Eating to Save Money

by Patty on in Blog

The situation right now, is that the food industry newsletters are lamenting the rise in the cost of staple foods like condiments and any glass jarred foods, and apples, eggs, oil, oatmeal and so on. All of these items are increasing by double to triple digits due to ongoing pandemic supply chain issues, Putin’s war, climate change, bird flu, environmental disasters, etc. While food, housing, and energy costs are going up, the reality of many of us is that we live on low or fixed incomes.

There are many ways to spend less on food, yet still serve something both nutritious and flavorful. So, essentially, this post is meant to provide ideas on ways to eat that saves you and your family significant money. I have written before about matters realated to shopping: Saving Money on Food and Smart Shopping Ideas, but let’s go over actual ways to save cash.

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Food as Percentage of Annual Budget

Statistically, looking from a high-level, USA households have benefited from industrialized farming and manufacturing as costs for food, as told by percentage of household budget spent on food, has decreased over time, or minimally remained low.

  • ValuePenguin writes that: Food cost as a percentage of the average U.S. household budget has decreased dramatically over time.
  • Back in 1900, families spent about 40% of their income on food.
  • By 1950, it was just under 30%. According to the most recent data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics,
  • in 2013, the average American household spent about 10% of its total budget on food.
  • The average food cost for a U.S. household was $6,602 in 2013. That’s roughly $2,641 annually per person (based on the average 2.5 people in each household).

But those averaged figures do not reflect the actual costs or effects of families.

  • ERS reports: In 2020, households in the lowest income quintile spent an average of $4,099 on food (representing 27 percent of income),
  • while households in the highest income quintile spent an average of $12,245 on food (representing 7 percent of income).

In truth, it seems to me we are in a unique time of pandemic-caused food systems failure, Putin’s war effecting critical food delivery to needy countries, the worldwide bird flu effecting fowl and eggs, dire climate changes of drought in Italy (effecting food-oil production), flooding in the midwest USA, and others across the globe. Things are happening far away, and close to home, that are and will continue to hit us in our pocketbooks as it relates to food.

Saving Money on Food

Gardening

It is beyond time that everyone start gardening, at least have a small herb garden and plant a fruit tree or two. Absolutely this action will save you money.

Herbs

Minimally, in my view, every family should have an herb garden either in the front or back yards, in pots on the balcony or deck, or next to the kitchen or dining room windows. This, by itself, will save money and improve the tastes of your dishes. Learn about the herbs, grow and use them fresh, and learn to dry them for use throughout the year. Also, learn to make your own blends of herbs and spices.

Minimally, I grow herbs such as sage, parsley, oregano, thyme, chives, tarragon, rosemary, and mint in my yard. Which fits with our preference for Mediterranean foods. What you choose to grow should fit with your preferences. If you prefer Mexican food plant annatto, parsley, cilantro, oregano, and marjoram. Don’t forget, you can often grow some of your preferred spices as well.

According to Statista, Americans spend annually: The average price for spices and culinary herbs per unit in the United States increased by over 44 cents to 17.53 U.S. dollars in 2021. The Statista Consumer Market Outlook estimates that the average price per unit of such products in the United States will continue to increase and by 2027 reach over 19 dollars. When looked at globally: The global seasoning & spices market size was estimated at USD 35.38 billion in 2021 and is expected to reach USD 37.26 billion in 2022.

Veggies

I grow the veggies I use a lot, for instance garlic, onions, scallions, and potatoes. But if I cooked a lot of Mexican food I would also focus on tomatoes and peppers. In my area all of these grow well.

Fruit

I would suggest growing red, purple or blue berries for the best nutrition, for minimal effort. For me, I have blueberries and strawberries because they are easy to grow and harvest, and I can eat them fresh with minimal processing, can dry them for longer term storage, and they freeze easily.

Or plant fruit trees like apple or lemon since they can be used in a variety of ways to make all sorts of dishes, and drinks.

  • Apple trees: These fruit trees can make apple sauce, dried apple chips, apple butter or jelly, and apple pie. Or make your own candy, like fruit leather, and save money.
  • Lemon bushes: Lemons are great trees and can be used to make lemon curd or jelly, be an additive to tea, or marinades, and loafs. Additionally, this provides a good source of Vit C.

Make Your Own

Make Your Own Condiments

Statista, once again, details that: In 2019, American households spent 3.85 U.S. dollars on average on condiments and dressings per trip [to the grocery store] in the United States.

Here are the condiments, and other ingredients, I believe we should all be making ourselves

Make Your Own Spice Blends

Cook Your Own Meals

Cooking at home is cheaper than restaurants: Restaurants however, provide a family three things, entertainment, eating without work, and unique dishes. But there is a premium cost for these benefits. If you need to save money, cooking at home will almost always save you money and if planned well, will provide leftovers to minimize work efforts later in the week.

Especially avoid prepared foods. Cook your own sauces, gravies, and broth. Avoid any pre-marinated meats, and pre-made or salad-bar salads. Let us be real about buying pre-made foods at places like grocery stores or restaurants; they are expensive.

If you do eat out, be sure to bring all leftovers home, as you can use them all to create another dish. These are the items I try to always bring home with me:

  • Any left over sauces (to directly reuse in a dish, or as a base).
  • Left over meat or fat from meat (if not for us then for the dogs).
  • Basically, anything I paid for as part of the meal.

Change Recipes for Cheaper Ingredients

The adage ”minced meat is cheaper than steak” is what I am talking about here. Change up recipes so you can use different and cheaper ingredients by either changing meat dishes into vegetarian, or by using cheaper cuts of meat.

  • I sometimes use finely chopped mushrooms for meat in a Sheppards or Cottage Pie.
  • Depending upon cost, I may not use only spinach in lasagna, but also may add chard or other cheaper greens to the spinach to create volume.
  • My lasagna may use zucchini instead of more expensive pasta.
  • If limited meat is available I will make stews or casseroles, so a little can go a long way.
  • Adding vegetables to meat salads (tuna, chicken, etc.) can increase servings, or serving sizes. So add celery and tarragon to chicken salads, or add celery and carrots to a tuna salad.
  • Never buy pre-sliced deli meats (turkey, chicken, pepperoni, etc.), fruit, or veggies; cutting the food yourself will always be cheaper.
  • I find turkey a cheaper meat and may buy that and use in place of chicken for many recipies.

Go Meatless 52 Days in a Year

For those families that have meat everyday, giving up meat one day a week for a year can save ~$1196 according to a recent article by CNET. Put another way, families that have meatless meals, save at least $23 per week on ingredients. Of course the amount is higher if you tend to buy expensive cuts, or organic, pastured, grass-fed meats.

Shopping Ideas

Do not run out of staples: Understand what are your households staples that you never want to run out of, and always have those on your ”review” shopping list. This is an important step because when you run out of a critical ingredient you may mess up the whole week’s planning. But also, from our standard ”always have on hand” list of ingredients we are often able to come up with some dinner ideas.

Plan out the week’s menu: breakfast, mid-morning snack, lunch, mid-afternoon snack, dinner, and a night-snack. Include drinks, pet food and pet snacks, and anticipate special events. Be sure to check in with the people you are cooking for to make sure you understand what they want to eat as well.

Write it down: To help me, I write the week’s menu down and and list the ingredients I want to use. This note is on one side of my shopping list, and on the other I list staples I may need.

Review your pantry, fridge, and refrigerator the day before shopping, and make a shopping list of all the items you need for the food you are planning to prepare for the week, and to refil pantry staples.

Try not to buy meat, fowl or fish the day you need it for dinner. My son suggests instead, shop around and if you find any of these on sale at any shopping trip, and it is food you normally use, buy it on sale. Then at home, decant the frozen packages to make smaller, home sized packs, and freeze (do not forget to label and date). Keep this stash up to date just as you do your pantry and you will save money, and will be prepared to make various meals.

Review Food at Home

Check list against home pantry, fridge, freezer: Do not buy more of what you already have unless you need to. I try to keep my pantry 2 layers deep so I can see what I have, sometimes 3 if it is all the same thing.

My spices are arranged so I can see them all, and while I have the bottles displayed (glass is my preference) I do not let them sit in the sun or too near heat. Plus most of them are only half filled as I try to keep on hand only enough to last me ~6 months. Then I buy a little bit each time to keep in those spice bottles.

I dry most of my own herbs, so those are in the glasses but also in bags in the longer-term pantry items that are kept in the dark and cool.

The fridge is gone through twice a year to make sure all the condiments are current. If they are something I made, I date them so I can tell their ”freshness”. For leftovers, I keep them on one shelf, left to right with the newest to oldest so I know which ones to eat first.

The veggies are what I need to buy most often. Usually I have some lettuce, cabbage, carrots, celery, radish or peppers, and leek or scallions. In the pantry I have garlic, ginger, onions, yams, and potatoes.

Freezer has chicken breasts and thighs, 1/2 pound packets of ground turkey, chuck, lamb, and chicken. Frozen tortillas, and bread is there along with blueberries from our bushes. Then we have some Asian dumplings, homemade broth, left overs, frozen burritos, pesto for quick pasta-nights, and butter. There are other items among all the food, such as ice packs for my knees, and ice cream.

Shop Prepared

Bring any coupons: But make sure the coupons are only for the food items you usually use and not something frivolous and high cost to begin with.

If you cannot find a crucial ingredient, find a replacement before you leave. No Romaine lettuce, get a different kind that is close enough for that salad. Choose from varieties, around here there are many types, sizes, and colors of carrots, apples, berries, cabbage, lettuce, squash, melons, avocados, tomatoes, potatoes, etc.

More limited choices of veggies and fruit include: celery, banana, cauliflower, parsnips, rutabagas, etc.

Shop Certain Stores

My goal is to both save money and be kind to the environment. So while I do not shop at these places each week, over the course of a few months I visit each of these stores or order on-line.

  • From Costco I purchase butter, eggs, meat, nuts, breakfast cereal, alcohol, candy, olive and avocado Kirkland oils, maple syrup, etc. as they are cheaper here than other places and are real, quality or organic products. This includes any paper products I may use, tires, batteries, etc.
  • From our small, local Monterey Market I tend to get all my veggies, fruit, mushrooms, etc. as they are cheaper and have greater variety than any other store. They also have many of the Asian and Mexican ingredients I use. Also they have turmeric, horseradish and ginger roots that I prefer to use fresh, not preground.
  • From El Cerrito Natural Grocery, I will get specialty meats, tofu-based products, eggs, and chips.
  • From Trader Joes I will pick up some easy to cook dinners, their honey-salt peanuts, and some cheeses. This, and Costco are the only two places I buy pre-made food products from: meatballs, dumplings, easy dinners, etc.
  • From Lucky I pick up Pomi tomato products, Adam’s peanut butter, our favorite fruit jams and jellies, corn-based chips, and I will also pick up organic foods and condiments that are cheaper here.
  • Oaktown Spice Shop is where I love to buy my spices.
  • FeelGood Refillable Store: We buy from these types of stores, because they use minimal or refillable products and reduce plastic use. So we buy laundry sheets instead of plastic detergent, toothpaste tablets, shampoo soap bars, bamboo sponges and paper towels.

Skip Desserts + Candy

These pre-made foods are tempting but usually are also high in unhealthier ingredients and do not really contribute to basic nutrition. Spend money on healthier options and make your own treats rather than buying them at a store.

Also consider skipping soda, make your own with bubbly water and fruit syrup (reduced fruit juice).

Skip buying chips, as you can make your own by deep frying cut tortillas and salting them or placing herbs and spices on them. You can make your own potato chips as well, and in the same way.

Stores to Shop

By “No-Named” Brands. Skip the popular brand names and buy the store’s brand instead. The Costco’s Kirkland brand uses well-known and popular foods, just labled under their own brand for a significant savings.

Organic is Everywhere. There is no need to buy at national healthy food places as now, organic foods are available everywhere including Costco. Find local stores that sell primarily fruit and veggies from local suppliers for best costs, like Monterey Market in Berkeley, CA.

Gluten-Free is Cropping Up Everywhere: No need for hunting through specialty stores, gluten-free is commonly found in nearly every grocery store. It costs more than regular groceries so consider other cheaper options that you can make yourself.

  • Cooking yourself assures gluten-free food
  • Flat breads with Garbanzo Beans flour
  • Corn bread with corn meal and flour
  • Make loaves with alternative flour
  • Make flourless desserts

Unloading + Storage

Learn how to extend the shelf life of the food or ingredients you buy is important to reducing our waste and using up all we buy.

  • Buy when you need, based on your menu planning.
  • Keep adequate supplies of what you use often.
  • Learn what ingredients can be frozen.
  • Buy animal milks? Also buy plant milks as a back up in case you run out.
  • Do not overbuy spice, herbs, coffee, etc. as they do go bad after a while.
  • Learn what can go in the fridge, or should stay out in the pantry.
  • Rice and beans have a shelf life too so keep that in mind when using those foods, use the oldest first.
  • Learn dump meals to use up ”not yet turned, but close” veggies and fruits.

What Can We Save

Specifically, here is how all those tips above actually can save us money on food, and keep our family well fed.

  • To keep from repeating myself, I am going to use PFF as a designator for ”pantry, fridge, and freezer”.

Gardening Saves

By gardening at home we can save money and reduce waste. Fresh herbs, spices, fruit and veggies are expensive, do not usually store long (especially herbs), and generally we wind up buying more than we need. All this leads to us tossing out too much unused food, and costing us money.

  • GreenConspiracy: A small package of basil, sage, oregano, thyme, mint, rosemary, chives, or tarragon all cost $2.39/ €1.98. Which per weight was around $3.19/€2.60 per ounce/30g! Whereas a packet of organic herb seeds at Lowes can minimally cost ~$1.99
  • Investopedia: For example, one pound of organic tomatoes from Whole Foods costs as of July 2021 $2.99, but a package of organic, heirloom tomato seeds can yield multiple tomato plants over time, costs $3.99. To put it into perspective: one tomato plant may equal 10lbs to 30lbs of tomatoes.

Keeping Pantry Items Full

By maintaining our ”go to” pantry and fridge/freezer items, we keep special ingredients readily on-hand that lets us pull together meals without having to spend additional money.

  • With all my usual PFF items in place, I could feed 2 dogs, my spouse, and myself on $35-50 per week.
  • While this assumes a primarily vegetarian diet, I do purchase meat for the dogs and use some of that for us as well.
  • I make plenty of dump meals (soups, stews, casseroles) that are tasty, although do not tell my spouse they were “dumps”.
  • I keep various pasta, rice, canned or jarred beans, dried lentils, quinoa, oats, bulgar, mushrooms, plant milks, and boxed tomato sauces or chunks in my pantry. From these I can cook a multitude of dishes.

Eat at Home its Cheaper

By skipping certain conveniences I can save enough money to eat for days. Let’s look at a person who eats mainly prepared and highly processed foods.

  • Breakfast is McDonalds Big Breakfast with muffin is $6.59, for 7 days is $46.13
  • Lunch at Whole Foods salad+soup bar was $12.99/pound in my area on the date I write this, so one week is $90.93.
  • Dinner is some kind of “cook at home” precooked pasta dish from Trader Joes for ~$6 per bag, or $42.00
  • This is nearly $26/day, ~$179/week, or over $700/month, for one person.

By cooking at home and not eating out we can save lots of money.

  • Averaged, analysts think a non-home cooked meal is ~$13/meal ($39/day)
  • MoneyUnder30: By contrast, the average meal prepared at home costs around $4 for groceries.
  • Which means a $13 restaurant meal, is ~325% more expensive than one we prepare ourselves.

Summation

In short, there are many objective ways to save money on food. In general, there is a choice to pay more for convenient and thus spend less time for food prep. Or you spend more time planning and gardening, shopping, and cooking, and thus save money. What we cannot have is convenience cheaply.

The primary reason why so many people spend too much on food, is that they have not been taught how to support the nutritional needs of a family, that focuses on cost saving measures. These skills were important in the early to middle part of the 1900s, but have been lost. These days we give in to speed, and commercials that tell us what we need or should want. But that is not the way to save, it just supports consumerism and big business.

Without going into all the gory detail, I have already written about how in my family the children did work for a while bring in extra money (or food). But out of that experience I learned many things, including how to stretch a dollar from my mother. It is to her and her knowledge about cooking, negotiating, bartering, and planning that I owe much.

—Patty

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