Women Over Fifty

I received a list by email suggesting ways you could save on your food bill.  The list suggests you not buy the following items:

• Bagged salad
• Energy or protein bars
• Spice mixes
• Bottled water
• Boxed rice entree or side-dish mixes
• Pre-formed meat patties
• Tomato-based pasta sauces

I forwarded the list to my daughters.  It’s always good for a lively discussion.  Let me point out that my daughters live in Northern California, Washington State, and Florida.  They don’t shop at the same stores or have the same life style.

• Bagged salad.  One daughter pointed out that the bagged mixes are often cheaper per pound than head lettuce.  I think they’re great time savers and cooking for only two, I don’t have to buy a few carrot curls, a slice or two of red cabbage and a green onion or two to make up a salad from scratch.  My husband, however, would vote for head lettuce just because that’s what he likes.
• Energy or protein bars.  I carry these because I’m diabetic and I can’t always predict where I’ll be when I need something to eat.  (Like in the middle of a business meeting.)  I choose carefully, looking for those acceptable to diabetics so I spend a little more.  (Sugar must be cheap.)
• Spice mixes.  None of us use these spice mixes a lot.  I do use pumpkin pie spice because it’s convenient.  It’s so important that spices are fresh.  I often buy the very expensive fresh basil or parsley.
  
• Bottled water.  Here’s where we disagree.  Some don’t buy bottled water.  Some buy the refillable bottles for water and I won’t change.  I love a fresh icy bottled water right out of the fridge, even when it’s cold outside and the tap water is cold as well.
• Boxed rice entree or side-dish mixes.  I would include any boxed mix that helps you cook dinner.  It’s the solution for those of us who are clueless as to what we’re booking for dinner.  Here, in one little box is everything you need - well, almost, you have to add meat, tomato sauce, water, of course, something else is always needed.  Except for adding fat, which I usually don’t, these mixes don’t offer a lot beyond the collected ingredients for a recipe.  They’re high in salt.  They are usually fast, but depend on it and you’ll find dinner is 30 minutes late.  On the other hand, my husband really loves to cook Spanish Rice from a box.  It’s one of his specialties.  We can save by me not buying the other boxes, which are extremely tempting to someone who doesn’t want to cook anyway.
• Pre-formed meat patties.  Now you’re getting me where it hurts.  Pre-formed meat patties can be frozen, separated while frozen, and cooked on my George Forman grill.  That’s a grill that drains all the fat into a cup while it cooks the patties.  I’ve noticed that the fat cup never has much in it when I use pre-formed patties.  One daughter says they’re often cheaper by pound at Costco.  One daughter is mostly vegetarian, and once daughter is raising two growing boys and just hopes to keep them fed until they grow up.
• Tomato-based spaghetti sauces.  I used to make my own spaghetti sauce. Most of my friends had recipes that took all day to cook.  I had my own recipe that I cooked in 30 min - less if my daughters were screaming hungry.  I don’t know when I began to use the jars, but here’s a place I could save.  They want a lot of money for a two-cup jar of spaghetti sauce.  I could really save big time.  However, I only serve spaghetti every two or three weeks.  It’ll take a while for the savings to add up.

Here’s some home-grown advice on how to save at the grocery.  Eat what you want, but cook from scratch.  Buy the meat, the potatoes, the vegetables (fresh if you can), and cook the dinner.  You may find you are liking what you eat.  Your budget will like it too.

Marilynne 

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