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I'd like to spend less money on food, but I'm not living paycheck-to-paycheck. So what ARE the things it's okay to buy cheap, and what things should I avoid buying the very cheapest version? Here's what I (think I) know: Eggs: Buy free-range Grains/rice/nuts/whatever: Buy in bulk Meat: I don't know? I like buying my meat in bulk from Costco and freezing it but I have no idea where they get their meat. Milk and other dairy: No idea Processed items: Stop buying them, they're expensive and way more gross than what you can make at home
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Oct 26, 2011 03:05
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MasterFugu posted:unless you live in the mountains, there's probably a farm somewhere near you. This actually drives me crazy. I live in a town where there are literally more horse trails than there are paved roads, and yet the closest farmer's market is the next (much more urban) city over. What?! The CSA's near me all close down for the winter, so I have bad timing. But I will check up on them in January when they start opening again. Mr. Wiggles posted:The best thing is to find a local butcher - depending on where you live, this may be a kosher butcher, halal butcher, carniceria, etc. I would be so happy if there were a kosher butcher around. I can't even find bagels, around here. Bagels! And not "the only bagel place is lovely," no, more like "there are literally no places to get bagels here." (Bagels from the grocery store are not considered bagels for the purposes of this post, or for the purpose of eating.) However with some googling I did find a halal butcher nearby with some fantastic reviews about the quality of their meat.  Thanks!
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Oct 27, 2011 02:12
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GrAviTy84 posted:Echoing what he said about checking out ethnic markets. Ranch Market 99 alone will get you a ton of cheap produce as well as a plethora of obscure ingredients (like that squab, rabbit, and pheasant). Sprouts markets have a ton of nice bulk ingredients and in their freezer case are shrink wrapped steaks and ground elk, venison, and buffalo (they also have defrosted buffalo at mine). Mexican, Indian, and Korean markets are everywhere in LA and offer even more cheap and obscure food. The key is to walk around, look at everything, read the tags, if you don't know what something is, ask or write it down/take a picture and ask in the General Questions thread. I freaking adore Sprouts, I don't think I've ever left that place paying more than $20 for the week, even when I'm buying the aforementioned obscure ingredients. 99 Ranch Market is also 30 freakin' miles away from me though, and the local Asian market does not stock rabbit. I really want to try rabbit again.  edit: Hells yeah 
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Jun 13, 2012 06:26
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Wheelchair Stunts posted:Riverside has a lot more options for local agriculture than Long Beach I'm sure. I'll check around more thoroughly but I find the patronizing by some of you to be bullshit. What the heck? There are three farmers' markets in Long Beach alone. Since I'm the first to be a lazy rear end in a top hat I won't even blame you for not wanting to drive out to the ones in Cerritos, Bellflower, or Huntington Park. Also, there are several fantastic CSAs that offer pickup in Long Beach, even if they aren't technically farming in the Long Beach area. I used to pick my box up across the street from CSULB. And finally, if this all isn't local enough for you, here is a farm that is literally in Long Beach: http://www.longbeachlocal.org/ I miss Long Beach sometimes.
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Jun 14, 2012 00:24
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Well, what helped me was going on a diet (which forced me to only eat things I cooked for myself). That combined with being a very slow and deliberate cook made it pretty easy for me to get used to leftovers. But I mean if you like cooking then just go ahead and cook in small portions. Just only buy staples that you can use in many different preparations. My default grocery purchases each week are onions, garlic, ginger, eggs, milk, cream, some good-rear end parmesan, berries or whatever fruit is on sale, chocolate and some sort of green vegetable. With some sort of protein, herbs and spices, and my trusty pile of dried pasta, frozen bread and tortillas, lentils, rice, and/or beans, I can make a very satisfying variety of foods. Except for the berries (which I inhale anyhow), all that stuff will last two weeks at least if you decide to neglect it. edit: I guess the green vegetable won't last that long depending on what you buy, but eat your freakin' vegetables.
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Jul 4, 2012 08:29
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For a tomato sauce, no one is suggesting you use fresh tomatoes. They usually suck anyway, except for like right now, and even right now they usually suck in supermarkets. I can't fathom a world where canned tomatoes, an onion, some garlic, herbs/spices, and (if you're feeling spendy) cheapass red wine becomes more expensive than buying jarred sauce.
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Aug 21, 2012 04:29
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I don't see why, especially if you own a pressure cooker. In my personal area, I've noticed that Trader Joe's has the worst produce quality, but their pasta as noted is much cheaper than anywhere else. A pound of pasta at my Sprouts is $3 compared to a buck at TJ's. On the other hand Sprouts has way better produce and it's cheaper, and they have the same local, free range eggs for cheaper as well. The big stores like Ralph's or Von's are for sure worthless, except for liver for some reason because no one else carries it.
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Mar 14, 2013 18:28
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GrAviTy84 posted:not if you check their circulars and are a part of their rewards club. Ralph's sends straight up, store credit rewards for shopping there. I've gotten $50 off shopping bill before from one coupon, and the other coupons they send are relevant to what you buy. Well gently caress, I've been lazily using my childhood home's rewards card, which no family member has lived at for like 8 years. Some assholes are enjoying my precious savings! 
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Mar 15, 2013 04:08
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They're basically like mini popsicles.
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Oct 17, 2013 16:17
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I participate in a CSA in the LA area. It's $23/week which was one of the cheaper ones I found. I think if I went to supermarkets and only bought produce on sale I could get a cheaper deal, but this saves a ton of time and encourages me to try new things. Why, up until my CSA box had cauliflower in it, I was under the impression that cauliflower was gross. In actuality, cauliflower sautéed in oil and sprinkled with garam masala is pretty excellent and easy.
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Dec 20, 2013 16:21
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PUGGERNAUT posted:Nice. Which one do you use? Tanaka Farms, they have a lot of pickups around LA and Orange counties. I tried cauliflower roasted with garlic and parm too, don't get me wrong, it's great. But sauteeing is so easy and the garam masala really brings out the sweetness in the cauliflower. It should not be so delicious. I still have to try purée and aloo gobi though.
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Dec 22, 2013 00:04
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Make German potato salad (it's a warm salad) with the sauerkraut. The local German deli does it this way and it is amazing.
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Aug 6, 2014 19:22
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This may be unhelpful for you but I just skip breakfast. It lets me eat more during lunch and dinner, when I actually enjoy it. I'm usually too sleepy in the morning to actually enjoy eating anything. Plus it's less work preparing only two meals a day.
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Apr 11, 2015 01:19
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neogeo0823 posted:I've been doing that for a while, but I've also been trying to lose weight recently, and I've found that even going to the gym 3 times a week isn't really helping much, so I've gotta take a look at my diet. While the food that I make at home is generally decently healthy, I do know I eat portions that are way too huge. I'm trying to go from eating 2 huge meals a day to eating 3 small meals and 2 tiny snacks to more evenly control my eating and see if it helps any. Interesting, because I actually stopped eating breakfast to help me lose weight. Although what really helped me was getting a food scale and actually weighing the food I was eating.
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Apr 12, 2015 07:07
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