Thursday, September 23, 2021

GOALS - Homemade vs. Store Bought

 I think we all have this goal - at least most of us do.  YES, I have cans of veggies and soups in the pantry - you may as well.  I consider them convenience foods now.  In a hurry - they are there and available.  I have lots of frozen veggies - they are more like fresh to me.
I know not everyone cans.  That is OK.  
I know people often think buying fresh is too expensive.  It really isn't if you consider health into it.  Fresh and frozen are so much healthier.  No added ingredients!
YES - making things from scratch takes a little more time - but oh my, the taste is just so much better and the expense is really not increased.  It sure is cheaper making scratch and staying home than eating out!!!!!!

SNACKS 
Think about making popcorn at home (not that packaged microwave stuff).  You can make you own microwave popcorn if desired!  Make cookies, cakes, brownies, muffins, sweet breads, cinnamon toast, popcorn balls, etc.  Even potato chips are pretty darn easy to make.  Roast chickpeas!  Oh what a yummy and healthy crunchy snack.
IF you desire to have store bought chips - quit buying those little bags.  Buy family sized packs and repackage yourself.  Then when GONE they are GONE until next family shopping day!! (no special trips!)

BREAKFAST
Yes, we probably all have a few boxes of cereal around.  I do, only because I have gotten them on clearance and I use them for snacks.  I do NOT eat as basic cereal for breakfast.  I also like using cereals in making trail mix type treats.
Think about making oatmeal (if you like it).  Hot rice with butter and sweetener.  Homemade granola.  Homemade pancakes, waffles, breakfast sandwiches, breakfast burritos (all can be made ahead and froze).  French toast.  SO many choices for a cheap and healthy breakfast.  Make ahead goodies and pop in the toaster or microwave for a quick heat and eat morning!
Actually I was always the person (as was Glen) who could eat whatever for breakfast.  Soup, pizza, leftovers - it didn't matter.  Who says it has to be breakfast food?  We eat breakfast food for dinner!
                              Homemade granola is easy and fun - you can add whatever you want.

LUNCH
Leftovers make great lunch options.  Homemade soup, chili, casserole, food remade (like potato cakes, corn fritters, leftovers turned into fried rice).  Sandwiches can be made cheaply at home.  Nothing like a yummy grilled cheese and soup.
Make your own lunch-ables if you take lunch to work.  Going out to eat everyday is expensive.  Even if you just just spend $5 a day for lunch - that is $25-$30 a week that can be spent on other things like bills, debt, or stocking up.
Use what you have.  You know what is in your food.  Think about making up some tuna salad, egg salad,  chicken salad from home.  It will last over a few days.  Make pasta salad, potato salad, fried rice, etc.  So many options.
                                  Seriously - so much healthier than the crap you buy out!

DINNER
Use up all those leftovers in new ways.  Turn them into casseroles or soups.  Stretch your meat options with more veggies, whole grains and beans and pasta and rice.
AVOID eating out.  Having dinner out is NOT cheap at all!!!!!!
Get creative with your cooking.  Hopefully you can find yummy and inexpensive one pot meals that are easy to make for the entire family (I try listing them for you!).  Add bread, biscuits, tortillas, crackers and maybe a salad and you have dinner.
There is NO limit to the options you have to make dinner at home.  Utilize that crockpot or insta-pot.  That makes life so much easier.  Crockpot dinners are ready when you get home from work or after you have had a big day of working around the house.  Insta-pot dinners take no time.

Chop that leftover meat and use in stir fry, rice, pasta, soup, stew casseroles, etc.  Add veggies that left to soups and casseroles.  Add in some pasta or rice and maybe a little cheese and BOOM you are good to go and NO WASTE!

DRINKS
Well, what can I say?  Pop is not good for us.  I do love a fountain drink and I keep some pop on hand (mainly for company).  Water is basically free (for me).  I don't buy water - EVER.  I filter my water and use tap.  I refill bottles I have on hand.  I keep a jug of cold water in the frig.  I can add a little lemon or fruit juice to jazz it up.  I drink iced tea.  You can make tea -- hot or cold, coffee, or cold coffee, flavored water, juice for pennies.  I have a soda stream machine that makes carbonated water - and I can add flavors and it is like having a pop!  I only have this because I got it for $15 NEW at a yard sale many years back.  Once in a while I will splurge and by their flavoring - but usually I just add fruit juice or those little individual water flavor packs.

You can also make Kool-Aid for the kids or yourself.  You control the sweetness and the type of sweetener used.  There are many options other than buying pop, bottled cold brew coffees, or going out for that morning coffee.
Learn how to make your own morning coffee and add flavorings to make it special.  A store bought cup of coffee can be $5 up!  That is just CRAZY!!!!!!!

We can save so much money by just cooking at home and staying out of restaurants and buying all the junk!  
You NEED to save money for whatever your reason?  Well, rethink your spending.  We all spend on so many unnecessary things.  Just because you WANT it - doesn't mean you should BUY it!!!!!!  Seriously.
Think about your goals - your future - what is REALLY important.

I would think having an emergency fund, being debt free, and having a stocked pantry in case of whatever emergency - would be more important than instant gratification on eating out or that expensive morning coffee!!!!!!!!!
Think about it.

Your health and the welfare of your family should come first.
GET CREATIVE AND SAVE


38 comments:

  1. This is soooooooo true. Example: We had a family gathering in Michigan last Sunday. While on my way, I got a text from my sister asking me to stop and grab a couple of jugs of iced tea. $3.69 each x 2!!!!! At home, I normally buy the packages of Lipton cold brew family-size tea bags. When I can, I get them on sale at $3.49/22 count (or, $0.16 each). I like my tea strong, so I'll use 4 tea bags in my gallon pitcher. So, rather than $3.69/gallon for commercially made unsweetened tea, I'll make it myself for $0.65/gallon. And even if it's not on sale, at $4.19/box it's still a deal -- only $0.80/gallon.

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    1. I hear ya! I see people buy tea all the time at the stores and even those individual tea bottles. Oh my the cost. Even with some sugar or sweetener - homemade is cheaper. Those bottles of cold brew coffee are so expensive - can make it at home!
      I won't buy ice either!!! I can make it a few days in advance of company (I always have 8 trays waiting & froze). I can bags of it for nothing!

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  2. I had to smile that you (and your late husband) eat any kind of food for breakfast. Our youngest son and I do that too, often leftovers from the previous day. The rest of the family think we are mad. Our eldest granddaughter (24) is living with us for a while, saving for a place of her own. She sometimes think I like odd combinations of food, trying to educate her that at times it to use up things or to save money....She is learning.

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    1. Heck - cold pizza is a favorite!
      It is good to teach them young - hopefully she will become mindful of what things cost and how much you work for that thing!
      Let them think you are mad!!!! Wahahaha - food is food!

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    2. I'm with you and Heather - I actually like a savoury breakfast (usually more a brunch for me) so it could be leftovers or - and a personal favourite - tuna salad on toast!

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    3. Pie! We eat pie for breakfast! Well, not often. There are 3 of us in the family. Whenever I make or buy a pie, we cut it into 6 pieces and everyone has a slice for dinner AND for breakfast the next day! What a treat! Don't laugh, I always go for fruit pies on the assumption they have some nutritional value! LOLOLOLOL

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    4. You won't see me laughing!!!! You go girl. Sounds like my kind of breakfast!

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  3. Homemade does taste so much better and you get more of it too. LOL we bought a corn dip from Aldi last week to try because people were raving about it. It was almost $4.00 and a very small container and nothing to write home about. I could easily duplicate it in my kitchen and it would taste better and produce much more than that small bowl.

    Leftovers are our favorite breakfast food too.

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    1. You go girl - now you know and you can make your own! Sometimes we have to try something just to know what we really like and get ideas on how to make it ourselves.
      Nothing wrong with leftovers for breakfast!

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    2. After we have had pie for breakfast (LOL--see above), we break out the leftovers for lunch! That corn salad sounds good! If you were to make it, what would be your recipe?

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  4. For those of us who've been cooking for many, many years, "from scratch" is just second nature. We know (well) the savings. I taught my sons how to do the same during their teen years, but as adults now, there are times they're just too tired after a long work day to plan and cook a fully homemade meal. I also taught them, though, how to cheat a little... and still save money.

    Take a store bought rotisserie chicken, picked up on the way home from work with bagged salad greens. The drumsticks, thighs and wings can be removed for dinner that night, plus the next, or a take-to-work lunch. Breast meat can be wrapped (individually) and frozen for a few heat & eat meals with leftover sides later. The bones, skin, carcass and any scraps can also be frozen to make broth on a weekend, which can also be strained well and frozen or used right away in soups or stews. Often singles don't consider a whole rotisserie chicken, because they think they have to eat it all right away, not realizing how many future (quick) meals are possible.

    I guess my point is it can be less intimidating to combine convenience and homemade sometimes. And if you're going to go out to eat, be sure to use coupons! --Elise

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    1. Example: thaw a frozen (rotisserie) chicken breast in the fridge for a day or two; after work, cut it up, combine with a 55 cent can of (Target) Good and Gather petite diced tomatoes and a quickly chopped, fresh zucchini. Microwave that for about 10 minutes. Serve over reheated, leftover rice, pasta or potatoes. It'll make enough for a few meals.

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    2. You are so right. I have done that with a chicken when I got it for a steal! I think we all have. And once in a while a cheat is just in order. If tired - it's OK to treat yourself.
      We have all done it.
      I like semi-home made stuff as well. It is easy to combine both for a scrumptious and frugal meal.
      I love hearing how you are all teaching the younger generation how to be food/money wise.

      YUM that meal sound good and sounds like something I would do.

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    3. I'm a singleton and often do just as you suggested - rotisserie chicken and a bagged salad for a couple of meals - hot side dishes with the breast meat for later on. Makes life a lot simpler and it's still a LOT cheaper than eating out or even take-out.

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  5. All excellent ideas! Buying coffee from a shop, even if it's not Starbucks, is expensive. Buying readymade tea, the same way. The Urban Farmer and I emptied the big freezer this morning and reorganized everything. Found some things that should be used sooner rather than later. We have been abundantly blessed so there is no more room for anything. Next project will be canning beans and possibly some more ground beef.

    Don't you love this weather? The house is opened up, a little chilly but I think it is bliss.

    Do you remember Brittany Rainey who did the weather on Fox59? We always enjoyed watching her and then she moved to Florida. Now she is in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. I follow her on Instagram.

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    1. Thanks. Yep - buying out can be so expensive.
      Good job on organizing the freezer. Use those older things up.
      We are blessed aren't we? We just take so much for granted.

      I love this weather. Windows open, airing house, sweatshirt weather for sure. Perfection.
      Don't really remember her.

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  6. Great post. I really try to think of one ingredient foods.. Such as baked potato, or a baked squash. What can I cook that is made with one ingredient foods. A salad with fresh veggies I cut up, not bagged. Vegetables I roast or cook, not canned. But I do have cans of things. Making a lasagna with home grown tomatoes, and peppers, and onions. Just making my own of most things.

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    1. I love one pot meals or even one main ingredient. So many options.
      Good job on being resourceful.

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    2. When I do things like bake a squash, I cook the whole thing, eat it for a meal and freeze the rest in meal-size portions. I did this with a butternut last night! I whipped the squash with salt, pepper, butter and a little brown sugar. I like to bake extra potatoes and use them for home fries, although I admit I don't always think to do it.

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    3. Great idea. Sure saves on energy as well. Whipped butternut sounds good. Baked potatoes can be used for so many things. I like to bake a few 'not quite done' refrigerate and use for fried potatoes.

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  7. Finally...at last.....after 6 cool days/nights (who knows why?).....I have been able to harvest tomatoes! I have 10 quarts of stewed San Marzano/Cherokee heirlooms stewed and canned! Wohoo!!!!!

    We had waaaaaaay too much (record) heat for over 6w this summer and all my flowers dropped time after time. Here we are now past average first frost and I'm just harvesting. I literally picked our first and only tomato Sunday night for our burgers!

    Hey, at least I got 10 quarts right?

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    1. Well, doesn't exactly pay for the $32 in organic plants plus all the water....oh well.....I've had record years in the past. Will have to think of dollar cost averaging rather than 2021 output! :-)

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    2. Sorry you had such troubles. Glad you were able to get some and canned them. Those will taste so good this winter.
      Some years are better than others

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    3. Elle, there's still something to be said about knowing what went into those 10 quarts. That, alone, can be well worth the cost. One of the primary reasons I can, to control sodium and all the ingredients I can't begin to pronounce. Great work on getting those quarts filled up for the winter months.

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    4. Lori, I agree. I added no salt. I prefer to salt most foods after tasting as salt is not something I love.

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  8. I have tried so many times to explain this to my friend, she will agree and then all of a sudden starts telling me about buying a sub, getting KFC (Kentucky Fried Chicken), burgers from the A&W or McD's. She will even buy a ready meal from the grocery store...better and cheaper than the others, but don't complain about being broke!!!

    To make it even harder, her husband would not allow her to freeze any leftovers as they "tasted funny".

    God bless.

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    1. It always seems to be the ones who scream "broke" the loudest. Hmmmm - kind of says something.
      Maybe she just shouldn't tell hubby it has been frozen!!!!
      Tastes funny - might fill his belly someday when he is really broke and hungry.
      I just don't get people.
      Blessings

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    2. Agree it’s always the ones who scream broke. When I was a working woman, I made good money, but always brought my lunch to work. A lot of lowest paid coworkers ordered out food every single day!! Then they would sometimes ask to borrow money from me. 🙄

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    3. Penpen - same here. I always took lunch and those who worked in the shop would walk right past the front door of the office to the mini mart across the the street for junk and cigarettes. Then they would ask to borrow money till payday. Yep - that didn't happen but once or twice - then I got smart.

      That is actually when I started making a newsletter at work about being frugal. Tried to teach them. It didn't really work for most. Blog derived from the news letter.
      Some people will never get it!!!!

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    4. I used to meet a friend for lunch and time after time she would ask me to pray for them to get out of debt while charging her lunch on a credit card!

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    5. Lana - oh my goodness. She didn't have a clue! How sad.

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  9. When I have small bits and pieces of anything food related, I put them in a container in the freezer marked "soup starter"...when it is full, time to make soup---and that large container of soup lasts for many a meal!

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    1. The is just the best way!!!! Indeed - I have done that many times. Makes the best pot of veggie soup ever!

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  10. I defer to my husband on many of these things but we are very frugal anyway. He does not like regular on the stove popcorn because his Mom would pop an entire paper grocery bag full and then they ate that same popcorn for days. After 24 hours it was horrible. I learned to never eat that popcorn when we were dating. He also had eggs, grits and toast 365 days a year for all his growing up years. He adores cereal so we shop the sales for it.

    We go through a lot of bottled water here because we hand it to the homeless when we are in town. This week it was only two bottles but many weeks it is a lot of water. On Tuesday I handed a bottle out my car window and that man told me that we could not have given him anything more valuable and he reached in and shook both our hands. He made our day.

    Premade iced tea is a real pet peeve of mine and also picking up drinks while out from home. When we leave the house we take our water bottle out of the refrigerator and take it with us. We don't stop for big Cokes or tea or anything else including snacks which we keep in the car. And we are so good unless we pass Krispy Kreme! Thank goodness it is in an area of town where we rarely go!

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    1. OK I had to snort laugh a little - because I like stale popcorn!! I know I am crazy - but I got to liking it because Glen did. LOL

      I totally understand - and not everything is for everyone. You do the things that work for you and yours. Nothing wrong with that at all.
      I don't think I have ever heard you whining about being broke either! I think that is where it is a stickler with me.
      The "oh poor me I am so broke" - yet spends every penny on things that aren't necessary.

      How wonderful of you to pass the water out to others. God bless you for that. Charity is a wonderful thing and it comes in all forms. Those are the things that fill our hearts up!

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    2. I agree 100 percent on the whining especially when it is accompanied by a lame excuse why they cannot work.

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  11. These are all great ideas, thank you so much for sharing them.

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