Walking around the grocery store makes me feel like a genuine college student again because it’s all about “cheap eats” these days. I’m also feeling grateful that I didn’t marry my twiggy high school boyfriend at age 19 and start having kids—not because I don’t love kids, but because they’d be in high school now and I have no idea how I’d afford to feed them with their almost adult appetites. I’m just trying to keep up with my 4-year-old and 9-year-olds’ appetites, and I’m learning that it’s not easy with the rising cost of food.
For those of you who have large families or big eaters in the house, I’m sure you are feeling the pain because food is becoming as pricey as gasoline. Food is fuel, I guess. When I was at the pump the other day, I was struck by the fact that gas is cheaper per gallon than the milk I just bought at my local supermarket. So I went home and did some research on how to save money at the checkout counter.
First, I wanted to understand what’s causing the rise in food prices. According to a recent Associated Press news article, record-high energy, corn, and wheat prices in the past year have led to the higher prices in the grocery aisles. At $1.32, the average price of a loaf of bread has increased 32 percent since January 2005. In the last year alone, the average price of a carton of eggs has increased almost 50 percent. According to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics, ground beef, milk, chicken, apples, tomatoes, lettuce, coffee, and orange juice are among the staples that cost more these days.
One of my goals in my quest to save money on food was to figure out how to continue to provide healthy food for my family, something many people don’t think is possible when you are on a tight budget. I was pleased to find a wealth of information on websites, in consumer publications, and several local resources. I started my research by calling Heidi Diller, Albertsons corporate nutritionist and registered dietitian. She had some great tips to share—ideas that were unique beyond the usual coupon clipping gig. Here is what Heidi had to offer:
Salad dressing is not just for salads. Use light, olive oil-based salad dressings to sauté meat and veggies to add moisture and flavor at a fraction of the cost of herbs and spices and olive oil.
Don’t forget the frozen food aisle. Frozen foods are often an economical way to get dinner on the table. For example, try a frozen pizza and bagged salad kit for under $10.
Compare the unit prices of items. Unit prices are usually marked on the shelf below the product. The unit price calculates the cost of a product per unit. A unit could be by the ounce, pound, or number of items in a package. Make sure the units you are comparing are the same.
Frozen turkey and eggs are the most economical sources of protein per ounce in the store.
Eating meatless can save lots of dollars. Canned beans provide a good source of protein, fiber, and nutrients without the added fat. Add beans to salads, casseroles, and soups. You can make a vegetarian black bean soup, complement it with a salad kit and cornbread for a family of four, and spend less than $10.
Look through the weekly circular cover for screaming meat deals, then buy, portion out, and freeze.
Check out the frozen food section for bagged veggies. This can save you time and money. Did you know that frozen is often more nutritious than fresh because the nutrients are locked in shortly after harvest?
Through other sources, I found that you can’t get around planning when trying to save money on food. Planning seems fundamental, but it also takes a bit of time and effort. If you are like me, you can barely think about what you are having tonight for dinner, let alone what you will be serving two weeks from now.
As I was perusing websites for frugal food tidbits, I came across a fascinating site that is a complete resource for something called “freezer cooking.” The site is 30daygourmet.com and has made planning and cooking food in advance an art, not to mention a major way to shave dollars off of the grocery bill. The site offers recipes that include nutritional information and a complete, step-by-step guide to freezer cooking.
So why is freezer cooking such a magical tool and why does it make life so much easier? Exactly how do you cook in the freezer? Well, first of all, you don’t cook in the freezer; you use your freezer to store your cooked meals. Freezer cooking is best described as bulk cooking. Basically you just cook a month of meals over a period of one or two days and store them in the freezer. Not every recipe can be made and stored in the freezer and there are select recipes that work better than others. You can find these by doing a Google search on “freezer cooking.”
Here is a muffin recipe that I tried and that freezes well:
Jam Muffins
Makes about one dozen.
- 2 cups flour
- 2 egg whites
- 1/4 cup sugar
- 3/4 tsp. baking soda
- 1/2 cup applesauce
- 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1/2 cup skim milk
- 5 tsp. jam (or jelly) of your choice
Preheat oven to 400°. Coat a 12-cup muffin tray with cooking spray. Beat egg whites, vanilla extract, and sugar for 1 minute in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, add the baking soda to the applesauce and wait for it to froth up. When it does, add it to the egg/sugar mix. Stir in the milk. Fold in all of the flour at one time until just combined; don’t beat because the muffins will be tough. Spoon a heaping tablespoon of batter into each muffin cup, top with a 1/2 tsp. of jam, cover with another dollop of mix, and bake for 15-20 minutes. Label and freeze. When reheating these muffins, be careful because the jam/jelly filling gets hot.
Even though it felt cool to pretend I was in college again, “cheap eats” don’t really satisfy the needs of a healthy family. Luckily there are many resources out there—even entire books—that can help families keep the monthly food budget under control. It’s reassuring to know that even with the rising cost of food, we can afford to guzzle milk—it just takes a little bit more planning and out-of-the-box thinking.
Stephanie Worrell is a busy mom who is always looking for ways to save time and money.
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