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    • Jan 22
    • 5 min read

How to make the most of your freezer to eat well and save money.



The fridge was empty again. I spent 200$ at the grocery store just days earlier.


Where did all the food go?


Did we get robbed by hungry bandits in the night?

Did someone have a party I didn't know about?

Or did our growing kids just eat us out of house and home again?


There were still things to eat in the pantry: noodles, canned beans, and that really good chocolate I keep hidden on the top shelf. But I was out of fresh produce to make a good meal with.


Luckily I still had good healthy food in my freezer: fruits, vegetables, and meats!


I strategically use my freezer as a “storage bin” for the foods we frequently eat. I buy in bulk when prices are good, and freeze the extra before it goes bad. My freezer helps me spend less money on healthy food.


Do you want to spend less on healthy food too? Here's a list of money-saving freezer friendly foods:


#1 Discounted Produce:  Smiths has a discount bin with fruits/vegetables for $1.00 in red mesh bags (see lemons + peppers in photo below). The produce is sometimes old or bruised. It's fine to use right away, but if you can't use it right away, freeze it! Below is a list of my favorite clearance items to freeze for later (and a link for the recipes I use them in)




Lemons + limes:  


Frozen lemon, lime and ginger. No need prep required: just stick them in the freezer.

Peppers:

  • how: Chop then freeze in a ziploc bag. Use in recipes that call for cooked peppers.

  • cost savings: usually 3/1$ on discount, normal price: 1$ each

  • recipes:

  • Curry

  • Chili

  • Egg muffin cups


Bananas:


Frozen bananas in a reusable ziploc bag.

Spinach:

  • how: Place an entire bag or container in your freezer for about 3 months. If you have spinach going bad in your fridge, put it in the freezer for smoothies! I always have a bag of spinach in my freezer.

  • cost savings: Entire bags are sometimes on clearance for $1.00, normally a bag is $3.00. I often find the big bins for $2.50, they are about $6 regular price!

  • recipes: 

  • green smoothie

  • curry

  • crustless quiche (use spinach instead of broccoli)

  • green muffins

  • spinach lasagna

You can get big boxes of spinach for cheap! Just stick them in the freezer.

Squash and pumpkins:


I grew 20 pie pumpkins this year. I roasted them all and put them in freezer bags for pumpkin muffins!

Berries

  • how: Buy bags of frozen berries instead of fresh, defrost in the microwave

  • cost savings: 6oz fresh berries = 2.99 (.50cent/oz), 48oz frozen berries = 10.99 (.22 cent/oz). Fresh berries are DOUBLE the cost of frozen berries.

  • recipes:

  • Pancake topping instead of syrup

  • In oatmeal (I eat a bowl of oatmeal with frozen berries almost every morning)

  • Inside crepes

  • On top of yogurt

  • Defrost and serve on the side of dinner or lunch


Cut out extra sugar by using frozen berries instead of pancake syrup. Start now while your kids are little.

Mangoes

  • how: Buy frozen bags of mangoes instead of fresh, defrost in microwave

  • cost savings: fresh = 1$/.5 cup, frozen = 1$/1 cup Prices vary, but usually frozen is more economical, and you don't have to bother with cutting them or worry about them going bad before you can eat them!

  • recipes: 

  • smoothies (mango lassi)

  • defrost and serve on the side of meals (I do this at least once per week)


Broccoli + Cauliflower + Brussel Sprouts


I keep a bag of frozen broccoli in the freezer at all times.

Fresh Ginger

  • how: Buy fresh ginger and stick it in the freezer. It doesn't even need a bag on it.

  • cost savings: No savings, other than having it on hand so you don't have to run to the store when making the recipes below

  • recipes:

  • Peanut Noodles

  • Curry

  • Buddha Bowls 



#2 Meat Dairy and Bread




  • Discounted meat:  I don't eat a lot of meat. However, I know most people do! Meats are good past the expiration date if you put them in the freezer before they expire. I will buy discounted sausage and bacon that is about to expire and put it in my freezer for later (see bacon in photo above). It's still good if I use it within 1-2 months. I do make sure it hasn't already spoiled before I buy it!


  • Bulk meat:  I like to keep bacon on hand to give flavor to recipes. It is much less expensive per ounce to buy bacon in bulk. The same is often true of chicken. I rarely buy meat but if I do, I buy it in bulk.


  • Butter:  A few months ago my local smiths was discounting butter for $1.50 a pound. It's usually $4.00 per pound!! I bought 20 pounds for the freezer. The checker thought I was crazy. But I know that butter stays good in the freezer for a year or two and saved myself at least $50 in butter costs!


Butter freezes well for about 1 year. Buy in bulk when it's inexpensive.

  • Milk: Gallons of milk will often get marked down at my local Smiths. I will buy a few extra gallons and freeze them. Previously frozen milk does have a different texture, so I only use pre-frozen milk for cooking (pancakes, waffles, oatmeal). Other dairy products, like cream cheese, sour cream, yogurt and cottage cheese do not freeze well in my experience.


  • Cheese: Cheese prices change a lot! One week 2 pounds will be $5, the next week it will be $8. When the prices are low, I buy several bags and freeze it for later. I find that shredded cheese freezes nicely, bricks of cheese do not freeze as well.


#3 Bread

Stonefire naan bread tastes best with hummus or curry. I buy it on sale and freeze it. Pre-shredded cheese also freezes well.

  • fancy bread: Stores often discount baguettes and "fancy" sourdough loaves for less than 1$. They stay good in the freezer for about a month. I toast frozen bread before eating it.

  • naan bread: I often serve stone fire naan bread with curry and hummus. If it's on clearance, I'll buy it and stick it in the freezer for future meals.

  • bread loaves: When sandwich bread is priced well, I will buy a few loaves and freeze them. Then I always have bread for pbj's.


I hope a few of these ideas will help you save money and eat healthier too!


Remember that the key to saving money is to avoid throwing food away, so make sure you rotate through your freezer stash frequently. I always check what needs to be used in my freezer BEFORE I make my shopping list and go to the grocery store.


Speaking of shopping lists, here's mine for the week (we cleaned out our parents freezer and are using up all the old meat we found - hence the corn beef and pork - I rarely cook meat).




    • Jan 15
    • 3 min read

Grocery shopping tips to help you save money and eat healthier



Here's how to save money on groceries at the store:


  1. Make a grocery list

  2. Only buy things on your list


Grocery stores are set up to make you want to buy things you don't need. They only make a little bit of money on each item sold, so stores try to trick you into buying more than you need so they can make a profit.


Here's some tips to protect yourself from getting tricked at the grocery store:



Always shop with a list to prevent impulse buys.

Tip #1: Make a meal plan and shop with a list

If you go into the grocery store without a plan, you'll end up wandering around the isles picking up things that look good. Stores try to make the most expensive items look really good. Avoid getting tricked into buying the most expensive foods by going in with a plan.


Making a menu and shopping for that menu also helps you make healthier choices!! If you have a plan for eating healthy, you are less likely to stock up on frozen pizza and chicken nuggets.


Always compare unit costs, especially on foods like cold cereal.


Tip #2: Always compare unit costs.


I always buy the items at the store that cost the least amount of money per ounce. Usually that means buying the store brand.


Let's start by looking at cereal. The small number next to the bolded price is the unit cost, or cost per ounce. Great Value brand costs 13.9 cents per ounce, which is half the cost of regular cheerios which are 26.2 cents per ounce!!:



If you look at canned beans at Smith's:


S&W Brand: $1.00

Simple Truth Organic: $1.25

Goya: $1.99

Kroger Brand: $0.89


Every can has 15oz of beans, so Kroger brand beans are the least expensive, but it can be hard to find the best price when foods some in different sized packaging.


For example: Look at the cheddar cheese choices from walmart.com


The little number next to the price shows you the cost per oz.




The least expensive option per ounce is the 2 pound bag of Great Value shredded cheese (23.4 cents per ounce).


The bag of Tillamook cheese costs less for the entire bag, but is actually double the price of the Walmart cheese at 49.8 cents per ounce!


I always buy food that is the least cost per ounce. It might only save you a few cents per item, but over the long run, those cents make a big difference.


For example, if you buy 2 pounds of the expensive cheese every week for 1 year (52 weeks), you'll spend $828 on cheese. If you bought 2 pounds of Great Vaule cheese every week for a year, you would only spend $389. Buying the cheese with the lowest cost per ounce could save you $439 per year just in cheese!


Always buy the items that cost least per ounce.



3. Only buy in bulk if you eat in bulk.


Only buy in bulk if you know you'll eat it all before it goes bad, otherwise you'll end up throwing food away.

Sometimes stores have deals where you buy a certain amount to get a better price. They want you to buy in bulk so that they make more money.


For example, if you buy 5 boxes of crackers, you can get them for $1.00 less per box.


If you eat a lot of crackers this is a great idea!


If you don't eat a lot of crackers, you won't end up saving any money because the crackers will go bad before you eat them.


Also, you might end up eating more than you want if you buy too many. This especially applies to foods like chips and cookies. Avoid buying those foods in bulk!


If it's an item like cheese, you can freeze the extra for future use. If it's a large box of oranges, there's a good chance you won't be able to eat them before they go moldy, and oranges do not freeze well.


Only buy items in bulk if you have a plan to use them or freeze before they go bad. If you don't think you'll use it before it goes bad, you'll just end up throwing food away.


Throwing food away = throwing money away.


Don't get tricked into buying more than you want or need.


Only buy in bulk if you eat in bulk.

(and prevent yourself from eating junk food in bulk by never buying it in bulk!)

 

Those are my top 3 tips for saving money at the grocery store: shop with a list, buy the least expensive item per unit cost and only buy in bulk if you know you will eat it before it goes bad.


Next week I'll talk more about how to make the most of grocery store deals by using your freezer. See you next week!


Until then, here is my meal plan for the week:


Saturday: Veggie Noodle Soup for lunch, pomegranate + grapefruit

Sunday: spaghetti with kale and meat sauce + green salad + roasted brussel sprouts + oranges

Monday: South West Pasta Salad + frozen mangoes

Tuesday: Antipasto Salad + Lasagna (using leftover meat sauce from sunday) + oranges

Wednesday: Hashbrowns w/peppers + onions, Eggs, frozen berries

Thursday: Lentil Soup + whole wheat bread + apple slices

    • Jan 6
    • 3 min read

The most important meal planning advice

Updated: Jan 10

The most important meal planning advice is to Start where you are and use what you have.


Take foods you already like, and write them out in a menu.


When I provided weight loss counseling, people often wanted me to just give them a menu to follow.


I would never give someone a menu to follow.


Why?


No one would actually follow it.


To write a menu you would actually want to follow, I would have to know what you like, how much time you have to cook, how well you know how to cook, where you shop, what cultural limits you have and how much money you have to spend.


You know all those things about yourself, so the best person to write out your menu is YOU.


Ask yourself the following questions if you want to plan a menu that you will actually follow:


#1. How much time do I realistically have/want to cook?


Some people hate cooking and want to spend as little time as possible doing it.

Some people love cooking and spend too much time doing it.


The key to having a successful meal plan is to look at how much time you will honestly spend cooking.


The time you have to cook will dictate what you can cook. Also think about cleanup time.


If you only have 30 minutes, lasagna is not going to work, but there are sooo many easy healthy meals that can happen in 30 minutes. (see my recipe page)


Every time I menu plan, I sit down and write what will be happening the next week so I know how much time I have to spend cooking each day.


Here's what that looks like for me the next week:




I have zero time to cook between 4:45 and 6:30 every day, so I either do something fast (like quesadillas), make ahead (like soup), or we eat early in the day (like 4pm).


You might be working full time. You might have to pickup kids from daycare at 5, sit in traffic until 6, and then muster some real superhuman powers to make dinner while taking care of little kids. If this is you, fast easy meals that come together without much fuss are going to be required!


Just do what you can with what you have and make a realistic eating plan based on your time restraints.



#2 What do I already have that needs to be eaten?


Always plan your menu around foods you already have lurking in the fridge and pantry. This will save you so. much. money.


Before I plan my menu, I go through my fridge and figure out what needs to be used and write it on my menu plan somewhere (circled in the photo).


I just do this on a piece of paper because I'm a paper and pencil person, but you could totally do this on your phone or with an app.




#3 What do I feel like eating this week?


Do you love mexican? Italian? Salads? The cook should cook what they feel like eating.


I love greek food. I had leftover parsley in the fridge. So I put tabbouleh on the menu.

I love soups in winter, I had leftover bacon, so we're having soup that calls for bacon.


Will my kids complain? Maybe. That doesn't matter. I'm the adult, I'm the one who knows about nutrition, I'm the one who does the shopping, I'm the one who does the cooking (mostly) and I also need to eat, so I choose the menu.


Kids can learn to eat what we eat (as long as they can safely chew and swallow it). You don't need to put chicken nuggets and mac+cheese on the menu just because you have kids. But if YOU like those foods, then go ahead!





#3 What can I add to make my meals healthier?


Every meal needs the following 4 things:


Fruit

Vegetable

Whole Grain

Protein


After I've planned my menu, I go back and make sure each meal has all 4 parts.


This usually means adding in a fruit and and a whole grain bread (see items circled below).


I'm pretty savvy on what's in season. If you aren't sure what's in season, just look in the ads for whatever fruit is a good price/on sale and buy that. More on how to save money on produce in the next blog post.



#4 What else do we need for breakfast/lunches etc?


Once I've written down everything I need to make my planned dinners, I'll add on things I need to buy for lunches/breakfast.


That's it! My menu is planned! Time to head for the store!




How long does this whole process take? About 15 minutes. Sometimes 30 if I'm using a bunch of new recipes.


Seems like a lot of time upfront, but it will save so much time later in the week when you don't have to go to the store a million times or dither about what you are making for dinner!


The next step is to go to the store. I've got some tips on that in the next post.


See you next week, happy menu planning!










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