Support Group for Day 3: Grocery Shopping
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MacGyverIt
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:18 pm
Harris Teeter is fairly pricey however if you have the discipline to stick with loss leaders, you can walk out with 50% off of lots of great, nutritional items. This week several meats (steaks, pork loin, Jenny-O turkey burgers) and other items for BOGO, a few buy 2 get 3 free or 10 for $10 sales. Good deals *IF* you can stick to a shopping list. I make a list based upon the sales then review the list a few times to cut out the "wants" vs. "needs". They often sell breads as BOGO, I stocked up on a bread sale and haven't purchased bread for over six months now. The folks at the register are always amazed when I walk out with a 50% reduced grocery bill... which amazes me as I would think many folks shop like this but apparently not.
And never forget the importance of rain checks. When items sell out I've asked for rain checks at that sales price so when the items are restocked I can purchase at the discount while everyone else is purchasing at the list price!
And never forget the importance of rain checks. When items sell out I've asked for rain checks at that sales price so when the items are restocked I can purchase at the discount while everyone else is purchasing at the list price!
Lately I've been using http://www.anyleaf.com/ to find the sales at local groceries. It says they only track stores in the Bay Area, but I don't live there and still find it useful since some of the same chains are here. They track the weekly price of grocery items and then list how good of a deal it is when on sale. It makes finding the big sales easier than looking through flyers. Also, don't forget to check the about to expire clearance bin. They like to hide those in a dark corner of the store.
I agree with the advice to find the (healthy) food that is inexpensive where you are and work with that.
I've been cooking a lot of beans and rice. Black beans, lentils, brown rice, onions, garlic. I can buy all of those very inexpensively and they are healthy and can be delicious. I avoid refined grains as I don't feel very good when I eat them. White rice is cheaper, but my brown rice is about 87 cents a pound (in 20 lb bags) which is just fine. This week I noticed the cabbage was 49 cents a pound so I'm adding it to congee and fried rice this week.
Some of my favorite things to cook that happen to be frugal are:
Black beans and rice
Mujadarra (lentils, rice, onions)
Congee (very easy -- make it in the rice cooker)
Fried rice
Dal
Oatmeal for breakfast
Lentil soup
Split pea soup
Beef stew with barley
I also use a lot of indian spices when I cook. These would be very expensive at a normal grocery store, but they are cheap at an indian grocery store. Beans, lentils, rice, spices, onions, garlic.... you can cook a very wide variety of different things with that. Madhur Jaffrey has a great vegetarian cookbook with lots of delicious Indian recipies. http://www.amazon.com/Madhur-Jaffreys-W ... 085&sr=8-2 I'm sure there are some recipes with expensive ingredients, but there are also a lot of delicious recipes that are very frugal. She has a newer vegetarian cookbook as well which may have many of the same recipes. My library has it, I believe, so hopefully others will as well.
We always have fresh fruit around (chosen from the best prices) as well as milk, eggs, and I do serve some meat during the week... but I've been basing most of our meals beans and whole grains. Soups and stews are also nice -- it stretches the meat farther and you can use cheaper cuts of beef with stews like chuck roast.
I need to keep a price book too -- thanks for the reminder. I do it in my head mostly but it would be better to write it down. I remember reading about that in the Tightwad Gazette (which probably has many more tips on cutting grocery costs) but I've always just done it in my head which, of course, isn't as foolproof as writing it down. Living More with Less may also have some good advice on this topic.
Oh, I also tend to make more than I need and freeze the extra leftovers when we are tired of eating it. It really helps me to have some meals in the freezer. Makes it easier to have variety, too.
I've been cooking a lot of beans and rice. Black beans, lentils, brown rice, onions, garlic. I can buy all of those very inexpensively and they are healthy and can be delicious. I avoid refined grains as I don't feel very good when I eat them. White rice is cheaper, but my brown rice is about 87 cents a pound (in 20 lb bags) which is just fine. This week I noticed the cabbage was 49 cents a pound so I'm adding it to congee and fried rice this week.
Some of my favorite things to cook that happen to be frugal are:
Black beans and rice
Mujadarra (lentils, rice, onions)
Congee (very easy -- make it in the rice cooker)
Fried rice
Dal
Oatmeal for breakfast
Lentil soup
Split pea soup
Beef stew with barley
I also use a lot of indian spices when I cook. These would be very expensive at a normal grocery store, but they are cheap at an indian grocery store. Beans, lentils, rice, spices, onions, garlic.... you can cook a very wide variety of different things with that. Madhur Jaffrey has a great vegetarian cookbook with lots of delicious Indian recipies. http://www.amazon.com/Madhur-Jaffreys-W ... 085&sr=8-2 I'm sure there are some recipes with expensive ingredients, but there are also a lot of delicious recipes that are very frugal. She has a newer vegetarian cookbook as well which may have many of the same recipes. My library has it, I believe, so hopefully others will as well.
We always have fresh fruit around (chosen from the best prices) as well as milk, eggs, and I do serve some meat during the week... but I've been basing most of our meals beans and whole grains. Soups and stews are also nice -- it stretches the meat farther and you can use cheaper cuts of beef with stews like chuck roast.
I need to keep a price book too -- thanks for the reminder. I do it in my head mostly but it would be better to write it down. I remember reading about that in the Tightwad Gazette (which probably has many more tips on cutting grocery costs) but I've always just done it in my head which, of course, isn't as foolproof as writing it down. Living More with Less may also have some good advice on this topic.
Oh, I also tend to make more than I need and freeze the extra leftovers when we are tired of eating it. It really helps me to have some meals in the freezer. Makes it easier to have variety, too.
Here are my tips (I spend $100/mo for just me, but I eat like an eight year old):
1) Price book - you can start with any receipts you have
2) Do more and more of your own processing. Collect recipes and tools.
3) Choose the cheaper of your favorite foods more often
4) Portion control.
5) Food group specific tips:
a) protein - beans (I like refried beans and hummus), peanut butter, peanuts, canned tuna. I also get grass-fed organic beef or buffalo, but cut that 50/50 with fake soy meat in chili, spaghetti, etc. Oh, I also get nitrate-free hotdogs and veggie breakfast sausage and veggie frozen corn dogs. Sliced walnuts are cheap at Costco and freeze well and are good in salads and cold cereal.
b) dairy - I get hormone-free skim milk in gallon jugs, organic yogurt, sharp organic cheddar, organic cream cheese, regular feta and parmesan (not grated), and regular light ice cream. I want to try making some of the softer cheeses (like cream cheese) but haven't yet. Also, I recently found a recipe for ice cream that doesn't need an ice cream maker (you incorporate the air by whipping the cream first) that I'd like to try. A good portion of my protein comes from dairy.
c) grains - I buy only whole wheat pastry flour which tastes like white flour to me but has fiber. I also buy whole-grain breads and pastas. Making your own saves so much money here, but so far I only make my own corn bread, granola, and sweets (muffins, cookies, cakes...)
d) produce - spinach, bananas, lemons, carrots, canned pumpkin, canned tomato products (trying to switch to jarred). Concentrated juice--and only drink 4 ounces of that a day. Frozen fruit is usually cheaper than "fresh" and often just as good and usually better than canned--it's a good way to get extra fruits for your fruit salad.
I generally have chocolate milk for breakfast (made from milk and chocolate syrup made from 1 cup cocoa, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, boiled, add some vanilla). I have a hot lunch, usually the same thing all week that I made a big batch of over the weekend (spaghetti, chili, burritos, potato cheese soup, taco soup). Then dinner is sandwiches, smaller hot meals (eggs and veggie sausage, mac 'n cheese), cold cereal, oatmeal, or salad. For stress-eating snacks at work I have pretzels and graham crackers. I do not eat enough produce so I also waste money on vitamins. And fish oil.
Another good tip (which I don't use) is to buy less junk food. (Actually, I sort of do this by telling myself that the home-made version is better than the store-bought version, and then only rarely getting around to actually making it.)
Another tip some of you will like is from my mom. Freeze things like spaghetti sauce, chili, queso, and soup in ice cube trays. Once frozen, dump them in a freezer ziplock. Then you can just take out how ever many you need for a serving or multiple servings.
1) Price book - you can start with any receipts you have
2) Do more and more of your own processing. Collect recipes and tools.
3) Choose the cheaper of your favorite foods more often
4) Portion control.
5) Food group specific tips:
a) protein - beans (I like refried beans and hummus), peanut butter, peanuts, canned tuna. I also get grass-fed organic beef or buffalo, but cut that 50/50 with fake soy meat in chili, spaghetti, etc. Oh, I also get nitrate-free hotdogs and veggie breakfast sausage and veggie frozen corn dogs. Sliced walnuts are cheap at Costco and freeze well and are good in salads and cold cereal.
b) dairy - I get hormone-free skim milk in gallon jugs, organic yogurt, sharp organic cheddar, organic cream cheese, regular feta and parmesan (not grated), and regular light ice cream. I want to try making some of the softer cheeses (like cream cheese) but haven't yet. Also, I recently found a recipe for ice cream that doesn't need an ice cream maker (you incorporate the air by whipping the cream first) that I'd like to try. A good portion of my protein comes from dairy.
c) grains - I buy only whole wheat pastry flour which tastes like white flour to me but has fiber. I also buy whole-grain breads and pastas. Making your own saves so much money here, but so far I only make my own corn bread, granola, and sweets (muffins, cookies, cakes...)
d) produce - spinach, bananas, lemons, carrots, canned pumpkin, canned tomato products (trying to switch to jarred). Concentrated juice--and only drink 4 ounces of that a day. Frozen fruit is usually cheaper than "fresh" and often just as good and usually better than canned--it's a good way to get extra fruits for your fruit salad.
I generally have chocolate milk for breakfast (made from milk and chocolate syrup made from 1 cup cocoa, 1 cup sugar, 1 cup water, boiled, add some vanilla). I have a hot lunch, usually the same thing all week that I made a big batch of over the weekend (spaghetti, chili, burritos, potato cheese soup, taco soup). Then dinner is sandwiches, smaller hot meals (eggs and veggie sausage, mac 'n cheese), cold cereal, oatmeal, or salad. For stress-eating snacks at work I have pretzels and graham crackers. I do not eat enough produce so I also waste money on vitamins. And fish oil.
Another good tip (which I don't use) is to buy less junk food. (Actually, I sort of do this by telling myself that the home-made version is better than the store-bought version, and then only rarely getting around to actually making it.)
Another tip some of you will like is from my mom. Freeze things like spaghetti sauce, chili, queso, and soup in ice cube trays. Once frozen, dump them in a freezer ziplock. Then you can just take out how ever many you need for a serving or multiple servings.
I spend about $350/month for a family of 4 including 2 toddlers.
Some of them go to packaged apple sauce/jello/junk snacks but mostly meat and vegetables at a farmer's market.
Another thing to watch out for is food waste.
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't do much bulk purchase?
Only things I buy in bulk is meat, grain and canned tomato I think.
In the past I would stock up lots of items in the pantry (well cupboard) and fridge and lots of items in the back got forgotten and got old.
Now I buy what I need for that week and try to empty out the cupboard, fridge and freezer once per month.
It's a little fun challenge I do every month to come up with creative menus using only what I have.
I also don't have a warehouse membership any more.
It's a temptation to get more stuff for me so I just got rid of it.
I'm curious about being a vegetarian. In the past I try to eat only vegetables but I just didn't feel satisfied and ended up eating more junk food. Have you guys tried fermented beans and tofu?
I'm Japanese and my last supper would be rice and fermented beans and miso soup!
Some of them go to packaged apple sauce/jello/junk snacks but mostly meat and vegetables at a farmer's market.
Another thing to watch out for is food waste.
I guess I'm the only one who doesn't do much bulk purchase?
Only things I buy in bulk is meat, grain and canned tomato I think.
In the past I would stock up lots of items in the pantry (well cupboard) and fridge and lots of items in the back got forgotten and got old.
Now I buy what I need for that week and try to empty out the cupboard, fridge and freezer once per month.
It's a little fun challenge I do every month to come up with creative menus using only what I have.
I also don't have a warehouse membership any more.
It's a temptation to get more stuff for me so I just got rid of it.
I'm curious about being a vegetarian. In the past I try to eat only vegetables but I just didn't feel satisfied and ended up eating more junk food. Have you guys tried fermented beans and tofu?
I'm Japanese and my last supper would be rice and fermented beans and miso soup!
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MacGyverIt
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:18 pm
Lentils, black beans with your veggies or peanut/almond butter are good high fiber/protein options to help make you feel full. Noticed my local grocer had tofu BOGO this week.
My challenge is sticking with an Atkins/Paleo diet on a budget. Thankfully this week HarrisTeeter has strip steak and pork loin BOGO so I'm filling my freezer with these meats, eating low to no carb is very expensive otherwise (and even on BOGO)! (Open to suggestions...)
My challenge is sticking with an Atkins/Paleo diet on a budget. Thankfully this week HarrisTeeter has strip steak and pork loin BOGO so I'm filling my freezer with these meats, eating low to no carb is very expensive otherwise (and even on BOGO)! (Open to suggestions...)
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MacGyverIt
- Posts: 19
- Joined: Mon Jan 02, 2012 9:18 pm
Something to help with the snack urge that is also vv healthy from http://nomnompaleo.com/
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15661311142 ... outs-chips (highly encourage visiting the site, her photos of these snacks are to die for....)
Brussels Sprouts Chips
If you’re a closet snacker like me, you’ll want to make these chips anytime you buy Brussels sprouts. Whenever I prepare my sprouts for roasting, I cut the stems off right at the base of the baby cabbages and pull off the outer leaves. Nowadays, instead of chucking the leaves into the trash, I toss them in fat and bake them into crunchy chips. (Please discard the really wilty ones.) My thrifty Chinese mama should be very proud of her number two daughter.
Here’s what to gather to feed 2-4 people:
2 cups of Brussels sprout leaves (outer leaves from 2 pounds of sprouts)
2 tablespoons of melted ghee
Kosher salt to taste
Lemon zest (optional)
Here’s how you make ‘em:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix the leaves, ghee, and salt together in a large bowl.
Line two large baking trays with parchment. Divide the leaves evenly in a single layer on each tray.
Bake each tray for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and brown around the edges.
Microplane some lemon zest over the chips (optional), and…
…chow immediately.
http://nomnompaleo.com/post/15661311142 ... outs-chips (highly encourage visiting the site, her photos of these snacks are to die for....)
Brussels Sprouts Chips
If you’re a closet snacker like me, you’ll want to make these chips anytime you buy Brussels sprouts. Whenever I prepare my sprouts for roasting, I cut the stems off right at the base of the baby cabbages and pull off the outer leaves. Nowadays, instead of chucking the leaves into the trash, I toss them in fat and bake them into crunchy chips. (Please discard the really wilty ones.) My thrifty Chinese mama should be very proud of her number two daughter.
Here’s what to gather to feed 2-4 people:
2 cups of Brussels sprout leaves (outer leaves from 2 pounds of sprouts)
2 tablespoons of melted ghee
Kosher salt to taste
Lemon zest (optional)
Here’s how you make ‘em:
Preheat oven to 350°F.
Mix the leaves, ghee, and salt together in a large bowl.
Line two large baking trays with parchment. Divide the leaves evenly in a single layer on each tray.
Bake each tray for 8-10 minutes or until crispy and brown around the edges.
Microplane some lemon zest over the chips (optional), and…
…chow immediately.
Thanks guys!
http://nomnompaleo.com/ looks interesting.
I'm off to make some of their recipes this week!
http://nomnompaleo.com/ looks interesting.
I'm off to make some of their recipes this week!
i buy my beef in bulk - a few of us go "in" on an organic yearling calf. Price per pound is between $4-5 which is cheap for organic meats. So no pesticides, hormones, anti-biotic load. I get chicky on sale for $2 lb and buy up and pork tenderloin in a log on sale and have it sliced. I buy fish that is on sale. Generic everything i can. On Sunday i will cook the following:
Dinner with enough for leftovers (2 meals)
crockpot meal - load it and forget it (2-4 meals)
soup batch (4-6 meals)
My bf will buy a cooked chicky from groc store for $4.99, ~5 lbs and cheaper than i can buy it frozen. I find if i eat well, i don't mind eating in more.
Dinner with enough for leftovers (2 meals)
crockpot meal - load it and forget it (2-4 meals)
soup batch (4-6 meals)
My bf will buy a cooked chicky from groc store for $4.99, ~5 lbs and cheaper than i can buy it frozen. I find if i eat well, i don't mind eating in more.
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jennypenny
- Posts: 6910
- Joined: Sun Jul 03, 2011 2:20 pm
Here is a list of sales cycles per month (scroll down the page a little). I know Cindy is based in NJ, but most of it applies everywhere. Her site is great. She lists the best deals for most stores each week--look under "find my store" at the top.
http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/20 ... rices.html
http://www.livingrichwithcoupons.com/20 ... rices.html
Interesting thread. I eat vegetarian, eat a lot, and don't want to make nutritional compromises. I have a wholesome diet planned out that works out to a little under $6 a day. I might be able to hit $5 with more work. Less than that, I really think I'd be going hungry, spending an absurd amount of time cooking, or compromising on the quality of my diet. Here's what I eat:
http://blog.gripfaq.com/2011/11/05/day- ... nsive.aspx
I shop at Aldi, cook in bulk, etc. Aldi is so cheap, there's really no point in a price book.
The hardest part in my experience, is avoiding the temptation to fall back into old expensive patterns when life gets hard. This certainly happens to me. I can drop $100+ on a week's worth of food at Trader Joes, finishing it all.
It is easy to enjoy a dinner that consists of $3 of pre-made salad, a $6 frozen pizza, a couple $3 belgian ales, and a $3 box of cookies for dessert. Then you think - "I just ate $18 in one meal? Crap."
http://blog.gripfaq.com/2011/11/05/day- ... nsive.aspx
I shop at Aldi, cook in bulk, etc. Aldi is so cheap, there's really no point in a price book.
The hardest part in my experience, is avoiding the temptation to fall back into old expensive patterns when life gets hard. This certainly happens to me. I can drop $100+ on a week's worth of food at Trader Joes, finishing it all.
It is easy to enjoy a dinner that consists of $3 of pre-made salad, a $6 frozen pizza, a couple $3 belgian ales, and a $3 box of cookies for dessert. Then you think - "I just ate $18 in one meal? Crap."
In my opinion, if you wanna do this cheap and healthfully. You should get a copy of one of Dr. John McDougall's books. His books have generally vegan recipes, using almost all staples (as in dry beans/grains/potatoes etc.) When you eliminate the costs associated with meats and cheese and stick with these types of things, you will save. On top of that, you will get healthy.
Get a copy of the china study, read it and look up the referenced research. High carb, low fat/protein is the way to go. At least 70-80% of total calories should be from whole food carbohydrates. You do not need much protein or fat at all. Even mothers milk is only 5% protein.... and this is at the fastest growth a person will have.
Get a blood test done before you start, just watch as you become more healthful. This will give you objective results, so you can see what is happening.
No successful society in history has prospered without a diet high in starches and other carbs from whole foods. Its just that simple.
Get a copy of the china study, read it and look up the referenced research. High carb, low fat/protein is the way to go. At least 70-80% of total calories should be from whole food carbohydrates. You do not need much protein or fat at all. Even mothers milk is only 5% protein.... and this is at the fastest growth a person will have.
Get a blood test done before you start, just watch as you become more healthful. This will give you objective results, so you can see what is happening.
No successful society in history has prospered without a diet high in starches and other carbs from whole foods. Its just that simple.
If you want to find grains/beans extra cheap, try a feed store. If you order stuff that is double/triple cleaned, you'll do just fine. Preppers do this sort of thing. You can get most grains. Wheat,corn, soybean are very common. Most of the time price ranges from $8-30 for a 50 pound bag.
Its also possible to order this stuff in bulk from health food stores. I bought 25lbs of organic millet for around $20. Many places will give you a discount for bulk orders like that.
If you live near farms, it may be possible to glean food from the fields. After they mechanically harvest the field, there is still remaining food the machines missed. Its worth looking into.
Also, bananas are great food. I buy a case a week(40 lbs) for my family to eat. Bananas are about 100 calories each, they are more nutritionally dense than people realize. A case generally costs $15-25.
Its also possible to order this stuff in bulk from health food stores. I bought 25lbs of organic millet for around $20. Many places will give you a discount for bulk orders like that.
If you live near farms, it may be possible to glean food from the fields. After they mechanically harvest the field, there is still remaining food the machines missed. Its worth looking into.
Also, bananas are great food. I buy a case a week(40 lbs) for my family to eat. Bananas are about 100 calories each, they are more nutritionally dense than people realize. A case generally costs $15-25.
While I am vegetarian, I do consider a diet where the calories come from mostly carbs to be a nutritional compromise. If my eating were purely health motivated, I would probably follow a paleo style diet. I understand people's perspectives on this vary widely. Diet is an intensely personal decision.
In the process of building my meal plan, I created a spreadsheet that lists all the foods I eat, then broke down the costs per serving. Some changes became obvious - tofu instead of seitan. Dried TVP instead of meatless meatballs. Yellow corn tortillas instead of taco shells. Oatmeal with nuts instead of cereal and milk. Roma tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes. Etc. It was also clear that some stores are vastly cheaper than others. I buy very little from Trader Joe's these days.
Now I find grains / beans are a small percentage of my costs, especially when I go through the effort to start with dried rice, flour or dried beans. Admittedly, I do want to get a pressure cooker to make my use of dried rice and beans more consistent and less time consuming.
Overall though, I find protein, healthy fats, produce and supplements are the budget killers.
Other than buying some foods inexpensively at Aldi, options to lower the costs through subtitution are limited. I can't exactly replace the cheese on my pizza with whey protein. Vegetable oil does not substitute well for olive oil. Apples and bannanas don't provide the same nutrition as berries and melons.
The other wall I have run into, is justifying the additional time investment to get costs even lower. Say I make my own hummus, and it costs $1/lb instead of buying it at $4/lb. I need to churn out 10lbs+ per hour invested before it becomes viable. I need changes that do not increase my time spent dealing with food.
In that line, there were a few clear wins:
1. Aldi. It is closer to my house and a smaller store.
2. Cooking in bulk always pays off - even when I use dried grains, the time savings during the week makes it a wash.
3. Pre-planning a set of frugal meals reduces decisioning time and simplifies shopping. Excellent.
4.Reducing shopping frequency by relying on mostly dried foods cuts store visits, lowers average price per meal, and prevents impulse purchases. Perfect.
5. Eating at home instead of out - faster, cheaper, healthier. Obvious.
I think am out of those though. The only change I see I might have available, that would have a material impact, is eating less. I like food though. I wouldn't really consider cutting my costs in half by eating half as much a win.
In the process of building my meal plan, I created a spreadsheet that lists all the foods I eat, then broke down the costs per serving. Some changes became obvious - tofu instead of seitan. Dried TVP instead of meatless meatballs. Yellow corn tortillas instead of taco shells. Oatmeal with nuts instead of cereal and milk. Roma tomatoes instead of grape tomatoes. Etc. It was also clear that some stores are vastly cheaper than others. I buy very little from Trader Joe's these days.
Now I find grains / beans are a small percentage of my costs, especially when I go through the effort to start with dried rice, flour or dried beans. Admittedly, I do want to get a pressure cooker to make my use of dried rice and beans more consistent and less time consuming.
Overall though, I find protein, healthy fats, produce and supplements are the budget killers.
Other than buying some foods inexpensively at Aldi, options to lower the costs through subtitution are limited. I can't exactly replace the cheese on my pizza with whey protein. Vegetable oil does not substitute well for olive oil. Apples and bannanas don't provide the same nutrition as berries and melons.
The other wall I have run into, is justifying the additional time investment to get costs even lower. Say I make my own hummus, and it costs $1/lb instead of buying it at $4/lb. I need to churn out 10lbs+ per hour invested before it becomes viable. I need changes that do not increase my time spent dealing with food.
In that line, there were a few clear wins:
1. Aldi. It is closer to my house and a smaller store.
2. Cooking in bulk always pays off - even when I use dried grains, the time savings during the week makes it a wash.
3. Pre-planning a set of frugal meals reduces decisioning time and simplifies shopping. Excellent.
4.Reducing shopping frequency by relying on mostly dried foods cuts store visits, lowers average price per meal, and prevents impulse purchases. Perfect.
5. Eating at home instead of out - faster, cheaper, healthier. Obvious.
I think am out of those though. The only change I see I might have available, that would have a material impact, is eating less. I like food though. I wouldn't really consider cutting my costs in half by eating half as much a win.
I've been haven't had much success with lowering our grocery bill, but recently I noticed that the produce in the Super A Market, which caters primarily to Latinos, is much cheaper than my local Safeway or Giant. For example, apples and squash were 99 cents a pound, cabbage was 59 cents a pound, and eggplant was 1.49 a pound. So, I would suggest looking at stores that cater to Latinos. Here's a link to the Super A site:
http://superafoods.com/AdCurrent_zone2.htm
http://superafoods.com/AdCurrent_zone2.htm
For breakfast, I mix 1 cup each of raisins, sunflower seeds (roasted and salted) and rolled oats (oatmeal). I put it in a widemouth bottle and shake it up to mix it. That is about 4 or 5 days of breakfast, eaten dry, right out of the bottle. Usually I add a little extra raisins because I like the flavor better when it is raisin-rich.
Pea soup: 1 cup split peas, 1 cup whole peas, rinse and soak 4 hours or so. Add water to cover peas. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, add thyme and ground black pepper, with or without a sliced bratwurst. After the whole peas are soft, salt to taste.
As a beer connoisseur, I find that the only way to be frugal and drink quality beer is to homebrew. I brew 10 gallons at a time and do two brew seasons a year, filling my 60 gallons of keg storage over a month or so of brewing sessions. This lasts about a half year (for two Germans). Once the equipment is paid for, the costs are malt, hops, yeast and propane. When frugal methods are used, high quality beer is about $40 for 10 gallons. It is easy to spend much more on equipment, homebrewers are notorious gear trippers. There are also incidental costs of electricity for the cooler and a CO2 cylinder now and then. Unlike most homebrewers, I generally brew the same recipe over and over (altbier) because we like it. We consider beer to be a food product (flussiges Brot).
Pea soup: 1 cup split peas, 1 cup whole peas, rinse and soak 4 hours or so. Add water to cover peas. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, add thyme and ground black pepper, with or without a sliced bratwurst. After the whole peas are soft, salt to taste.
As a beer connoisseur, I find that the only way to be frugal and drink quality beer is to homebrew. I brew 10 gallons at a time and do two brew seasons a year, filling my 60 gallons of keg storage over a month or so of brewing sessions. This lasts about a half year (for two Germans). Once the equipment is paid for, the costs are malt, hops, yeast and propane. When frugal methods are used, high quality beer is about $40 for 10 gallons. It is easy to spend much more on equipment, homebrewers are notorious gear trippers. There are also incidental costs of electricity for the cooler and a CO2 cylinder now and then. Unlike most homebrewers, I generally brew the same recipe over and over (altbier) because we like it. We consider beer to be a food product (flussiges Brot).