Frugal Foods Blog –
Thrifty Menus, Cheap Eats, and Cost Cutting Cooking Tips

The Frugal Foods Blog gives you a steady stream of thrifty cooking ideas and helps you save money on your grocery bill. Follow along with our everyday eating as we share how we eat well for less.

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Save, Save, Save

Each Frugal Food Tip Adds Up to Save You a Bunch on Groceries

A frugal food tip is a little thing. But, it can make a huge difference in how much it costs you to feed your family. Use these hints and see how much easier it is to spend less on groceries.

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Save on Chicken - Skip Whole Chickens and Buy Boneless Breasts

Don't buy whole chickens unless you will use all of it. Even if you will use the wings, use the bones to make soup broth, and someone in your family will eat the legs, check the price before buying whole chickens. Sometimes, a whole chicken is priced inexpensively, and it can make sense to buy it. But, many times, if you just want chicken for soup or don't care what pieces you have, you are better off to buy whole leg quarters, or just drumsticks, or just thighs. Buy the cuts of chicken you will use. We don't like dark meat, so while dark meat may be the cheapest per pound, it isn't the best deal. The best deal on chicken for us is boneless, skinless chicken breast that comes individually frozen and in a three or five pound bag because there's no waste and we aren't paying for skin and bones.

Flavored Water for Pennies

You can make flavored water at home or at work for cheap. Enjoy flavored water without buying flavored bottle water and without buying those specialty flavor packets. For fruit flavored water, put some sliced fruit in a pitcher, fill with water, and refrigerate overnight. You can use the same fruit slices for several pitchers before you need to replace them. Citrus (lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit) are traditional, but most any fruit will work. Another way to flavor water is to add just a few grains of sweetened drink mix powder to a bottle of water -- not enough to turn it into KoolAid, just enough to give it a bit of flavor. Flavor extracts also work well, and it only takes a drop or two of extract to flavor a bottle of water.

Save at the Grocery Check Out with This One Tip

No coupons. No club memberships. No buying store brands or generics. No hitting the clearance bin. No changing the type of food you eat or the amount you eat. No limiting yourself to only what is on sale. Okay, so those are the common tips for how to save on your groceries -- and they all work. But this tip for paying less for your groceries doesn't have anything to do with what or how much you buy or where you buy it. Here it is… watch the screen that shows the prices you are being charged and make sure those prices are correct. People enter the price for every different item the store carries into the computer and sometimes they simply make mistakes. If they enter a too high price and you don't catch it, you'll pay extra.

Buy Large Containers and Share or Trade with a Friend

You can sometimes buy an extra large container of something for the same price as a small one. Not the same unit price, but the same actual dollars and cents price. When we can do this, we get the big container and share with friends. I recently bought a gallon jar of pickled vegetables that were actually a few cents cheaper than the smaller jar. I kept some for us and passed the rest along to a friend. A few days later, she brought me a jar of dill pickles, that she had bought and taken out half for herself to keep.

Buy Produce that is In Season

This time of year, that means lots of citrus fruits, along with cabbage, potatoes, greens, turnips, and sweet potatoes. Not only is it cheaper, it is likely in better shape.

Your Grocery List is a Guide, Not a List of Commandments

Make a list of things you need at the store. Your grocery list can help you remember that you need a particular item, so that you don't get home and then realize you've forgotten it. But use that list as guide, only. If you find a great deal on something in the clearance bin that you will use, stock up on while you can. If you have broccoli on your list, but cauliflower is on sale, consider getting it instead. If your list calls for bananas, but the only ones they have are already at peak ripeness, and you need them for later in the week, pick a different fruit.

Check the Clearance / Mark Down / Manager's Special Rack

Most stores have an area where they put marked down items. It's usually a rack or shelf near the back of the store. Items end up there for several reasons. They may be discontinued. Could be they are close to the expiration date. Might be the packaging was damaged. These items are often marked down to half price. Recent finds for us: hot cocoa mix packets (boxes were crushed) and Christmas candy (after the holiday).

Buy Non-Perishables in Bulk Quantities

Dried beans, rice, oatmeal, flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, grits, pasta, dehydrated vegetables, and other foods that don't spoil can be much cheaper if you buy them in bulk. At some stores, this means bagging them yourself from the large plastic bins or barrels. If this is the case, you can get bulk prices, but still only purchase a small amount. At other stores, it means buying them in 10, 20, or 50-pound bags. Double check the unit pricing, because while bulk foods are usually cheaper, they aren't always the cheapest.

Choose Regular Oatmeal - Not Instant

Use regular or quick-cooking oatmeal that comes in the cylinder shaped containers or that you get in bulk. It's much less expensive than the instant, flavored kind that comes in little packets. Although I've seen recipes for putting regular dry oatmeal through a blender to make it into instant, that mess really isn't necessary. Just bring water to a boil, add the regular oatmeal, let sit a few minutes, and it is good to go. Flavor with cinnamon, brown sugar, fruit preserves, etc.

Freeze Fresh Ginger So It Doesn't Spoil

Fresh ginger root adds a special zing and fresh taste that candied ginger or powdered ginger just don't have. But, I used to always run into the problem of the ginger root going bad before I used it all. Hated wasting it. The solution is to freeze it.

Wash the ginger root. Then, just pop it into the freezer. When you need some, take it out and grate it while still frozen. I find it grates easier than when fresh. After you grate off what you need, pop the remainder of the piece back into the freezer until next time. There's no need to peel it.

Spice Up Your Coffee

Did you try that pumpkin pie flavored coffee that was so popular around Thanksgiving and fall in love with it? What about the peppermint mocha that's available now? Delish, right? Well, you can continue (or start!) to enjoy those special coffee flavors without breaking your budget.

For the pumpkin pie spice coffee, just add a spoonful (about a teaspoon) of pumpkin pie spice to your dry coffee grounds when you make coffee. Apple pie spice is another one you might like to try.

As for the peppermint mocha, add peppermint candy. Stir you hot coffee with a left-over candy cane. Or, crush a couple candy canes or other hard peppermint candies and add then to the dry coffee grounds. The hot water will melt them.

Experiment with other spices, candies, and flavoring extracts to come up with some new favorites.

Frugal Beverage - Hot Tea is Cheap and Good for You

Hot tea, the kind you make yourself with a teabag and some hot water, rates high on the list of frugal beverages. It doesn't cost much for a teabag. But, a couple cups of this steamy hot drink may also make you more productive, as the caffeine is said to make you more alert, while the L-theanine calms you so that you have better concentration. Add in that tea is known to be full of anti-oxidants, presumably keeping you healthier so you avoid the cost of medical care and missed days at work, and the savings can really mount up. For an added boost, enjoy your hot tea with a splash of lemon juice and a spoonful of honey.

Frugal Foods Tip - Make Casseroles to Stretch Meat

Casseroles are an excellent way to make a pound of meat stretch to feed a large family or a group of people. The meat can be more of a flavoring, rather than the bulk of the dish. Fill out the dish with noodles and vegetables. In some parts of the country, casseroles are called "hot dishes."

Frugal Foods Tip - Great Depression Recipes

Recipes from the Great Depression are typically made with less expensive ingredients. You may find them with names such as "Depression Cake" or "Dirty 30's Casserole." Cooks back in those days were creative and made up dishes using common and inexpensive foods.

Frugal Foods Tip - Save on Ground Meat

Spend less on ground meat by substituting a less expensive kind in your recipes. In our area, ground pork is considerably cheaper than ground beef, so I use ground pork in spaghetti sauce, on pizza, in casseroles, etc., that call for ground beef (or hamburger). You may find ground chicken or ground turkey is your cheapest ground meat.

Happy New Year! to Frugal Foods Friends

We wish all our Frugal Foods friends a very Happy New Year! May 2012 be the year you eat better than ever, enjoy your food more, have healthier meals -- and spend less money doing it.

Merry Christmas from Frugal-Foods.com

We wish you a very Merry Christmas. Have a wonderful holiday weekend filled all that is joyous and good.

Krab or Crab Salad Spread Lovers

Instead of buying that tasty crab salad spread to use on crackers over the holidays, make it yourself. Canned crab should be less costly than fresh. To save even more, consider using surimi, more often known as fake crab, imitation crab, mock crab, or krab. Finely chop the crab or surimi. Then add in shredded cheese, some minced onion, perhaps some sliced ripe olives, maybe some very thinly sliced celery, and a pinch of sugar. Moisten with mayonnaise, a Miracle Whip type salad dressing, sour cream, cream cheese, or some combination. Season with salt and pepper, and to give it a bit more kick, add a dash or two of hot pepper sauce. It's good to refrigerate it for a couple of hours before eating, to let the flavors meld.

Frugal Food Christmas Gifts

Give natural flavoring extracts and seasonings for Christmas. I recommend Watkins for both value and superior quality.

Click for more info

Happy Thanksgiving!

Here's wishing a joyous and blessed Thanksgiving. Have a wonderful holiday weekend.

Frugal Foods Tips and Updates, Issue #001

Follow your passions. Do what you love. Well, I started the Frugal-Foods.com website several years ago, in an attempt to follow that advice. I've always enjoyed cooking, grocery shopping, eating -- foods in general. And, I'm frugal by nature. While we certainly aren't rolling in the dough, we don't have to pinch every penny and I've never worried about where my next meal was coming from. Yet, I'm one of the most thrifty grocery shoppers and cooks that there is. For me, it's a game, a challenge, to see how inexpensively I can put together great tasting, practical meals. Yet, other projects took precedence and Frugal-Foods.com was pushed to the back burner.

I've decided it's time to turn up the heat on this project. Follow along and see what's cooking.

Click the link below to read the rest of this e-zine.

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Frozen Pizza: Dinner for Less than the Delivery Guy's Tip

Frozen pizza is a menu staple for weekend suppers. We buy the cheap kind or what's on sale, and add toppings. It's a tasty, frugal alternative to take out or delivery pizza, and just as fast and easy.

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Frugal Foods Tip: Put That Halloween Candy to Good Use

Use chopped up Halloween candy bars in place of the chocolate chips in cookies, bars, and other desserts.

Cheap Dinner Menu - Fried Rice

Cheap dinner last night. Here's the menu: ham fried rice, green bell pepper strips, garlic toast, and milk. I made the fried rice from scratch, using leftover cooked white rice, leftover ham, and a couple of eggs. To give it a bit of color and up the nutrient content, I added in some frozen vegetable mix that had carrots, green beans, and corn. We used homemade bread for the garlic toast.

Frugal Food Tips -- Easy Ways to Cut Your Food Expenses

Frugal food tips to help you spend less on groceries. Hints to cut your grocery expenses and keep more money in your pocket. Each tip can save you money.

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Cinnamon and Vanilla Coffee

Gourmet coffee is inexpensive and easy to make. We like adding cinnamon and vanilla extract to ours. Sprinkle the coffee grounds with powdered cinnamon. We just sprinkle it on, as if we were giving them a good salting -- maybe an eighth of a teaspoon of cinnamon for a pot of coffee. For the vanilla, we put a splash -- maybe a tablespoonful -- into the carafe of the coffee maker. Then, just let the coffeemaker go through the regular cycle as you normally would. We think it is best using Watkins brand cinnamon and vanilla. Vary it by using other flavors of Watkins extracts.

Click for more info

Fruity, Frugal Farina

Hot cooked cereal… frugal, easy, tasty, and healthy. Could be farina, oatmeal, Malt-O-Meal, Cream of Wheat, cornmeal mush, or some cooked multigrain cereal. Great for breakfast or an after school snack. Make it special by adding raisins, chopped dried apple or apricots, chopped dates, craisins, or some other fruit.

Frugal Foods Tip of the Day: Keep It Simple

Simple foods are just fine. People tend to complicate things, spending more time and money than necessary. Case in point: We were heading off to the car races and I took along sandwiches for the pit crew. Those that I made in a hurry, with a dab of mustard and a slice of bologna on a hamburger bun, were chosen before the more elaborate ones.

Frugal Food Tip of the Day - Buck Tradition

It is okay to buck tradition. A bowl of hot, homemade soup for breakfast can be a healthy way to start the day. If the kids like fortified cereal with milk and fruit for supper, it is a fine menu.

Frugal Food Tip of the Day - Saving on Meat

When shopping for meat, look for special packages of mixed cuts. I recently bought a package of boneless pork that was labeled as being a "Three Meal Deal." It had two boneless pork roasts and a half dozen or so thick strips of boneless pork meat. I thought the strips were boneless pork ribs and cooked them accordingly. A friend who bought a similar assortment sliced thought they were extra thick boneless pork chops, and she fried them as she normally does chops. The per pound price of this package was less than the price for chops, roasts, or ribs -- and it was a very good deal. I divided the package into three portions and froze them, so I don't need to use them all at once. I've also seen similar packages of chicken and beef, where they have assorted cuts in one larger package at a reduced price per pound.

Better Tasting Corn on the Cob

Try putting a little butter flavored extract in the water when you cook corn on the cob. If you have corn that is less than "just picked" fresh, this can make a huge difference.

If you can't find butter extract locally, you can order the flavoring online.

Click for more info

Fixing Coleslaw When You've Added Too Much Dressing

If you add too much salad dressing to your coleslaw and you don't have any more cabbage to add to it to correct it, add other vegetables. Shred or chop the vegetables into small pieces. Here are some to try: broccoli (including the stems), cauliflower, radishes, cucumbers, carrots, sweet green bell peppers.

Ripening Peaches and Nectarines

If you have peaches and nectarines that aren't quite ripe, you can speed up the ripening overnight. Put them in a pretty bowl on the table, along with a banana, as you would for a center piece or counter decoration. Before you go to bed, drape a clean towel (dish towel size usually is good) over the bowl. Uncover in the morning to enjoy the display. If they need a bit more ripening, you can leave them covered during the day or cover again for another night or two.

Money Saving Food Tips to Help You Stay Within Your Budget

Use these money saving food tips to spend less. Little savings here and there really add up. Try these hints and helps and see how much easier it is cut your food budget.

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Frugal Foods Tip - Save on Sugar Costs

Cut back on the sugar called for when making Kool-Aid type drink mixes. Depending on the flavor, we find half to three-quarters of the amount called for on the package directions suits us just fine.

Save Money When Buying Meat

Split up "Family Size" or "Economy Size" packages of meat for different uses. Buy the large, family packs of pork chops. Most stores put the pretty ones on top and the not-so-pretty ones underneath. Use those top ones to fry and have with a pork chop dinner. Cook the others in a slow cooker with BBQ sauce or with sauerkraut as you would pork hocks. Or, just cook them and then take the bones and fat out, leaving nice little pieces of great pork that you can use in chile verde, cook with rice, add to casseroles or baked beans, etc.

Big Savings Buying Fruit on Sale

How much can you really save by waiting for fresh fruit to go on sale before you buy it? We bought sweet, dark cherries. The regular price rang up at over $14. The adjusted to the sale price, they were only about $5.00 That's $9.00 savings on only one item.

Frugal Foods Musing of the Day

Being frugal is such an ordinary, everyday thing to us that it is sometimes difficult to think of what we are doing as frugal. Much of the time, we don't go out of our way to be thrifty; rather, it is just how we are.

Take breakfast the other morning. We had fruit, cereal, and milk. The fruit choice was a plum -- because plums were on sale when we bought groceries last week. The cereal was "Morning Mix" -- another name for corn flakes, o's of oats, cinnamon flavored squares, and a few granola clusters that were all dumped into a large glass jar when their boxes were close to empty. The milk was 2% (not skim, 1%, or whole milk) because 2% was reduced for a quick sale because it only had a few days left before the "sell by" date.

How to Spend More On Food - Stick to Your List

Want to spend more on groceries? Here's how: Make out a list of what you'd like to eat for the next week, then go to the store and buy what is on that list. Don't stray from it, even if what you want is expensive and something else is a bargain. Don't buy anything extra, not even if it is on a great sale and you know you'll need it next week. Don't make substitutions, not even if the fruit on your list is out of season and expensive and in-season fruit is much cheaper.

Freeze Onions

Can you freeze onions or will they last chopped in a container in the refrigerator for a week? If you can freeze them, do you just put them in raw? I tried

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Cheap Breakfast Ideas

Cheap breakfasts always throw me for a loop. I never know what to fix that my kids will eat. I don't have a lot of time. I need some ideas for foods that

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Site Search for the Frugal Foods Website

Welcome to the Site Search for the Frugal Foods website. Use this page to find the articles, tips, and ads you are looking for on www.frugal-foods.com.

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Five Frugal Food Snacks

Five frugal-foods snacks
1. Homemade soup
2. Popcorn
3. Saltine crackers spread with peanut butter
4. Carrot sticks
5. Toast with fruit spread

Saving on Meat: Thrifty Ground Beef

Get the family pack of ground beef. Fry up hamburgers patties one night for dinner. Fry the rest of the burger, breaking it up into pieces as you do. You can keep clean-up to a minimum by using the same pan for both. The scrambled beef is good to use casseroles, tacos, chili, etc.

Frugal Foods from Baked Sales

Sometimes it makes more sense to buy something already made than it does to make it yourself. Case in point are the baked goods from fund raiser bake sales.

At a recent bake sale, I bought a loaf of date nut bread for $1.75. There's no way I could have purchased the ingredients for that price. Coupled with milk, it made a fine and frugal breakfast for us.

You do need to watch, because at some sales, the prices are outrageously high. Many times, though, you can get some frugal deals.

Food Savings Tip: Label Your Frozen Foods

Label the containers you put into your freezer with the date and contents. I use a white board erasable marker. It washes off when I wash the container.

Chicken Breasts – Cook Up a Batch For Frugal Convenience Food

Chicken breasts are one of those foods that look expensive at first glance, but are actually thrifty. Buy a family size bag of them and cook them all up at once. And there you have convenience food!

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