Economical Eating Tips

Several factors have pushed up the wholesale cost of food this year. One is transportation. Another is the high cost of corn – because of the push to turn corn into the alternative fuel, ethanol – which, in turn, affects the price of cereal, pop (it's full of corn syrup), meats and poultry raised on feed.

To grasp how much you're really spending, save all your receipts for a week or a month, and count up every food item. This gives you a starting point to budget.

1.) Plan quick meals of sandwiches or food you make in advance, for nights when family members will be busy with meetings, sports or school activities.

2.) Use the weekly grocery ads and flyers as you plan. Focus on seasonal foods and vegetables, and what's on sale.

3.) Stock up on basics when they are on sale. Look for canned beans, lentils, and tomatoes on sale.

Canned Lentils are a great start for an easy dinner, mash with rolled oats and some seasonings and then form into patties, or follow my recipe below:

The Hillaryburger

4.) Have variety in the plan, so you don't get tired of the same old thing and be tempted to go out to eat.

5.) Whole, unprocessed grains (buy these in bulk to save!). I also make up a large amount and freeze the rest in smaller serving containers for quick meals on nights when I don't have a lot of time for cooking.

Most grains will freeze well and thaw with no problem making it a real time-saver that's full of nutrition.

6.) Use coupons. Save.ca is a great site (they send you only the coupons you request).

7.) Keep on hand the ingredients for a fast meal for nights when there's nothing else to eat. A backup meal in your pantry or freezer can keep you from busting the food budget with delivered pizza or fast food.

8.) Buy discounted day-old bread and keep it in the freezer.

9.) Keep a running grocery list on your fridge. Any time something is used up or is almost gone, add it to the list.

10.) Pay attention to unit pricing, it's usually in fine print on the little tags on the grocery shelves.

11.) Pack a lunch to take to work. Use up leftovers or "planned overs." Leftover Tofurky roast from Christmas? freeze in 2-slice portions for sandwiches.

12.) For soup bases, a package of bouillon is much cheaper than a can of veggie broth.

13.) Tofu can be frozen so if you find it on sale, stock up and freeze what you can't use right away. Then use it to make Baked Tofu.

14.) Many times I've found a bunch of Yves ground 'beef' packages on sale, those can be easily frozen as well.

15.) TVP is a great money saver as well. Try my Pumpkin Chili for a start.

16.) Switch to water or tea. Soft drinks are expensive as well as full of sugar and calories. If you must have soft drinks, try store-brand soft drinks. Bring soft drinks from home, if you tend to buy drinks from the vending machine at work.

17.) Make coffee at home (bring in the car in your own travel mug). Chill leftover coffee to use in a homemade Iced Coffee or Frappuccino.

18.) Buy the bigger package of snacks and repackage them into smaller bags yourself.

19.) Use one weekend to make and freeze enough food for a month of meals. Or make your own mixes for all kinds of dishes.

20.) Make your own granola.

21.) Use the crockpot or pressure cooker to cook up some economical dried beans and freeze in 2-cup containers. These can easily be thrown into soups or thawed in the fridge overnight for other dishes.

22.) Make your flower bed into a small vegetable garden.

23.) Make a batch of pancakes for breakfast, let cool, and freeze the leftovers. Then, just pop them into the toaster for a change from cereal/toast.