by Texas Homesteader ~
*includes affiliate link

I’m sharing 12 easy ways to save on groceries. This is good for the environment AND good for your budget. The good news is that there are many super simple ways to make the most of your food dollars.

(Note: Some links in this post are for further information from earlier posts I’ve written. But links preceded with * are affiliate links. If you click them and buy something (almost anything, not just the item noted) I could receive a tiny commission. But the price you pay will NOT change. It’s an easy way to support this blog without anything coming out of your pocket. So click often! Thank you!)  

My Motivation For Cutting Back

Today we’re looking at trimming waste from your grocery budget. We all may have different reasons for wanting to cut back.

Maybe a large unexpected bill needs to be paid, maybe you’re saving up for a new home or car. Or maybe there’s too much month and just not quite enough money to get to the end of it.

For me the motivation was a desire to have a lighter footprint. And convenience foods came with a shocking amount of over-packaged waste.  

It’s interesting though that my desire to have a lighter footprint also saved substantial amounts of money from our grocery budget.

Whatever your motivation, one of the worst budget hits is wasted food. So make sure all the food you buy goes to fulfilling your family’s nutritional requirements.

As I mentioned my goal was initially borne from environmental awareness. It bothered me to see multiple mammoth-sized trash cans lined up at the curb at each and every house TWICE A WEEK – every week – back when we lived in the city. All that trash, where does it come from?

PreCycling Is Better Than Recycling

I started noticing where our home’s trash came from and it was shocking to see the over-packaged waste in our consumer products.

So I started mindfully reducing the amount of trash I brought into our home. Of course I was already recycling everything I could.

But recycling – although better than landfill-bound trash – is still trash needing to be dealt with. 

I became more focused on PREcycling. That is, not bringing it into the house to begin with.

Boxes and cans of convenience foods were replaced with real honest-to-goodness ingredients. And I began cooking simple meals from scratch.

And those non-recyclable cups from my favorite morning yogurt were eliminated by learning to make my own homemade yogurt in single-serving reusable 1/2-pint canning jars. 

Each new step I made was successful in eliminating trash from going to the landfill. That made my eco-warrior heart happy. But amazingly those steps also saved lots of money from our grocery budget.

Over the years I’ve gained more & more confidence to produce for myself those things I used to buy. I now typically make my meals, desserts &  spice mixes from scratch.

Now lest you be very misled yes, convenience foods make an appearance from time to time in my kitchen. For me it’s all about moderation and I’m certainly no Super Woman.

But here are many ways I’ve been able to save lots of money on our grocery budget:

Cook-Once Eat-Twice

Cook-Once, Eat-Twice is where you make more of a main entrée than you’ll eat at one sitting. So go ahead & make a LOT of that favorite entrée tonight. 

Enjoy a portion for supper & freeze the rest in portion-sized servings. Now home-cooked healthy meals are as close as your freezer.

Just pull out your main dish the night before and allow it to thaw overnight in the fridge. Then for supper all you have to do is heat up your main dish, add a couple of veggie sides or some quick & easy Roasted Vegetables and voila.

See what I mean? Cook-Once, Eat-Twice method of cooking means Supper from scratch on the table in literally minutes!

Planned leftovers

Planned Leftovers is similar to Cook-Once, Eat-Twice method of cooking. Cooking with planned leftovers means you’re cooking more of a main ingredient that you will later turn into a completely different meal.

For instance, that leftover roast you enjoyed tonight can be turned into pulled pork BBQ  or Carnitas Tacos another night. 

Leftover mashed potatoes can be made into potato cakes. And leftover chicken can be turned into spicy Chicken Tortilla Soup.

Make Soup!

Keep a container in the freezer and add bits of leftover food. You can even keep juice drained from cans of veggies & you’ll be on your way to a great starter point for homemade soup. 

I have Several Soup Recipes that we love. Most involve adding some sort of leftovers. And I like to make endless soup to keep me in hot lunches for a week. It’s EASY, healthy & very inexpensive!

Store Leftovers in Repurposed Glass Containers 

That leftover food has already been bought and prepared. So all the hard work has already been done. 

Don’t let those leftovers sit in the fridge until they become a science fair experiment. Keep ’em in repurposed Glass Jars. That way you can see ’em & eat those leftovers either for supper the next night or maybe for lunch instead of eating out.

Use Stale Food in Another Dish

Turn that stale bread into french toast or bread crumbs.

Lightly-soured milk can be made into homemade Cottage Cheese. Or it’s good for any baked good that calls for buttermilk such as biscuits or pancakes too.

And potatoes that are starting to get soft can be cooked into mashed potatoes. You get the idea – use it up!

Use ALL Of Your Food

Washed veggie peelings or the bones / skin of chicken, turkey or steak can be made into healthy broth.

By following my procedure, that delicious broth’s lower in fat too!

Grow a Garden for Fresh Veggies

This one gets bonus points for exercise too since gardening often results in a healthy workout as well. Oh and a garden is easy on the eyes too!

Preserve the Food You Can’t Eat Fresh

You can make that produce last for months by either canning, freezing, dehydrating. Start small and expand as you gain confidence.

Don’t Buy More Than You Can Eat

No need to just grab that entire bunch of bananas and head for the register. It’s ok to pull off 3-4 from the bunch if that’s all you’ll eat before they go bad.

And I’ve found that oftentimes when I’m buying fruit by the pound I get more value buying the smaller-sized bananas, apples, etc. Typically when eaten as a snack it’s one fruit, large or small.  I can get more smaller fruits by the pound than larger ones.

Homemade Things Instead Of Buying Premade

Buy popsicle molds and make your own popsicles using sweetened yogurt, the syrup drained from canned fruits, or this recipe for fudgesicles.

A fresh jalapeno or sliced cucumber can go into an empty jalapeno or pickle jar. The brine leftover in those empty jars will pickle that fresh cucumber or those jalapenos for very little cost and with no waste.

Choose Less Expensive Snacks

Expensive colas were replaced with sun-brewed tea. (Trifecta win – hugely less expensive, much healthier and less trash since the teabag just goes into my * tumbling composter)

Popcorn is a fun inexpensive snack but I hated the waste! So we buy a bag of popcorn kernels for about a dollar and it pops up GALLONS of Popcorn with very little landfill waste.

Coupons Don’t Always Save Money

Use coupons only when they save money over buying the generic brand. Or when buying those name-brands that really matter to you.

You’re not really saving money if you’re only paying more for the name on the package.

These tips worked great for keeping our grocery budget low. But we’re all in different places in our lives. What works well for an empty-nester family might not work as well for a young family just starting out.

Let’s learn from each other. Ware some of your favorite ways to save those hard earned dollars on your grocery budget?

~TxH~

Links In This Post:

• Reducing Plastic By PREcycling
• Stovetop Homemade Yogurt Recipe
• Save Time With Cook-Once, Eat-Twice Method Of Cooking
• Quick & Easy Roasted Vegetables
• Pulled Pork BBQ
• Planned Leftovers: Carnitas Tacos Using Leftover Roast
• Leftover Mashed Potatoes Into Potato Cakes
• Planned Leftovers: Chicken Tortilla Soup
• Free Veggie Broth Hack 
• Several Soup Recipes
• Endless Soup For Warm Nutrition
• Reducing Plastic – Use Glass Jars In The Refrigerator
• Stale Bread Into French Toast
• Sour Milk Into Cottage Cheese
• Homemade Pancakes
• Easy Chicken Broth
• Vegetable Gardening Can Change Your Life
• Healthier Fudgesicles
• * Tumbling Composter
• Reducing Waste With Microwave Popcorn

Other Budget-Stretching Articles

• Do You Get What You Paid For, Or Pay More For Nothing?
• Buying Products Used: Good For Your Budget
• 12 Easy Ways To Save On Groceries
• Homemade Meals Every Day – The EASY Way!
• MYO Pet Stain Carpet Cleaner
• Saving Money On TV
• Easy Ways To Save Money On Electricity
• Our 3 Favorite Rainwater Catchment Systems
• Easiest Self-Sufficiency Steps To Take NOW!
• Repurposing An Empty Coffee Canister To A Cute, Country Breadbox
• Repurposing Items To New Life
• …And MUCH More!!

*See ALL Our Frugality Articles*

Other Low-Waste Stories

• Our Low-Waste Coffee
• No-Waste Citrus Juice For Recipes
• Don’t Waste Those Onion Trimmings
• Ditch The Plastic – Using Glass In The Refrigerator
• 5 Zero-Waste Products We Love
• Food Waste in America: What Do Those Dates Mean?
• Zero-Waste Hygiene – Using A Safety Razor
• Buying Products Used: Good For Your Budget & The Environment
• Eliminate Plastic Produce Bags

*All Eco-Friendly Posts*

Other Low-Waste Stories

• Our Low-Waste Coffee
• No-Waste Citrus Juice For Recipes
• Don’t Waste Those Onion Trimmings
• Ditch The Plastic – Using Glass In The Refrigerator
• 5 Zero-Waste Products We Love
• Food Waste in America: What Do Those Dates Mean?
• Zero-Waste Hygiene – Using A Safety Razor
• Buying Products Used: Good For Your Budget & The Environment
• Eliminate Plastic Produce Bags

*All Eco-Friendly Posts*

 

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