Cheap Grocery Advice

[Yeshuasdaughter]

This is a thread where we can share advice for saving money on groceries.

Also we can talk canning, freezing, and other food prep and storage tips.

Life's expensive right now. Let's ease each other's burdens.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Spices are really expensive, but if your grocery has Hispanic foods, look for your spices there. They are much cheaper.

That also goes for snack foods. The best tortilla chips are a Hispanic brand and only $2 for a large bag. Other brands are twice that.

 

[Yeshuasdaughter]

There is a grocery store that's marketed to the food service industry. It's called the US Foods CHEF'STORE. (Formerly known as Cash and Carry Smart Foodservice).

I get such amazing deals on meat, cheese, and eggs there.

You will have to buy a large quantity of meat and cut it yourself into steaks, roasts, or stew meat.

If you eat it, you can find pork for as low as a dollar or two a pound. Beef for around three a pound. So cheap!

I just bought ten pounds of hamburger for under thirty dollars- which is cheaper than Win-Co.

Five pounds of shredded Monterrey Jack for fifteen dollars.

Five dozen brown eggs for fourteen dollars.

They also have excellent deals on bread and veggies/fruit.

And other groceries.

They don't accept food stamps though. Cash or card only.

 

[AndyFBlues]

There is a Trader Joe's near me that offers lower prices than most of the other stores in my area.

 

[Shamar]

This is a thread where we can share advice for saving money on groceries.

Also we can talk canning, freezing, and other food prep and storage tips.

Life's expensive right now. Let's ease each other's burdens.

My wife determined that bread from the grocery store is overpriced and barely edible. She now makes all of our bread at home for a fraction of the grocery store price. And it is a much better tasting bread.

 

[Aspychata]

I started supplementing protein powder because sometimes my food tastes change, and all of a sudden, l won't eat what l just bought. But there are coffee protein drinks, there are smoothie protein drinks, there is unflavored protein powders, etc.

I check for new recipes for things that can get boring after a while. Like deviled egg sandwiches and endless amounts of other things l may eat over and over. I enjoy black bean burgers, loaded up with condiments. I think l will try meat loaf using black beans, and maybe textured faux meat mixed in.

I shop at all types of stores because you just never know where you will find excellent organic choices. I found a huge bag of organic red lentils at a store that imports from India for just over five dollars.

Next l want to try making salad dressing from tofu blended with an emulsion blender, and flavor with ranch dressing powder.

Another savings has been ordering from Weee - an Asian store that delivers right to my door. Their prices are quite reasonable. I just ordered a huge 1 lb bag of sweet potato noodles for 4.99, and the carb total was like 15 carbs. Sweet potatoes is the only ingredient, and they are very filling.

 

[FilterFreq]

Drinking black coffee really reduced my grocery bill. I already eat as cheaply as I possibly can (which means whole foods I can cook at home), but just getting whole bean coffee and a grinder really saves me quite a lot.

Even decent coffee is cheaper this way, it seems. I thought I hated black coffee, too, but certain brands are pretty awesome. Plus, if that sounds too acidic, cold brewing is always an option.

 

[Rachie]

Food has gone up so much where I live and elsewhere it seems as well. All you can do sometimes is shop around when things go on offer, but it can be hard to track and do all unless you wish to visit several supermarkets which would be terrible for me. I personally do not like visiting supermarkets and prefer to get delivery unless a local shop like Tesco Express usually. Things can go on offer in the UK special deals. I try and get stuff for the things I buy on offer but it is not always possible. I cannot often get to a shop for health reasons so will pay inflated prices for basic stuff from Deliveroo delivery bike company from like co-op or Waitrose in the UK. It just happened to me today as my dad is visiting and I needed to buy some food for him. My eyes were nearly non stop blinking in shock at the prices and comparing to the supermarket prices. To be honest the gap prices are closing, it is not good. I couldn't justify some things to buy and it was ridiculous. Bread for my dad £3.45 for real. Some people if not vegetarian would consider it to try and save or least some meals. There are food banks as well. If you have a family you cannot cut out much here and to save, children need quality food. Some single people could be getting by on beans on toast and cerial sausage rolls, cheaper conenivence food etc. I try Amazon special offers to in bulk like UHT Milk and not typical foods I buy. The food prices hasn't been really helpful for me as the prices can be off putting.

 

[AuAL]

Form a neighbourhood shopping co-op and shop at the markets.
For example, see There is a cheaper alternative to supermarkets, but most people don't know it exists

 

[Mary Terry]

I don't buy desserts or sugary foods, and rarely make a dessert at home. I'm a cheese and fruit dessert person.

Dried beans are cheaper and taste better than canned beans although I like the convenience of the cans. Dried beans have a really long shelf life.

I make most of our bread from scratch.

We try to eat "seasonally" which means I buy the fresh vegetables and fruits that are in season and therefore are cheaper.

I buy rice in bulk from the Asian food store. Rice has a long shelf life. I bought a pound of baby squid there the other day which I flash fried and served with an Asian dipping sauce. It was surprisingly good. Hubby asked me to make it again. It reminded us of eating pulpo in Mexico.

The Mexican food store has good deals on beans, tortillas, dried herbs and spices, and fresh produce such as limes, cilantro, peppers, pineapples, guava, and avocados.

I bought a small bay laurel tree at a local nursery this summer and am growing my own bay leaves in a clay pot.

Probably the most significant way for me to save money is to use up all the leftovers. Problem is that I get bored with eating the same thing for multiple meals so I have to get creative to use up the leftovers.

 

[Mary Terry]

Spices are really expensive, but if your grocery has Hispanic foods, look for your spices there. They are much cheaper.

That also goes for snack foods. The best tortilla chips are a Hispanic brand and only $2 for a large bag. Other brands are twice that.

Santitas are my favorite brand and they taste like authentic Mexican tortilla chips. $2 per bag.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

Santitas are my favorite brand and they taste like authentic Mexican tortilla chips. $2 per bag.

Those are the ones…

 

[Judge]

Another cheap solution with tortilla chips is simply to buy tostadas, particularly Guerrero's Norteñas Clasicas type. I just break them up for fresh tortilla chips that seem to last longer and cost less. (Nothing worse than buying a bag of tortilla chips only to find they are prematurely stale.)

Sometimes I break them up into neat triangles and arrange them around the inner edge of a bowl and pour chili into it. The finished dish I call "Shark Tooth Chili". No fish required.

 

[Mary Terry]

Another cheap solution with tortilla chips is simply to buy tostadas, particularly Guerrero's Norteñas Clasicas type. I just break them up for fresh tortilla chips that seem to last longer and cost less. (Nothing worse than buying a bag of tortilla chips only to find they are prematurely stale.)

View attachment 132308

Sometimes I break them up into neat triangles and arrange them around the inner edge of a bowl and pour chili into it. The finished dish I call "Shark Tooth Chili".

I do that, too, Judge. They have less salt than regular tortilla chips which is a good thing.

 

[Judge]

I do that, too, Judge. They have less salt than regular tortilla chips which is a good thing.

The packaging may be a bit different, but I can't really explain why this product seems consistently fresher than their more popular counterparts. Making it a more worthwhile bargain IMO.

 

[Tired]

I make most of our bread from scratch.

This won't work in Serbia, for example, because I'll pay more for baking bread using electricity (which is very expensive here) than by buying already baked bread.

 

[WhitewaterWoman]

This won't work in Serbia, for example, because I'll pay more for baking bread using electricity (which is very expensive here) than by buying already baked bread.

Just curious, in Serbia I would guess there are still actual bakeries selling fresh bread daily. This is certainly the way the French do it. They buy their bagettes daily from real bakeries that bake fresh daily.

I’d buy my bread that way were it available.

 

[Outdated]

I buy sliced bread and freeze it. Being single I don't go through a lot of bread and it's not exactly healthy either. When frozen it will still go stale but you get a few weeks out of it instead of a few days. The catch is to not let it dry out as it thaws out.

You could just cover it with a cloth while it thaws, but I reckon my way's better. I grab two slices and butter them immediately while they're still frozen. The butter's a lot easier to spread that way and it stops the bread from drying out.

 

[Tired]

Just curious, in Serbia I would guess there are still actual bakeries selling fresh bread daily. This is certainly the way the French do it. They buy their bagettes daily from real bakeries that bake fresh daily.

I’d buy my bread that way were it available.

Yes, there are tones of bakeries everywhere, and those bakeries sell not only breads, but also different pastries, pies and stuff like that. And it's pretty cheap.

 

[Mary Terry]

This won't work in Serbia, for example, because I'll pay more for baking bread using electricity (which is very expensive here) than by buying already baked bread.

Is there a community oven that town residents can use? Some places provide a large oven that can hold many loaves at the same time, and everyone shares the cost of the fuel to run it. People bring their dough to the oven and bake it at the same time.

For what it's worth, I've baked bread in a cast iron pot covered with a lid with charcoal. Put coals under and on top of the pot to create a hot oven. The pot has legs on the bottom to elevate it above the coals, and the lid is flat so you can put coals on top. I used to do it when we went camping. Probably the best tasting bread I've ever made.