Food hacks to deal with rising food prices/inflation

[Anonymous]

There's a $10 coupon off when your buy $50+ at Giant this week.

I don't eat red meat, but recently found half price ground turkey and wild caught salmon at Giant that expired in one to two days. I put them in the freezer immediately, and they were just fine.

Unless they've just gone up, organic berries are far cheaper at Target than grocery stores.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:1. I cook from scratch with in season foods
2. We almost only buy proteins on sale, and favor larger cuts (pork butt; bone-in turkey breast) that I can roast or smoke and will last many meals.
3. Protein is an accent, not a main event.

In addition to inflation, climate and logistical issues are making some foods scarce. I think we need to be adaptable with recipes.

I really wish the fresh food is cheaper myth would die. Maybe that was true at some point in history, but processed and frozen food is far cheaper than fresh fruits and vegetables. There are plenty of great reason to from scratch, but cost savings are not one of them

It's cheaper in the sense that it tastes better, so people will eat more of it compared to processed/canned veg. Plus it's healthier, so you will pay less in health costs in the end than if you just ate processed food. Finally, you can indeed get very cheap fresh food, if you know where to look. Grocery store apps that are giving way close to expired fresh food away for cheap, farmer's market end of the day sales, buying in season, etc. I use these options all the time.

[Anonymous]

I buy bulk dry beans and cook them in the Instant Pot. Beans cooked this way taste so much better than canned and are so ridiculously cheap, it almost feels like I'm eating for free.

[Anonymous]

I am much more mindful of leftovers, limit takeout, always bring lunch to work - a great way to eat up a mix of leftovers. We have been cutting back on red meat for a decade now and continue to do so. But fish is out indulgence.
For PPs who say frozen/canned veggies are less healthy - that’s just not true, especially for frozen:

[Anonymous]

I add lentils to my ground beef when I make tacos or stuffed peppers.

[Anonymous]

We found that buyIng frozen berries instead of fresh saves a lot of $ and prevents waste since berries tend to go bad fast.

[Anonymous]

1) More meatless meals. Beans and rice are an excellent protein replacement and dirt cheap. We have beans and rice of some variety at least once a week. Combine with sautéed veggies and make sure everything is well seasoned and this is a very inexpensive, nutritious, and delicious meal. Eat it twice a week and you're talking dinner for the family for two nights for less than $10.

2) Shop sales. Harris Teeter has the best BoGo deals so it's a good place to stock up on certain staples, especially anything you go through fast or that is shelf stable. I've found the best deals there on cheese, berries, yogurt, butter, crackers and kid snacks. Meanwhile Whole Foods has the best deals on meat, including organic -- you just have to know what to buy. I like their ground beef and find it to be higher quality than what I find elsewhere, but can regularly get a pound for $6 or less which is a good price, it can cost $8 or $9 elsewhere. Trader Joe's is good for frozen foods and a lot of dry goods -- nuts, lentils, pasta. I also often find deals there on canned goods and the quality is good.

3) Check out the food section at Target or Walmart if you go for something else. They often have very good deals on stuff for kid's lunches or snack duty, as well as some frozen foods. You can often buy things in bulk there, like a box of 20 applesauce for $8, compared to a box of 6 for $3 at the grocery store. Really good deals.

Also just cooking more, eat out less, eat leftovers whenever possible (it's always more efficient to double a recipe for leftovers or the freezer than to make a separate meal because you will be more efficient with ingredients this way).

Look for "free money" where you can find it. Coupons, filling out a survey for a grocery store gift card, using the fuel points from the store card. If you do all of this, it adds up and you will see your expenditures decrease.

It's hard at first but then you get used to it and don't even think about it, so you wind up saving money with basically no additional effort. I can go to the store and buy three ingredients for $6, combine with dry and canned goods at home, and have a tasty and satisfying dinner for three people for two nights ready in 30-40 minutes. It just takes practice.

[Anonymous]

Lately I've been buying all my staples on Amazon - a lot cheaper than the grocery store for just about everything - cereals, spices, cookies and snacks for the kids - all cheaper.

[Anonymous]

1) Omaha Steaks are really gross, terrible quality meat, and 2) they're still more expensive than decent steak at Costco.

Buy some ground beef or beans if you want money saving hacks. "Shop sales for terrible meat shipped next-day air" is some Boomer Susceptibility to Targeted Advertising nonsense.

[Anonymous]

Plan your menus around sales. Be very committed to eating leftovers.

[Anonymous]

+1 to less meat. It is important to cut back if you don't want prices to climb even higher when climate disasters continue because of our insatiable appetite for meat and plastics.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Here’s a “hack” for you, OP.
Stop eating so much meat.

+1. It also saves you money on medical bills down the road

For real. Red meat is terrible for you. No one should be eating it regardless of price.


We generally don’t eat much meat. When I do buy meat, I buy a whole chicken or two and roast them. Otherwise, I focus our meals on lentils, beans (not canned), brown rice, quinoa, and other whole grains that contain a fair amount of protein. Plus in season vegetables or frozen vegetables. I make tomato sauce (no spices, just olive oil, garlic, salt) regularly and then use it for various things like pasta dishes, stews, pizza, curries- I add different spices or reduce it depending on what I’m making

[Anonymous]

Make my own peanut butter (half the price, healthier, takes 5 mins)
Make coffee and smoothies at home more often
Cooking more simple, hearty meals (rice + egg + kimchi + dried anchovies, pasta + spinach + canned tuna, veggie + ground turkey soup)
Buy meat and veggies when deeply discounted and cook/freeze
Plain yogurt + fruit jam instead of the individual packs
A lot less orange juice

I actually really enjoyed cooking/eating like this when I was just out of college and felt I was at my healthiest then as well. Now it's a matter of squeezing it all in with picky eaters and less time...

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:1) Omaha Steaks are really gross, terrible quality meat, and 2) they're still more expensive than decent steak at Costco.

Buy some ground beef or beans if you want money saving hacks. "Shop sales for terrible meat shipped next-day air" is some Boomer Susceptibility to Targeted Advertising nonsense.

I thought the same thing

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:What ideas/changes have you made to deal with/react to rising food prices?

For us, I order meats when they are on sale at Omaha Steaks, Kansas City Steaks and Schwanns + keep them in our freezer and have enough food for a month (small fridge/freezer). Then, when my dh goes to store,we do not have any meat costs. I do not eat meat, so we save that way too. Empty-nesters.

What do you do?

Don’t throw away ends and pieces from vegetables, meat bones, fish bones- freeze and use for stock.

Turning leftovers into soup is a great way to extend your resources.

Add rice and beans to dishes- or noodles.

Make dishes in larger quantities and freeze some for later. Larger packages quantities are usually cheaper per pound. Easy to make and freeze.

Buy half a cow or kill your own deer to save money on meat. Personally I’m not sure Omaha steaks could beat the price of a local farmer or butcher but I’ve never checked.

Eat squirrels.

If you can’t handle that much meat buy large cuts instead of precut. A whole chicken is usually cheaper than a pack of legs and you are left with a beautiful carcass to make soup.

Buy vegetables from the seconds section or in bulk from local farmer in season and process and can or freeze immediately to avoid buying overpriced low-quality frozen or canned store vegetables.

Buy larger bags of staples like rice, sugar, flour and store properly.

Avoid anything processed, it costs more, make it yourself. Except crackers, haven’t figured those out yet.

Freeze herbs in ice cube trays when they are in season. Put in ziplock bags and take out as needed. Or dry your own herbs, cheaper and lasts longer than buying. If you do buy get in bulk and freeze some or share with neighbors.

Grow a garden. Can, freeze, share, sell extras.

Shop at farms to get better fruit and vegetable prices. Ask for seconds of things like peaches or apples that you can turn into something else like canned pie filling or apple sauce. Can get a bushel of juice apples locally for under $12, usually at least half are edible and rest are good for making other things. Ask about late season apples, if stored in a cool place will last 3-5 months.

Potatoes can be stored in a way that lasts months too, look it up.

Don’t buy individual packages of items. Things like oatmeal or fruit cups, buy the biggest size you can reasonably use and portion out what you need.

Stock up on staples when they are on sale.

Freeze things like butter, oatmeal, flour, etc to extend shelf life. Just bag it good and remember to rotate your stock and clean it out about once a year.

Don’t buy prepackaged, precut, pre marinated, pre anything, do it yourself.

Find a discount grocery store and stock up on good stuff. Not a Costco a discount grocery. Wholesale food service retailers can be useful too, restaurant supply store type places.

Don’t waste good dinner scraps, make an ongoing soup pot and throw them in instead of throwing into the trash. Except bitter vegetables pretty much anything makes good soup. No rules. And the heat will kill the germs so don’t freak out about that.

Get a big freezer and some extra shelves to hold all your goods.

Spend time to save money or spend money to save time.

Always share with your neighbors.