Bargain pantry essentials -
The key to locating cheap groceries is to create a system for shopping, and that begins before you even grab a cart. Start by identifying the closest supermarkets to you hello, high gas prices! and cross check the cost of your favorite items online before you shop.
Think about what you spend the most on and prioritize finding the best price for those items. The next step is to follow that quintessential shopping advice: Don't go to the grocery store hungry. You're much more likely to make impulse and unhealthy purchases if you do, so shop after a meal or grab a healthy snack before heading to the store.
And remember: The cheapest groceries are not always the most nutritious; consider spending slightly more for foods that are filling and nutrient-dense.
For tips and recommendations for a more economical shopping experience, see below for advice from the experts at the Good Housekeeping Institute Nutrition Lab.
Fruit and vegetables are among the groceries with the largest price jumps lately , but you can still find affordable produce by buying seasonally. Purchasing when produce is abundant helps lower the cost and will all but assure the best taste and highest levels of nutrition.
Seasonal Fruits. Seasonal Vegetables. Another way to save money on produce is to opt for fruit and vegetables that have a longer shelf-life.
For example, to help extend your grocery dollars, choose apples over berries or carrots or celery over leafy greens. Generally, some of the cheapest fruit and vegetables year-round tend to be bananas, apples, oranges, broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and sweet potatoes.
Meat can be the most expensive category for most food budgets, and can account for a large portion of the overall grocery bill. To save money, opt for the ground variety of your favorite protein. Ground beef, chicken or turkey are super versatile, easily frozen and can be used in many different recipes.
Larger cuts of meat will usually cost less per pound, but they may require marinating, braising and slow cooking to bring out the tenderness.
If you do prefer to include cheaper cuts of meat, consider including:. Buying a whole chicken instead of pre-portioned cuts can also save money and the leftovers, including the bones, are great for making chicken soup or bone broth.
Consider cutting costs even further by implementing Meatless Monday or meatless dinners a few nights a week. Swap out meat for healthy plant-based meat alternatives such as tofu, tempeh, beans and legumes, as your protein source. The cost of fresh seafood may also vary seasonally.
According to the Seafood Nutrition Partnership , fresh Alaskan salmon is less expensive during the summer when the fish are more abundant. Other popular choices that may be worth buying seasonally include Albacore tuna in season July-October and halibut in season March-November.
Other ways to save money on seafood:. Whether you prefer dairy or non-dairy, you can find competitive prices due to the sheer number of products on the market.
While non-dairy milks may be more expensive than dairy, some non-dairy brands offer shelf stable options that can be bought in bulk when they're on sale. Just note that many dairy and non- dairy milks and yogurts contain added sugars and sometimes saturated fats.
Always check the label before purchasing. More ways to save:. When it comes to cheap groceries, pantry staples are the big winners. This category includes dry and canned goods such as flour, oatmeal, chicken stock, nuts, nut butters and seeds. Among the cheapest staples are dried and canned beans — they're also easy to prepare and provide a great source of plant-based protein and fiber, two very important nutrients that are often only available in more costly foods.
Grains like brown rice and oatmeal also score high in cost-effectiveness and nutrition. Oh pasta, you are our love language! We think it's safe to say that you're the love language of many Freebs, too!
This pantry staple is another one that will go with just about anything and it's cheap and easy to keep on hand. Pro Tip: When you're cooking pasta, don't use oil in your water for boiling.
A lot of Freebs keep canned pasta sauce on hand as it pairs naturally with pasta. It's a pantry staple that is pretty cheap to stock up on and can go in lots of different things! Pro Tip: Pasta sauce is basically canned tomato sauce and some seasonings, so stock up on tomato sauce and you can easily make your own pasta sauce in a pinch!
Tomatoes are another pantry staple that a lot of Freebs keep on hand! Whether they're canned tomatoes, or tomato paste or sauce, there are so many different recipes you can make with them! Don't be afraid to doctor your tomato sauces with fresh herbs, garlic, cheeses, or thickeners to get the results you want.
You can even combined tomato sauce with paste for a slightly different take that uses up both ingredients. Now that you have some ideas about how to use up those delicious canned and jarred tomato soups, sauces, and pastes, let's talk beans!
Whether they're canned or whole, beans are good for so many things! Eat them plain, add them to meat to bulk up the meal, add them to a soup….
Those are just a few of the reasons that beans are one of the top pantry staples for the Freebs! You can even use your leftover canned beans in easy peasy dishes like my tamale casserole!
Beans are a delicious filler and add protein and other nutrients! These soups are so good to have on hand. They go with pretty much anything and can really help to take a few ingredients from being a random assortment of items to a casserole in no time!
Pro Tip: It is beyond easy to make your own cream of chicken soup if you keep broth on hand — just add milk, flour , and a little seasoning! Genius, right!? These are an obvious pantry staple!
They're great to have by themselves as a side or added to a recipe. Pro Tip: To improve the flavor of canned vegetables, first rinse them in a colander under cold water. Then add to your recipes as usual.
Whether it's beef, chicken, or vegetable, broth and stock are great pantry staples to keep on hand! Just buy the biggest carton or whatever is cheapest that you can find if you use it a lot.
Be sure to refrigerate it after opening so it doesn't go bad! Pro Tip: I like to buy Better Than Bouillon from Costco. It's amazing and lasts a while! Oatmeal is such a versatile pantry staple! It can either be eaten on its own or easily goes into so many kinds of recipes, from early morning breakfast to dessert.
Did you know that an ounce package of Old Fashioned Quaker Oats contains roughly 26, rolled oats? That's a lot of oats!
Canned chicken, tuna, salmon, ham, and beef are all great ways to keep meat on hand without having to worry about the electricity going out and your meat ruining! These pantry staples are so versatile and work in a lot of different meals.
Pro Tip: If you're cooking the canned meats in a recipe, make sure you don't add it in until the very end.
Essetnials these 15 kitchen essnetials around as the basis Try out sample box many easy and Bargain pantry essentials meals! Click here for a downloadable, printable version of this blog post! Like Shredded Wheat, muesli and rolled oats. Whole grains are naturally high in fiber, helping you feel full and satisfied. Getting more fiber, in combination with lots of water, is also good for your GI health. Sep 11, EssentiaslShelf Cooking. Pantrh asked and you delivered. Today, we've got Bargain pantry essentials ezsentials pantry staples esssentials our loyal followers AKA Freebsplus their Sample offers online ways to use Bargain pantry essentials Score! It wouldn't be Shelftember Bagrain shelf Bargain pantry essentials month if we weren't all focused on cooking with what we have in our refrigerators, freezers, and pantries! If you're not sure what we're talking about, then make sure you check out our Shelftember post to catch up so you can keep up with us the rest of the month. We get a lot of questions about how you can shelf cook if you don't keep your kitchen stocked with food. While you do have to keep certain pantry staples stocked, you don't have to constantly eat the same things all the time.
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