costs, made vs. storebought

Thought maybe we could compile a forum/list of foods that we think are cheaper either store bought or made at home. As far as i have read bread is cheaper home made. Not sure about everything else. In some cases i believe homemade granola is cheaper,just got to watch what you put in it.

Chocolate chip cookies -- i am not so sure about! The chocolate chips alone are about $2 on sale for a small package,even store brands it seems like.Seems to last 2 uses because everything calls for a whole cup of chocolate chips,thinking of reducing to 1/2 cup to see if it is still good. Guess you have to wait for a great sale on them or buy in bulk.

Sometimes after buying all the ingredients for things i wonder if it is really cheaper or if i should just stick to store bought,thought it'd help some of us. Of course with couponing, who knows what is cheaper,lol. i think i'll end up sticking to a little of both!

It's not just the cost of the ingredients you need to consider. If I make it myself, I know what's in it. A lot of the pre-made cookies and snacks use hydrogenated margarine and other things I can't even pronounce...

I have been able to make tacos that the leftovers turn into Mexican lasagna for $1 and change per serving. I've made mini meatloafs and meatballs that equal 99c worth of meat per serving which is waaaaaaaaay cheaper than pre made or going out to eat.

Soups are another meal that is way cheaper per serving than pre made.

Like marstec said you know what is in the meals and that is important to consider especially if you have dietary restrictions.

I find it's as much about spending time with the brood when I'm cooking cookies and cakes that make it worthwhile rather than a cost analysis.

I know it ALL isn't about the cost but this is smart canucks so i am just gathering suggestions and stuff.

There are times when pizza is cheaper to buy than to make - I'm talking the loaded type with lots of different types of meats and lots of cheese. Yes, I make amazing homemade pizza, though!

I find lasagne to be similar.

Of course, homemade tastes better, but sometimes you need to factor in cost. The above things we rarely have, anyway.

Quite often our Sobey's bakery has their bakery bread on for $1 (or 4 for $4) - and it's very good.

I went through periods of making our own bread and buns, but sheesh - the guys just eat it all very quickly, so I was making it daily. Not worth it for me!

The only baking I buy is stuff I don't make - and that's just once in a while - baklava, danishes, strudel - those kind of things.

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I'm a firm believer that anything you make at home from scratch will be cheaper than store-bought. If it isn't, well they aren't using whole food ingredients! Just using the example of chocolate chips cookies, the store-bought version is made with corn syrup, soy flour and soybean oil in place of sugar, eggs and butter.

A better comparison to determine if your cookie is a better value than store-bought is to compare it to places like Tim Hortons or a bakery where you'd pay about $1/cookie. Just last week I bought cookies from the bakery at my grocery store and there were $3.99 for 1 dozen. No way my recipe would cost that much.

The Safeway bakery has sales throughout the year of baked goods they make in their store bakery. Some of those sales are pretty hard to beat; like on flan or layered cakes. I don`t think I have seen cookies cheap enough to match the cost of homemade though. On the other hand, a cake mix is probably cheaper than making a homemade cake, but I`ve never crunched the numbers on that. As well, the cost of flour, butter, etc. continues to rise so it depends on if you get your ingredients when they are on sale or buying when needing and paying full price.

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Thanks for the tips! Will try to stick with basic ingredients,great idea!! Also the chocolate bar idea...but the full size bar would make one batch of cookies i am assuming? So technically i am thinking it may end up costing the same amount, unless i am wrong.

lol, i don't normally bake a lot of cookies, actually i probably normally wouldn't...i made some cookie dough and froze it for a day we feel like making holiday cookies like for halloween or xmas (real hard to find healthy ideas on festive things!),plan on using cookie cutters to shape them into things. i am sorta having trouble coming up with ideas on things to make,maybe another reason i chose them.Will have to come up with some yummy frozen easy dinner ideas now,maybe!

Maybe try making spaghetti noodles If possible to be sucessful it seems like it would be dirt cheap!

I'll use east side Mario's ......a pasta dish there, is approx 17 dollars.....I can make a pasta dish similar with meat, veg, cheese, for around the same price....and it can feed seven people.

we make most things from scratch....and I have to say, both hubby and I are excellent cooks.

When you make cookies, there are a lot more than what you get in a pkg. plus they taste so much better

hummus. Homemade hummus is nothing more than a can of chickpeas, some lemon juice, salt, crushed garlic, olive oil and tahini (although, I make it without the tahini). All told, it cost me maybe $1.10 to make 250ml of it this evening. And it only took 5 minutes from start to finish. I don't know what it retails for in the grocery store. A whole lot more than $1.10, I'm sure! :)

There are some things that are cheaper to make at home but I'm just too lazy to do it. I'm sure lasagna must be cheaper when it's made at home; it just seems like a whole lotta work and dirty dishes. I'd rather spend the 5 bucks on a frozen president's choice one. LOL.

I guess it also comes down to personal preference. Maybe someone else out there considers baking to be a pain and a whole lotta dishes in the same way that I consider lasagna to be--but for me, baking is a whole different experience. I love making baked goods from scratch. It beings me pleasure and the kids usually enjoy spending the time to help as well. So I guess in a way I sometimes choose to buy something even though it's more expensive because I hate making it from scratch (like that lasagna). Typically though, I try when possible to do most cooking from scratch.

@ lecale: I would totally love your almond biscotti recipe if you are willing to share. omg. I love biscotti!!

You can use the chocolate bars from halloween, or other holidays when they go on clearance he day after (freeze bars for later use).

SDM recently had the Kraft promo which in connection to the sale price the Cadbury bars were cheap/free with points.

As for the rest of baking, you can get large sack of flour (not 100% on size 5kg or more) for a few $$$ and you only use a couple of cups per recipe so really only a few cents per baked good. Eggs go on sale for 99c at a lot of places and since most recipes only call for 1 or 2 eggs it's pennies.

It's the initial OOP expenses that cost the most but after that it's a lot less to make from scratch.


Before I left I got a bag of corn on the cob that I roasted on the bbq that was then used in tacos with a can of black beans to help stretch, Mexican lasagna for a family of 4. I then took the empty cobs and made a corn stock which I then used the remaining roasted kernels to make an yummy creamed soup. For approx. $5 I was able to make a soup that yielded 4 servings so for $1.25 per serving I made a soup that would have cost $5 or more in a restaurant.

The best thing is to purchase things not only on sale and with coupons but that can also be used in multiple meals. This will all help to stretch your $$$

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