How to eat well without overspending: Food costs have soared so what can we do to feed ourselves and family wholesome meals without over-spending, especially at this time of year with the holiday season looming. With food often being one of the biggest costs in the monthly budget, we’re looking at ways to prevent blowing the budget. YouTube link to watch.
SAVING DURING THE HOLIDAYS
- Prepare in advance: Prepare dishes in advance so all the food costs aren’t coming out of one weekly food budget. Many things such as stuffing, some vegetable dishes & desserts can be made ahead & frozen.
- Limit options: Cut back on the number of various recipes you make. No one really needs five or six different vegetables & three desserts. Lovely as it sounds. It’s okay to stick to one meat, a few sides, stuffing & gravy with one dessert. And much less work. It’s okay to keep things simple.
- Share the load: Host a potluck/pitch-in where everybody brings a dish so you’re not left with the expense & all the work. Don’t be afraid to delegate & to ask.
- BYO: If people have certain allergies, dislikes or avoid various foods, ask them to bring their own. Also, if people ask: “what can I bring?”, it’s okay to say: “whatever you want to drink” or ask them to make a salad or an appetizer.
TAKE STOCK OF WHAT YOU HAVE ON HAND
- Whether it’s during the holiday season or any time of year, it’s a good idea to do a seasonal stock-take of what you have already lurking in the freezer or deepest recesses of the pantry.
- Take everything out of the freezer, make sure things are labeled & properly wrapped so they don’t develop freezer burn. Organize things in a manner that makes sense to you.
- Construct meals around what you have in your pantry, fridge & freezer
EATING WELL FOR LESS
- use generic brands for many products . These are often of the same quality as more expensive national brands.
- Use less expensive cuts of meat in casseroles, soups, stews, burritos and such. These types of recipes usually make big meals and lots of leftovers.
- Try replacing meat a couple of times a week with legumes, eggs, or canned fish. These are inexpensive and nutritious sources of protein.
- Avoid buying highly processed foods. They can be expensive and have less nutritional value than whole foods.
- Foods are generally more affordable in a less processed form: such as a block of cheese is cheaper than already shredded cheese; rolled oats are cheaper than granola; uncooked rice is cheaper than boxed flavored or microwavable rice.
- Frozen fruits, berries & vegetables are just as nutritious as fresh & they’re available all year long, plus no worries about them going bad: just use what you need & pop the rest back into the freezer.
- Eggs are an inexpensive protein & can be made into many things such as frittata, egg bites, quiche, egg salad for sandwiches, breakfast sandwiches & such.
- Homemade stock/broth is easy to make, is handy to keep in the freezer if you have space & is cheaper than buying stock in a box.
- Bulk out meals with inexpensive vegetables or frozen veg & canned or dried legumes/beans.
- Couscous & pasta are inexpensive & can be used to bulk out a meal or for meal prep for several days.
- Stop ordering take-out/take-away.
- Eating out is expensive. Keep a tally of how much a month is being spent on fast food, take-out & eating out as well as those coffees & treats that add up.
- Take time to do meal planning for the week or, if you’re very well organized – a month! This will help you buy only foods on your list. You can also see what you can buy in bulk (hello Costco or Sam’s club). Cheese & nuts among other things are much cheaper in Costco than other stores.
- Look at alternate places to shop. Aldi, while not world-wide, is in many countries & is considerably cheaper than many other stores. If you don’t mind bagging your own groceries using your own bags. We generally find their name-brand products to be quite good.
- Make your own salad dressings, pancake mix, chai tea, hot chocolate mix, cookies, cakes, bread, granola & such.
- If you’ve got the space in your freezer, keep nuts, seeds & some less-used grains in containers (or whatever fits best) in the freezer so they last longer; otherwise they go rancid.
Many foods are inexpensive & nutritious. But, by making adjustments, such as using ingredients that aren’t processed so you might have to step out of your comfort zone & learn how best to cook them (thank you Google) – rice, dried legumes, sauces, soups come to mind & making some foods from scratch (good bread is infinitely cheaper making it yourself), you can save money & know you’re eating well. Get creative.
