Provident Living: Food

Posted by: Sally

I've been wanting to recommit myself to saving money on our food bill. With a little effort I find that we can eat better and save money.  My step mom sent me a book called Centsible Meals by Lorae Bowden and I've really enjoyed reading it.  It's helped me get back into checking grocery store weekly ads so I can get the best prices on produce and meat. It's also encouraged me to buy in bulk when i find a good deal.  I made my pizza dough from scratch yesterday when I've been in the habit of buying pre-made refrigerated dough.  The kids loved helping me and it was healthier and cheaper.

I thought I'd share a few tips from the book for anyone that is interested.  Also, I'm willing to loan out this book to anyone that would like to read it.  I think the advice is sound and I whole heartily agree with her.  When discussing it with Willie, I mentioned that my grandmothers would wonder why someone even wrote a book like this since it's common sense. Well, not anymore. I feel like the general pull of society is away from these principles, favoring fast food, quick meals and non fresh food. As LDS women we are lucky that we are still taught these things.  I'm not done with the book but here are a few things I've learned/been reminded of so far.

1.  Less Processed = Less money

Evaluate what you buy and see if you can make it yourself from scratch for less.  If a bag or a box is included then it's probably processed.  Basic ingredients like beans, flour, rice, oatmeal, potatoes are cheap.   Learn to make your own food.  It saves money. It's healthier.  The author argues that it's doesn't take much more time than preparing a processed meal.  Beware, a lot of coupons are for processed foods. You may be able to save more money making the item yourself or buying a generic brand.

2. Make Your Own Bread

It's cheaper and healthier.  She suggests to plan a meal with homemade bread then make it when you are making dinner so you don't have to take time during another part of the day.  Freeze the extra loaves.

3.  Buy in Bulk and Buy Generic Brands

Calculate the unit cost of what you buy.  This will help you know what is a good price. She is not a fan of membership clubs like Sam's because the prices are not always as good as buying the store brand at a regular store and she ends up buying more than she came there to get.  A good sale on a name brand item may be what the regular price is on a generic brand.

4. Eat with the Season/ Grow Your Own

Eating things that are in season saves money and it's healthier.  Food travels less distance if it is actually being grown close to where you live.  For instance, a green pepper that comes from Mexico was probably picked early and had to travel get to the store.  A green pepper grown in Colorado was picked closer to being ripe and had a shorter time to travel.  Better yet, the green pepper you grown in your backyard doesn't have to travel at all and can picked when it's perfectly ripe