A Little About How I Plan Meals

Slugmama asked yesterday what our meals were like on the $42 I spent on groceries last week. Good question, and reminds me that I used post my weekly meal plans here until I decided that, while I had the best of intentions, posted meal plans either cost me money or caused me to lie.

If I planned well-balanced and appealing meals with lots of variety, and stuck to them religiously, they often cost me more than if I improvised with whatever we already had on hand and used up all our leftovers.  While I'm perfectly comfortable serving chicken five times in the same week or serving leftover refried beans with spaghetti and meatballs, I'm not always comfortable publishing menus like that.

But if I don't publish menus like that, when they happen, then I feel like I'm lying.

So I just quit posting my weekly menus altogether.

Anyway, back to Sluggy's question (and my very wordy answer).  What are meals like around here on $42 a week?  Let's start with breakfast, because it's almost non-existent around here.  Shane doesn't eat breakfast most mornings.  Like me, he has little appetite that early in the day.  I have just recently been trying to put some food in my stomach in the mornings.  When I do eat, it's usually oatmeal with yogurt or just some buttered toast with coffee.  Kat is our only breakfast eater, and she usually has eggs, pancakes, occasionally a bowl of boxed cereal or maybe even a slice of pizza.  She might have toast or fruit to go with these.  I might actually make a traditional breakfast on the weekend about once a month.

Lunches are a little more substantial.  Shane makes his own lunches, usually sandwiches or whatever leftovers he can eat that don't require being heated first.  Kat will either buy lunch at school (a couple times a week, maybe) or I pack her lunch.  A typical lunch would be a half sandwich (turkey, tuna, pbj, etc.), some chips or pretzels, some fruit or veggie sticks, a string cheese or some yogurt and either water or homemade gatorade.  I either eat dinner leftovers for lunch or I snack on whatever is in the fridge throughout the day.  On weekends, we eat leftovers or I make a quick lunch of some kind, usually egg-based.

That leaves supper, which is the only meal I actually plan.  I plan my meals, usually on Tuesday evening or Wednesday morning for the following week, by first checking to see what we already have in the freezer or the pantry and basing meals (especially the main dishes) around what I find.  If chicken is the only meat in the freezer and dry beans are the only protein in the pantry, then those are the only things we'll have the next week.  This is not a big deal, because I plan for leftovers anyway.  After I have the mains planned, I fill in with side dishes which consist of a starch of some kind, a fruit or veggie I know that Kat will eat, another veggie that she might or might not eat (but must at least try) and maybe some extras like garlic toast or biscuits or a dessert.  I also like to serve homemade pickles and relishes as extras.

Then I make out my grocery list of things I need to "fulfill" these planned menus, checking my list against the Wednesday grocery ads to see if what I need is on sale. If not, is there is something that is on sale that I can substitute?  Finally, with some or all of the money I have left in my weekly grocery budget, I'll stock up on other sale items, especially meats.  These stock-ups will be used for future weeks' menus.  This is how I never pay more than $1/lb for poultry or sausage, $2/lb for pork, bacon, ham and most beef (except occasional steaks), or $4.50/lb for seafood.  The weekly ads start on Wednesday here, but any special sales usually start on Thursday or Friday, so I usually wait until those days to do my shopping. 

Another thing I do religiously is to cook big so that there are leftovers.  We love leftovers here, and it saves a lot of time in the kitchen.  My typical week will consist of three "new" meals, three leftover meals and one super-easy meal like sandwiches, fish sticks with mac-n-cheese, or a mystery-shopped pizza.  Occasionally we'll have a snack night or we might even go out to eat.

OK, so after rambling on for so long, here is what we ate for supper last week:

Chicken soft tacos with toppings, cream cheese corn with green chiles, salsa green beans, tortilla chips x 2
Meatloaf, mashed potatoes, lettuce salad, green beans with carrot strips and mushrooms x 2
Homemade pizzas (1 ham, 1 hamburger, 1 Italian sausage and veggie), lettuce salad, grapes x 2
Franks and beans over slices of homemade bread, lettuce salad x 1

And what we'll eat for supper this week:

Roast turkey, mashed potatoes with gravy, corn, homemade cranberry sauce, stuffing, lettuce salad x 2*
Turkey and veggie pot pie, lettuce salad, grapes x 2
Roast beef with potatoes and carrots, green beans, applesauce x 2*
Leftover roast beef enchiladas, Mexican rice, lettuce salad, applesauce x 1

As you can see, no one goes hungry around here.  :)


* Depending on how much meat I can get from the turkey, the roast beef meals may be bumped to next week, with more turkey meals in their place.

Meat As An Ingredient

One great way to stretch food dollars is to use meat as an ingredient instead of as the main entree. Small amounts of meat added to casseroles, soups, pastas, stir-fries, and skillets will satisfy the craving for meat without breaking the budget.

Before we went camping over the Labor Day weekend, I bought a small ham that weighed about 2-1/2 pounds. My thoughts were that we'd eat it on sandwiches for our lunches while camping. When that didn't happen, I decided to see how far I could stretch that small ham by using it as an ingredient. In my opinion, ham isn't quite as versatile as ground beef or chicken, but it was still easy to come up with ideas. By the time that little ham was gone I'd made:

Au Gratin Potatoes with Ham (4+ servings)
Ham and Potato Baked Chimichangas (4 servings)
Spicy Ham and Beans over Rice (4 servings)
Ham and Cheese Quiche (4 servings)
Ham-Seasoned Green Beans (side dish - 4 servings)

And I still have enough left for ham sandwiches for lunch tomorrow. That's a lot from such a small piece of ham! All of our meals were filling, and none of us missed having a big slab of meat on our plates...not even Shane.

Here are the recipes, and pictures when I remembered to take them:



Au Gratin Potatoes with Ham


8 medium potatoes, peeled if desired and sliced
3 Tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon dry onion flakes
3 cups milk
salt and pepper to taste
1-1/2 cup shredded cheddar or co-jack cheese, divided
1 cup (or more) diced cooked ham

Place sliced potatoes in pan and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for three minutes; drain.

While potatoes cook, make sauce by placing cornstarch and dry onion flakes in a saucepan and adding milk gradually, whisking until smooth. Cook over medium heat, whisking constantly, until sauce thickens. Remove from heat and stir in 1 cup of shredded cheese until melted and smooth.

Heat oven to 350°F.

Pour about 1/2 cup of sauce into 13x9 baking dish that has been sprayed with pan spray. Layer half of the potatoes in the prepare dished. Sprinkle diced ham evenly over potatoes and spread half of the sauce over all. Layer remaining potatoes and pour remaining sauce over, spreading to coat all potato pieces.

Cover with foil and bake for about 30 minutes or until potatoes are fork tender. Remove foil, sprinkle potatoes with remaining 1/2 cup of cheese and return to oven until cheese has melted, allowing cheese to brown if desired.

Makes 6-8 servings.



Crispy Baked Ham and Potato Chimichangas


2 cups (or so) of leftover au gratin potatoes with ham
1 cup additional diced ham
1 cup shredded cheddar or co-jack cheese
8 large flour tortillas
2-4 Tablespoons butter, melted
Taco sauce, salsa and sour cream as desired

Heat oven to 350°F. Spray 13x9 baking dish with pan spray.

Combine leftover au gratin potatoes with additional ham and shredded cheese. Divide filling evenly among 8 flour tortillas. Fold sides of tortillas to the middle and then roll burrito-style. Place seam down in prepared baking dish.

Brush rolled tortillas with melted butter. Use as much as you dare; the more butter, the crispier and flakier the tortillas.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes or until chimichangas are golden brown.

Top with salsa and sour cream if desired.

Makes 4 servings (2 chimis each)

NOTE: These are very good for breakfast as well.



Spicy Ham and Beans over Rice


1 cup dry beans of your choice (I used adzuki beans)
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
1/2 to 3/4 cup diced ham
cooked rice
chili paste, hot sauce, or picante sauce of your choice
other toppings as desired (shredded cheese, sour cream, ranch dressing, etc.)

Rinse beans with water; drain. Place in medium sauce pan along with salt, pepper, ham and enough water to cover by 1". Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender. Time will vary depending on type and freshness of beans.

When beans are tender, taste for seasoning. The ham should make them salty enough, but add more if desired.

Serve hot over cooked rice, stirring in "heat" (chili paste, etc.) as desired. Top with additional toppings.

Makes 4 servings



Ham and Cheese Quiche

3 or 4 large eggs (I like firmer quiche, so I used 4 eggs)
3/4 cup half-and-half or milk
1 cup shredded cheese, such as cheddar or co-jack
1 cup diced ham
2 Tablespoons finely chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon salt
dash pepper
dash nutmeg
1 8-inch or 9-inch pie crust (homemade, refrigerated or frozen)

Heat oven to 350°F.

Break eggs into large bowl and beat well. Whisk in half-and-half until well-combined. Stir in remaining ingredients and pour into unbaked pie shell.

Bake at 350°F. for about 40 minutes or until knife inserted near center of quiche comes out clean.

Serve hot or at room temperature.

Makes 4 servings.



Ham-Seasoned Green Beans

2 cans green beans (or equivalent frozen)
1/4-1/3 cup diced cooked ham
2 tablespoons finely diced onion
pepper to taste
pinch of sugar

Drain one can of green beans, but keep the liquid from the other. (If using frozen, add enough water to cover all green beans by about 1/2 an inch.) Add remaining ingredients. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to very low, cover and simmer for about 10 minutes.

Impromptu Lunch

Asparagus is one of my favorite vegetables. It is in season and has been inexpensive at the grocery stores recently, so I've been buying it often.

I had a few spears in the fridge, and a Roma tomato that needed to be eaten soon, so I combined them for lunch. I broke the asparagus into pieces and sauteed it in a tablespoon or two of olive oil just until it began to get tender. I tossed in some diced tomato and a generous sprinkling of Cavender's Greek Seasoning (you could use seasoned salt) and some additional black pepper.

I had some leftover mashed potatoes in the fridge, also, so I warmed those in the microwave, then spooned the asparagus and tomato mixture over them. I topped it all with a generous amount of shredded cheddar cheese for both flavor and a calcium boost.

Although I don't usually think of mashed potatoes as a base for anything but gravy, this lunch turned out to be very flavorful and satisfying.

I think I will make the asparagus and tomatoes again, either serving them alone or as a light sauce for pasta.

Recapping Mystery Shopping

In the last two or three weeks, two of my friends have asked me for information on mystery shopping. I sent them specific information, but I thought I’d revisit the topic and tell what I’ve done in the seven months I've been mystery shopping.

Let me start by saying that I’m not in any way a career mystery shopper. On average, I do just ten shops a month.

Rarely do I go out only to do mystery shopping. I usually only schedule shops to coincide with my other errands or appointments. Of course, there are exceptions. In fact, just yesterday I went out specifically for "secret" shopping because a commission was raised to an unusually high amount and I couldn't pass it up, especially since I could add two other lesser shops in the same area.

There are many mystery shopping companies to work for; I have done work for four. However, I choose to do most of my shopping for just one company. I like the shops they offer as well as their payment method and schedule.

As I’ve mentioned before, most of the shops I do pay a commission in addition to reimbursing all or part of a purchase. Some only reimburse for a purchase. A few are commission-only and require no purchase. Finally, one was not a shop at all, but rather a product demonstration that paid an hourly wage.

With those points in mind, here is what I’ve been able to do in seven months:

Cash earnings (commissions and product demo) - $488
Fully reimbursed carryout or delivery pizzas – approx. 25 large pizzas
Fully reimbursed pizza buffet lunches for one – 4
Fully reimbursed sports bar lunch for one - 1
Fully reimbursed Mongolian BBQ dinner for two – 1
Reimbursement up to $14 for a clothing item – 2
Reimbursement up to $8 for a household item - 1
Reimbursement of $1-$2 purchases made to prove I shopped – approximately 33

The reimbursements total close to $380. So, the total value of all my shops is approximately $868, or about $125 a month.

The commissions I’ve earned have ranged from $4 to $50 and can vary greatly from one month to the next, even for the same store or business. The shops also vary in difficulty. Some are as easy as driving by a fast food restaurant after dark to check signs and lights for outages. Others have meant posing as a prospective renter at an apartment complex. Most simply require a review of a store’s appearance and customer service along with a token purchase to prove I was there.

The shops can be learning experiences as well. I’m now up to speed on new models of refrigerators, gas ranges, computer printers, and closet organizing systems. Should we need to buy any of those in the near future, I know just what I want and where to find it. And believe me, there’s no doubt in my mind who has the best pizza in town!

As with any job, there is time involved. There is time required to do the shop and time required to complete the online reports. There is usually a window of several hours to submit the report after the shopping portion is done; just as with the shopping, I work the reporting into my schedule more or less at my leisure. The more shops I do, the more quickly I am able to do both the shopping and the reporting.

There is also the issue of taxes to consider. In most cases, it’s up to the mystery shopper to report his or her own earnings at tax time. However, a few companies do collect the necessary information and send out 1099 forms at the end of the year.

I think mystery shopping is a pretty good gig for something that’s really nothing more than a hobby for me. But who knows what a person could do if they applied themselves and worked for several companies at a time?

Why Yes, That Is A Garbage Bag In My Freezer

As much as I've enjoyed getting the weekly vegetable bundles from the CSA farmers, I don't think I'll be signing up again next year.

In terms of flavor and quality, it's been worth the $16 a week fee. Although I have to drive to another part of the city (approx. 12 miles each way), I've been able to work in my other errands to save on gasoline, or even do a mystery shop on the way to pay for gas. So it's not really the cost of driving that bothers me. It's the time involved. Pickup times are during the afternoon rush hour, so by the time I drive there, choose my veggies, and drive home, and hour or more of my day is gone.

Next year, I plan to take advantage of our local farmers' market on Thursday evenings. I (finally, after two years) checked it out last week and was very pleasantly surprised at how many people participate. Not everything there is organically grown. (In fact, not everything there is food; there are some crafts sold there as well.) However, the produce that is there is locally grown, looks wonderful, and seems to be selling at a slightly better price than the CSA farmers charge.

Although we don't especially enjoy gardening, Shane and I have also decided to grow a few vegetables next year. Our past attempts at gardening have been semi-successful, depending on what we planted and where we lived at the time. Next year, we're going to start small, growing only three or four things, and see how it goes.

Which explains why I have a big, suspicious-looking garbage bag in my freezer. I've been saving all our fruit and veggie scraps for compost. The compost bin is part of the current fence project that Shane's working on.

While the idea of composting isn't new to us, the practice is. Anyone have any composting tips or recommendations for a good composting book?

Mystery Shopping For Fun and Profit

I'm not a shopaholic. Except for garage sales and grocery stores, I'd usually rather avoid shopping altogether. Yet I recently signed up to become a "mystery shopper".

I've wondered about mystery shopping for several years; finally, my curiosity won out and I decided to look into it. If nothing else, it would get me out of the house once in a while and give me something to blog about.

Let me say upfront that I'm not going to make a fortune, or even a living, from mystery shopping. What I will be able to do is score a few free meals for my family and make enough to pay for my gas for my own necessary errands.

Here's how it works for me:

I signed up for a sort of clearing house or job broker for many different mystery shopping companies. After the fact, I realized with a little deeper research, I could probably have located the companies on my own, but the investment was small ($20 for three months) and I earned that much back in the first week. I don't think it will be necessary to renew the subscription when the three months have passed.

I have picked two days out of the week to be my primary errand-running days. One is for local errands and the other coincides with my weekly vegetable pick-up which is in another part of the city. When searching for mystery shopping jobs, those days and locations are the only jobs I consider. I pick one or two "shops" for each of those days, and work them around my personal errands. That assures me that I'm making efficient use of gasoline, and it leaves the rest of my week free to do whatever else I need or want to do.

After just three weeks, I've earned $42 in cash commissions and received reimbursement for 2 free pizzas, 1 pizza buffet meal, 1 meal (up to $22) at a chain sports bar/grill, and 1 gallon of paint (we always need paint!). Because I'm working these into my other outings, the time involved is minimal. Reports are required to be submitted after each shop, but the are usually multiple choice and short answer forms to do online.

A typical "shop" will include going "under cover" to review a business' appearance, customer service, cleanliness, employee sincerity, etc. Sometimes a small purchase is required, then reimbursed. Occasionally, a purchase and return are both required. Sometimes, no purchase is required at all.

In fact, not all "shops" require shopping! One of my first assignments was simply to visit a chain fast food restaurant after dark, then document and photograph any of their lights or signs that weren't working properly. Another assignment paid an hourly wage for me to set up a table and hand out cheese samples for a few hours at one of the big box retailers.

Living in a major metro area, I believe I could put in as many hours mystery shopping as I'd like. For me, that's just a few a week, but there are many, many jobs available. There are even shops available in the more rural areas, including the small town where I grew up. I didn't take that job, but I might have, had I been planning a trip there at the right time.

I have to admit that I wondered if mystery shopping was a legitimate way to make money. It seems to be, albeit not a lot of money. Still, if you like to shop, and schedule your jobs carefully, you can wind up with some free food and a little cash in your pocket.

I'm not going to link to any of the companies I'm working for (only 3 at this point) because there may be some kind of rule against "going public", but if anyone is interested, contact me via email (in my profile), and I'll be glad to point you in the right direction.

Treats!

(Top to Bottom: Italian Pretzels, Marshmallow Creme Crispy Treats, Ranch Pretzels)

Here are three quick, easy and inexpensive snacks for the holidays or any time. Most crispy treats call for marshmallows, but this recipe is for those of you who, like me, are more likely to have the marshmallow creme on hand.


Italian Pretzels

1/4 c. butter, melted
1 to 1-1/2 Tablespoons dry spaghetti sauce mix
4 cups miniature pretzel twists or sticks

Place pretzels in microwave-safe dish. Combine melted butter and spaghetti sauce mix. Drizzle butter mixture over pretzels; stir until pretzels are coated.

Microwave on High for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until pretzels are toasted. Cool before serving.

Makes 4 cups.


Ranch Pretzels

1/4 cup oil (I prefer peanut oil or light olive oil)
1-1/2 Tablespoons dry Ranch dressing mix
6 cups of miniature pretzel twists or sticks

Place pretzels in microwave-safe dish. Combine oil and Ranch dressing mix. Drizzle mixture over pretzels; stir until pretzels are coated.

Microwave on High for 2 to 3 minutes, stirring every 30 seconds, until pretzels are toasted. Cool before serving.

Makes 6 cups


Marshmallow Creme Crispy Treats

3 Tablespoons butter
1 jar (7 oz.) marshmallow creme
5 cups crisp rice cereal

Lightly butter a 13 x 9 cake pan or glass dish (or spray with non-stick pan spray). Set aside.

Place butter in large microwave bowl. Microwave on High for 20-30 seconds or until butter is melted.

Add marshmallow creme to butter. Microwave for 1 to 1-1/2 minutes, stirring every 15 seconds, until marshmallow creme has melted and is combined well with butter.

Remove bowl from microwave and stir in cereal, all at once. Stir until well-coated, then pour out into prepared pan. Spread mixture firmly and evenly into pan; wearing a disposable kitchen glove or wrapping hand in plastic wrap makes this easier. Allow to cool before cutting into 24 squares.

Makes 24 pieces.

Go Less, Enjoy More

Stick around here very long and you'll see my weekly menus almost never show us going out to eat. When Shane and I were growing up, going out was a very rare occasion. Not only were there few restaurant choices in each of our hometowns, but it was just not something that our families did on a regular basis. Eating in a restaurant, or even at a fast food place, was a treat.

It wasn't always that way. Back in my single-mom days, I cooked sometimes, but Jean and I went out a lot. There were periods when I worked a lot of overtime and it just seemed easier to go to a restaurant or fast food place. Or we'd be out doing something else and get hungry, so we'd grab a bite somewhere. A lot of times it was something to do when we were bored.

When Shane and I got married, I somehow ended up cooking more and we went out to eat more. Often it was for the same reasons -- we were out doing other things and got hungry, or it was something to do for fun. I'd say we had a meal out, on average, three times a week.

Over time, we started enjoying it less. Maybe we were going out too often or something, but it lost it's charm. I began duplicating some restaurant dishes at home and we found they were always cheaper and often tasted better. After a time, we couldn't justify going out nearly as often as we did.

Now we go out once or twice a month. We've made it a tradition to go out for birthdays, to where ever the birthday girl or guy wants to go regardless of expense. When it's not a birthday or other special occasion, we try to take turns picking out the restaurant and try to keep the prices more moderate. Shane's a big eater, so he likes to hit a good buffet when it's his turn to pick. I like variety, so we usually try someplace new when it's my choice.

If you look around at other frugal sites, you'll see a lot of suggestions on how to save money when you go out to eat. Among these are drinking water instead of a soft drink or cocktail, splitting orders, using coupons, going out at lunch time or during "early bird" hours, taking leftovers home for another meal, and buying large entrees and sharing some with your kids instead of ordering them a meal of their own.

I've even heard of people going so far as buying a hamburger instead of a cheeseburger because they don't want to pay the extra 30¢ for a slice of cheese...or even bringing their own cheese from home! I think that's taking frugality just a little too far. If the budget is that tight, they probably shouldn't be going out at all.

Now, except for the cheap cheese tip, we think these are all great ideas, and we'll practice them IF they fit in with what we want to do. If we have a coupon to the place we'd like to go, we'll use it, but a coupon alone won't determine where we go. We'll drink water if that's what we really want, but if we want a soda or a beer, we'll get one. We usually do end up going out at lunch time, but that's more coincidence than planning. And we think it's just wasteful to not take your leftovers home with you.

In general, we don't stress much about dining out. We get whatever we like and enjoy the experience more fully, knowing it's a somewhat rare occasion for us. That's probably the best value of all.

More Savings At The Grocery Store

A nearby grocery store marks down cuts of meat early on Thursday mornings in order to restock for the weekend rush of customers.

The marked-down meat is usually 50% off and all of it is still within date (usually 1-3 days until its "sell by" date). I look through the racks and pick out a few good deals. I take them home and re-wrap them, then put them in the freezer.

Then, because I plan meals far in advance, I work them into the next month's menus. I include them as a specific dish such "Swedish Meatballs" or the more ambiguous "something with ground beef". By planning ahead, nothing stays in the freezer long enough to get freezer burn.

Today I was able to pick up four KC strip steaks, a pound of hot Italian sausage, three pounds of ground beef, two packages of smoked bratwurst and a couple of lamb shoulder chops for $18.75 in all. (Regular price on the steaks alone would have been $17.)

Not all stores do this, even within the same chain. The meat department staff can tell if and when your favorite store slashes prices on meat.

Eating Cheap In The Neighborhood

There's been a lot of buzz lately on other blogs like this one about eating cheap. The articles run the gamut from cutting a few dollars from the monthly food budget to eating for $15 a week.

Along with the buzz comes a bit of criticism about just what is being eaten on a limited budget, whether it's healthy, whether it's organic, whether it honors fair trade standards.

To all of that I say...whatever.

There are no right or wrong answers. Each person or family has a set of priorities they choose to follow. Some my have to keep their budget to a minimum, trying for simple sustanence for the fewest dollars possible. Others may choose health or political issues as their top priorities.

For my family, the goal is to have tasty, affordable meals that are reasonably healthy. I admit I have no political agenda when it comes to shopping, and frankly, while some organic foods may be healthier, I'm simply not willing to spend the money required for organic food. Some may say I'll pay the price later in medical bills, and that may be so, but on our current budget, I'm not budging.

On average, we spend $200 a month on groceries for Shane, Kat and myself. Keep in mind that when I say groceries, I mean ONLY food for home consumption. I don't include cleaning supplies, paper products, alcohol, pet food or dining out in our grocery budget.

We've been averaging $200 a month, or $50 a week, since 2002. Despite the rising cost of food, our average has stayed the same, so in a sense, we're actually spending less on food than we were five years ago.

The biggest secret, I think, to keeping food costs down, is to learn to cook from scratch. Much money can be saved by making your own bread, biscuits, rice side dishes, cakes, soups, etc. Many cents per pound can be saved by cutting up whole chicken yourself or buying a large cut of beef or pork and cutting it into steaks, chops and roasts yourself.

The second and third secrets to lowering your food costs, in my opinion, are to buy food where it is cheapest and to stop being "brand loyal". Here in the Midwest, we have a chain of stores called Aldi. The are an international company that carries quality, mostly private label foods. My best friend worked for Aldi for many years and confirmed that most of the foods there are processed and packed by the major label food companies. Some are of identical taste and quality; others taste slightly different, but that doesn't mean they are inferior. They have several products, such as their tortilla chips, that we've come to prefer over any brand available. In addition, they have special purchases of brand name items, selling for considerably less than in conventional grocery stores.

I'd estimate that savings at Aldi over conventional supermarkets is approximately 33% across the board. Another similar store in our area is called Sav-A-Lot. I'm sure there are stores such as these all over the country.

Beyond cooking and buying food as inexpensively as possible, the most important thing you can do to save money on food is to plan menus. You'll see this advice time and time again when you visit sites similar to this one. Knowing what you need before you go to the store, and buying only those things WILL save you money by reducing or eliminating impulse purchase and food that is wasted because you didn't end up cooking it after all.

Wonder what kinds of meals we could possibly be eating on such a limited budget? Stay tuned. Recipes, photos and weekly menus are on their way.

Meanwhile, check out these similar articles:

How to Feed Yourself For $15 A Week
Save Over $1440 A Year By Brown Bagging It
Cheap Cooking
$45 Emergency Menu for 4 to 6