Hello all. Hope you are all safe and well. Boy we had a super big bad storm system come through our state last night. It did some damage in many places, yet again. It was a system that was a strip of storms that covered most of the state from north to south. Somehow there was a tiny break in that system as it approached my city and I got no rain at all! There was wind, but no rain. Just the weirdest thing. I am so thankful.
It is the FIRST day of SPRING!! Sure doesn't feel like it. Cooler and sprinkling this morning - maybe some snowflakes! The daffies are blooming, the forsythia is thinking about blooming, I see some buds on some trees, and the grass is greening. Looks like the warmer temps are gone for at least a week or so. Such is March!
Groceries, we do have choices we can make, and we can pick and choose items.
To me, grocery shopping starts at HOME not the grocery store!
Your refrigerator food is some of the most expensive food items you buy! It also tends to be where the most waste happens.
We need to bring that food home and prep it and USE IT. Use those leftovers in some new way. Clean the frig every week to see what actually needs to be used and USE it. Don't let it become a science project. Using what you have, decreases the need to shop and/or to not eat out.
Check the pantry - try to keep an inventory - or least look through it very often. Use those oddball items that have been sitting around. Use the older stuff that keeps getting shoved back. Get creative. There are many sites on the computer that let you enter what ingredients you have - and gives you recipes and ideas for meals. MyFridgeFood.com is one that I have used several times. Get out those cookbooks.
Think about getting or borrowing a vacuum sealer. It sure save items in the freezer. No freezer burn as it removes the air from the packages, and that is what causes the burn. If you can't get a vacuum sealer, try your darndest to get as much air as possible out of those packs. Many use a straw to suck air out! Freezer packs can be stored FLAT (smoosh them out), and you have a neater freezer and can see what you have easier. It helps give you more room as well.
PLAN your meals around what you have!! Shop less often and then go for sales only and clearance and to generally just re-stock items you are low on.
Keep some freezer meals on hand - so that you can get a meal out in a flash if necessary. It helps keep you from eating out. Also think about meal 'ready' items. Pre-cooked taco meat or packs of cooked dried beans. Maybe sausage patties already cooked, pancakes, waffles, containers of soup, etc. Having things that you can just easily thaw and reheat really helps the budget by lessening the urge to go out.
Air fryers and Instant Pots can help make meals in a short time. They can be expensive, so look for sales or second hand - or ask for them as a gift!
Utilize a crockpot if you work or have busy days. They make great meals without a lot of work.
Buy seasonal fruit and veggies when possible. Not everything is cheap out of season. Sales on foods go in cycles - keep track of those and stock up then. Holidays create a lot of seasonal sales! Take advantage - it is like money in the bank later.
If you get the opportunity to grow anything when the weather warms - do it. Even if it is just lettuce or a tomato plant. That is something, and it keeps you from buying. If you have excess - freeze or can or dehydrate. OR barter with someone else for something you don't have.
You don't HAVE to buy junk - you can make it! Yes, you can. Make your sweets, breads, crackers, chips, dips, snacks of all sorts.
So as the old saying goes - use it up, make it do. Think about your decisions carefully.
Get creative.
You DO have some control - so take advantage of it. Don't get all flustered, make it fun and maybe even have the family help with ideas.
Have a great day everyone.
NO POLITICS PLEASE
I'm not one for freezer meals. However, I have ingredients that can come together in less than 30". Having a variety of cooked proteins makes it super easy! Taco meat, Italian meat, smoked pulled pork are always ready to grab.
ReplyDeleteCheers to healthy eating!
I do that too. I have a lot of premade ingredients (I have cooked), but don't have room for meals except soups.
DeleteYAY, healthy and cheaper eating!!
We had storms roll thru last night also. No damage here but I swear I didn't get more than 3 hours of very broken sleep. I see a day of doing the bare minimum and a lot of resting for me.
ReplyDeleteI have a container of jambalaya thawed and will be prowling the fridge.
I am thankful I put ready meals in the freezer for times like this.
JC
So glad you had no damage. Sorry your sleep was so interrupted. I don't think I even heard thunder last night. Sounds like a good nap day!
DeleteJambalaya sounds wonderful. Enjoy.
Cabbage was on sale so I got that to use in sandwiches and in soup. I like cabbage. I think it helps me be frugal because I'm not super picky. I eat a lot of things. And I'm willing to cook.
ReplyDeleteI do make desserts and snacks for the family but it's all basic ingredients. Nothing I can't pronounce! And if it doesn't get eaten it will spoil. Won't last on the counter for months! I saw a snack cake that didn't expire for a couple years. Who wants to eat a 2 year old cake?! Lol
I got 2 heads of cabbage for myself - it lasts a long time and has many uses. Was super cheap as well! Yes, you have to be willing to cook and like you, I like a lot of different things.
DeleteGoodness, that is crazy - a 2 year old dessert! Doesn't sound too nutritious either. Bread is the same way. It lasts forever, what is in that stuff?
Good for you - glad to see people use their pantries.
It sure was windy last night. I went out to the greenhouse this morning to get some string for a project and it was daggone cold! Good day to stay in with a blanket and a book.
ReplyDeleteIt's sort of like a treasure hunt to go through the freezer(s) to pull out a protein to prepare a meal. We had chicken taco salad yesterday. Enough left for today's meal too. We keep prepared meats in the freezer, i.e. taco meat, cooked chicken, seasoned ground beef, leftover pot roast. Easy to throw together a meal or snack with some of the ingredients already prepared. We haven't eaten in a restaurant since we started the keto plan in October of '24, and quite frankly don't miss it. Not the food or the $$$ spent. Erin and an old school chum take each other out for their birthdays since they are both in March. She said breakfast for Angie's birthday was $40. Erin will be 50 tomorrow and she is going out with some friends.
Enjoy your weekend!
It sure is chilly. I have an afghan around me as I sit here.
DeleteA fun treasure hunt! It really does make throwing a meal together easy. You can make anything and your imagination is the only thing that stops you.
I go out with friends every 2 months, and only because they are friends. I don't ever eat out by myself.
The prices for restaurant food are costly and the food is meh!
Happy birthday to Erin!
It warmed up here to slightly above freezing, and the melt was evident by late afternoon. No grass showing but the piles were lower. Today we're supposed to reach a high of +3C/37F. More melting on the way!
ReplyDeleteYou're having a heatwave! Yay on the melting and above freezing. Even that makes an attitude better. Hope you get sunshine to enjoy as well.
DeleteWhen we go for the evening singing in another city, we have supper at a Vietnamese place. That's about 10 times a year. I can't make that food at home, I don't even know what the ingredients are, just that it tastes great. :)
ReplyDeleteLast night my son took me out for supper with the littles, and I had enough leftovers for today. Spent the morning making bread. Decided to start up my potato-sourdough starter again. Smells good, but too hot to cut right now. The starter is not strong yet, but it will improve with time.
I don't keep meals frozen but I have a few meats in single serving size. Also, I'm not very picky. Grilled cheese and a salad will satisfy me.
MaryB
It is a special time for you and your friends - a fellowship. You enjoy and can afford.
DeleteNice to have leftovers for today. I bet your home smells wonderful. Nothing like fresh bread.
Agree - I am good with a grilled cheese and about anything! Doesn't take a lot to make me happy.
You are so right about grocery shopping starting at Home, and we can make our own treats.
ReplyDeleteIt sure saves time and money! It tastes better too!
DeleteI grew up never having desserts with dinner or dessert snacks during the day. So I really don’t care for cookies, cakes, pies or sweet baked goods. (I do like a piece of pumpkin pie at Thanksgiving.) So I save the cost of ingredients and the cost of electricity. I do very occasionally buy microwave popcorn but a box lasts me a year. Fruit (from Aldi) is my very favorite snack.
ReplyDeleteWOW! I had homemade sweets all the time at home. Just something she always did - she also worked part-time at a bakery. Was a fantastic baker.
DeleteI do love my fruit. I eat a lot of fruit today - it is just probably my favorite snack. Popcorn is yummy!
Those expensive pita chips can be easily made at home, using flatbread triangles toasted in the oven with a little oil and ranch seasoning. As for eating out, I only do this when I have a coupon which makes for a cheap outing. Although there was a guy in Spain who in one year, faked a heart attack at twenty different restaurants after dinner to get out of paying his bill, which was a big savings until he got caught.
ReplyDeleteYes mam, those pita chips are easy to make. Tostada chips as well. A little seasoning and you can make a variety.
DeleteOh my goodness, that is something. One day that man may be calling "wolf" and no one will help. That is just out and out stealing! I like free - but that isn't cool.
Coupons can really help a lot.
I bought three cabbages this week as well. One is chopped, cooked in chicken stock, bagged and back in the freezer and we ate the other two. I will try and pick up a couple more because as you say they do keep well. Once many years ago, my sons class held a fund raiser for a family and they had "cabbage bowling" using a full head of frozen cabbage as a ball. It was just a riotous evening, kids and parents had great time. Take care, Louise.
ReplyDeleteI love cabbage and when the price comes down - it is such a deal. Really it isn't all that expensive anyway, compared to some things. Oh that sounds like a hoot! I bet it was fun.
DeleteThere are just so many ways to have cabbage and it is so good for you. I made kraut and slaw and canned last year from the ones I grew. It is pretty easy to grow.
I am getting so much better at using things up in the fridge and fridge freezer. I do have quite a stock of meats and veggies that need using in the freezers downstairs and plan on bringing those up to use in meals next week once I have finished clearing out the bits and bobs.
ReplyDeleteI do love my vacuum sealer and use it all the time. I would like to sell this one and get the one that you can use for sealing moist foods though.
God bless.
I love hearing this. We sure need to use what we have, heck it is already money spent. No need to waste those resources.
DeleteThe vacuum sealer is so nice. I would like one of the ones that you can use on jars. Maybe one day.
I did invest in an air fryer this week! I found a good sized one on Amazon and thought it would be worth the investment, now that I'm working. Thanks for all the great advice!
ReplyDeleteYAY - I think you will enjoy it a lot. There are so many things you can use it for. Many frozen items today - even have instructions already on the packages. I am sure yours came with a recipe book - have fun experimenting!!!
DeleteWe love our air fryer! Last night my husband made chicken thighs and they were really good!
DeleteNana - chicken is so good in one! I love how it gets so crispy.
DeleteWe bought 2 heads of cabbage this week at 19 cents a pound. I made baked cabbage with potatoes, carrots, and chicken one night and I also made a potato, cabbage, and white bean soup. They were delicious! I've really been on a mission the last few months to use up what we have in the fridge. If I won't use something soon, I usually freeze it for later.
ReplyDeleteGood for you. That was a fantastic price! I wish ours had been that cheap. Those meals sounds wonderful!! My mouth is watering thinking about the soup!
DeleteIt is just smart to use what we have, so it doesn't waste. What a great invention - the freezer!
Very cold here today. Heat up. Burrr... Sun out though so that's nice. Taking a quick cleaning break. I'm very happy though, my pantry is smaller and smaller these days. I like having less. When we move, I might change my mind but for now, it's less. Even though I grew up around basement stockpiles. Man, it's nice though to have it sweet and simple these days.
ReplyDeleteA holiday is coming up and I am stocking up on butter and cream cheese.
ReplyDelete