I apologize for not getting this up sooner. The sun was shining and I was in the garden.
In the last article I talked about storage containers for your bulk food bin items. For the larger items like cereal and treats, put them in ziploc bags with name and date on them.
Secrets to saving on ziploc bags: Couple things to remember about ziploc bags. There are different sizes as well as regular and freezer. The freezer bags are thicker and cost more. Ziploc bags can be reused unless have put raw/cooked chicken or beef in them. For safety reasons it is best to throw away. Freezer bags need to used when freezing something otherwise use the regular bags since they are more cost-effective.
Cooking oil: Olive, peanut and coconut are the best oil choices. Olive oil is for used baking, salad dressing and cooking not frying. Peanut is an oil than can stand high temperature when frying food. Olive and peanut oil need to be kept in the frig to prevent them from going rancid. Crisco is great for baking. It is also cheap and a good to put on rough areas of your body to smooth up.
Health issues with plastic: I am not a fan of plastic due to some very serious health concerns from the ingredients used to making plastic leaching into your food. If you would like more information about this go to www.mercola.com – great natural health website. Plastic containers and bags are extremely cheap so they are great to use to so store food. It is extremely import that the item you want to put into the plastic container is at room temperature. Do not put items into plastic containers that are warm. There is very little chance of chemical leaching out if there is no temperature change, this includes plastic wrap. I recommend using a small plate turned upside down over a bowl for items to go into frig. To make if more airtight, put wax paper over the food item and then a plastic wrap over it so it does not come in contact with the food. the item you want to store before putting into plastic. NEVER USE PLASTIC CONTAINERS OR WRAP WHEN HEATING SOMETHING UP IN THE MICROWAVE. This is for your health – estrogen-like chemicals get into your food and this has been linked to fertility issues, obesity, and diabeties. This is extremely serious. I am not a doctor and there are a ton of articles regarding this issue so please read up on it – again www.mercola.com is an excellent website and he is an extremely knowledgable and respected doctor.
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Print this out and circle or highlight what you need – DO NOT FORGET YOUR LIST.
All right you found a local grocery store that has a good bulk bin section. There nothing in your cupboards so the first thing we need to do is get some food staples.
This is where the bulk section is going to be so helpful and save you a ton of money. Let’s say you need to get some flour. Now you only need approximately 1-2 cups to get started. In the bulk bin section you meaure out 1-2 cups in a bag for less than $1.00. There is no sense in buying a one pound bag of flour for a couple bucks that will end of going bad before you use it. Get as much as you can in this section.
Bulk Food items to consider: Cereal, granola, spices, flour, pancake mix, candy, oatmeal, taco mix, brownie mix, nuts, sugar, pasta, chicken/beef base for broth, rice, beans, dried fruit, cococut flakes, chips, and popcorn. Remember you only need a small anount. Make sure to wrote down what the item is along with number code on the twist tie so when you get home you don’t have to guess what is in each bag. Start saving your plastic containers so you can transfer your bulk items into them. Ziplock bags are also good and you can write on them so you know what the item is and put date bought on it for freshness. At a later date you can get glass containers at thrift stores or discount stores for storage. No one has to know that you didn’t buy the name brand of an item.
Below are lists of various items to consider when at the store. Start out with the items you cannot live without and on the next shopping trip add one or two more.
Condiments: Ketchup, mustard, mayonaise, horseradish, vinegar, tabasco, salsa, peanut butter, salad dressing, soy sauce, lemon juice, cooking oil, and butter.
Protein: Hamburger,eggs, tuna fish, peanut butter, nuts, cheese, chicken, hot dogs, fish.
Prepackaged items: Soup, canned vegetables, canned beans, hamburger/tuna helper, rice mix, frozen vegetables, frozen stir fry meals, frozen dinners/breakfasts, frozen pizza, and frozen juice
Kitchen items: Sandwich bags, plastic wrap, wax paper, foil, quart size freezer bags, paper towels, garbage liners, napkins, and kleenex spatula, mixing spoon, bowl, pot, pan, baking sheeting, casserole dish, pot holder/oven mitts.
Carbs: Bread, muffins, rice, couscous, pasta, flour/corn tortillas, cereal, and granola.
Beverages: Milk, fruit/vegetable juice, pop/soda, and water.
Okay, work on figuring out what you need and what your budget is because tomorrow I am going to get in a LOT more detail on how to save in the other areas beside the bulk bin section. Then I will give you some simple meals to put together that are fast and HEALTHY.
My mantra is eat healthy, cheaply, and ecofriendly all at the same time. I would rather you eat healthy instead of blowing your whole food budget for a doctor visit along with a smaller paycheck due to missed work.
Congratulations, you are officially on your own. You have you own place and the cupboards are bare. You don’t get paid for two weeks and not sure what or how much food to buy. How can you get the most food out of the money you have.
First point to understand is the layout of a grocery store. The outside perimeter of the a grocery store has all the essential items without the fluff. In layman’s terms it means that all the essentials are in the outer area of the store and the middle aisles have the nonessential like canned/packaged food, along with your favoite junk food . The outer perimeter will have meat, diary, bread, vegetables and fruit. On your first shopping trip you may need to go down the inner aisles, but normally avoid these aisles to keep on budget. This will avoid temptation to buy items you do not really need and cannot afford. Another important consideration is to eat before going shopping to prevent being hungry and filling your cart with all your favorite comfort foods.
Ask around to find out which grocery store in the area has a large bulk bin section. This is the best way to get the most bang for you buck. Normally, the best deals at the grocery store is buying the largest size to get the lowest cost per weight. The way to get around this is bulk bins. In this area the price per weight is the same whether you get one ounce or one pound. Yeah, it is not in a pretty package but the point is getting the most for the least amount of money. You will be surprised just how much is available in this section. Since you only have to get what you will use until the next payday, there will be no worry of spoilage and will save room.
Now it is important to think about how much time and where you will be eating each meal of the day. Will you be eating your breakfast as you are running out the door to work? Do you need to have a lunch made before you leave each day for work? By the time you get home at night will you be too tired too cook? These are all important considerations to help you get only what you need and have time to prepare.
Come back soon to get your grocery list ready before you head to the store.
