When you are grocery shopping, what items can you add to your grocery list that will help you make the most of your budget?
Grains - Hearty grains is a perfect addition to any meal and one of the cheapest ingredients you can find. Make nice hearty salads, put in soups, or serve as an accompaniment.
Pasta - Pasta is the perfect for any meal and can be used for so many things. It is also very versatile and very inexpensive.
Beans and lentils - Beans, lentils, peas and chickpeas... with so many different kinds to choose from it is difficult to run out of options. To get the most of your budget money, buy them dry and cook them yourself. If you haven't already, give a hummus recipe a try.
Potatoes - Baked potatoes, potato soup, oven baked fries, potatoes au gratin, potato pancakes, hash browns.... buy a large bag and let your imagination go wild!
Cabbage - This is very nutritious and packed with vitamins.
Vegetables - Have you visited your Farmer's Market? You might be amazed at what you can get for your dollar. However, you might be surprised to know that buying canned or frozen vegetables are a good alternative since they are canned and frozen at their peak.
Onions, Carrots & Celery - Among the cheapest of the veggies, these can be a great base for many of your recipes!
Canned Tomatoes - Stock up on these when they are on sale. Perfect for soup, stew, tomaco sauce, salsa and tons of other recipes.
Bullion Cubes - Why buy cartons of stock when you can make it for a fraction of the cost using these cubes? These also provide good flavor for some of your other dishes as well. I often drop a boullion cube into my spaghetti noodles or rice whiel it is cooking.
Meat - Buy larger packs of meat and repackage it yourself.
Sausage - A large pack of good quality sausage does not have to be very expensive. A little bit of sausage can add a lot of flavor in a dish!
Eggs - Eggs are healthy, relatively inexpensive and good at any meal of the day. Whether you are eating scrambled eggs for breakfast, a boiled egg for snack or an egg sandwich for supper, eggs really are a great thing to keep in your refrigerator.
Spices - Never underestimate the importance of your spice rack. Budget cooking doesn't mean boring. Kick up those favorite dishes with a few new spices.
2 comments:
We've been having whole grain pasta and brown rice for the past 6 months or so. I've been told these are good for us, and we don't seem to be suffering, so I think we'll gradually shift over to wheat flour and unrefined sugar. What do you think? BTW, I'm celebrating a Sweet Centennial today over at my place--please drop by!
We do the Farmer's Market every Saturday, even in the winter. We can always find something yummy there, and at such reasonable prices! BTW, if ya thought my Friday Foto was Funny, you should check out the Silly Sunday Sweepstakes tomorrow. We'll be Sharing that Caption Love, ya know!
Post a Comment