Today's lunch will be the 6th meal we are making from the roast beef, and there's well over half the roast still left! So, obviously, I'll make more than the planned 8 meals from it. Probably 12-15 meals, quite likely, although I plan to freeze whatever is leftover after tonight's dinner. Otherwise, we will both be too tired of eating beef.

I want to buy some fish/seafood for this weekend's meals, and then, will pull out a chicken from the freezer for next week.

BL: I fully agree with you about buying on sale to stretch the money.

I, too, have several grocery stores within a 2 mile radius of my home, or on the way home from work or from DD's campus. But I try to limit it to 2 stores in a given week. Often, it's 1 particular store (major chain supermarket) for bread & milk and some meat; the 2nd store (ethnic groceries) for fresh fruits & vegetables, and some specialties. Even with weekly specials sales, the supermarket can't match the prices on fresh produce at the ethnic grocery store, not to mention the selection.

As for Costco, I think their prices are better than the regular grocery store prices, on many of the items. I get good deals on some items like the green machine drink that DD likes ($5.99 at Costco; $9.99 at the supermarket), but find better deals when things go on sale elsewhere. C & H cane sugar, for example; approx. $.65/lb. at Costco, if you buy the 10 lb. bag (if I recall correctly from my last shopping trip there); but I can buy for approx. $.50/lb. at the ethnic stores when a 4 lb. bag goes on sale for $1.99; the regular supermarket sells them for $3+ reg. price (don't know the exact price, because I never buy sugar at reg. price) and $2.50 on sale. I wait until the ethnic store has the $1.99 sale and stock up.

Or even holiday specialties, like the sparkling apple cider - the last time I bought some at Costco, I paid something like $6+ for 4 bottles; a couple of weeks ago, I bought 6 bottles from the dollar store for $.99 @ (reg. grocery store had them on sale for $1.99 special, last week; otherwise, reg. prices are $3+ per bottle)

I like the convenience of Costco shopping when I have to stock up on household items or buy for a party; otherwise, the large quantities tend to be too much for me.

Went grocery shopping yesterday and spent quite a bit of money!

Store 1 (reg. supermarket): bought 2 gals. milk ($3.19@), bread ($1.99), chicken breasts ($.99/lb; $4.53 total), beef ($2.97/lb; 3 packages at $6.56, $7.72, $8.29), salmon fillets (2 packages; $2.79 & $5.58), frozen dessert ($5.59) = $49.33

Plus, cat food (2 15 lb. bags; $10.59@) & 2 air fresheners ($.99@) plus $2.03 in sales tax on them.

Store 2 (ethnic store): Spent $15.76 and bought: 6 pk. lychee pudding ($1.69), cookies ($.99), Roasted soy beans ($1.42), fruits (banana $.50/lb, persimmons $.89/lb, grapes $.99/lb), vegetables (green beans, $.99/lb, yams $.49/lb, carrots $.45/lb, onions $.25/lb, serrano chillies $.99/lb and fresh ginger $.79/lb), 2 smoked sausage, 14oz ($1.99@)

total spent on groceries this week: $49.33 + 15.76 = $65.09

However, some of what I bought (beef, sausage, onions, etc.) were bought for the upcoming prayer meeting dinner I will be hosting a bit later this month. I generally add up to $100 to that month's grocery budget whenever I have such special events (with more than half of it going towards beverages!) Any leftovers get incorporated into our regular meals, of course.

Total spent on groceries so far in Nov: $44.97 + $65.09 = $110.06

Nov. Grocery budget: $150 + $100 = $250

**************

Cooked the beef (curry) for the prayer meeting dinner yesterday - will freeze it until needed.

Cooked the salmon fillets with onions and tomatoes for dinner (with rice and broccoli); sent some of the leftovers for DD's lunch today; there's enough salmon leftover for at least 1 more meal.

Plan to cook the chicken tonight and we'll have some for tonight's dinner and the rest will be sliced for sandwiches for lunches.

How is everyone's meal planning/grocery budgeting coming along?

Dinner last night was chicken breasts (sauted with onions), baked yams & potatoes, green peas & broccoli; grapes for dessert.

The package contained 5 chicken breast halves (with ribs). DD and I shared 1, last night. I sliced another for our lunch sandwiches for today. There are enough leftover for at least 2 more meals for us, this week. I'll add the ribs to the package of chicken bones in the freezer, to make chicken stock, later.

Dinner tonight will be either leftover salmon or leftover chicken, with rice or pasta, and veggies.

Yum Bless. Your meals always sound so yummy.

Tonight will be steak (there will be leftovers), onions, mushrooms, potatoes, and some sort of veggie.

I have some baked beans and lasagna that I am freezing for future meals.

Need to look at what is left in my freezer for food to see what I can use up before going away for 2 weeks at Christmas.

Tina, thanks. Good plan to see what needs to be used up before you go away on vacation.

Dinner last night was leftover salmon, with freshly cooked rice and leftover veggies (choice of beets, broccoli, green peas, cabbage, lentils); DD packed some of the leftovers for her lunch, today.

Enough rice and veggies leftover for tonight's dinner, with some of the chicken.

I agree that there are some things that I will buy only at Costco....shredded cheese for instance. Things like milk and butter I can find much cheaper...this week both are on sale for $1.99/gal & $1.88/lb at 2 of the nearby stores. Coffee cream is $9 for 3 qts at costco but I get it for $2.19 to 2.39 at the grocery stores in the area. I have become a very frugal shopper, in part because I do like to get the bang for my buck, but also now because there is no choice in it. I did get a fabulous sale on diced canned tomatoes on the last coupon at costco, it was 8 cans organic for BOGO, so they were 48 cents a can after the discount. I use a lot of tomatoes so bought 4 total packs. I just really watch all the sales....

So big grocery shopping week getting ready for next week, Thanksgiving, and my brother staying with us for 5 days and SO's son with us for 3 days.....grocery bill is bigger with that many more men/mouths to feed.

Spent right at $100 at 4 stores and got the following
4 12 packs of soda
20 indiv bottles of wine(comes out to $3.50 per full sized bottle)
5 lb red potatoes
2 lbs broccoli
sliced gouda
4 cans chunky soup for lunches
6 cans turkey gravy
celery
4 lb butter sticks
4 cans vegetable
3 lbs sweet potatoes
2 bags tortilla chips
10 cups yogurt (work snack)
2 boxes granola (for the yogurt)
1 package shredded parmesan
2 bags potato chips
2 qt coffee cream
wheat sandwich bread
french bread
5 bags of assorted frozen veggies
2 lb wheel of brie (an indulgence!)
2 large cans of coffee
2 packages of french fried onions
3 cans black olives
eggs
acorn squash
and a hazelnut candy bar!

Got a turkey from work(almost 14 lbs) so have everything I need for dinner except for cranberry sauce and dinner rolls.

And the best part was that everything was on sale except for the bread

BL: Watching those sales is a must. And the occasional treat and indulgence is what makes the rest of the penny pinching and dollar stretching all worthwhile.

Psst....

Want to save some money when it comes to groceries?

How about saving up to 14% of your grocery budget?

Interested?

Yes?

Then, I have a tip for you!

REDUCE FOOD WASTE!

I've been reading some articles about household food waste...

Did you know that food waste accounts for an estimated 14.1% (some articles say 18%) of the municipal waste? It is 2nd only to paper (28.2%), but more paper is recycled.

Did you know that it is estimated that the average U.S. household throws away 14% of the food brought into the home?

Those expired cans and boxes on our shelves, those containers of fuzzy topped leftovers at the back of the fridge, that forgotten bag of shrivelled up something formerly known as carrots in the veggie bin...

That's the same as throwing away 14% of one's grocery budget!

No matter what our grocery budget is, it's still a lot of money to be throwing away!

For example, my monthly grocery budget is $150. 14% of that would be $21. So, if I am wasting 14% of the groceries I buy, then, it means, I am throwing away $21.

Oh, but surely I waste less food than the average household? Well, even if I waste 10%, that's still $15 per month that I am tossing.

No matter how much or how little gets wasted, reducing food waste can only be a good thing, as it will make our grocery budget go further.

REDUCING FOOD WASTE - part 2

So...how can we reduce food waste?

The articles recommend changing our food purchasing, storage, and preparation methods.

Their tips are what I consider to be quite basic, and include:

- planning meals around food items already in our pantry and fridge/freezer
- using up leftovers
- planning a menu and shopping for only those items (But I will emphasize shopping the sales!)
- buying in quantities that one realistically need and will use
- if buying in bulk, then, focus on proper storage to keep the food from spoiling before you use it (it's not a bargain if we end up tossing half because it spoiled before we could eat it)
- preserving or canning surplus fruits and vegetables

I think we all tend to do some, if not most, of these.

So, how much food do we waste and how can we reduce it?

As I said before, I think I waste a lot less than the estimated 14%. I do quite a bit of what the articles recommend and I go a step or two beyond!

For example, while I am guilty of occasionally buying more than I actually use and have had produce spoil before I get around to using them (I believe there is a cucumber going soft in my veggie bin and I know there are 2 bananas in my fruit bowl that have gone beyond the banana bread stage!), I compost them and consider it as money spent on garden fertilizer!

I also compost such things as vegetable peels (unless I save them to add to soup stocks) and fruit rinds (unless I keep some to make candied peels, etc.) and egg shells - things that one pays for when buying groceries, but don't generally consume.

All in all, I think I waste less than 10% off the food I buy. But still, I think it would be good to be aware of how much does get wasted and to see how it can be reduced even further.

With grocery prices being what they are, it makes sense to get maximum use of what we buy, don't you agree?

Is food waste a concern for anyone else?

Is anyone interested in reducing food waste (and saving more of the grocery money we already spend)?

Are there any things you do currently to reduce food waste?

Any tips you'd care to share with the rest of us?

My food waste ratio is definitely well below 10%, although I live alone and portions sold are usually not suited for single person households.

In addition to Bless' list above, I learned to cook suitable portions. It took some time and patience to find out, just how much pasta, rice, etc I really eat. But now I know and more often than not I have no leftovers. If there is something left, it usually gets eaten within the next two days. If the portion ended up being a bit too small, I simply add dessert.

A while ago I watched a TV show where people had been asked to rummage their cabinets for really old food, cans, home made preserves and whatnot. During the show they opened the antiques people had found hiding somewhere and sent them. To my amazement the food expert said that most of the food was still safe to eat (albeit not necessarily tasty any more), even though some of it was over 20 years old! They tried and tested on the show, there were explanations too, but I have forgotten them. So a "best before" date doesn't mean you must or should toss something when that's over.

The food expert advised people to use their senses. He said we were naturally equipped to detect if food was edible or not. If it looks and smells right and a cautions test reveals it tastes right, it is probably safe. But of course, if in doubt, toss it. He also said that people have different levels of sensitivity, so if you are a robust type, but cook for your family, let a sensitive family member check.

Last night I used canned pineapple from a can with a "best before" date from about a year ago. The can was perfectly intact before I opened it. I looked, smelled, tasted and the content appeared to be fine, no different from a fresh product. I have finished off a fair share of it and I am fine too.

I have not tried this on odd industrial products that contain additives, only on "pure" products like canned fruit I know well. I know some additives have been designed to fool your senses. I stay away from those products in the first place.

No experiments with fresh meat or fish. I eat eggs that are past the "best before" date, but they get checked and cooked long enough to kill any potential passengers. They are also stored in the fridge at all times. I have never had a problem with that. Most dairy products make it known, if they are still good to eat.

I decide, If I try something I have forgotten somewhere or not by the period the product can be safely kept and then add some. If milk can safely be kept for a week and it's been there for 10 days, I'll give it a try. I guess if it's been there less than twice the expected life span, I'd check.

I do toss things that seem off. The other day I had rice that smelled strange. The whole package (a cardboard box) smelled strange and after it was cooked it smelled even stranger, mouldy somehow. I didn't eat it. I think the package may have become damp when I cleaned the pantry.

I have some waste. It happens when I ruin a meal, try a new recipe and realize the result is awful or buy something that was poor quality to begin with. Every now and again, I stock up the fridge and then become sick, so the food ends up spoiled before I feel fit enough to cook or eat. But that's rarely the case.