What do you make at home to SAVE MONEY?

Home made pesto (no cheese)- just whip up some basil, garlic and pine nuts in a blender. Cheap, cheerful and low cal, you need less than a spoon to flavour your pasta/gnocchi

Homemade larabar recipies . For the cost of the store bough ones ($2.50 each), the cost of the ingredients to make them makes me enough for a week or two.

$700 a month for JUST YOU? How!? I shop organic and my food bill's only around $100-$200 a month for just me. I buy things that I can make in bulk and use over a lot of meals, like spagetti. I also buy basic ingredients that can DO a lot things, like eggs, chicken, rice and beans. Of course, I have 3 roommates and they all grocery shop too, so occasionally I'll use some of their food or they'll make dinner and share. But man, $700?

Homemade sauces are a big saver in my house! Instead of buying jars of curry/bolognase/stir fry sauces every week I just have a whole collection of spices. Its so easy to whip up a nice sauce using spices and tinned tomatoes/pureed veg. I also make my own jams - free berrys and a bag of sugar = 3 or 4 nice pots of jam for the winter.
I buy a big bag of flour and have eggs on hand at all times to make breads/pasta/cookies as I need them.

I buy a tonne of fresh fruit and veg and freeze any fruit I think I might not get through and use it later in smoothies or baking.

Ooh also dried beans! Instead of a euro per tin I just get a big bag of each and boil them up for added protein and filler in meals My saviour on days I havent been to the butchers

I dont buy much processed food as fresh is best

I make stuff in my slow cooker, makes loads & uses cheap ingredients & cuts of meat. I eat one meal from it & freeze the rest. Works out really cheap. I use veg that is in season & cheap in the shops to make fresh soups, again freezing some of it. Homemade smoothies using own brand orange juice & frozen berries which are really cheap compared to shop bought smoothies (and nicer).

I live on my own a lot of the time & would be lost without my freezer. What on earth do you buy that comes to $700 just for you? When I was out of work a few months ago I only spent about £40 a month on shopping.

Okay, my $700 food bill per month (no eating out and just me) is pretty ridiculous. I'm looking for ways to make it cheaper...also to get others thinking about ways to save money!

So, what do you make at home instead of buying premade?

Some ideas:
-homemade tabbouleh ($5 for 4-5 cups vs. $3.50 for 6oz...that's a huge savings)
-homemade hummus ($2-3 for 1.5 cups vs. $3-4 for 6oz)

holy smokes......I can feed my hubby, 2 kids and myself for 600$ a month but 800$ if we want to splurge on fun treats.....what the heck do you eat!!!! ??

anyway, I make almost all meals from scratch, I do stirfries, chili, soups, stews, I have made bread, desserts (muffins, cakes, brownies, cookies, fruity polenta etc) salad dressing for myself, I've made my own deoderant, lotion, lipbalm and cleaning supplies but don't always, but mostly I shop sales now and find that easier as I don't always have time to make the things I want. So I do buy protein bars and fruit snacks, canned beans (instead of dry), apple sauce, juice, as well as all the produce/perishables and it just all fits into the budget if I shop and only buy what we need and not everything we want.

Coffee/lattes, pizza sauce (and pizza)

I probably save the most by making all my coffee and espresso drinks at home. My machine cost around $100 when I bought it a decade ago, but now they have very similar machines at Target for around $40.

The Brita was a huge money saver as well--no more bottled water, ever.

I also take food with me whenever possible. It was definitely worth the $15 for a cooler bag, the $3 for ice packs and the $10 or so I spent to beef up my collection of storage containers. If your lunches and dinners are made at home and then packed, they are always cheaper and healthier than a frozen entree or a sandwich shop option. Snacks are much cheaper that way as well.

I make my own frozen dinners. It's just as easy to make 2 lasagnas as it is to make one - I freeze the 2nd one for a busy night. I do the same with chicken spaghetti.

Buy whole chickens at .77/# (my local grocer runs that sale every 2-3 months). Sprinkle with s&p, stuff with lemons, onions, & thyme, roast until done. Chop chicken, freeze in individual portions for salads, soups, tacos, enchiladas, sandwiches, ect. Save the roasted bones with veggie scraps - onion skins/tops/bottoms, carrot tops & peels, herb stems, celery roots, ect - in a bag in the freezer. Boil down for stock when full, strain, & freeze. Seafood stock: fish bones & shrimp heads/peels. Beef stock: beef bones, gristle, & fat.

My new favorite breakfast costs .47/serving - 2 ingredient pancakes. Mash one banana, add 2 beaten eggs, cook in a non-stick greased pan. 265 calories for the whole batch, 15g protein.

Shop your circulars, & shop what's in season. Sprout's Farmers Market is awesome if you have one close; they run at least 2-3 hormone/antibiotic-free proteins for super cheap every week. This week, we're getting salmon for $4.99/#. That's a treat for us because it's more expensive than our usual protein choices, but it's a great price for salmon.

Invest in a set of Tupperware and use it to pack your own lunches & snacks.

Make your own microwave popcorn with a paper lunch sack and 2-3 tbsp of kernels. Fold the bag closed 3-4 times, leaving plenty of room for the popcorn to expand. Cook as usual. (This saves ALOT of $ over traditional microwave popcorn!)

Another of local grocer, HEB, runs "meal deals." If you buy 1 or 2 ingredients, you get 4-6 other items free. I combine these offers with coupons and save even more money.

Last but not least, check out poorgirleatswell.com. That chick is a treasuretrove of information, healthy recipes, & money saving tips.