Probably the most obvious way to save on any food budget is to cook from scratch. Cooking from scratch does save us a ton of money on our food budget and since we are trying to eat organic which comes in whole foods form most of the time (as opposed to pre-made foods) I find myself cooking from scratch anyway.
Even some of the basic things that we think are cheap (instant oatmeal) can be made so much cheaper by cooking from scratch (and much tastier!). The thing I noticed that was kind of funny was that all this pre-made food and "instant" stuff really only saves us a few minutes usually.... think about it. Homemade oatmeal only has to cook for just a few minutes and it's done. Instant oatmeal has to sit for at least a minute so you're only saving about 1 min. And in that one saved minute you are sacrificing nutrition and taste!
Cooking from scratch can make for a lot of time spent in the kitchen in general though, which is where time-saving tips come in handy. Here are some things that have saved me a little time in the kitchen when I'm cooking from scratch.
* Use a crock-pot as much as you can!
* Do freezer cooking once a week or every other week (or some gals like to do once-a-month-cooking).
* Have a baking day once a week or every other week.
Anyone else have some cooking from scratch ideas or time-saving methods to share?
2 comments:
Well, I don't do this often enough, but I would suggest doubling recipes and freezing the extra portion for a later date.
What's your preferred method for cooking up the oatmeal?
Great reminder! I do that too with the doubling of recipes and freezing them.
My preferred method for cooking oatmeal is the old fashioned way in a pot on the stove. I have friends that love the overnight crock-pot method but my kids don't like it so mushy. So, I cook it on the stove top. =0)
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