Enjoying the best quality food and saving money may not always feel as though it is possible, but that simply isn’t the case. There are many ways that even the most devoted foodie can still enjoy tucking into delicious meals without breaking the bank – from preparing your meals in advance, keeping an eye on weekly ads and buying in bulk, here are some of our best money-saving tips that every foodie should know.
TIP #1 Buy Ingredients in Bulk
If you know that there is an ingredient that you are likely to use again and again, then don’t be afraid to buy in bulk for future use. Yes, while this may seem more expensive at first, especially if you are the type of person who strictly buys what they need throughout the week, in the long run, this will work out so much cheaper.
Items such as pasta, rice and wholefoods come with great shelf lives, so you need not worry about cramming them into every meal before they go off. Find a place to store them and, when you come to think about the meals you want during the week, that is one less thing you will have to put on your grocery list.
TIP #2 Look for Discounts
Discounts are your friend and you should never head to any grocery store before looking at any savings there are to be had. For example, Kroger weekly ads listed on Kimbino.com throw up some fantastic bargains, while there is also the tried and trusted method of cutting out coupons in magazines and newspapers.
Alternatively, for those that prefer to purchase their groceries online, there are several apps and web browser extensions available that will automatically search for discount codes for you to use. Before confirming your order, a pop up will appear in the corner of your screen with a code for you to use that could just save you a small fortune.
TIP #3 Don’t Allow Leftovers to Go to Waste
We are constantly reminded of the need to reduce our waste and that message couldn’t be truer. Americans discard almost 40 million tons of food waste every year, according to RTS, and the reality is that most of it could have been put to use.
There are lots of fantastic recipes you can try with leftover foods, from warming soups, delicious pizzas and curry dishes. Why throw away food when you could easily make use of it for lunch or supper the next day? It’s not at all ecological or economical.
TIP #4 Batch Cooking
Batch cooking and freezing meals is a fantastic way of saving money, while still enjoying your favourite dishes throughout the week. If you have had a long day at the office or the kids have been extra demanding, you probably don’t feel like spending an hour or so cooking in the kitchen and you go ahead and order a pizza.
Not only does that get expensive, because pizza delivery isn’t exactly cheap, but it is far from healthy, too. Dedicating an afternoon or an evening where you can cook all your meals throughout the week and freeze them means that all you have to do is pull them out of the freezer and into the microwave. This can even be done with cuts of meat such as chicken, beef and pork chops.
TIP #5 Make a Budget and Stick to it
Set yourself a weekly budget for how much you want to spend on food and divide that between each meal and head you are cooking for. Doing so can make your dollar stretch further than you ever thought possible and it doesn’t mean skimping on quality.
This takes us back to tips one and two, where we encouraged you to buy in bulk and look at weekly ads from Kroger or other shops with weekly flyers, such as Aldi, Publix or Walgreens to help with the costs of your groceries. Set a budget, plan the meals you will be cooking for that week and consider the costs of the ingredients you will need to buy. Ideally, you can look to use the same ingredients in more than one meal. Utilizing these money-saving tips will help to keep the costs of your groceries down, as well as helping you and your family to eat healthier without having to resort to greasy fast-food. That has to be considered as a win-win!
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