10 Tips For Stretching Your Food Budget
It's just a hypothesis, but single people are more likely to eat out every night than married people. Obviously, that gets costly. Let's say supper costs you about $8-10, and you eat out at least 5 times a week, week in and week out. At about 50 working weeks per year, that's at least $8x250 = $2000/yr. On a monthly basis, that's about $8x20 = $160 or more. Add in your lunch, and you're probably spending $300/m on just lunch and supper. If you have breakfast on the run at a fast-food joint, that's probably another $100/m or more. Think of what you're filling your body with almost daily, besides all the money you're losing. And don't forget, your fridge doesn't like to stay empty, so you'll probably buy items that just sit in the fridge, forgotten, and spoil. So you’re spending several hundred a month on food when you can get by like royalty on $100-$160/m, provided you’re willing to take meals to work or eat at home. [Okay, let’s be realistic. You’ll want to, and need to, go out once in a while.]
Food spoilage has always been a problem with every single person I've ever known. If you're like most people, you'd prefer a nice home-cooked meal. But if you've worked a long day at work, and you have no significant other, cooking is probably the last thing on your mind. Oh, you've cooked before, and even like it, but you always make too much, or get sick of the leftovers, or end up throwing stuff out. And supermarkets always package stuff for "family" size, especially frozen meats. Once you thaw a package out to remove one piece, you end up having to cook the rest. It’s not easy.
Well, there are a few fairly easy-to-follow tips that'll help you stretch your budget, should you prefer to go home and cook.
- Get some large freezer bags with the good "zippers". They're expensive but they're worth it. In fact, get some large, cheaper bags, too. Put raw meats inside the cheaper bags, then put these bags inside the zipper bags. You’ve got double protection, and as long as the cheaper bag doesn’t leak, you can reuse the zippered bag on something else, including fruits and vegetables.
- Get some "snap on lid" plastic containers for leftovers. Get the good kind, whose lids stay on. Expensive but definitely worth it. The cheap kind usually have lids that pop off in the fridge, allowing food to spoil.
- If you can afford about $29-99, buy a vacuum sealer and a supply of bags. Veggies that are normally delicate seem to stand up well to the freezer if you vacuum pack them.
- If you buy a large quantity of vegetables or meat, cut individual items into single portions and vacuum seal them. Do not mix items into the same bag unless their cooking times are about the same.
- For fruit such as apples and pears, wash and slice them, toss in a little bit of lime or lemon juice, then place in freezer bags. (Citrus juice not necessary if you’re vacuum sealing.)
- Buy some smaller freezer bags. Buy a family-pack of ground meat and portion it off when you get home. Place each portion in its own freezer bag.
- If you’re forced to thaw out a large quantity of ground meat because it’s not already portioned, all’s not lost. When the meat is thawed, lightly brown it in a skillet with a minimum of seasoning. When it’s browned, keep what you want to eat in the skillet and let the rest cool in a shallow, wide dish or plate. When cool, portion the extra meat and place in smaller freezer bags. Alternately, you can keep the excess in a snap-top plastic container, then make something different each night with the meat, until it is used up. For example, one night you can make a small portion of chili. The next night you can make Spaghetti Bolognese (meat sauce). If you’re adventurous, you can make meat-filled “eggrolls” or similar items such as wontons. If you’re skillful, buy a cheap package of wonton wrappers and make your own dumplings with a rich broth. This way, you’re not really eating leftovers, and you can take advantage of your grocer’s meat sales.
- If you buy a giant-size pasta sauce can or bottle, you can portion it off in the snap-top containers and stick them in the freezer. Whatever you do, don’t freeze in bottles. You can use leftover yoghurt or onion dip or margarine containers. [If you do, do not leave them in the freezer for more than a week or two, as they aren’t really designed for such use. And do not heat them in the microwave for more than 2 minutes. Just warm the containers a bit, then transfer the contents to a microwave-safe bowl to finish heating.]
- If you’re a very busy person, pick one day each week to be a “cooking day”. For example, if you do your laundry on Sundays, and do not have to leave your home/apartment, prepare your raw ingredients while waiting. Cut up vegetables and put them in airtight containers. Thaw out enough meat for the dishes you plan to make. If after your laundry is done, and you feel up to it, spend the rest of the day making three or four dishes. Keep one dish for that night’s supper, stick another in the fridge, and the rest in the freezer. It generally feels like less effort to do most of your cooking for the week at one time, than trying to do some every night.
- If you do not like to eat freeze and thaw food, change your shopping schedule. Instead of buying everything once a week and letting some of it spoil, shop 2-3 times a week, even every day if you can. If you particularly like to eat a meal made from fresh, non-frozen ingredients, then there’s a trick I learned “on the line” (cooking in restaurants) that is a time saver. Let’s say you’ve just purchased some vegetables. If you think you’ll be able to use all of it up within 3-5 days, dice or slice up each vegetable and keep it in its own air-tight container. For the next few days, when you want to use a vegetable, just open its container, grab a handful, and throw it into your dish. Having veggies ready like this not only saves time, but when you come home tired and hungry, it’s so much easier to convince yourself to cook.
Hopefully some of this will encourage you to cook at home a bit more. Most of these tips are pretty simple, and while the containers and bag may cost you a bit, they are worth it if you reuse them.
(c) Copyright 2005, Raj Kumar Dash, http://cookingforone-or-two.blogspot.com
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