How Do you Balance Healthy Cooking with the High Cost of Food?

I do “recycle” leftovers all the time, and nobody wouldn’t even know !

I have a garden in the summer. I can/freeze the vegetables for use in the winter when the price of fresh veggies is really high.

I also recycle leftovers; I’ve made homemade pizza dough (cheap!) and filled it with chopped leftover meat/veggies to make a calzone. I never let anything go bad.

I buy very few processed or prepackaged foods. I take the time to cook from scratch. Off-brand frozen veggies are a staple, as are potatoes, brown rice, polenta (made from cornmeal), cereal, oats, eggs, pasta, etc. My son and I eat meatless meals quite often. I make my own salad dressing–store-bought is pricy, filled with chemicals, and not very tasty!

You can go to a recipe website such as foodnetwork.com, enter a keyword (such as “potato”) and get tons of ideas.

My money’s tight. I have to be creative! Good luck!

What i did is I made a list of all the things I buy and then went to all the stores I shop at and wrote down the price it is at each store so now i know which store has the cheapest of what i buy. For instance yesterday i wanted to buy a head of iceberg lettuce and at walmart it is 1.49 but i knew at piggly wiggly it would be .99 so i got it at piggly wiggly. Dont need coupons for that. And when you do have coupons it just adds to the savings especially if things are on sale. If you make a list, make a column for the full price AND the sale price and keep track of it and bring the list with you everywhere you go and make your shopping list based on your price list.

I buy local when I can.

I buy seasonal all the time. Peaches are cheap now. They’ll cost a fortune in February.

I use far less meat per person per meal than most restaurants–and we get all we need.

I limit salt used in cooking.

I use lower-fat or healthier oils, margarine, sour cream, milk, etc.

I buy sharper cheeses so we can use far less to get the taste we like.

I serve at least one vegetable with every meal, and make veggie portions substantial.

I do a lot of my own preparation rather than using mixes, jars, complete meals, etc. It took time to gather recipes, but now about 3/4 of what I make is entirely from scratch–and nearly as fast as using pre-packaged products, while being lower in fat and salt. I make most dinners in 30-45 minutes.

I buy fish when it’s on sale and freeze it. I also buy bags of frozen individually-packaged tilapia and salmon.

I buy “club packs” of chicken, trim it all, and freeze it in one-meal portions. If I’m not feeling too lazy, I cube some, dice some, etc. so it’s meal-ready.

I buy whole-grain products often. The nuttier taste doesn’t go with everything, but when it doesn’t clash, that’s what I use. Brown rice, whole-wheat pasta, like that.

I use coupons and pay attention to what’s on sale. I almost never buy health-and-beauty items or cereal without a coupon.

I try store-brand or no-brand products and substitute them for name-brand when they’re perfectly all right. This can be cheaper than a name-brand product and a coupon the store doubles.

I use a list and don’t often buy things that aren’t on it–unless they’re a good price on something I’m sure to use.

We eat leftovers, often rolled into a future meal rather than just reheated.

Gardening/Baking your own homemade breads cakes etc….use applesauce in place of fat in quick breads, and whole grain flours and seeds to make things healthier get creative it id FUN! Some ppl will let you have apples if u ask nicely if they have trees overloaded and can not use them all.. If you see free produce~> take it..it is great to freeze if you cant have a garden . Always stock up when there r sales and invest in a freezer or check out your local sites.
Get involved in the community organizations that have food shares possibly. Always utilize your leftovers or freeze right away in small er containers and then you will have a new meal.! There is so much waste in todays world-try to conserve. Look up recipes online.

I go shopping daily and pick up the bargains early.
Early in the day as the Supermarket is swinging into action the butchery staff and the produce staff are rearranging things.
They sort out food that is near or at it’s best buy date, and mark it down.
I estimate 25% of my Meat, Chicken, Fish and Veggies are bought that way saving me a dollar or two here and there.
Buy cheaper cuts of meat. Chicken drums and thighs are cheaper than breasts or tenderloins, and they have more taste.

Check if there are any produce Co-ops in your area. I am part of a huge co-op here in the Phx area called bountiful baskets. for $15 every other week I get a laundry basket full of fruits and veggies. A month and a half ago I even bought a 20 lb box of tomatoes for $10.50 and made a HUGE batch of salsa.