What are you doing to deal with the rising cost of groceries?

[lizzie bargain]

Well inspired by you all I froze 4, 1 cup baggies of sour milk for later use in baking. I already made pancakes and muffins this weekend so will keep for future. A shame to waste it since sour milk works great for baking.

[Silk]

Also, frozen veggies are sometimes even more nutritious. I just don't know how to make them less soggy though. Maybe cooking from frozen instead of thawing?

I cook mine from frozen and don't have a problem with sogginess. What do the instructions on your bag say?

Silk

[Natalka]

@grumpy - I've never used any frozen veggies that say to thaw before cooking. All the ones I use from different brands are cooked from frozen. I use the package times as a guide - but don't always stick to them. For example, for frozen cauliflower and broccoli, I like mine barely cooked, so I don't steam them much at all.
@amira84 - I can't even imagine buying grapes ever in the winter. However, frozen grapes are a great snack.
Another thing which I do when grapes are getting a bit 'sad' at the stem end is to cut that end off, then use the grapes in a broccoli salad. Bonus is the sweet dressing, so kids don't mind eating the broccoli!

[thriftygranny]

This is a great article. 27 ways to make your groceries last as long as possible. Worth the read!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/27-way...975#.smjZMGKdA

[thriftygranny]

I think one of the best savings tips I have is to make your own wraps or corn tortillas. We eat a lot of Mexican food and we love corn tortillas, the brand we like costs 4.99 for 8, 6" corn tortillas which ends up being very pricey when we make tacos. I picked up some Maseca corn flour at No Frills on clearance for about five dollars and went to work. I also read the ingredients on the package of our favorite tortillas and noticed they added gluten to the corn flour so I added 2 teaspoons to the recipe. It took me about an hour to make 20 corn tortillas and they freeze well. I just rolled them with a rolling pin, I really don't think I would invest in a tortilla press. My family gave them a huge thumbs up and I think my cost was about 60 cents for 20 corn tortillas. My next project will be to try to make whole wheat flour tortillas or wraps. Recipe is below if anyone is interested, i found I used more water than the recipe called for.
http://ixtapacantina.com/making-corn-tortillas-by-hand/

[momof5boys]

Yesterday I planted out the kale that was started from seed. Today it will be leek and onions. Hopefully we don't have as much trouble with the 'wire worm' (from the click beetle) eating roots of our plants this year. I saved a lot of our plants from getting destroyed last year by putting pieces of potato (with a stick through them) in the garden. These wire worms were attracted to these potatoes and we would pull up these potatoes every two days and catch so many of them. Hopefully this year there won't be as many.

[Frugalbigmama]

Yesterday I planted out the kale that was started from seed. Today it will be leek and onions. Hopefully we don't have as much trouble with the 'wire worm' (from the click beetle) eating roots of our plants this year. I saved a lot of our plants from getting destroyed last year by putting pieces of potato (with a stick through them) in the garden. These wire worms were attracted to these potatoes and we would pull up these potatoes every two days and catch so many of them. Hopefully this year there won't be as many.

Good luck! I can't wait to start seeds indoors soon!

[amira84]

@amira84 - I can't even imagine buying grapes ever in the winter. However, frozen grapes are a great snack.
Another thing which I do when grapes are getting a bit 'sad' at the stem end is to cut that end off, then use the grapes in a broccoli salad. Bonus is the sweet dressing, so kids don't mind eating the broccoli!

Nat, i have to buy grapes for kids. I can stop buying junk food but if i ever hesitate buying fruits/veggies for kids, hubby gets frustrated. And I dont blame him for that. It's all about how to last them longer in the house.

I have noticed that grapes stay fresh longer when i remove them from stems, wash them and keep them in the fridge. They get cold, and feel crunchier than room temp grapes.

I am also thinking about doing aluminum foil experiment on sweet peppers. Kids love sweet peppers, but again they go bad after a few days if they are on kitchen counter.

Kids dont like thawed, soggy ANYTHING so my biggest priority is to find tips on how to keep produce fresh for longer time period.

[amira84]

One of my biggest strategy to fight against inflation is to keep multiple loyalty cards. I mean, more than one pcplus card, more than one optimum pts card. That way i can keep buying whatever is needed in the house but still get atleast some points back.

[momof5boys]

Well inspired by you all I froze 4, 1 cup baggies of sour milk for later use in baking. I already made pancakes and muffins this weekend so will keep for future. A shame to waste it since sour milk works great for baking.

Often I'll get reduced organic cream (10%) from our local grocer for nearly free if the expiry is the day before or day of. Last deal was 4x500ml for $1. The cream stays good for at least a week past expiry date and, when it starts going sour, I freeze and use in baking too. For recipes asking for sour cream or buttermilk, I just use the cream with a tablespoon or two of lemon juice. Works like a charm.

[IthinkIcan]

So many good tips

[jasperandchar]

Is there any seperate thread for sharing how to make your produce last longer or can we ask/share it here?


The problem i am seeing at my house is that we have to buy certain fruitsbecause kidsLOVE them. For example, grapes! I used to buy a 2lb box @$3.88 when they used to go on sale and when i had pcplus offer on grapes. But now that grapes are getting very expensive ($5.88 for 2lb box) and kids are not very flexible about not seeing grapes in the house, i want to keep grapes fresh for longer period. What should i do when i buy grapes? Any ideas?
It's so ironic that junk food stays fresh for a very long time but fresh produce gets wasted within 10 days.


Now i have a tip to keep brocolli fresh for longer time period. I read it on the internet and now i do it all the time. When you buy brocolli, wrap it in aluminum foil and keep it infridge. It stays green and fresh for so long, i couldnt even believe it when i did it myself. Otherwise brocolli used to get wasted in our house resting on kitchen counter.

How to keep grapes longer, tested by my mom who asked the lady who was getting tons of grape bags at the grocery store. Mom asked what do you do with all the grapes. The lady says you can freeze grapes and when they unthaw they are just like fresh. My mom said thanks and thought the lady was crazy BUT she threw a handful of grapes in the freezer went back a week and thawed and yep just like fresh. So word to the wise price match or buy grapes on sale and freeze.

[jasperandchar]

I keep all vegetable water = free veggie stock. I even keep my potato water which is great for thickening soups. I freeze the stock in baggies BUT going forward as of today I will be freezing the stock in my empty mason jars which I already have to save even more money (Ziploc bags which are quite costly).

Dh loves soup for his lunches but finds them tricky to transport in his briefcase so I put the soup in mason jars and to be extra cautious put a Ziploc bag...dam...Ziploc bags, however, because they haven't leak I re-use the bag but better safe than sorry.

Also a saving grace is using the Rubbermaid and/or anchor hocking glass bowls with plastic lid. I have accumulated a good collection of course buying them on sale but they come in various sizes for my various needs. AND best part is I can't ignore what's in the containers. Also you could again use your empty mason jars to store your leftovers, I especially love the wide mouth jars for the soups as he can eat the soup right out of the mason jar while at work. Just a note you need to remove the metal ring and lid when warming up.

When cooking a whole chicken for supper I normally debone the whole chicken right away as I will have the chicken carcass ready to start my soup. I plan ahead by taking my veggie stock out the night before I'm going to cook my chicken. Also if serving with mashed potatoes I of course keep my potato water (while hot) I toss in my frozen veggies for my soup while the water is hot (cover) and the frozen veggies will be well on their way to being cooked. I then take my thawed veggie stock - put in the pot with my chicken carcass and boil/simmer etc....once I remove the chicken carcass I add my potato water with the al dente veggies (almost cooked) this really speeds up the cooking time, I normally have homemade soup in a hour.

[Frugalbigmama]

I LOVE mason jars. I use them for everything.

[Silk]

This is a great article. 27 ways to make your groceries last as long as possible. Worth the read!
http://www.buzzfeed.com/peggy/27-way...975#.smjZMGKdA

Yes, worth the read - thanks for posting

Silk