Eating well on a budget

I see a lot of posts asking for suggestions on how to eat healthy on a budget and wanted to share some tips I have learned. I absolutely do not know everything and would be grateful if y’all have anything else to share.

WARNING: this is going to be a long post but I’ll break it up into sections for easier reading.

GENERAL TIPS:
•Couponing does help. I am far from an extreme couponer but I do make use of them but only for things I want/need. Coupons are rarely available for healthy food items but they are plentiful for paper and cleaning products, condiments, and pharmacy items. The key to making it work financially is being able to buy a lot of something when it’s on sale and you have coupons. I try to keep about 20% of our budget available for such items so I can get a really awesome deal.

•Cooking/making/growing as much as possible yourself is always cheaper and generally healthier. My personal motto at the grocery is, if it comes in a package or box, I can make it myself and it will taste better and be cheaper.

•Your freezer is your friend. If I make something that works out to 5 servings, it will be just as easy to make 20 servings and freeze the extra for later. One of the sweetest compliments I ever got was from a new friend visiting and she told me I reminded her of her Jewish Aunt, “You’re hungry? What would you like? Hamburger, stew, beans, chili, meatballs, soup, muffins, banana bread? Let’s see what we have in the freezer.” Having pre-made meals in the freezer can be a life (and diet) saver after a long day at work mid-week. A small chest freezer will run you about $100-200 but it’s worth the investment.

•Investing in some decent cookware will actually save you money in the future. For years I spent $40-80 on super cheap cookware sets from Walmart, etc. but they only last 1-2 years if you’re lucky. In some cases I have destroyed frying pans in less than 3 months. Two pieces that will get you through almost any dish are a cast iron dutch oven and cast iron frying pan. I got these at my local grocery for $35 and $20 and rarely use anything else. This time of year is a great time to get good quality cookware on sale. Christmas list? A few other things that will come in handy are decent bamboo cooking utensils, a silicon spatula (it’s worth paying $8, it will last forever), a meat thermometer, a turkey baster (not just for turkeys), cookie sheet, muffin pan, and a pyrex baking pan. If you buy quality materials, you should only pay ~$200 for everything you need and they will last FOREVER!

•I have recently discovered that glass storage containers last a lot longer than Tupperware. Of course, there are times when glass will not be appropriate but more and more I have been using glass quart jars for storage instead of plastic containers. Like the cookware, it’s a higher initial investment but they last forever.

MEATS (including seafood):
•Buy lots of meat when it’s on sale and the family packs are always cheaper. You can separate things at home before freezing to make it easier to deal with. I have been known to buy 3-5 turkeys this time of year because they are so cheap. I love turkey and a Saturday turkey feast in March or June is just as exciting as in the fall.

•Concerning poultry and seafood, buying the entire animal is generally cheaper and cooking the whole animal tastes better. In poultry a lot of the flavor is in the bones and skin, so the breast off a whole roasted chicken will taste way better than the prepackaged boneless, skinless chicken breasts. However, roasting a whole chicken every night is not something I have time for. I usually buy the split chicken breasts when they are on sale for </= $1/lb. I will spend $15-20 on chicken, open the packages when I get home and freeze them individually for convenience. Other great options for chicken are the family packs of chicken thighs and the whole frying chickens. You can cut up a whole chicken and then freeze it. Cut up, it will cook faster than whole.

•In seafood, the flavor is in the skin, shell, and head. Baking a whole fish or boiling whole shrimp or crabs is much more flavorful than using the pre-cleaned/cut/cooked seafood in the frozen isle. Concerning shrimp, living in New Orleans (and marrying a man from Mississippi) has ruined me. I won’t eat shrimp unless it’s fresh, whole, Gulf shrimp. Anything else will just be a disappointment.

•Another benefit to the whole animal is the broth. Boil the bones, shells, carcass for 2-3 hours, strain, and put in containers to freeze. Every dish I’ve ever made tastes better when made with broth instead of water.

•Concerning beef and pork, the cheaper cuts of meat are tougher, that’s why they are cheaper. You can counteract this by cooking them slowly. A super cheap beef round roast (~$1-2/lb) will be delicious after simmering in the slow cooker (crock pot) all day. SAVE the liquid from the pot! That will be the most delicious broth for your next meal.

VEGETABLES:
•Buy in season! This will make a huge difference in cost, especially if you are trying to buy organic or from the farmers, etc.

•For veg like green beans, peas, and corn, I buy them from the farmer’s market in season, clean and freeze them for later.

•For the leaf veg and things like bell peppers and cucumber after they are cut, store them in the fridge in a loosely closed ziplock (don’t squeeze the air out) with a paper towel and they will last a long time. I love spinach but never buy the prewashed kind with the other fancy salad mixes. I buy bunch spinach, which is usually over by the other lettuces. I pinch off the stems, wash it, shake it dry in a dish towel, and put in a ziplock with a paper towel. It will last up to 3wks in the fridge, maybe longer. Difference in price is AMAZING! Bagged baby spinach is easily $3-4 and the bunched spinach will give you twice as much for ~$1.25.

•Celery – yes, it deserves its own bullet. In New Orleans, I learned the holy trinity to cooking is chopped onion, green pepper, and celery but celery always wilted (went saggy) in the fridge. Cut off the bottom (not too much) and put it in a big cup with a little water in the fridge. It will stay crispy and fresh for a long time. In the holy trinity, use the celery leaves. Just chop them up like the stems and toss them in or you can use them on their own in salads. The leaves have more flavor than the stems.

FRUIT:
•Buy in season! This will make a huge difference in cost, especially if you are trying to buy organic or from the farmers, etc.

•Frozen fruit from the grocery is really expensive. You can make your own in the summer and it will last all winter. This year was a great year for strawberries. Every trip, I bought 4-8 quarts, trimmed off the stems, washed them, and froze them in ziplocks.

•Often at the end of the season, you can buy fruit for super cheap. I buy tons of it and freeze it. Just about any fruit can be frozen. Peaches, nectarines, plums, blueberries, melon, grapes, strawberries, anything! Frozen fruit is a great snack on its own, can be used in smoothies, or thawed and used for muffins, pies, exciting chicken dish, etc.

•Over rip banana’s also go in the freezer at our house. I use them to make muffins or bread or whatever. If you’re a gardener, you can also bury them under your roses and the potassium will boost the number of blooms.

FINAL TIPS:
•If you read the whole post, you have probably noticed that I use A LOT of ziplocks. I actually wash and reuse them because I go through so many. The ones I store meat in, I usually throw away but the ones that contain fruit and veg, I just wash them in warm soapy water, rinse well, and prop them open on some cups to dry. They are perfectly good for 4-5 uses in general before they start to fall apart.