As my regular readers will know, I positively love to cook. Cooking with great ingredients and eating well can get expensive, but here are a few of my tips to keep kitchen costs down without switching to a diet of ramen noodles.
- Don’t Pay Somebody to Shred Your Cheese - Buying shredded cheese may be convenient, but you’re effectively paying somebody $70/hour+ to do that shredding for you. Similarly, pre-cut veggies, pre-mixed salads, and (my personal favourite) pre-chopped garlic all cost more than their untouched counterparts. Buy a whole block of cheese, take 2 minutes to shred it yourself, and enjoy some pretty gouda savings.
- Buy In Bulk - This is a lesson learned from my dear grandmother, who to this day has barrels - yes, barrels- filled with flour, sugar, and tea. Dry food staples such as rice, dry pasta, sugar, salt and flour last forever and cost quite a bit less when you buy in bulk. Having large supplies on hand also reduces the likelihood of running out just as you’re cooking for a dinner party and will make you the envy of your neighbors when a natural disaster (or zombie apocalypse) strikes.
- Grow Your Own - Most of us aren’t prepared to give up our cushy white-collar jobs to set up a farm on our suburban lots, but that doesn’t mean that you can’t set up a small vegetable and herb garden to supplement your food supply. Herbs such as basil and thyme are easy to grow and taste delicious when used fresh, but can also be dried for use later in the season. Check out what can be grown with limited space in your climate (I suggest garlic and onions to start) and give it a try- you’ll save a little money and feel pretty good at the same time. If you’ve grown more than you need, you can share with friends or even rent a table some weekend at a local farmer’s market. Overalls and straw hat are optional.
- Plan Your Meals - This is probably my biggest cost-saving tactic. By planning your meals for the week in advance, you can shop to ensure you have everything on hand and only buy what fresh items you will need, preventing spoilage and waste. Having a set meal plan also reduces the temptation to pick up fast food on your way home or feed your family on the oh-so-easy (and yummy) but unhealthy chicken fingers and fries.
- Don’t Buy Organic - I know I’ll get some flack for this, but I’m tough. Organic foods often cost more, are of inferior quality, and spoil quicker. The health benefits associated with organic foods are questionable, and the recently-introduced standards for “organic” produce do nothing to ensure that these products are any more healthy or safe than any other produce. Organic foods may be trendy, but offer little benefit beyond bragging rights on Stuff White People Like.
How to you save money in the kitchen? I’d love to hear your tips.
You might also enjoy:
{ 1 trackback }
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
I’ll disagree with you on the last point- organic food is well worth the money. Is it worth poisoning your family with pesticides to save a few bucks?
“Poison” is a loaded word; there’s no way it belongs in this discussion. Vodka is a “poison”, so I suppose I poison myself regularly?! The bottom line is that “organic” is a synonym for “high margin”, and the cost difference for each individual shopping trip is significantly more than “a few bucks.”