The other day, I was brainstorming ways that I could save money on groceries in this new year. This is what I came up with.
- shop more at discount stores, such as Grocery Outlet, check all clearance sections of other stores I frequent
- cook meals from scratch
- prepare snack foods at home in place of commercial snack foods (this is a critical downfall for me)
- concentrate on creating menus from the least expensive foods available in winter
The last item on this list side-tracked me and prompted a look into the least expensive foods in winter, based on basic food group or nutritional need.
So, just what are the least expensive foods? Obviously, marked down foods in any category can beat the price on foods that fill a similar nutritional need. For now, I'm looking for foods that would be available to most folks during the winter.
Here's the start of my list. As I was brainstorming, I added some ideas for how I could use some of my least expensive foods for our family meals. I've included those notes as well.
What else can we add to the list?
least expensive sources of protein
- milk -- use milk to scratch-prepare yogurt, pudding, cottage cheese, white sauce
- eggs -- frittatas, baked, scrambled, fried (as is or to top other dishes, like beans and rice or ramen soup), boiled (egg salad, deviled, or chopped and sprinkled over other foods to boost protein)
- peanut butter
- canned tuna
- dried beans
- chicken legs/leg quarters
least expensive winter vegetables
- fresh cabbage
- fresh carrots
- fresh onions
- fresh winter squash
- fresh celery
- canned pumpkin
- canned tomatoes
- canned green beans
- homegrown sprouts
least expensive winter fruits
- fresh oranges
- fresh grapefruit
- fresh apples
- fresh bananas
- canned applesauce
- frozen concentrate 100% fruit juice, such as orange juice
least expensive starchy foods
- fresh potatoes -- baked, mashed, oven fries, hashed, cubed/sliced in casseroles
- rice -- pilafs, desserts, plain as hot side dish or hot breakfast cereal
- oats -- hot cereal, granola, baked oatmeal, breakfast cookies, desserts
- wheat flour -- white and whole wheat to bake quick or yeast breads, blend half white/half wheat when making muffins, biscuits, pancakes, quick breads, or for making yeast breads and rolls
- popcorn kernels -- pop in a pan on stove or in an air popper
- cornmeal -- cornbread, polenta/cornmeal mush
- simple pasta shapes, such as spaghetti and macaroni. (I buy both at Dollar Tree in 24 oz packages -- so 67 cents/lb. In contrast, I find ramen in 3 oz packages for 20 cents, or $1.07/lb. It's less expensive to make a noodle soup using spaghetti noodles, homemade chicken, turkey, or ham stock, salt, and a bit of onion powder, garlic powder, and soy sauce.)
- canned corn
least expensive cooking fats
- leftover fat from cooking meat, such as ham, turkey, bacon, chicken, pork, or beef fat
- vegetable oils, such as soybean, corn, safflower (We do buy and use olive oil, but mostly reserve it for dressing salads or for finishing soup or pasta.)
- vegetable shortening and/or margarine (My family has chosen to limit consumption of hydrogenated vegetable fats, but I do buy Crisco-style vegetable shortening to use for pie pastry and greasing baking pans.)
inexpensive flavor and color enhancers
- fresh radishes, green onions
- bulk herbs, spices
- lemons, limes, bottled lemon or lime juice
- bulk onion powder
- Worcestershire sauce
I originally made this list for my own purpose. I then thought this list might be helpful to someone else or someone else here could share their expertise with us and offer suggestions. As you share your thoughts on other least expensive foods, I'll add them to the above list.
