Money saving tips ?

As mentioned in an earlier thread, we need to watch the $ a bit more closely this year. I always enjoy this sort of challenge, and would be grateful if anyone had any interesting suggestions on how to save money on food (which is an area we really don't compromise on). Most "Money Saving" websites have..well, frankly, pretty sad ideas about saving money in the kitchen, much of which is based around clever use of packaged ingredients or cheap mince. I'd really rather make a bean stew than eat fatty sausage mince.

Here are some ideas I've come up with so far (which are quite relevant to our lifestyle) :

- as mentioned previously, we've made our own pizza bases, primarily for the "I'm too tired to cook, let's get takeaway" nights. Having a stash of homemade bases means that we can prep very quickly and have very little washing up to do (no pots and pans), which is as close to ordering in as we can get. Just cutting takeaway and eating out down to once a month will go most of the way to keeping us on budget.

- we use a lot of tinned beans and legumes, so today I bought large packets of dried beans, which I plan to cook up en masse, and freeze - can't tell you how happy I was the day I discovered that beans freeze magnificently. At least once a week we have pasta soup (minestrone).

- we already bake all our own bread and make our own yoghurt. We don't buy any packaged baked goods, so all cookies, cakes etc are made at home (all this is the result of an allergic kid more than economy).

Please don't suggest I grow my own veggies, as I have a brown thumb. Having said that, I do a reasonable trade with the gardening neighbours - trading sourdough bread for herbs and tomatoes.

Sounds like you have already thought of some good ones. The eating out bit is a real budget-killer, as we have found out. Finding gardening neighbors with a surplus of veggies and fruits would help, in that it doesn't cost anything more than freezer containers to store a bounty during harvest season. Likewise, if you know of someone who would want to go in halvers on a whole steer or hog, you could lay in a decent supply of protein at below grocery store prices by buying direct from a rancher. Those are ways my parents stretched the paycheck when I was young, that and the venison & fish my Dad harvested during hunting & fishing seasons.

would be grateful if anyone had any interesting suggestions on how to save money on food (which is an area we really don't compromise on).

Well, part of that depends on your current lifestyle. What are the more expensive parts of your food budget? Besides eating out?

As you mentioned, dried lentil and beans etc are a great way to have low-cost protein portions..

Of course you could always cut out wine

Of course you could always cut out wine

Oh, let's not do anything rash.

Actually, wine spending was cut years ago. I'm thinking also that everyone this year will get homecooked gifts for birthdays, now THAT would save me some money !

Robert, thanks for the suggestion. Whilst I can't store half a cow, we will start stocking up at the local meat wholesaler - big savings to be made there, actually.

Cheers, Celia

Celia,

For me, I found that I save the most money by not wasting a thing. I use every bit of leftover food to make another dish.

So my meals go something like this:

I will boil carrots and save the water they were boiled in, add that to leftover chicken carcasses or steak bones, add some water, a bay leaf, celery salt to my slow cooker and make stock. Next I might sautee left over onions, leaks, and garlic in EVOO and leftover bacon fat, add some leftover white wine or champagne, add my chicken or beef stock, some herbs and spices. Then from leftover bread I will make some croutons and top French Onion soup with either leftover swiss or provolone. I usually have some leftover French onion broth which I save to combine with leftover beef roast, sauteed mushrooms, paprika, and either cream or sour cream (which ever is due to expire first) to make beef stroganoff.

With any meat that comes off the bones from making the stock, I use to make curry chicken salad, Tarragon chicken salad, chili for nachos, or beef enchiladas. All leftover bread is toasted and made into bread crumbs or croutons. I even use leftover babyfood in cakes or stews. It is very rare that any food is thrown away. I found that this is the best money saver for us. Also, I always use lots of coupons!

I would love to hear what everyone else suggests as well. I have also realized that it's not always cheaper to make some foods although it's almost always healthier and fresher.

Thanks Maria ! You're right, of course, there is always so much food thrown out, and I should try and find ways to creatively reuse leftovers instead of just serving them as is. Having a freezer helps, I think. I once knew a woman who would fastidiously save any leftover raw vegetables (tiny bits of onion, quarter of a carrot, that sort of thing) in the freezer until she had enough for a stir fry. This raises another question - can you freeze milk or cream ? I freeze leftover canned coconut milk, but have never tried with cow's milk...

Thanks, Celia

Save all of your veggie scraps (carrots, onions, celery, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, etc.) and make veggie stock. As others have mentioned, save the chix scraps for stock, and if you eat whole fish you can make fish stock with the bones.

Use stale bread for puddings, French toast, and bread crumbs (these freeze really well).

I make large pots of legumes too, Celia. It's a great way to have something filling around. I also will make red sauce in quantity and use this for pasta and pizza.

It sounds like you are going to do fine, though. Good luck!

rwj

Pot pies! With all that stock you make, it's just screaming for cover -- a little flour, butter and ice water can hide a multitude of sins and short pay days. Every pot roast, left over chicken, turkey or other meats seem to always find themselves under some kind of crust. And, pot pies freeze well. any left over wine? throw it in the stock! We have grocery outlets -- any in your neighborhood? I found one that is the recipient of case loads of butter that is near the pull date. Butter freezes well, so when I find it for 99c - $1.50/lb, I will buy 20 lbs at a time and stockpile it. I am not too embarrassed to call my friends and family members and tell them "Saar's has butter on sale and my brithday is coming soon -- I'll take 5 lbs as an early present." Because they know they'll reap the reward somehow, nobody is offended or shocked by this. As a matter of fact, I don't have to ask any more. I will often come home and find butter, sugar and other staples sitting by the door. Also, let it be known that you are not offended by gift certificates to local eateries or grocery stores. I've got an envelope full of these at home. I'm certain, like the rest of us, everyone in your circle knows you have a special and personal relationship with cuisine and all things related to food. No one has to know you're tightening the belt if you should announce you are starting a grand experiment and would prefer to share the gift of cooking, and you would be appreciative if they would reciprocate in kind, even if the cooking is on your end and they provide an ingredient or two as any gesture of gratitude or love. Trust me on this, I've got empirical evidence that it works! Good luck!

Save all of your veggie scraps (carrots, onions, celery, turnips, parsnips, rutabagas, etc.) and make veggie stock. As others have mentioned, save the chix scraps for stock, and if you eat whole fish you can make fish stock with the bones.

Use stale bread for puddings, French toast, and bread crumbs (these freeze really well).

I make large pots of legumes too, Celia. It's a great way to have something filling around. I also will make red sauce in quantity and use this for pasta and pizza.

It sounds like you are going to do fine, though. Good luck!

rwj

Thanks for the vote of confidence, Cowboy ! I don't mean to be melodramatic about it all, it's not a "sell your furniture" type belt tightening. But every little bit will help this year, plus there is something extremely rewarding about regaining that element of control and the creativity it inspires.

Cheers, Celia

Pot pies! ...Trust me on this, I've got empirical evidence that it works! Good luck!

Jo Ann, thank you - so many good suggestions ! I hadn't thought about freezing butter before, I'll certainly watch out for it on sale in future. And my kids loooove pot pies.

Interesting point you make about sharing - we have a household policy that, as far as is feasible, we try and make all our gifts. Not only does this let you give lots of stuff away (choc chip cookies and a hand-rolled beeswax candle for Christmas really doesn't test the bank balance), but it's also much more rewarding for both us and the recipient. Think about it - what can you give someone for Christmas for $20 these days ? Yet $20 will get you enough cookies for the entire neighbourhood, plus enough for school lunches for a week. Also, I love it when someone gives us an ingredient - just this month I've been given home grown tomatoes, garlic, rosemary and a bag of rye flour. Sometimes I feel I missed my time, and I should have lived in a commune in the 70s...



Cheers, Celia

it's not a "sell your furniture" type belt tightening.

That was going to be my next suggestion.

rwj

Well, the first couple of weeks have gone really well. Making a concerted effort not to throw anything out seems to be working. We had friends over for dinner last night (economising doesn't mean we have to be antisocial) and had a roast dinner accompanied by coleslaw (using up the half a red cabbage from last week), ratatouille (found cheap zucchinis, capsicums and eggplants in bags at the fruit store) and cornbread stuffing (leftover cornbread and sourdough from the freezer). Plus we roasted a whole butternut pumpkin, the leftovers of which I turned into soup this morning.

Over the weekend, we made and froze 4 litres of chicken stock from the free carcasses the butcher had given us six months ago (they were in the freezer), baked and froze two huge 90cm trays of focaccia for school lunches, six loaves of sourdough to eat and share with the neighbours, and two trays of brownies for school lunches and birthday presents. I know it's all dollars and cents stuff, but it's becoming less about the money saved and more about the sense of achievement.

I hope that it wasn't too uncomfortable sitting on the floor.

rwj

We had friends over for dinner last night (economising doesn't mean we have to be antisocial) and had a roast dinner accompanied by coleslaw (using up the half a red cabbage from last week), ratatouille (found cheap zucchinis, capsicums and eggplants in bags at the fruit store) and cornbread stuffing (leftover cornbread and sourdough from the freezer).

You just go ahead and work the cornbread, girl. One more thing to consider, diced cornbread makes great croutons and a crunchy (surprising) addition and flavor to any salad.

Jo Ann, the stuffing was really neat because it was something new to everyone at the table. AND it was scraped clean. There is something very addictive about oven-toasted cornbread, better even than fresh. I can certainly see it as croutons. I found myself picking all the bits out of the stuffing and leaving the sourdough. Thanks for the recipe - it looks like becoming a household staple !

Celia, one thing that I used to do with cornbread when growing up: for breakfast take some leftover cornbread and crumble it into a glass, then fill the glass with buttermilk and crack some fresh black pepper on top. It's a savory breakfast that sticks with you for a while.

rwj

Celia, one thing that I used to do with cornbread when growing up: for breakfast take some leftover cornbread and crumble it into a glass, then fill the glass with buttermilk and crack some fresh black pepper on top. It's a savory breakfast that sticks with you for a while.

rwj

Robert, my grandpa loved to eat cornbread and buttermilk. Of course, he didn't have a tooth in his head, so it was easy to eat!

*C*,

Are you allowed to hunt and or fish in your area? I’m not being glib by any means, but my neighbor hunts one week out of the year and fishes on and off throughout the year and, combined with their garden, they have almost more than they can eat for free.

No, no, I can't even stand oat porridge or bread and butter pudding, I'm sure cornbread and buttermilk isn't going to be my thing ! But thank you for the suggestion, especially now that I keep buttermilk in the freezer !

Dave, no hunting allowed where we are ! But we did visit a meat wholesaler on the weekend, and were surprised by how much we could save buying in bulk !

Celia

Celia, one thing that I used to do with cornbread when growing up: for breakfast take some leftover cornbread and crumble it into a glass, then fill the glass with buttermilk and crack some fresh black pepper on top. It's a savory breakfast that sticks with you for a while.

rwj

Robert, my grandpa loved to eat cornbread and buttermilk. Of course, he didn't have a tooth in his head, so it was easy to eat!

Good shit, huh?

rwj

Celia, one thing that I used to do with cornbread when growing up: for breakfast take some leftover cornbread and crumble it into a glass, then fill the glass with buttermilk and crack some fresh black pepper on top. It's a savory breakfast that sticks with you for a while.

rwj

In the south, this is known as cush. It was a food staple of many poor families and often eaten before going out to work in the fields because it was filling, cheap, and readily available. Personally, I never developed a taste for the stuff. But, every weekend I give the leftover cornbread to my mother-in-law, who has cush for breakfast the next day.

Jo Ann, can you use the cornbread recipe as a pie topping ? Say spread out over the top of a stew or pot pie mix and then baked ?

Jo Ann, can you use the cornbread recipe as a pie topping ? Say spread out over the top of a stew or pot pie mix and then baked ?

Yes! As a matter of fact, this is the traditional topping for an American adaptation of a Mexican food staple (tamales) that we call a Tamale Pie. Here are a few recipe suggestions. You might want to play around with some of your own (such as using cornbread in place of the traditional mashed potatoes on Shepard's Pie or as a covering for Moussaka). Also, cornmeal is the poor mans polenta (just a finer ground product). I've used it in place of polenta many times. Use it in exactly the same way. Let me know how you experiment and what you come up with. Good luck!

My personal favorite way to eat cornbread is crumbled on a plate with a big helping of juicy pinto beans ladeled over. Bliss, Southern style.