By LELA DAVIDSON
My credit card company sends me an itemized report
at the end of the year listing where my money has gone. Turns out,
most of what I buy goes straight from the car into the money pit of
my kitchen. How about you?
This is inevitable. The heart of the home may
always consume a large portion of the family budget, but here are
five small strategies that add up to big savings in the
kitchen.
1 Make a list
You already know that shopping with a list means
less impulse buying and wasted food. Meal planning does not have to
be difficult or complicated. Never mind the fantasy home-making
guru bloggers. Just grab a pencil. Menu planning is as simple as
scratching out a plan on the back of a take-out flyer. Mine goes
like this: M, T, W, R, F, followed by a dinner entree I know my
family will eat. (Unless I'm in a mood, in which case I write
"Mushroom Bisque" five times.) Start with what you know and build
your list of palatable meals over time. It helps to start a
three-ring binder to collect the recipes. That way you can simply
flip through to create your weekly list.
2 Double up
Groceries are expensive, but they're nothing
compared to the cost of eating out. (Because you're not hitting
that dollar menu, right? No, me neither. Never.) There are simply
times when I am so mentally or physically exhausted that the
thought of cooking makes me want to hurl the rice cooker out the
window. Instead of dialing for pizza or driving through the nearest
drive-thru, it's nice to have something in the freezer. That's why,
whenever I make a casserole or any kind of pasta sauce, I always
double the recipe. It doesn't take any more time or effort today
for double the results tomorrow. On some future Tuesday night, I'm
going to really appreciate my earlier efforts.
3 Cook from scratch, sometimes
In general I'm a fan of whole foods and home
cooking, but let's be real. You can't cook a good meal every
day-certainly not three times a day. However, to save money while
still living well, learning to cook is time well spent. In addition
to saving money, cooking from scratch allows you to cut back on
nasty processed food ingredients. Getting friendly with a crock pot
puts cooking on auto-pilot. When you can put some meat, vegetables
and seasonings into a pot, turn it on and go about your day, there
is little excuse to open a can of pre-made stew.
4 Learn to cook all kinds of meat
Buying discounted meat can save hundreds over the
course of a year. Less popular cuts of meat (think anything on a
bone) get marked down more often, so learning to cook them really
pays off. Stock up on bargain meat without regard to your list. Put
it in the freezer and use that inventory for planning future weekly
menus. Even if you love boneless skinless chicken, you can find
deals. I recently bought the entire marked down stock of organic
free-range chicken tenderloins-10 pounds of it-at less than $3 a
pound. The more types of meat you know how to cook, the more often
you can take advantage of sales.
5 Make your own dishwasher soap
This might sound a bit house-on-the-prairie-esque,
but stick with me. I am far from an all-natural mother, but simple
easy-to-make dishwasher soap saves a lot of bucks a year. It's
worth the bit of effort. A simple mix of 1 cup Borax, 1 cup washing
soda and ¼ cup kosher salt works wonders. And rinse agent? Hello,
vinegar! Every time you fill the soap holder you'll pat yourself on
the back for all the money you've saved.
Lela Davidson is the author of Blacklisted from the
PTA, a collection of irreverent essays about motherhood and the
modern family.
My credit card company sends me an itemized report at the end of
the year listing where my money has gone. Turns out, most of what I
buy goes straight from the car into the money pit of my kitchen.
How about you?
This is inevitable. The heart of the home may always consume a
large portion of the family budget, but here are five small
strategies that add up to big savings in the kitchen.
1 Make a list
You already know that shopping with a list means less impulse
buying and wasted food. Meal planning does not have to be difficult
or complicated. Never mind the fantasy home-making guru bloggers.
Just grab a pencil. Menu planning is as simple as scratching out a
plan on the back of a take-out flyer. Mine goes like this: M, T, W,
R, F, followed by a dinner entree I know my family will eat.
(Unless I'm in a mood, in which case I write "Mushroom Bisque" five
times.) Start with what you know and build your list of palatable
meals over time. It helps to start a three-ring binder to collect
the recipes. That way you can simply flip through to create your
weekly list.
2 Double up
Groceries are expensive, but they're nothing compared to the
cost of eating out. (Because you're not hitting that dollar menu,
right? No, me neither. Never.) There are simply times when I am so
mentally or physically exhausted that the thought of cooking makes
me want to hurl the rice cooker out the window. Instead of dialing
for pizza or driving through the nearest drive-thru, it's nice to
have something in the freezer. That's why, whenever I make a
casserole or any kind of pasta sauce, I always double the recipe.
It doesn't take any more time or effort today for double the
results tomorrow. On some future Tuesday night, I'm going to really
appreciate my earlier efforts.
3 Cook from scratch, sometimes
In general I'm a fan of whole foods and home cooking, but let's
be real. You can't cook a good meal every day-certainly not three
times a day. However, to save money while still living well,
learning to cook is time well spent. In addition to saving money,
cooking from scratch allows you to cut back on nasty processed food
ingredients. Getting friendly with a crock pot puts cooking on
auto-pilot. When you can put some meat, vegetables and seasonings
into a pot, turn it on and go about your day, there is little
excuse to open a can of pre-made stew.
4 Learn to cook all kinds of meat
Buying discounted meat can save hundreds over the course of a
year. Less popular cuts of meat (think anything on a bone) get
marked down more often, so learning to cook them really pays off.
Stock up on bargain meat without regard to your list. Put it in the
freezer and use that inventory for planning future weekly menus.
Even if you love boneless skinless chicken, you can find deals. I
recently bought the entire marked down stock of organic free-range
chicken tenderloins-10 pounds of it-at less than $3 a pound. The
more types of meat you know how to cook, the more often you can
take advantage of sales.
5 Make your own dishwasher soap
This might sound a bit house-on-the-prairie-esque, but stick
with me. I am far from an all-natural mother, but simple
easy-to-make dishwasher soap saves a lot of bucks a year. It's
worth the bit of effort. A simple mix of 1 cup Borax, 1 cup washing
soda and ¼ cup kosher salt works wonders. And rinse agent? Hello,
vinegar! Every time you fill the soap holder you'll pat yourself on
the back for all the money you've saved.
This article appeared in the
March 2012
edition of Chicago Parent.
See more of Lela's stories here.
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