FRUGAL FRIDAYS: Food

Frugality is something that has occupied my mind for many years. When the Hubs was in the Navy and I stayed at home with the kiddos, things were tight. We knew it would be if I stayed home, but it was a sacrifice we took seriously. So in an effort to live off his salary, we had to be FRUGAL. Let's just say, I learned as I went. I got a copy of the book The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn and still use it as reference today. Growing up on a farm helps too. We didn't have much money then, but we always had plenty to eat, clothes and shoes, good friends, and of course one thing was abundant: LOVE. So here's a series of posts about living with less, FRUGAL FRIDAY. Feel free to leave comments and share your ideas for living abundantly with less.

1. Cook from scratch. When you buy food arleady prepared, you're paying for someone else to fix your food. And they get to put whatever they want in it. We all know this right? I've known how to cook since I was really young, but not everyone grew up cooking with the family. If you're interested, take a cooking class, go online, and TRY new recipes. This is a good skill to teach your children too. All my kids know how to cook and they aren't afraid to try out a new recipe or cooking method. Pizza is just one of the things we cook at home. Getting help from little ones is fun too!
2. Eat healthy, whole foods. The basics are typically cheaper and they are better for you anyway. When your budget is bare-bones (like ours sometime is) you should seriously consider what you're buying and what it can do for you. For example, sodas are all fine and good, but they have NO NUTRITIONAL VALUE. Read: you don't need them. Foods that have no nutritional value are a splurge and if you can't afford it you don't need it.
3. Drink water. And I don't mean bottled. Get a re-usable water bottle or two and keep them full in the fridge. When you go somewhere, grab one and you're good-to-go. Essentially a free, renewable beverage right there in your own kitchen. Not many people use them anymore, but there are water fountains all over the place. When you're water is gone, simply refill your bottle. I often carry a small water cooler when we go on trips to refill with good-tasting "home" water.
4. Pack lunch and make coffee at home. If you also use re-useable containers and coffee mugs, that's even better. With leftovers and simple foods, you can have a great lunch, at a fraction of the cost of food purchased out. I'm fortunate there are no "coffee houses" between my home and work. But others I know are tempted.  It's really simple to make your own and take it with you. You can plan ahead and partially pack your lunch the night before. You can get your coffee mug and the coffee pot ready too.
5. Buy inexpensive meats and cook them in the slow cooker. You can take a "cheap" cut of beef or pork, cook it all day, and you'll have the best, most tender meat ever. Also check the discount meat section in your favorite store. Trust me, it's perfectly good to eat. If not, my entire family would have died of some food disease many years ago. The key is to take it home and prepare or store it right away. I often repackage meats (in useable portions) as soon as I get home from the store. I buy large packages of ground meat and repackage in 1/4 pound to 1/2 pound amounts, put it in freezer bags and freeze. We also do this with chicken breasts and pork chops.
6. Don't eat out. This goes along with # 4 above. Food prepared in the home is less expensive than food purchased already prepared. We do occasionally splurge on a restaraunt meal, but it's a special treat, not an everyday thing. We plan ahead when we travel and take food with us.
7. Garden. This is something that we have done with various success on small city "side yards" and large country back yards. We found in the city, our side yard was just perfect for growing a few tomato plants and some peppers, but not so great for carrots or potatoes. One year, the deer ate most of our veggies in our big country back yard. Don't get me started on the issues with our soil. But we have been fairly successful in growing strawberries, tomatoes, potatoes, squash/zucchini/pumpkins, watermelons, a variety of beans, and herbs. Because of time constraints of The Hubs and me, and the lack of help (kids grow up and have busy schedules), we didn't plant a garden for the last two years. We plan to again next year. Even though WE didn't grow anything, good-hearted gardener friends/family members shared these with us (all free to us): strawberries, cucumbers, tomatoes, peaches, apples, cilantro, basil, mint, squash, zucchini, green bell pepper, jalepeno peppers, and sweet potatoes.
8. Go vegetarian. Meat is generally the most expensive part of any meal. So if you skip the meat once in a while, you will save some serious money. Years ago, I suggested my family have one "no-meat" or "less-meat" dinner each week. I'll tell you, The Hubs was not totally in favor of that at first. But since then we have enjoyed some yummy beans and rice dishes, hearty soups and salads. I can happily say he's now on board with it. And the kids learned that a good meal doesn't always HAVE to include meat.

Hope you enjoy this series. I'll cover other topics here as we go along and hopefully offer something useful to you! Again, feel free to leave comments and share your Frugal Friday tips!