I buy in bulk, cook from scratch, buy day-old bread at the grocery, eat oatmeal, make soups, use dried beans and rice liberally (cook meat usually only once/week, no more than 2lb at a time, to feed 3 people).

I also keep a price book. I plan my meals at least a few days in advance, sometimes as much as a month. I just yesterday went through my pantry, fridge, and freezer and made a list of meals…I can make 56 meals with what I have already (except for fresh veggies), which will get us through all of November (’cept for the turkey).

We eat leftovers most of the time. I generally only cook 3-4 days per week, lunches and other dinners are leftovers. When I make soups, I usually make about 12-16 cups (we eat 3-4 for a meal). Eat one night, save 4 cups for another night, freeze 4 cups for later. We belong to a CSA, so I am religious about deciding what veggies we are eating when over the week, so that they don’t go bad. (Example: eat lettuce first, radishes and carrots can wait).

The CSA makes monthly meal-planning tricky, as most of my meals are veggie-based. I can’t plan a particular meal until I know what I’m getting. I have a general idea of what I’m going to get though, by season.

Marcias last blog post..Spinach Balls

Kimberly makes a great point: So many people aren’t realistic when shopping. They’ll buy perishables that they think they should eat or that they hope they’ll have time to cook. It’s probably better to be realistic. Also, I love Amiyrah’s “rubber chicken” method.

If you’re interested in avoiding food waste, stop by my blog Wasted Food. And I hope you’ll leave some of your own waste prevention ideas under the “Tips” tab.

As for everyday items, and because shopping allergy friendly, is significantly more expensive, I have found ways to counteract the costs. I buy bulk ingredients to bake my children’s bread, and I have taken to making my own yogurt.

To fit in vegetables to my picky children’s diet, I have started to hide them in their food, example fresh spinach in their fruit smoothies, pesto sauce made from spinach, pumpkin muffins, etc. That way I feel like they are getting their veggies, no fights about eating them and no throwing away food because now it is prepared in ways it will be eaten.

I use an old address book to keep me organized, and I jot down the prices of household staples in the different stores where I shop. (I’ve found that rotating grocery stores based on who has the best prices in their fliers is also a good way to save; Aldi is my go-to for staples, but I rotate everything else.)

For example, when I found a dozen double rolls of Northern toilet paper for $6 at Big Lots, I knew it was, at minimum, a $2 discount over the prices at the grocery stores. (I also know when I’m getting a steal on chicken, milk … you name it.)

I also religiously check the fliers in the paper and on the internet to see where I can stock up on staples.

And I have discovered that the food processor is a great way to disguise a variety of recipe sins. Pretty much every piece of at-the-edge produce in my house goes into a batch of chili or soup; even the weirdest things tend to be unrecognizable once I’ve given the soup a whirl in my food processor. (I food process soup because I have texture “issues” with chunky foods. And because the Frugal Gourmet introduced me to the idea!)

Betsys last blog post..Cheap eats

I like the idea of leftover night where everyone doesn’t eat the same thing. . .I’ll have to try that!

Amys last blog post..Pantry Update 10/28