FOODS that are cheaper to PURCHASE pre-made for less THAN making YOURSELVES

loving all the comments here!
We stock up on frozen veggies and fruits when there is an awesome sale and no other time, same with ALL the meats I buy.
If no sale is on for something we need that week we either do not buy any OR make the rounds scouring the WM, FB, NF and even Loblaws meat aisles for the reduced packs of various items,
I usually score something useful and freeze it to use whenever.
We also buy frozen fish plenty when the Basa, or Alaskan Pollock is on.
Each year I've saved up my AM to score Metro's Prime Rib roasts when they put them on near Xmas time.
I have not paid more than $5.00 for a WHOLE chicken ( uncooked ) in a very long time, so I would not even consider buying those Rotisserie ones, as Natalka said the prices on those keeps creeping upwards anyways, so pass!

The gang love the way I make homemade burgers as compared to anything frozen or fast food, and much like others who posted here we make our patties large, so one is more than enough with the sides.
The only thing is I cannot stand ground pork on its own, I have used a small pack now and then to make the extra lean beef mixture of burgers or meatballs more tender and I know fat gives flavour but I get queasy just seeing too much grease in the pan as I cook.

The bottom line for me now is I want to know what ( I mean exactly ) what is IN the foods I am eating and if I buy too many prepackaged things then it is way too much guesswork. So simple healthy ingredients is what I am aiming for in the long run, it sure can be tough at times dodging the temptations of the myriad of fast food options in our area, but I have decided my health means more at this point.
Now don't get me started on the many GC's we got as gifts over Xmas ( most are for dining out ) so that will be a challenge for me ( since I joined WW Jan 1st ) for sure!

This is an excellent thread!

I've noticed the Lou's entrees are pretty affordable when on sale for $4.99 or $5.99. It is two generous portions of meat and all you do is microwave. Comes to less than $2.50 per serving.

Also have started buying frozen squash in brick form. It's only 99 cents when its on sale and tastes just as good as the fresh stuff.

I agree re: basa fish. Those are huge fish fillets and a 2 pack costs about $2 and will make 4 meals worth. Bake them along with a can of 99 cent tomatoes

Frozen Brussels sprouts cost about $2.99. Fresh ones seems to cost more for about the same portion and you have to clean and cut them.

I like homemade hummus but when the store made is on sale for $2.49, its about the same price to buy it premade. A can of chickpeas costs about $1.39, then you have to add lemon juice, tahini sauce, the time spent cleaning the food processor.

I haven't made hamburgers in months, but have used ground beef to make tacos. I add a can of beans, corn, and a chopped up pepper to stretch the beef and it makes 5 to 6 meals worth. I put extra mixture in stuffed peppers.

I don't buy boxed beef items (burgers/meatballs). They are way too salty for me and they use medium ground beef (I like extra lean) so I'd rather pay more money to enjoy my meal and be healthier. Just buy it on sale and freeze it

I agree with the frozen fish mentioned above - I had been buying pollock, but our Co-op came out with a new line, and sole is the same price as basa and pollock, and I like the sole better. Just bought some at 3.34 for 400g.

walkonby, I don't know if we are just lucky with the quality of ground pork we use, but we get lean ground pork and there is literally no fat which comes out of it - if I sautee it, it's too dry on its own, I have to add water while cooking.

Angela mentioned frozen lasagne - it's not something I make often (and lately not at all because I'm not handling dairy even with meds), but price-wise it is just as good to get M&M Meat Shop's one when it's on sale, it's the best tasting.

Wondering what everyone is using frozen fruit for? I would use it in the summer for smoothies, but otherwise I am just curious.
With fresh fruit having gone up, I am just having oranges and apples pretty much. I keep some canned peaches and pears around (Tropical Isle brand is really good, and I can get them for .88 to .99).

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Originally Posted by Natalka

I agree with the frozen fish mentioned above - I had been buying pollock, but our Co-op came out with a new line, and sole is the same price as basa and pollock, and I like the sole better. Just bought some at 3.34 for 400g.

walkonby, I don't know if we are just lucky with the quality of ground pork we use, but we get lean ground pork and there is literally no fat which comes out of it - if I sautee it, it's too dry on its own, I have to add water while cooking.

Angela mentioned frozen lasagne - it's not something I make often (and lately not at all because I'm not handling dairy even with meds), but price-wise it is just as good to get M&M Meat Shop's one when it's on sale, it's the best tasting.

Wondering what everyone is using frozen fruit for? I would use it in the summer for smoothies, but otherwise I am just curious.
With fresh fruit having gone up, I am just having oranges and apples pretty much. I keep some canned peaches and pears around (Tropical Isle brand is really good, and I can get them for .88 to .99).

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wow! really?? I normally never buy it, but in the last 3 months or so ( I think around the time I noticed FB having their beef and pork mixed )
I decided to grab a small tray to mix with the meatballs I was doing up. ( my sister recommended that and veal )
Perhaps you do get a better/leaner version of ground pork where you are, great as the price is lower!

You are correct about the smoothies here with the frozen fruit, but DH and I also top our large flake oatmeal with it too ( when we don't have any fresh ones ) mainly the blueberries or mixed berry pkgs.

has anyone bought meat from a farm directly? or an abattoir?

I'm wondering what the price difference is between source and shop..

what a great thread. for me it is cake mixes and pie crust. i find it is cheaper to use a mix than homeade for cakes and by the time you add up the costs for the pie crust it is more economical to use the frozen ones. love reading all your ideas. thanks

Most baking is homemade as we like the taste better. We buy fresh fruit in season or on sale as I don't care for frozen-other than peas and corn I don't buy frozen veggies either. I try to get meat on the reduced rack or on sale and serve some meatless meals. We rarely eat at a fast food place unless we are on a long road trip and in a hurry. I definitely put taste and nutrition first, price a close second- but still manage to feed my family reasonably economically. I have never really done a strict price comparison on burgers, baking, pizza etc but we generally prefer homemade( plus lucky for us our power rates are not as high as you folks in the East). We also only have the fridge top freezer so can't stock up too much.

Thank you very much Jasperandchar for this thread and thank you everyone else for sharing. I was talking to my DH about how much the grocery is getting expensive. Last week I bought some grocery for the same amount that I usually spend and I was discourage at the price raise and the package are also smaller did not have much items compare to not long ago. So, for me this thread is very informative with some great tips. I will visit this thread for more tips. Again, Thank you Jasperandchar and everyone else for sharing..........................................:-)

I am lucky to have a fair bit of choice when shopping plus an Asian grocery store and a few meat/produce places locally. Some of them require 10lb orders, but I can get
- ground pork or pork loin $1.39-1.69/lb
- lean ground beef $2.99/lb
- extra lean ground chicken $2.99-3.99/lb
- Pork tenderloin $3.49/lb
- Chicken breast (boneless/skinless) $3.99/lb (every week, but occasionally they have it for less)
At least once a month, Nations has chickens for under $5 and I buy a few for the month and freeze them.

We did invest in a chest freezer to let us stock up, which does take more hydro but well worth it when you can buy in bulk and save.

We do buy some processed foods, but it more about having the time to cook than the price of ingredients. Pizza is our go to takeout food, a local place does large pizzas for $7.49 and an extra $1 to split the toppings since we don't agree on them, we just walk over there so no delivery tip etc needed.

Since I am home, I had a rummage through the freezer to see what processed foods we have

- 4 packs Mini Sizzlers sausages (they were 4 for $5 on sale at a local store)
- 2 packs bacon and 4 half hams (I won a Maple Leaf contest last year and stocked up before the FPCs expired in Dec)
- 2 Smart Ones Lasagna and 2 x Potatoes in cheese sauce ($0.99 sale when I bought the sausages)
- 1 bag meatballs (I think around $5 at GT)
- 3 bags chicken & rotini soup (they are made in-store at a local store and were on sale for $2 for 4lb bags, great for when we come home cold and want something quick)
- Bag McCain red skin potatoes

We do have bags of frozen veggies and fruit and some ice cream but the rest is all meat. Then we just buy whatever produce, bread etc we need for the week and stock up on whatever is cheap to replenish the freezer stock

One of the exceptions is muffin mixes etc, partly because I am lazy and he makes way too much mess if cooking them from scratch and we buy some jarred sauces (the Asian food store has the best sweet & sour sauce for example and I don't care how much it costs because it tastes amazing)

As far as the ground pork, I find where you buy it makes a huge difference. The stuff I buy from Farmer Als or Nations has hardly any fat in the pan, fluffs nicely and binds/separated as needed. Where the stuff I picked up in regular grocery stores was swimming in it and I ended up having to drain it off then brown it to use it and haven't bought it there since. Since 5lbs is $7 at Nations, we always have some in the freezer and mix it with beef to bring down the cost.

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Originally Posted by jasperandchar

How many burgers in a box? And if memory serves me correctly they are quite thin?

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I think 12.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Natalka

I agree with the frozen fish mentioned above - I had been buying pollock, but our Co-op came out with a new line, and sole is the same price as basa and pollock, and I like the sole better. Just bought some at 3.34 for 400g.

walkonby, I don't know if we are just lucky with the quality of ground pork we use, but we get lean ground pork and there is literally no fat which comes out of it - if I sautee it, it's too dry on its own, I have to add water while cooking.

Angela mentioned frozen lasagne - it's not something I make often (and lately not at all because I'm not handling dairy even with meds), but price-wise it is just as good to get M&M Meat Shop's one when it's on sale, it's the best tasting.

Wondering what everyone is using frozen fruit for? I would use it in the summer for smoothies, but otherwise I am just curious.
With fresh fruit having gone up, I am just having oranges and apples pretty much. I keep some canned peaches and pears around (Tropical Isle brand is really good, and I can get them for .88 to .99).

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We use frozen fruit for smoothies all year long :)

Quote:

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Originally Posted by Natalka

Wondering what everyone is using frozen fruit for? I would use it in the summer for smoothies, but otherwise I am just curious.

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@Natalka : We use frozen fruit for baking. The initial cooler temperatures reduce the bursting and my blueberry muffins from looking like a mess. Fresh cranberries in cookies makes for a more moist cookie (or so my reviewers tell me).

We use frozen fruits for baking and serving on top of oatmeal.

This past summer & fall, I posted on a local facebook page that I was looking for rhubarb, apples & pears to pick if people were not going to harvest their own trees.

We received 52 cups of rhubarb, 82+ cups of pears and 60+ cups of apples all for free.

I do purchase frozen blueberries as they are much cheaper than purchasing fresh and also I have the flexibility of making the blueberry muffins when I feel up to it vs. having the fresh and needing to do it within the timeframe before the berries would go bad.

Frozen fruits just work better for us for baking.

Also last week or the week before FB had the St. Hubert chicken pot pie & meat pies on sale for $4.88 I believe and wow that was an awesome price AND definitely in my opinion much cheaper than making them yourself. I was not able to get out to price match them but will definitely make an effort the next time they are that price.

@FallenPixels some great prices in your area, very lucky

I forgot about the St Hubert meat pies!! I bought two in December to try them and my husband loved them, i usually take a day in the winter and make individual ones for the freezer but I think these are excellent and when bought on sale very economical.