More Tips on How to Eat on a Budget!

Budget is one of those words...

It goes with this face...

Painful, but very necessary.

As much as we all hate to admit it...these days,

you have to curb your spending somewhere.

There are so many other areas of life you just can't control...

like car repairs, property taxes and the list goes on.

So when looking to cut down on extra expenses,

I look to the grocery budget!

I have mentioned budgeting before 

in reference to eating healthy at work here.  

I continue to commit myself to finding budget-friendly

tips and tricks.

Use those Holiday Gifts:

Ever get food related gifts for Christmas?

I do!

Usually they are pantry items...non-perishables.

Spice rubs, marinades, preserves.

Make use of those gifts!!!

Not only will you expand your tasting repertoire...

but you can save money by dressing up budget cuts of meat.

This year I was given a WONDERFUL gift!

(well, ok, I received MANY wonderful gifts...but this one was a first for me)

White Sugar flavoured with Vanilla beans.

I have a serious soft spot for vanilla ice cream with the black specks of vanilla beans!!!

(my friend Sam over at Ravels And Tangles blog knows me so well...)

This sugar is probably one of the best things EVER.

I made a quick batch of apple crisp one night and...

WOW.

All I can say is 

WOW.

Look for Sales:

Let me just start off by saying

I'm not one for coupon clipping and

I don't live in an area that gets grocery store flyers.

There's no reason why those methods shouldn't be used.

I just prefer to spend my time on other pursuits

like reading about gardening, dreaming about gardening

and looking forward to gardening.

Wait, what was I talking about?

I do, however, spot sales.

I found brown mushrooms on sale and made a delicious miso broth based mushroom soup.

I already buy spinach as a part of my normal

grocery shopping.  

It's great hot or cold and is PACKED with vitamins.

The garlic we grow, the carrots we grow.

The green onions are usually pretty cheap.

The ginger I splurge on every now and again.

It lasts a long time in the fridge crisper shelf and it goes into so many dishes and drinks.

Hot or cold and is packed with tons of beneficial vitamins.

All of these ingredients came together 

to make a very inexpensive and healthful meal

in almost no time at all!

Make yer Own:

Don't waste your money buying special herb blends!!!

In most cases, you already have the ingredients...

Not only are you saving money but you also control the sodium, 

preservatives (nitrates) and other unnecessary added ingredients.

Its also tailored to your tastes...literally!

Here is a list of spice blends you can make on your own:

(just Google them!)

Apple Pie Spice

Pumpkin Pie Spice

Taco Seasoning

Garam Masala

Italian Seasoning

Pickling Spices

Pesto

Steak Rubs

Just Freeze It:

We spend a lot of time trying to fill a freezer

full of money saving food.

Pumpkins and squashes that were decorations in the fall 

become containers of puree ready for baking or soups or chili.

Frozen stock from local chickens becomes the base of

many soul warming concoctions.

The containers take up a lot of space in the freezer

but these staples are worth every penny.

(Taste WAY better than store bought anyway and NO SODIUM!)

A plastic container of frozen chicken stock
(approx 8 cups)

+

A plastic container of frozen vegetable puree 

(in this case pumpkin mash) (approx 4 cups)

+

1 onion and 2 cloves of garlic pressed

+

1 1/2 tsp each dried Thyme and salt

=

EXCELLENT, VIRTUALLY FREE, WINTER WARMING SOUPS!

(adapted from original recipe here)

Served with Butter Dip Biscuits

(my new FAVORITE biscuit recipe)

How do you skim dollars from your budget?