food cost

[lecale]

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[Lavender Lady]

Thanks for all the wonderful recipes everyone! Thanks OP for starting this thread. I'll be trying out a couple of them.

[abbasgirl]

Abbasgirl, I buy reduced bananas all the time, to toss into the freezer for baking and smoothies. So much cheaper then using the fresher ones. They turn black in the freezer anyway, so having some black on them is no concern. For smoothies, I'll pull one out the night before, leave it in the fridge overnight, and squeeze it into the blender the next morning, throw in my other ingredients, and off I go. They are gross when defrosted though .

If you're going to use them up within a week or so, you can also just put them in the fridge. I discovered awhile ago that if you put bananas in the fridge when they reach their optimal level of ripeness, they stay that way until you're ready to eat them. The skins may change colour a bit, but they still taste good and they don't get mushy like they do in the freezer.

[PurpleBunny89]

If you're going to use them up within a week or so, you can also just put them in the fridge. I discovered awhile ago that if you put bananas in the fridge when they reach their optimal level of ripeness, they stay that way until you're ready to eat them. The skins may change colour a bit, but they still taste good and they don't get mushy like they do in the freezer.

I recently found this too with the bananas as I only like mine in a very small time frame where they are half yellow half green, anything prior or after that colour and they are gross.

I have noticed with cheese and bacon and some other cuts of meat that they are not going on sale regularily/package size is smaller for a higher price and it is super frusterating for sure.

As for fruits and vegetables lately I had been pricematching canada wide at Walmart and getting killer deals and actually noticed us eating more produce because of how cheap I can get it. I like to play the $1 game with produce (and try with meat too but what a joke that is) so anything that is $1 per or $1/LB or less and I'll buy it. If its over then there isn't chance I will buy it unless it is Cherries when they are in season or if we need lettuce for sandwiches for the week or whatevs.

I find we buy a lot of frozen veg too and the quality is pretty much the same as fresh. I'm not sure I will buy very much canned veg anymore though as when I open some like peas and green beans they aren't green anymore but more of a olive green/brown and they taste bad (they aren't bad, thats just how they are) but I will do canned corn.

[PurpleBunny89]

Okay so today I went grocery shopping and with some simple planning I managed to get the following produce with price matching:

Broccoli $0.99 (super small bundles though so had to get two)
Banana's $0.39/LB - 5 came to $0.81
Green Beans $0.99/LB
Garlic 3-Pack $0.33
Spinach Bunch $0.98
Green Leaf Lettuce - Super huge, winter miracle! - $0.99 each
Green Peppers $0.59/LB
Green Onions $0.77 (a bit much, they often go on sale for $0.50)
Pomegranates $0.88

There were also some good prices on blackberries this week for $1 I think. 10LB bag of onions for $1. 10LB Potatoes for $1.49-$2 and cucumbers were $0.88 regular at Walmart (I think). Plus there have been some great sales on apples for $0.59LB with price matching.

[Natalka]

Wow, PurpleBunny, you are so lucky to get prices like that.
Bought 10 lbs potatoes for $9 last week, oy!
Haven't bought green peppers in ages, they didn't even go on sale in the summer! I've never seen .59/lb, ever, I think!

I guess the only one I lucked out on was garlic - got a 1kg mesh bag for $2 - don't know how many heads are in there, maybe 20?

[padyofurniture]

The only place that usually has cheap fruits and veggies is Gateway Meat Market. I think this week they have pineapples for .77 each. Sometimes NF will have lower priced stuff. We tend not to buy at GT because we've had a lot of it spoil quite fast.

[torontogal12]

The Chinese stores are definitely the place to go for produce around here. Usually 10-20% less than the chains (aside from Freshco). They often do sizeable packs of pre cut starry mixed veggies (fresh) for $2

[Angela273]

I've continued to check on this thread as people continue to share a variety of recipes. Thanks for the ideas. Keep up the good work.

[kellyanna_99]

The Chinese stores are definitely the place to go for produce around here. Usually 10-20% less than the chains (aside from Freshco). They often do sizeable packs of pre cut starry mixed veggies (fresh) for $2

Really? I didn't know that! I think we just a new store open across my RCSS, that I will have to check out for produce. We have several chinese stores in other areas close by, I will have to check this out!

Good tips!
I love how this is turning into a such a positive source for ideas. So many ideas to try!

And my soup that was going to last for a few days, is almost gone . My two kids liked it, and took big containers for lunch, I had some, and two had it for snacks last night. The container is almost empty, so more soup to make tomorrow night. I have all this pumpkin I pureed from my halloween pumpkins (I never got around to carving them, just used stick on face items) and froze. i have been meaning to try pumpkin soup, just need to get around to finding a recipe . I imagine it tasting like squash soup. THat was afun. I can't believe how much pumpkin puree I had from two pumpkins, and roasted the seeds, gave us snacks for a few weeks.

Problem is I need to do that more often. I am trying, but not there yet !

[kellyanna_99]

Man, I am suffering from crappy fingers tonight, so many spelling .errors!

[lecale]

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[PurpleBunny89]

Wow, PurpleBunny, you are so lucky to get prices like that.
Bought 10 lbs potatoes for $9 last week, oy!
Haven't bought green peppers in ages, they didn't even go on sale in the summer! I've never seen .59/lb, ever, I think!

I guess the only one I lucked out on was garlic - got a 1kg mesh bag for $2 - don't know how many heads are in there, maybe 20?

Those prices are insane!!!

The only place that usually has cheap fruits and veggies is Gateway Meat Market. I think this week they have pineapples for .77 each. Sometimes NF will have lower priced stuff. We tend not to buy at GT because we've had a lot of it spoil quite fast.

I can see since you live in a small province then there would be an issue like this. Its too bad Walmart is not price matching canada-wide as then you could have taken advantage of that to get cheaper produce prices.

The Chinese stores are definitely the place to go for produce around here. Usually 10-20% less than the chains (aside from Freshco). They often do sizeable packs of pre cut starry mixed veggies (fresh) for $2

Yes, I do find that these are the stores I am often price matching for my produce. I've noticed stores generally have one particular item at a seriously reduced rate to get people in so I usually end up having lots of stores to pricematch at the checkout.

[Durham Couponer]

All these recipes, yummy! I am going to have to try some. For some reason, I never really thougth of eggs, as cheap protein, but they are. I don't really like them, but mixed into stirfries, I could do that. I like the spinach and eggs as well.

Look up ideas for bibimbap, veggies and eggs with meat (optional) with or without hot sauces, there's a restaurant that has it by my work and it kills me to read the daily specials. Must. Resist.

[sirandrewr]

One simple way to reduce your grocery bill is to keep a garbage journal. Keep track of everything that you throw out and find a use for it instead. Bottom crumbs of cereal box can be used for cookies, cracker and bread crumbs used for stuffing or bread pudding, boil bones to get the last bits of meat and nutrients, wash vegetables instead of peeling, learn how to use fruit peelings- edible, juiced or flavouring, use all leftovers.
Sell your recyclables, reuse plastic containers, trade with others.