What can I do about my family's outrageous grocery bill while still making wholesome meals every night?

Question

We are out entirely too much money each week to eat good.. I dont want to make hamburger helper EVERYNIGHT ..

what does everyone do to keep the bill down but the tummy full and happy?

Answer 1

Produce is just as healthy when it's canned or frozen as it is when it's fresh. Some experts have even said that it may be even better because it's picked at the peak of freshness. It's way cheaper to buy it canned too. Just be careful to read the label and make sure there aren't a lot of preservatives in them.
Buy your meat in bulk, freeze the excess. I used to buy in bulk with my neighbor to get the cheaper price. Just freeze the excess and take it out the day before and keep in refrigerator for the next day.
Don't buy processed or convenience foods. It may appear to be cheaper but in the long run, it's a lot more expensive.
Another sugesstion if you really want the fresh produce is to go to the farmers market. You can buy that in bulk at the lower price and you can freeze what you won't use right away. You may end up with some waste when you do this, but if you have a large family, it will go a long way.
In the summer, grow your own garden. It doesn't get any cheaper than that.
Hope this helps.

Answer 2

We spend about $400-$500 a month on groceries, but I am feeding 6-8 people nightly.
I do shop for the meat sells, like buy one get one free. And everything I make is homemade and sometimes you save money doing that, then sometimes you don't. I make a menu every 2 weeks before I do my shopping. For that 2 week period we have 3 special meals and the rest is stuff like chicken and rice with a salad or veggie. You can go to the kraft website, and type in the ingredients you want to use and get alot of different recipes from just 2 or 3 items. That has helped me when I buy bulk meats. You can always save more when you buy family packs of meat. Keep most dinners simple but healthy, and for desserts and stuff, keep it homemade, it really is cheaper. Also, a salad will help fill up the tummy quicker and with so many different types of salad out there, it is easy to keep everyone happy.

Answer 3

Instead of hamburger helper, try your hand at stir frying.

To make a little bit of meat go a long way, fried rice goes well.
(rice, a bit of meat, veggies, soy sauce, 1 or 2 eggs and maybe some ginger and/or garlic)

MEAT:

Cheaper cuts of meat cooked with spices, seasonings, marinated or with sauces.

Buy your meat in BULK. Many stores give deals for buying 10, 15, 20, 25 or 30 pounds of assorted meat at once. Keep it in the freezer.

GENERAL GROCERIES:
How about a "vegetarian night" once or twice a week?
Buy store brands rather than name brands.
Stock up when canned goods, pasta, cereal, etc. are on sale.
Get rid of junk food and eliminate between meal snacks.
Get rid of carbonated drinks, water is just fine.

NEVER GO GROCERY SHOPPING WHEN YOU ARE HUNGRY!
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Answer 4

I have the same problem. How to eat healthy without going broke over food. Seems like all the inexpensive things are fatty like mac and cheese etc. What I try to do is buy meat in bulk (costco etc) and freeze it then just take out what you need in the morning. Also I make a huge pot of spaghetti sauce and chili every couple months that seems to go much further than most things. Both can be used in many different ways and saves both time and money. Good luck and GREAT question

Answer 5

I don't know your shopping habits, but everything that comes in a box, or any prepared foods are more expensive than fresh. You will just have to plan your weekly menu and cook a lot of things on the weekend for the week ahead to save time as you would with boxed foods. You need to concentrate your budget on meats, fresh veges, canned or frozen veges (which ones are on special, buying on sale even if you don't need it and storing in your pantry or freezer. Fresh fruits, you can make your own fruit salad. Dried beans are so cheap and they make double the portion that they look like and have a lot of protein. So you could skip meat some nights. In most Sunday's paper, they have coupons that can save you money. Walmart will match any grocery store ad's prices, if you bring those ads with you. Of course the rest of the line will hate you, but you will save money. Using good recipes with spices and herbs, you can make anything that is sold as a convenient food the same way yourself. Rachel Ray has some good recipes for good home cooking using fresh ingredients.

Answer 6

Chicken, Hamburger, and Pork chops are a good meats that are fairly inexpensive.
Macaroni and Cheese, Stuffing,Frozen Veggies, Spaghetti,Penne,Elbows,Sauces,Sometimes you can get the family pack frozen entree's.... I know it's not the healthiest!!
Make Homemade Soups, or Chili, there are Tatar tots, French fries, Potatoes(mashed), Sweet Potatoes, Salads,Rices Dishes, Corn bread, Some times we even eat Breakfast for dinner! Eggs, Bacon, Sausage, Pancakes, French toast..... Home made Pizza's are fairly inexpensive



Hope these helped...

Answer 7

one of the best ways to cut you bill is clip coupons but bargain shop check to see if its worth it 50 cents off isn't good if its on sale in another brand for 1.00 less,but but but the big thing is to make a menu,buy more in bulk,and make stuff more from scratch,and make a list and stick to the list try it it really works heres some recipes that are economical,i sometimes make a roast for one meal with potatoes carrots celery onions then either use the meat to make italian beefs the next night by adding ital seasoning etc or put the whole works gravy and all into a pot and make veggie soup streching meals make them cheap :) good luck

Answer 8

eat whole foods. meaning buy bag of potatoes (to make hash browns, roasted potatoes,mash potatoes,scalloped potatoes), bag of brown rice (to stir fry, to add a can of cream soup, to cook with cheese) then get all the frozen veggies your heart desires. these are cheap, and HEALTHY! these are just frozen veggies, no perservatives whatsoever. get the plain veggies, no green giant with the sauces and seasonings. those are so processed. with the veggies you can add cheese, salt and pepper, lemon juice, butter and parmesean. then spend your money on meat. not the prepared meats that you heat and serve. get whole chicken fryer, get ground turkey, get pork tenderloins, roasts etc. and once a year go to the grocer and splurge on atleast 10 seasoning blends. mccormack is the best, more natural and economical. once you get these basic ingredients, you can cook up a storm. also invest in some great olive oil and a slow cooker. everything tastes better when slow cooked.
single mom of four, who is losing weight and can't afford eating out!

Answer 9

ok depending on what you like to eat it changes but you can get good meat and veggies at a good price in any store you have to shop around . have pasta or look for things that your family likes and try different cultures things like empanadas they are like hot pockets that you can bake or fry, you can make more rice or pasta dishes and still have meat included , pork chicken and if you like steak buy a cheaper cut of meat and marinate it

Answer 10

Check out the hillbilly housewife site. In some cases she gets a bit extreme, I think, but you'll find alot of good ideas. Just ignore the religious crap and take the useful info.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/