Here are some ways I'm trying to save money in the kitchen:
no more paper plates
no more paper napkins - we are using our cloth ones. We use the same one till it's totally dirty. That might sound gross but since we homeschool and eat all our meals at home I'd be going through a ton of napkins every week. So, after breakfast everyone refolds their napkin and leaves it at their place and same at lunch. Usually by the end of the day it's ready to be washed so we are using about 1 napkin a day per person. A very simple way to make your own cloth napkins is to cut tea towels (older used ones is fine) in half and sew the raw seem closed on the edge.
using cling wrap more instead of ziplock baggies
making ranch dressing from packets and/or scratch - instead of buying the already made and bottled kind. You can make all of your dressings homemade.
serve breakfast for dinner one night a week - such as pancakes. Cuts down on the grocery bill.
have "leftover night" when the leftovers start piling up - we take them all out of the fridge and have a buffet. Everyone can pick what they want to eat...any combination goes! This way we save on groceries for another night of dinner and we don't waste food.
make things from scratch - make biscuits, pizza dough, mac and cheese, soups, cakes, etc. from scratch and you'll save lots of money.
bake my own bread - it takes time but it's worth it. gotta love the bread machine.
make homemade snacks - not only are they usually healthier but you save a ton on prepackaged snacks like trail mix, granola, cookies, crackers, chips, granola bars, muffins, and even graham crackers. Include your kids in these fun cooking times.
Share the ways you are being frugal in your kitchen by commenting on this post! =0)
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3 comments:
I hate plastic wrap because I always end up wrestling with it. Plus, it's just too darn expensive here. A number of years ago I bought some reusable plastic food covers at Linens n' Things. They look like shower caps in different sizes. (You can also by disposable ones like this, but these are much sturdier). They are so much easier than plastic wrap and you can use them over and over again! I think they cost under $5 for a set of 5 in different sizes.
I also buy the sturdier zip-locks and wash and re-use them. But that's a necessity of life in Africa since you can't buy them here. :-)
Here are some things that I am or will be starting to do soon:
Meal planning: If I'm only going to the store once or twice every two weeks, then I'm not likely to spend more on stuff I don't need...also saves on gas.
Powdered milk
Drink more water
Buying in bulk
Cut back on eating meat by adding other protein rich but less expensive items to our menu such as eggs and beans
We also do breakfast at least once a week, alternating between homemade muffins and omelets, pancakes and waffles!
Use frozen juice concentrate instead of in the gallon or half gallon container.
Sometimes, if times are really lean, substitute smaller plates for the larger ones. Tricks the mind into thinking you are actually getting larger portions.
Thanks for the topic!
tulipkids
I save by buying all my food in Mexico at the farmer's market. If any of you want to make the trip here on average I can get all my fruit and veggiesfor a week for about $10 USD. At the store I usually spend about $25 USD and on meat and cheese about $10 USD for a grand total of...$45 USD. This includes everything we buy not just food. Crazy huh? So come on down and shop with me any time! But I did make homemade croutons today (we don't have them here) and that would have saved me money if I had been in the US.
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