Monthly Grocery Expense

[lessisbest]

No, not a specific amount set yet. I am trying to find a happy medium between variety and price. I've been cutting down from our prior spending levels. The convenience foods were a real killer.

I got the most bang for the buck by:
1) Watching portion sizes. This goes especially for meat.
2) Switching out breakfast for old-fashioned oatmeal. We used to do the eggs, sausages, etc.
3) Watching the meat sales and using our freezer to stock-up when things are on sale.
4) Actually plating the meal instead of letting everyone serve themselves. This started because I was trying to prove more balanced meals, but the end result was that serving the recommended portion size of the more more expensive part of the meal (the meat usually) resulted in a less expensive meal overall.
5) I started breaking down bulk packages of meat into actual portions. For example, I would break down a "family" pack of chops into several 6-serving packages. In this way, I would be able to grab the right amount right off the bat. The 6 servings work great because it gives us 1 full meal and leftovers for lunches for the next day.

Just as I suspected, you are doing a lot of "right" things. If you need more inspiration and ideas, check out the Prudent Homemaker - http://theprudenthomemaker.com/. She feeds a family of nine and just raised her food budget by $25 for a total of $300/month. Her story is amazing.... especially her series - Eat For 40-Cents a Day.

[Blackdog Lin]

lessisbest: thanks so much for "theprudenthomemaker" link. I've just spent the last 40 minutes reading her and we are simpatico!

I've bookmarked her blog and look forward to making her blog a regular read.

[merince]

lessisbest: Thank you for the link. Same as Blackdog Lin - it is inspiring.

[catherine]

I'm with Blackdog Lin and merince: What a great website! Thank you for posting!

[Float On]

lessisbest - thanks for posting her website. I use to read that one several years ago....lost it...never found it again. I have a lot of catching up to do on her blog.

[SteveinMN]

1) Watching portion sizes. This goes especially for meat.
[snip]
4) Actually plating the meal instead of letting everyone serve themselves.

I've gotten to the point that I buy and store in multiples of "servings". Six ounces of meat/poultry/fish (minus bones) will feed me and DW for a meal. So I buy chickens and pork chops and the like accordingly.

One thing to watch -- I'm sure you know this -- is the trick of injecting the meat with a brine or even just water in the name of "tenderness". People don't realize they're paying for water at meat prices; if the cheap pork is $3 a pound but it's 12% brine, that's $3.36 a pound because most people won't reserve the cooking liquid for any other purpose.

I'm also a fan of soups, stews, stirfries -- all of them can hide a small portion of protein better than a piece of meat standing alone on a plate.

Finally, we've found that, for whatever reason, we eat less of good meat. When the chicken actually tastes like chicken, it seems far more satisfying than the almost-flavorless mass-market brands and it takes less of it for our brains to think, "I just ate chicken".

[Stella]

I cook for nine people (my husband, me six kids and my dad) and we spent between $500-$600 a month.

[domestic goddess]

Wow! What an inspiring thread. I haven't gotten all of it read, but I will. I'm in the somwhat unusual situation of going from cooking for 1 to cooking for 6. Well, 5 actually. The toddler doesn't really eat a whole lot, and doesn't make a lot of demands. I haven't tracked our food expenses lately; I'm a little afraid to find out. 2 of my grandchildren are old enough to have preferences, and expect that there will be lots of snacks. I try to cook and bake as much of them as I can, but I could bake every day and still not be able to make enough. My dsil works in construction. He is not at all overweight, but he eats an enormous amount of food at times, I guess because he burns so many calories. He has certain expectations about meals; he doesn't believe it is really a meal unless there is a big hunk of meat involved. Some nights I am too tired to cook, so dd often cooks those nights. She "heats up" rather than cooks, really. So our grocery basket has more pre-made items in it than I would like. Hoping I can get some time to do some OMAC or just make a few things to keep in the freezer for those nights when no one really wants to cook. They used to order pizza out about once a week, but that has pretty well come to an end. Lately, time has not been my friend. Last month, it was health. I was sick for the whole month of December. I haven't entirely caught on to the amount I need to make for the 6 of us, though most of the time now I do pretty well. I rarely eat out, and they have cut back quite a bit. Tomorrow I am going to make some waffles and pancakes for breakfasts, as the girls like to have those in the mornings before school. The 13 year old girl has started eating a good bit more than she did in the summer, as she is a cheerleader, and they both are practicing for a play, and the older girl is in DI, so she is often away from home at mealtime. Fortunately, they are both thin and very active. DD and I both chip in on groceries. They don't really like it when I want to buy ingredients, so I pick up most of those, like baking supplies. We eat a lot of fruit. I try to push that instead of snack foods; it gives them their sweet fix without all the sugar. We also buy grass fed beef and free range chicken and organic eggs and some organic fruits and veggies. I feel that if I can start making more things at home that it will really help. But I need to be tracking our food expenses as closely as I track other expenses, first. I might need to be revived when I see the totals!

[lessisbest]

Wow! What an inspiring thread. I haven't gotten all of it read, but I will. I'm in the somwhat unusual situation of going from cooking for 1 to cooking for 6. Well, 5 actually. The toddler doesn't really eat a whole lot, and doesn't make a lot of demands. I haven't tracked our food expenses lately; I'm a little afraid to find out. 2 of my grandchildren are old enough to have preferences, and expect that there will be lots of snacks. I try to cook and bake as much of them as I can, but I could bake every day and still not be able to make enough. My dsil works in construction. He is not at all overweight, but he eats an enormous amount of food at times, I guess because he burns so many calories. He has certain expectations about meals; he doesn't believe it is really a meal unless there is a big hunk of meat involved. Some nights I am too tired to cook, so dd often cooks those nights. She "heats up" rather than cooks, really. So our grocery basket has more pre-made items in it than I would like. Hoping I can get some time to do some OMAC or just make a few things to keep in the freezer for those nights when no one really wants to cook. They used to order pizza out about once a week, but that has pretty well come to an end. Lately, time has not been my friend. Last month, it was health. I was sick for the whole month of December. I haven't entirely caught on to the amount I need to make for the 6 of us, though most of the time now I do pretty well. I rarely eat out, and they have cut back quite a bit. Tomorrow I am going to make some waffles and pancakes for breakfasts, as the girls like to have those in the mornings before school. The 13 year old girl has started eating a good bit more than she did in the summer, as she is a cheerleader, and they both are practicing for a play, and the older girl is in DI, so she is often away from home at mealtime. Fortunately, they are both thin and very active. DD and I both chip in on groceries. They don't really like it when I want to buy ingredients, so I pick up most of those, like baking supplies. We eat a lot of fruit. I try to push that instead of snack foods; it gives them their sweet fix without all the sugar. We also buy grass fed beef and free range chicken and organic eggs and some organic fruits and veggies. I feel that if I can start making more things at home that it will really help. But I need to be tracking our food expenses as closely as I track other expenses, first. I might need to be revived when I see the totals!

I know it's rather old-fashioned and out of style, but if you can incorporate broth into meals by having a cup of light soup first, then eating the meal, I bet you be able to cut the high-costing meat a little, and everyone would benefit from the health benefits. m

Another idea is to mix the meat with more low-costing meat substitutes (eggs, beans, cheese). Mix a small amount of chicken with cannellini beans in a recipe like Tuscan Chicken, which is also loaded with veggies (,http://www.bettycrocker.com/videos/v...nd-white-beans. I add all kinds of vegetables to this recipe, not just the ones mentioned. Top a pizza with refried beans and only a small amount of meat. Mix a small amount of ground beef or turkey with refried beans for Mexican Entrees, make hearty bean burgers (I keep a stack of them in the freezer at all times). Have baked potatoes topped with a hearty vegetarian chili. The same chili can be used to make Taco Salad (a la Wendy's style).

When our kids were at home, each one of them was responsible for one dinner each week and hubby usually made one meal on the weekend. If they neglected their turn as chef, they had to pay to take everyone out to dinner (which only happened once). Each meal had to be served completely done, table properly set, and had to include food from all the food groups. Some of our favorite times together were sitting around the kitchen table working out a meal plan for the week and collecting and trying new recipes. Everyone at our house had their own 3x5 recipe box.

[Teacher Terry]

I make some casseroles that only take a pound of meat so these are a great way to save $ too if your family likes casseroles.