Yahoo says that roughly 25% of the food Americans buy goes to waste. So, if you can stop the waste, you can, in theory, save 25% on your food bill. Here are five tips from them on how to do this:
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Shop for groceries no more than once every two weeks. Time and again, studies confirm the obvious: Q.) How to keep yourself from buying too much stuff? A.) Shop less frequently.
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Use up fresh fruits and vegetables first, and then supplement them with just-as-healthy frozen as you get into the second week.
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Think layovers, NOT leftovers.
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How to handle restaurants. Order only from the appetizer menu or split a single ginormous entrée. And remember, doggy bags and leftovers.
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Social therapy. Volunteer one day out of the year at a local food kitchen for the needy, and then see how much food you throw away.
Here's my take on each of these:
1. Yikes! We have a store a few blocks from home that makes two or three trips a week very easy. Plus, I don't think my wife has it in her to plan meals out that far (though I've tried supplying a list of meal options she can simply rotate.)
2. We eat very little frozen food as a major part of any meal. Do they really have healthy alternatives (that don't cost a fortune)?
3. Certain foods are made for leftovers: pizza, Italian dishes, steak, stew, turkey. Others are not: chicken breasts (ok if repurposed into sandwiches), salmon, meatloaf (unless you have a ton of ketchup.) The key is to make extra of only the items that go well as leftovers. ;-)
4. Good tips on restaurants. My wife almost always brings home a doggie bag. Another suggestion for saving at restaurants: get many meals as a buy one get one free with an Entertainment Book.
5. Unfortunately, this is so, so true. There are many hurting people out there and almost any interaction with them will cause you to be very thankful for what you have.
Take this week's menu plan and the coordinating shopping list (list all necessary ingredients). Make a copy and store the original. On the copy, mark out all ingredients you already have on hand. Shop. Hang the menu on the fridge. Pick a meal each day and cook it. Eat and enjoy. Next week, do the same thing with a new menu plan (try to put new meals on each list). Keep doing this until you have however many menu plans you need to account for all your favorite meals. Then pick up the first list again (or whichever one sounds good to you) and start over. Viola! You have weeks and weeks of meal plans already done. Saves me tons of time!
Posted by: Jamie | March 24, 2009 at 01:30 PM
I agree with the advice to go to the store less. We have saved a bundle since each trip to the store seems to cost $75-$100 regardless of gap between trips.
We have gotten better at meal planning. Rather than assigning a meal each day, we make a list of all meals we have ingredients for and then pick from a list of what to make. It has worked for us most weeks.
Posted by: Bill | March 24, 2009 at 01:37 PM
There are healthy alternatives to fruit and veggies. I eat a lot off frozen veggies. This reminds me to try out some frozen fruits. Throwing some mixed, frozen berries into a bowl of plain oatmeal is a good way to sweeten it up.
You just have to watch out as some of the frozen stuff comes with sugary syrup, etc. Frozen entrees are crap, though.
-CD
Posted by: Chris | March 24, 2009 at 01:43 PM
Take this week's menu plan and the coordinating shopping list (list all necessary ingredients). Make a copy and store the original. On the copy, mark out all ingredients you already have on hand. Shop. Hang the menu on the fridge. Pick a meal each day and cook it. Eat and enjoy. Next week, do the same thing with a new menu plan (try to put new meals on each list).
Posted by: Shon Cary | March 24, 2009 at 01:55 PM
Do frozen vegetables and fruit referenced in #2 cost a lot? I don't think they do, at least no more than canned or fresh.
Posted by: tom | March 24, 2009 at 02:24 PM
Frozen vegetables are often cheaper than fresh, and more nutritious than canned. Our grocery stores regularly put them on sale for $1/bag (16+ oz) and we stock up on our favorites.
Posted by: Amanda | March 24, 2009 at 03:31 PM
I think tip #2 mostly refers to vegetables. Frozen vegies can be cheaper than fresh (be careful what you buy) and are usually just as nutritious. So use the fresh brocoli and cabbage the first week, then the frozen corn and green beans.
Posted by: Sarah | March 24, 2009 at 03:32 PM
Another good tip for eating out is seek out coupons. We print off restaurant.com coupons that we buy when they have the 80% off special, and will buy some 1/2 off coupons for a dollar. If we're going to eat out, we might as well go somewhere that we can save some money at :)
Posted by: Steve | March 24, 2009 at 04:23 PM
Leftover chicken breasts (or turkey, for that matter) are repurposed well into chicken enchiladas, or as an addition to, say, a bean or lentil dish (like dal, or black beans with orange). It's really easy to repurpose all sorts of leftovers, if you have a creative mind, or access to Google ;)
Posted by: Jana | March 24, 2009 at 05:03 PM
Oh, and salmon or meatloaf can be reheated into tomorrow's lunch. Just saying!
Posted by: Jana | March 24, 2009 at 05:04 PM
You don't need a homeless shelter to feel bad about seeing food wasted..you could also work in a nursing home..or other type faculty. All the food the residents (customers) can't eat gets thrown away..and it could feed several people for a week. It breaks my heart.
Posted by: Jen | March 24, 2009 at 07:22 PM
You are SO wrong about meatloaf not being leftover material! Slice the leftover meatloaf maybe 1/2 inch thick, then slap it between some buttered (on the outside) bread with American cheese and ketchup. Grill it up and have yourself a grilled cheese and mealoaf sandwich! Yum yum yum. Don't knock it until you've tried it!
Posted by: Claire | March 24, 2009 at 08:43 PM
I have never thought meal planning was that difficult. We go to Costco and buy most of our protein in bulk, then I divvy it up into different freezer ready meals. I use some sauces from Trader Joe's to jazz up chicken, make meatballs and meatloaf from 5lb packages, and marinate flank steak for easy grillable meals (great on salads and for sandwiches). I also watch for sales on pork loins at Kroger and have them sliced 1" thick and wrapped into packages of two. Though I love fresh veggies, I only buy what is in season and supplement frozen for the rest. This keeps our monthly food budget for two of us (including lunches and dining out) at around $300 per month. I splurge on some organics here and there and my husband drinks rice milk, but other than that, it's about $180 at Costco and $120 for the rest of the month (and we live right around the corner from Kroger and Trader Joe's).
Posted by: Lauren | March 24, 2009 at 11:36 PM
Since the beginning of the year, I've been eating much less than was typical previously, and eating much better, while almost completely eliminating eating at a restaurants. One of the primary reasons that my diet has been successful is that I eat a salad with every lunch and every evening meal. The only time I don't is when I'm out of fresh ingredients for the salads.
Because of that, I find myself going to the grocery store much more often, but I don't have any trouble, even as hungry as I was at the beginning of this process, buying only what I need and then getting out. Often, in fact, I arrive home to discover I've forgotten something I intended to get. Last night, for instance, I went in for lettuce, and walked out with $3 worth of lettuce, that will last me about 3 days, and then I'll need to get more.
I'm currently eating about 40% of the food that I had been, and it's much less processed than it had been, which has lowered my grocery bill much more than 50%, especially accounting for the fact that I'm only rarely (3 times, I think) eating at restaurants, which lowers my food bill, but increases the amount of groceries I need to buy.
Walk in with a list.
Buy what's on the list.
Walk out.
Posted by: MattJ | March 25, 2009 at 08:08 AM
Oh my word! You're so wrong about chicken breasts, meatloaf and salmon. Chicken breasts can be chopped up and added to pastas, salads and casseroles. If you don't like meatloaf by itself, try a hot meatloaf sandwich, putting the meatloaf over a couples slices of bread and covering it with gravy. And, one of my personal favorites is to make a salmon salad sandwich, just like a tuna salad sandwich, but about ten times as tasty!
Posted by: Jon | March 25, 2009 at 09:48 AM
The best way I've found to save money while grocery shopping (and avoid throwing things away) - Make a list and stick to it. Hackneyed, but true.
Posted by: Anitra | March 25, 2009 at 10:55 AM