The Price of Food

The soaring price of food itself has been all over in the news lately. I have not personally seen my bill go up but many people have and I believe that it has a great deal to do with what you buy. When I plan out my meals, I always pick things that are fast and easy to make. The easy part means picking meals that don’t require a lot of ingredients in them. This keeps cost down as well as my sanity when I am cooking. I also do not include any meat in my meals. This is because I happen to be a vegetarian but it also has the effect of saving us money. Meat is expensive! I do splurge on some fresh wild salmon when it is on sale but most of our protein comes from cheese, beans, shrimp and tuna. Beans are a wonderful source of protein and they are cheap. That is why they are one of the staples of the people of Costa Rica (named one of the healthiest places to live because their people have the longest life expectancy). There are many wonderful meals you can make with beans being in the main dish or side dish that are very yummy. Like Mexican pizza, Costa Rican beans and rice, and bean enchiladas. You can find more ideas for meatless cheap food at one of my favorite web sites hillbillyhousewife.com. I would challenge any family trying to cut costs with just serving two meatless meals a week. See if it cuts your food bill just a bit. If you just can’t put down the steak, shop the sales and warehouse clubs, and make friends with a hunter. Maybe they will share some of that deer or moose they get with you. Unless they are feeding five children chances are they will have plenty left over after winter.

I am a big believer in store brand food. Look down people! All the way to the bottom shelf, that is where you find the deals. At Fred Meyers (a Kroger store), they even have the cheaper then the store brand. It is called FMV (For Max Value). Now I am not saying that you can go generic with everything but some things are the same no matter what brand they are and some things are better when they are store brand (like the FMV frozen veggies, the only mix with out lima beans all for $0.89). For instance, some store brand items I buy are mayo, mustard, ketchup, eggs, yogurt, canned fruit, rice, sugar, and hot dog buns, but I will buy brand name tortillas, tea, refried beans, fish sticks and bread. It is all about your tastes and the quality of the item. It just requires a little bit of experimentation on your part.