Love your leftovers. I’ve started cooking more food rather than less, so I have more sizeable leftovers for the next day. Throwing food out is throwing money out because you then have to start again with something new. Who knew that leftover paella rice would be so good the next night as chorizo-studded rice balls? (And don't let the post-dinner snackers into the kitchen - that chicken leg is your office lunch).
8. Steak. Get over it. A plateful of veggies and pulses with a little bit of meat is a lot cheaper than a plate of meat with a little veg and a lentil. Striking a better balance is better for your pocket and for your overall health. Make fish, chicken and meat go further by adding beans, lentils, chickpeas and rice. Turn your meal-planning around so that the most expensive ingredient is the ‘flavoring’ rather than the main event. Use eggs and cheese for protein, nuts and seeds for fiber and crunch, and yogurt and avocado for richness. And return something as beautiful as a great steak-and-red-wine dinner to the special status it deserves…crave it, look forward to it, and enjoy the hell out of it. Just not every second day.
9. Cook your own ‘take-away’. Love pizzas? Learn to make your own, or use pita bread as the base, and get some help from the kids with doing the toppings so everyone has their own. More of a burger person? Try cooking salmon burgers, chicken burgers, or normal burgers with a bit less meat and a lot more avocado, tomato, onion etc.
10. Freeze. Fresh isn’t always best, because it isn’t always fresh and it isn’t always to hand. It’s a fabulous feeling knowing you have tubs of chicken stock, pumpkin soup, chicken curry, Bolognese sauce, good bread, etc in the freezer. Frozen bananas make a great instant ice-cream - just soften and whiz (but remember to peel them before freezing).
11. Buy ten, get one free! Beware of supermarket bonus offers, which often tempt you into buying two for one of something you didn’t really want in the first place. But in the spirit of getting something for nothing, here’s an eleventh suggestion: never ignore your own cupboards. I’ve dubbed Sunday night Cupboard Night, setting myself the challenge of creating dinner from what’s in my fridge and cupboards already. (How can any one household have so many different bags of rice? And I’m not looking forward to the tin of mackerel in tomato sauce from Malaysia, but hey. At least I can have rice with it) ... Okay, I feel like my gran now, so it’s your turn to get preachy. Any good tips on how to munch your way through the credit crunch? (And please, no recipes for meatloaf containing cornflakes, times aren’t that tough).
    

Thanks to food writers, Jill and Simon for these fun and helpful tips. Do visit their blog post and read some of the equally entertaining responses to their 10 (make that 11!) tips. And last I looked, there weren't any reader-responses with recipes for cornflake meatloaf!

Saving on Groceries for a Family of Four

Today I have a something I want to draw your attention to, it's an article in O Magazine which touches on the idea of recipe-independence, a concept I refer to a lot.

As I've stated in previous posts, recipe-independence can be achieved by trusting your creativity and taste-intuition, and by understanding complimentary foods and flavors, or flavor pals.

O's article uses The Flavor Bible as a resource for guiding home-cooks away from recipes and toward their inner "culinary authority."

I highly recommend this brilliant book for anyone who loves to cook. You can buy it on this blog; see the link to the right and below.

Back to Market to Mouth ... As I stated last Friday, my intention this week is to share a friend's weekly staples shopping-list, which she keeps it on her computer as a word document, and discuss ways in which she can reduce her grocery bill using that list at Whole Foods.

And then on the remaining days of this week, I'll offer some meal ideas using her list and flavor pals.

For a family of four: 2 adults, a girl aged 12, and a boy aged 10, my friend's weekly shopping list looks like this:

• Veggies: carrots, broccoli, cucumber, green leafy, lettuce, cilantro, parsley, potatoes, garlic, onions
• Fruit: apples, bananas, tomato, soft fruit, grapes, kiwi, grapefruit, lemons
• Dairy/Chilled: milk, soy milk, eggs, cheese: cheddar & mozzarella & goat & Parmesan, butter, humus, whipping cream, yogurt, fortified orange juice.
• Fish/Meat: cod, salmon, tuna, shrimp, Mahi Mahi, chicken breast, whole chicken, ground turkey, beef, pork.
• Dry/Packets: bread, cereal, oatmeal, English muffins, raisin bread, tortillas, pasta, rice, crackers, cookies, dried fruit, coffee beans, tea bags, snack bars, chocolate, jam, peanut butter.
  

My quick tips for saving $$ on this list:

1. Buy fruit and veg in season, i.e. we're just moving into spring so summer produce like cucumbers, soft fruit, grapes, kiwi and grapefruit will be pricey, whereas you'll find great deals on abundant spring produce like parsley, leafy greens, avocados, radishes, asparagus.
2. Buy Good Stuff For Less fruit and produce--apples & pears are often on sale at WFs.
   
3. Avoid buying ready-made products like humus, I know it's convenient, but gee it's easy to make.
4. Buy 365-brand dairy, i.e. their milks, butter and yogurt.
5. Buy WF's Whole Catch fish and shrimp and or buy it in bulk and get the case-discount.
   
6. Buy family packs of chicken pieces, versus the breast which is very pricey.
   
7. Ground beef is always on sale at WFs when you buy over 3 pounds.
8. Don't buy dry goods in packets; you'll pay for the packaging, always buy bulk so you can control the weight and the price. And avoid buying tinned beans like black beans and chic peas, buy them in bulk and pay so much less.
   
9. Use The Whole Deal coupons for items like snack bars, juices, jams, nut butters.
10. For a family of four or more, it'd be well worth the savings to buy dry goods, plus protein items in bulk and cases and either dry store or freeze.