Cooking on a Budget...A Little Goes a Long Way

Hello Boys and Girls!

Young families and the "oldie but goodie" crowd have to watch their pennies. This economy is stretching our imagination to entertain our kids for less money and to eat good meals on a budget. We have to be creative. We use the library more, public parks and $1 movie night to save some money and still have fun. Sometimes the grocery stores help us save money too.

One good way to save some $$ is watching for discounts. I don't mean using coupons. More than not, coupons are for foods you do not normally eat or for fast-food. That may save some money at the moment but in the long run the foods are short on nutrition and long on calories.

I am talking about the foods that may be one day short of expiration. These mark downs are usually snatched up as soon as they are put on display. Meat may be due to expire in one day; veggies may have a few minor bruises but no expiration date. None-the-less, you can save money by being observant and not too picky. We are not talking about dumpster diving (which has lots of good surprises) but quality food savings.

For instance, take a look at these

 vegetables. All of them cost .99 cents! These were in one clear plastic bag so I could inspect them. Also included were mushrooms in their original packaging.
When buying marked down foods, plan to use them the same day. I happened to be in the store just to buy veggies. But when I saw these veggies marked down, I decided to buy a small roast for the crock pot.

This roast was $7.00.  It was a lesser cut of meat so it was perfect for slow cooking in the crock pot. I rubbed it with Mesquite Rub from Costco. http://www.costco.com/ It comes in several flavors. I decided to use Mesquite for, well...we are in Texas!
As you can see, the sliced roast will serve at least 3 meals...maybe sandwiches for lunch. 


I passed up fruit that had been marked down. I really wanted the mangos but they do not taste good if too ripe.

So, here is a way to stretch your food dollar. Use common sense (as in the fruit) and be flexible in your meal planning. My total was less than $10.
Good luck and let me know what great meals you make with discounted foods!

Until next time...eat a meal with family; play a game after dinner; have fresh fruit for dessert....OK, that is going too far...sorry!