Buying groceries for the week is easier and more economical. Use seasonal vegetables and fruits
Most of the money from our monthly budget goes to apartments (if we rent) and food. If we live in own apartment, then it is food that most often comes first.
Some might say that saving on food is completely extreme. After all, food is a joy for many, and family dinners are a real sacrament. “What, now we eat only black bread?!” - some are indignant. But let's not exaggerate: saving on food does not mean starving. No one is forcing you to eat only porridge and bread and stop buying your favorite cabbage pies. You just need to approach the purchase of products, especially now, in times of crisis, wisely.
So, how exactly save on food? Of course, each situation is individual, and some solutions may not suit you at all. But we will try to give you some universal advice . Some of them may seem elementary, but think about it: are you following them exactly?
When we go to the store and don’t know what we want to buy, we start looking at everything. “Actually, I wasn’t going to buy sweets, but this cake looks so delicious that it’s simply impossible to resist...”, “Oh, I’ll take a couple of packages of pizza. Just once!”, “Hmm, I haven’t eaten smoked sausage for a long time” - sounds familiar, right? In order not to find yourself in such situations and not to spend an extra 100–200 rubles, make a shopping list in advance.
You can make a list on a regular piece of paper, write it down as a note on your smartphone, or use special application- fortunately, now there are enough of them.
One of the most popular shopping list apps- This “Buy a loaf!”(Buy me a pie). The application is simple and convenient. It allows you to manually enter a list of products and their quantity, highlights products from different categories different colors and can group items from the list. To remove a purchased product from the list, simply click on it. By the way, the application has a built-in dictionary and can tell you what to add to the list. Application “Buy a loaf!” can be installed on devices with Android or iOS systems. There is a free and paid version.
Another popular application is Listick. Here you can not only create an endless number of shopping lists, but also keep track of your financial resources. Data can be synchronized between different devices. Like Buy a Loaf, Listick has a built-in dictionary.
Of course, there are many other shopping list apps out there, and you can use the one you like best. The main thing is not to forget to make lists! When you have a clear plan, it's easier for you to focus on the items you need and skip the ones you don't need.
You've already made a list, but the temptation to deviate from it is still great. The solution is simple: calculate how much a trip to the store will cost you, and take it with you (+100 rubles). Of course, this method is not very suitable for those who pay exclusively by card. But you can, for example, withdraw from the card a certain amount- just for going to the store. Or get a separate, “store” card.
When we are hungry, our eyes stop at all the products in a row, and the stomach only asks: “Buy, buy!” As a result, we return from the store and wonder: why did I buy so much unnecessary food? On the contrary, if we go shopping after a hearty lunch, there will be much less temptation. This way you can buy only the products you need.
It would seem that the advice is banal. But think about it: often the store around the corner can be one and a half times more expensive than the one located five minutes away. However, the quality of the products does not differ.
Let's give an example: one Moscow couple told us that they were able to save 30% on food when they changed stores. “We used to go to the Rodnik store near our house,” reports Irina, 40 years old, Moscow. - “But then the products became significantly more expensive, and we decided to look for others grocery stores nearby. It turned out that Pyaterochka had just recently opened. Now we only shop there: the savings are significant! For example, a five-liter bottle of water costs 30 rubles here, and 60 in Rodnik!”
Except "Pyaterochki", traditionally, stores in Moscow are considered inexpensive "Magnet", "Dixie" And "Auchan"(however, it’s not very convenient to get to the last one public transport). Slightly higher in price category - "Crossroads"" And "Billa". The most expensive are luxury supermarkets like "The ABCs of Taste" or one of a kind "Eliseevsky", where most people go as if to a museum.
Of course, it is worth remembering that in the same “Pyaterochka” a bottle of water may turn out to be cheaper than in “Rodnik”, but another product may be more expensive. Well: all that remains is to remember where everything is and how much it costs. To understand where it’s best for you to go shopping, you’ll have to buy the same set of products a couple of times in several different stores, and then compare the receipts.
...Or at least reduce their number. Convenience foods are not only harmful to health, they are also quite expensive. Compare: how much do ready-made pancakes cost and how much do the ingredients for them cost - flour, eggs and milk (or kefir)? Count how many pancakes you can make from a kilogram of flour, a dozen eggs and a liter of milk. The result will clearly be more than 4 (usually that’s how many there are in a standard package). The same goes for many other prepared foods. It is clear that you most likely work and do not have time to cook often. But how many times a week do you eat pancakes? Think about whether it would be more profitable for you to cook yourself once a week than to constantly buy semi-finished products.
One pack of salt is enough for several months, why do you need ten of them at once? You can buy several packages of buckwheat, oatmeal and rice at once, but do not overdo it with their quantity. Don't forget that cereals love to harbor bugs. You will spend more time and effort fighting nasty insects than going to the store!
Moreover, you should not buy perishable products in reserve. If you doubt that you will eat a kilogram of tomatoes and two kilograms of cucumbers over the next week, then buy them half as much. Otherwise, you risk removing rotten vegetables from the refrigerator one fine sunny morning.
The advice directly relates to the previous one. You still couldn’t resist, and now your cabinets and refrigerator are overflowing with stocks of all kinds of food? Don't go to the store to buy new ones until you've eaten these. For example: if you find two packages of rice in your cupboard, then do not buy three more packages of buckwheat until the rice runs out.
And if you have butter, milk and other products in the refrigerator that are about to expire, eat them first, and then buy something else.
Nowadays cheeses, sausages and other delicacies are very expensive. Think: do you really need them every day or even once every two days? We're not asking you to completely give up cheeses and meats: they're healthy and, after all, just delicious. But try to at least start eating them less often. For example, if you currently buy slices every two days, try starting to buy them every four days. Your life is unlikely to change from this, but the savings will be significant.
And other nasty things. It's true: sometimes we are so hungry that we are ready to put anything in our mouth just to satisfy our hunger. But think about it: is a chocolate bar really going to be a great snack for you? Try making yourself a sandwich early in the morning or the night before, or taking some fruit with you to work or into town. It will be healthier and cheaper than spending money every day on a not entirely necessary snack.
If you can’t imagine your life without “little nasty things”, then set a limit for yourself. For example: “Skickers - only on Mondays.”
Going to restaurants or cafes is such a joy in every person’s life that it can be difficult to give up. Therefore, we do not consider it necessary to completely erase catering from our lives. But try to make sure that he is present not every day, but several times a month: plan trips to the restaurant in advance. You can take lunches from home to work, and if you don’t like this prospect at all, add the expenses for the canteen to your home budget to avoid unpleasant surprises at the end of the month.
Yes, grandmothers with boiled eggs in reserved seat carriages make us smile. But eggs are not the only food that people take with them on the road. If you know that you have a long train journey ahead or a flight with several transfers, take care of food in advance. Make yourself at least a few sandwiches, take a banana or dried fruit with you. Food at airports is extremely expensive: do you need to pay almost a thousand rubles for a cup of coffee and a piece of cake? And in low-cost airlines, all food is paid for, so here sandwiches will be doubly useful to you.
In winter, while studying or traveling, you really want to drink hot tea... Meanwhile, a cup of tea in different establishments costs from 50 rubles - and up to infinity. A good thermos can be bought for 700 rubles, but it will serve you for many years. In addition, a thermos is clearly not one cup of tea, but much more. If you think that a thermos is unaesthetic, then you are wrong: we live in the 21st century, and thermoses even come in pink and flowered.
You're capable of eating a huge plate of pasta in 3 minutes, but is that really a skill you need to use? You don’t really have time to chew your food, and therefore your body thinks you ate too little. As a result, you buy yourself another portion, and then another dessert... So it turns out that you spent twice on food more money what we intended. If you eat slowly and chew your food thoroughly, it will be better absorbed and your stomach will be free from overeating.
We probably haven’t listed all the ways to wisely save on food. Well: how many people, so many opinions. It may turn out that we have forgotten something. If you know other ways to save on food, be sure to share them in the comments!
How to learn to save on food? IN recent years this question has become very popular. And indeed, with rising food prices and marking time wages, this question is becoming increasingly relevant.
Saving on food, how to spend less
Popular wisdom says: “Every cloud has a silver lining.” And indeed, starting to save on food, Russians have unique opportunity“jump” from a diet filled with all sorts of products that empty your wallet and at the same time harm your health (crackers, salted nuts, sweet carbonated drinks, chips). Proper and healthy eating should become a habit; at first it will not be easy, but pretty soon a person will feel positive qualities such a diet.
- For proper organization It is recommended to plan meals weekly menu. This helps in planning purchases and saves you from hard thinking about what to cook for dinner. Taking into account your plans for the week, you can prepare more food enough for a couple of days. So for those who are thinking about how to save on food, the weekly menu is a step in the right direction.
- Refusal of semi-finished products and the transition to self-cooking will significantly allow you to learn to control the contents of your plate yourself, without relying on the conscience of the producers of dumplings or frozen pizza. Homemade food tastier, healthier and cheaper than semi-finished products.
- Sausage is expensive and not very healthy. Oven-baked meat with herbs and spices will perfectly replace it. In general, it is better to buy meat in large portions at once in order to cook from it different dishes. For example, you can cut up a leg of lamb, cook kharcho soup from the bone, and pilaf from the pulp.
- If beef or pork is too expensive, then good option there will be chicken meat. It is more profitable to buy a whole chicken than individual parts. When cutting, you can find a use for all components of the carcass.
- You should not neglect by-products. Beef, chicken, pork liver or chicken hearts and stomachs - a good alternative expensive meat. Liver cake or pate, cooked with skillful hands, can become a decoration for any table. Rassolnik on kidneys, soup from beef or pork tails - original, satisfying and inexpensive.
- Meat should be used sparingly. From one kilogram you can easily prepare three dishes: cutlets with vegetables, borscht and pilaf, for example. In addition, the meat should be served with a side dish. A huge steak is good on a plate in a restaurant, but at home, meat gravy with mashed potatoes or buckwheat porridge will look preferable.
- Buying seasonal vegetables and fruits is a serious saving on food. During the season, prices for many products (depending on the harvest) drop so much that they can not only be eaten as often as possible, but also stored for the winter. Common vegetables such as cabbage and beets will become a real storehouse of vitamins on cold winter days.
How to save on food, recipes from famous chefs
When switching to home cooking, problems with the menu will arise at first, but this can be avoided if you take your mother’s or grandmother’s cookbook out of the closet or from the mezzanine. There you can find a lot of dishes for any budget, which are prepared completely without the use of semi-finished products. For example, like this:
- Chicken cutlets with vegetables. Take minced chicken and ground vegetables (for example, potatoes) in half, form cutlets and fry them in breading. Very tasty and the meat savings are obvious.
- Borscht with beans. All the ingredients for classic Ukrainian borscht, only it is cooked in bean broth, not meat. The dish turns out rich and tasty, while its price is noticeably reduced.
- Dumplings with cherries. A kilogram of flour, 7 eggs, half a liter of milk and salt for the dough, 2 kilograms of fresh or frozen cherries and 2 tablespoons of sugar for the filling. That's all the ingredients needed to prepare 10 servings of a delicious dish.
An important part of the dinner table is fish, which contains essential nutrients. human body phosphorus, iodine, omega-3 fatty acids.
You should not give up fish, you should just replace it with cheaper varieties (hake, pollock, herring, tilapia). It will be cheaper to buy the herring whole and pickle it yourself with spices than to buy it already prepared and packaged in jars.
Using modern electric yogurt makers and bread makers, you can completely avoid buying fermented milk products and bread in the store. Thanks to this, you can always be sure of the quality of the product you consume.
In general, a properly selected economical diet can be considered as one of the aspects healthy eating, which is now receiving great attention all over the world.
Hello, my dear hostesses! I noticed that you like to read and learn new information about maintaining household. I admit that this topic is also very close to me. It’s not for nothing that I published a series of articles about and continue to write about the house. And today I will try to outline very important, in my opinion, basics that will help you reduce family budget expenses.
I think every family has the most more money is spent on food. This is understandable, we are people, and we must eat, replenish energy sources for further existence. But in unstable times, such as now, sometimes you cannot imagine what will happen tomorrow. Maybe I’m exaggerating, but you yourself understand what the situation is in the world now. Today is one thing, tomorrow is another... In general, no one is immune from force majeure. Therefore, I am for saving money, but without fanaticism. Although this is not a guarantee of future well-being.
In my previous articles, I wrote about ways to reduce expenses and shared tips on how to slow down the pace of spending. If you are interested in this information, be sure to read it and share it with your friends.
Well, today I want to talk about how to save on food. I won’t talk about the need to eat less. And I honestly admit, perhaps I won’t discover America, but if the advice is put into practice, I guarantee there will be results. The problem is that our people are very lazy. He complains and complains, but doesn’t want to do anything. Just recently, I received a letter. In it, a woman complains that everything is bad, there is no money, there is nothing to even throw away (I mean), the job is low paid, the president is bad, Obama is even worse and everything like that. Long story short, I asked where she lived, about her family, and so on. It turned out that the situation was not as bad as she thought, at least I think so. It's just that apparently she likes to whine. I offered her the most basic thing - to go through. She explained that it was free, but it would help keep the house in order. She has a problem with these too, since she has them in her arms six month old baby. Can you imagine what she answered? - “It’s a whole 10 days to read your newsletter!” I'm still in shock!
I started talking and got distracted. In general, if you want to save on food, keep reading and put the tips into practice, and don’t just read and forget.
How to save on food: three simple rules
Plan!
Lists are something that can completely free you from many problems. How did I start doing it?
I made a list of dishes that I remember, love and want to cook in the future. As a rule, it turns out to be impressive, but this works to our advantage. The more varied the food, the happier your husband and children will be, and the healthier you will be. There is no need to rush, take some time to do this activity. It took me about 4-5 days. Look through the magazines cookbooks. I didn't write down the recipes, just the names of the dishes. I immediately understood how to cook them. But if you have problems with this, then write down the recipe itself, or sign the source where you can view it from (name of the book/website, page).
Next, under each name, I wrote down the ingredients that I would need for cooking, right down to salt. I’ll tell you why this is needed later. I prepared the notes on A4 sheets in the form of a table. You can download the example. Be sure to put them in a folder or files so they last longer and leave room for notes. Suddenly you'll add a few more recipes to your list. By the way, for those who do not like paperwork, keeping such a journal in electronic form.
Now every week, for example, on Friday, plan the menu for the week, every detail - breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks, drinks, snacks. Make a shopping list. Use the second column in our table, this is exactly what it is for. Consider the supply you already have at home. As a rule, these are cereals, pasta, meat or vegetables. Estimate roughly what else you need to buy. And don’t even think about buying in reserve, especially for all-season perishable products, the price of which remains virtually unchanged throughout the year. Let them be stored in stores.
Now you can go shopping. I usually choose Saturday or Sunday. There are times when you have to buy something more during the week, for example, bread. This is fine. But try to go into the store as little as possible without a reason. I know from myself that this can end badly)))).
Freezing is a thing!
Do you know the situation when there is a little soup or potatoes left at the bottom of the pan, no one wants to finish them because you cooked something new? I used to have this in my refrigerator until it was gone. We had to pour out soups and throw away potatoes. But there is also a very economical option - freezing! Prepared food can be stored in the freezer for quite a long time, up to a month. So be sure to consider this method. To do this, you will need plastic containers that are freezer safe. Leftover food is easy and simple to store and take out when the time comes. This not only saves family budget, but also time. Imagine, you come home from work, you’re tired, it’s been a hard day, and you’re not particularly in the mood to cook. Oops, we took a portion of soup out of the freezer, warmed it up and ate it or fed it to our husband and children. In general, take a closer look and try to put freezing prepared food into practice.
I also often freeze vegetables and fruits. I recently bought a bunch of bananas and they quickly started to spoil. It became clear that we would not have time to eat it, and it would probably disappear. Then I peeled them and froze them. From time to time I add bananas to my porridge.
It is better to cut meat, poultry and fish into portioned pieces immediately after purchase. So as not to defrost them ten times. After all, they thus spoil and lose their taste.
Bell peppers, carrots and onions can also be frozen by first chopping them. Thanks to this technique, cooking. It is important for me to spend a minimum of time cooking. Almost anything can be frozen, so go for it!
Switch to healthy food!
It's easier than it seems in reality. After all, you can start small. If sausages are frequent guests on your table, I advise you to get them out of your life once and for all. Do you know how much they cost? Well, of course! But again and again you spend money on dyes, preservatives and flavors. It is better to buy a piece of meat and bake it with seasonings in foil. It turns out tastier and healthier than the most “natural” store-bought sausage. Are these store-bought cookies? Take it and bake it yourself, it will be healthier and cheaper! And you spend no more time on this than going to the store. Still drinking carbonated drinks?! I sincerely sympathize with you. This is poison! Homemade fruit drinks and compotes are a storehouse of vitamins and minerals. Buy special cups with a non-spill lid, pour clean water or tea and carry it with you so you don’t have to buy anything along the way.
The problem for many is that they are too lazy to do this. At the same time, you spend money huge amount money that can be invested in pleasant emotions (going to the cinema, theater, zoo) or buying something useful and necessary.
It would seem that 3 simple and well-known tips, it seems to me, will help you save on food! This is cool! Try it and share your results in the comments. I look forward to your feedback!
No matter how much spiel flows from TV screens (they say that the government controls the prices of goods from the food basket), statistics are a stubborn thing. The cost of conventional food products is rising again The cost of a conditional (minimum) set of food products. If in October 2017 it was 3,715 rubles, then in May 2018 it was already at the level of 3,970 rubles.
Growth by 255 rubles in six months
According to experts, prices will continue to rise. This means it’s time to learn to save. We'll show you how to spend the least amount of money on food.
In the store
1. Make a shopping list and strictly follow it
To do this, develop a menu for the week: breakfasts, lunches and dinners. Inspect your kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and add to your shopping list the ingredients you need to prepare your intended meals. Nothing extra!
Mobile applications will help you keep a shopping list.
2. Compare prices in different stores
Buying everything in one supermarket is convenient. But sometimes, if you walk to the bakery around the corner, you can buy tastier and cheaper bread.
If you don’t have time for monitoring, try to shop once a week. “Today I’ll buy cottage cheese, and tomorrow I’ll go and buy more eggs” - an approach that leads to unplanned expenses.
Well, use special applications.
3. Attend agricultural fairs
They usually take place in autumn and spring, and there you can very profitably buy farm products: potatoes, eggs and others.
4. Avoid impulse purchases
Don’t buy products not on the list just because they are cheap or you suddenly feel like, “Oh! Discount on Chinese cabbage! You have to take it, it’s usually 10 rubles more expensive” (are you sure you’ll eat it?), “Mmm, cake! Want! Want!" (what about diet?).
Don’t take children to the store: their “wants” are harder to resist. Willpower alone will not save you.
5. Use discount cards
You may have to pay to purchase it, but this is a one-time expense, and discounts can be used every time you visit this store.
6. Buy in bulk
Flour, sugar, salt, pasta and spices are always needed. Plus they have long term storage So, you can take it for future use. Moreover, prices in wholesale retail outlets, as a rule, lower.
“Where do I need so much? I have nowhere to store it,” are typical objections of housewives to the advice to buy food in large quantities. The solution is simple: chip in with friends. By purchasing a package of rice and dividing it among yourselves, you will quickly experience the benefits of this approach.
According to merchandising rules, the most expensive products are placed on shelves at eye level of the buyer, and the cheapest ones are placed on the lower shelves. Don't be lazy to lean over and study the assortment below.
comefare.com Also, don't look in departments you don't need (separate the products on the list into groups: meat, vegetables, etc.). And don’t forget that you should visit the store well-fed.
8. Turn off autopilot
We often wander around the store, thinking about our own things and automatically putting products in the basket. Remember how disappointing it is when you find at home that the apples are broken and the cookies in the package are broken. Choose your products carefully.
9. Don't overpay for a name
Products famous brands are more expensive. But this is not always a guarantee of quality and taste. Take a closer look at less famous but cheaper analogues. For example, brands chain stores. Typically, taste characteristics popular goods (vegetable oil, groceries, etc.) do not differ from branded ones.
10. Don’t overpay for packaging
Milk in a nondescript package can be tastier and cheaper than a drink in a bottle, and loose bulk products are more profitable than those packaged in colorful boxes.
11. Pay attention to weight and volume
Often the same product is on the shelves, but one is cheaper than the other, for example, by 5 rubles. Don't rush to grab what's cheaper. Compare the difference in weight or volume of these products. It is more profitable to take a “full” kilogram than 940 grams.
12. Don't buy processed foods
They are a priori more expensive than self-prepared (from “A” to “Z”) dishes. Don't allow yourself to be lazy: cook them yourself and store them in the freezer.
And one more thing. Sliced bread and sausage are always more expensive. Can't you cut your own loaf?
13. Don’t be afraid of delays
The discount policy of chain grocery stores is a subject for a separate discussion. But when a product expires, sellers are willing to get really generous. As a rule, products “with a timer” are quite suitable. The main thing is to use them as soon as possible.
Exception - fermented milk products. It's easy to get with them food poisoning, so it’s better to buy only fresh.
14. Don't waste money on bottled water
It is more profitable to buy a filter for cleaning once.
15. Keep receipts
In the kitchen
1. Adjust your diet
For example, include poultry in your menu instead of fresh fish, which has become noticeably more expensive. Replace ingredients with cheaper ones whenever possible (pink salmon instead of trout, Adyghe cheeses instead of mozzarella).
Nothing beats a juicy sirloin steak, but liver, heart and other organ meats can be cooked deliciously. Buy them from time to time instead of meat - you will save money and improve your culinary skill.
3. Don't cook too much
There are housewives whose “hands don’t take much.” If you cook borscht, then in a large saucepan, if you fry cutlets, then use a full frying pan. Such wastefulness, as a rule, ends with half of the prepared food going into the trash bin. Learn to cook only as much as you eat.
Alternatively, don't cook until you've eaten what you've cooked.
4. Follow cooking sites
Budget recipes often appear there. Keep them for yourself. They will help you create your weekly menu and shopping list.
5. Use seasonal vegetables and fruits
A salad of fresh tomatoes and cucumbers can cost a pretty penny in winter. Cabbage and carrots are much cheaper at this time of year. Make a salad from them - it will turn out just as tasty and healthy.
8. Eat perishable foods first.
We bought yogurt, put it in the refrigerator, and five days later, when we remembered it and wanted to eat it, it turned out that it was expired. As a result, several tens of rubles go into the trash. Sound familiar?
To avoid getting into such situations again, stick bright stickers on perishable foods: “eat by Thursday,” “use by the end of the week,” and so on.
holodilnik.info 9. Store food correctly
Compliance with storage conditions prevents premature spoilage of products. The more thrifty you are with food, the less often you will have to replenish your food supplies.
By the way, about frugality. Many products can be given a “second life”. Has the bread started to dry out? Make crackers and add to salads.
As you can see, you don’t have to be a pedant to save on food. Anyone can follow these recommendations. But the main thing is don’t be fanatical. Sometimes you can and should allow yourself something tasty or your favorite.
Open the refrigerator and see how much food is there, but you either don’t want to eat it, or you left it “for later.” Add in the presence of various sweets in cupboards and cupboards, and it turns out that a huge part of your earnings goes to two expense items: payment for housing and communal services and food. Do you want to eat better but spend less? Then for you advice from folk craftsmen who have a sensible approach to nutrition issues.
What purchases are unnecessary? Spontaneous. It could be a promotional item that you didn’t actually plan to buy, but the discount was good, so you bought it. But the fact is that promotions are most often carried out on products with an expiring shelf life. They bought it, didn’t eat it right away, and tomorrow it’s no longer suitable for eating - they threw away both the food and the money. When making a list before going to the store, set aside 10% for unexpected expenses and stick to this rule strictly. You can also take a limited amount of money, leaving credit cards at home - there is no money, you simply can’t buy anything extra.
Foods should satisfy, not induce hunger.
Even a limited budget normally includes eggs, pasta, kefir, canned fish, cereals, butter and vegetables. And this is the basic diet for many tasty and satisfying dishes. As for smoked meats, pickles and marinades, they whet your appetite, forcing you to eat more.
Soups are the basis of the diet
Liquid first courses are a real lifesaver for thrifty housewives. From small quantity Chicken bones, potatoes and a pinch of pasta make a normal soup - this has long been tested by pensioners who receive minimal subsidies. If you want something more satisfying, cook borscht, cabbage soup, or without meat - a rich soup with garlic and croutons will satisfy even the hungriest man. A simple financial calculation will prove that a portion of borscht (homemade) with 1/4 chicken broth will cost about 30 rubles, and chicken noodles with bones are even cheaper - 10-15 rubles. Of course, if you don't buy noodles instant cooking and ready-made broths - you will have to stand at the stove.
The most expensive dish is considered to be meat solyanka, but without smoked, boiled sausages and other delights. A serving of soup costs 70-80 rubles. But even with such expenses, home cooking will cost less than eating Rollton and other doshiraki.
Menu creation
This could be a list of dishes for the week or for the day. The main thing is to strictly adhere to the menu: breakfast - tea with cookies, lunch - soup, pasta, dried fruit for a snack, and boiled chicken and water with lemon for dinner. For family people, it is good to create a menu for the week and spend a few hours on the weekend preparing the entire list. Food and ready-made dishes will be well preserved in the refrigerator, some can be frozen, do not dress salads, and instead of tea with sugar, make compote - cheap, tasty and healthy.
If you strictly adhere to your eating routine, without snacking on cookies that you will have to buy in addition, your food costs will be significantly reduced. The more limited the menu, the lower the costs - this is a true rule. But don’t worry, even from a minimal list of products you can prepare a lot of dishes: casseroles, porridge with water with milk, potato pancakes, dumplings, buckwheat cutlets - ask grandmothers and mothers, they will tell you how you can save money and still feed the whole family well.
Stock up on groceries
If you no longer have money in your wallet, and you still have a long time to live until payday or retirement, you will have to tighten your belt and look for cheaper products. There are these: loose pasta, seasonal vegetables, chicken backs. It is better to buy groceries in large supermarkets (chains), where you have a choice. And in order not to be completely broke, buy half a kilogram of liver, chicken from your salary and separate a piece - let it lie in the freezer, there will be a supply.
When receiving finance, you will have to clearly calculate how many products you can buy. Refuse processed foods, buy chicken and divide it into parts:
- drumsticks and wings - fry, then serve with side dish;
- thighs – separately, also fry;
- separate the breast and cut into several plates - ready-made chops, there are 6-8 of them;
- back and bones - for broth;
- grind the pulp from the backs and skin trimmings through a meat grinder with onions, stick on meatballs, stuffed peppers and also freeze.
This is how you can stretch a chicken. Chicken legs, necks, backs are what are sold very cheaply, even today. But if you cook, trim the meat and then pour it into containers, the legs provide a good gelling component, and the result is excellent homemade chicken jellied meat.
Freeze food before it goes bad
Everything is stored in the freezer: bread, milk, kefir, ready-made pasta, cereals, broth and soups. The bread can be cut into portions, taken out 40-60 minutes before lunch, or put in the microwave for a couple of minutes - it will become as fresh as fresh. Buy shallow containers with lids so you can put them straight into the microwave. Once cooked, spread it out, cooled down and put it in the freezer. Take it out in the evening or morning, warm it up before eating - an appetizing dish is ready, homemade and satisfying.
Give up sweets
This is difficult if you are used to buying cookies, cakes, pastries and other sweets. However, even the most fastidious gourmet will gladly replace these sweets with homemade ones, which are much cheaper, or with dried fruits. In addition to reducing costs, homemade baked goods can be less sweet, and dried fruits contain more fructose than sucrose. Even regular sweet beets are great as a dessert, as are grated carrots - try it, it's really tasty. But chocolate, candies, marshmallows and many other sweets today, unfortunately, are not made from pure products, so they cause a lot of harm: from caries to the appearance of wrinkles, acne and allergic reactions.
Excessive amounts of sweets lead to hormonal imbalance and problems with thyroid gland. But a complete categorical refusal is also bad - a person experiences real withdrawal, his mood deteriorates, and his appetite increases. This goes away after a few days, you just need to get used to it or replace store-bought sweets with homemade semolina minimum quantity sugar - cheap and tasty.
Avoiding drinks
Remove tarragon, lemonade, cola, carbonated store drinks and teas from your diet - this is all sugar and extra money. It is not profitable to buy water in small bottles - buy a large glass for athletes, it contains almost 800 ml of water, which you can boil and pour at home, or you can cook compote, jelly or make delicious tea and then drink it anywhere.
This is the most difficult thing, because if there are kids and other people in the house, then it is impossible not to buy fruits and sweets. However, it is quite possible to give up sausages, expensive cakes, sweets and chocolate. Delicious porridge with homemade jam it’s no worse than store-bought instant porridge, and compote is much healthier than cola. You will have to endure the battle, but when the family’s finances are already running out, there is nothing to choose from. And, most importantly, do not feed acquaintances and friends who come “for a cup of tea” by offering them a snack. If these are family and congenial people, they came to see you, not to eat.
You have someone to feed - your husband earns money, and he will get what he is entitled to. Of course, we are not talking about parasites. A normally healthy man happily eats oatmeal, boiled meat, and will not refuse dumplings and potato sandwiches with eggs - all this costs pennies, but it satisfies much better than any smoked meats. Children will enjoy boiled pasta with butter and cheese, chicken meatballs, lazy dumplings, cheesecakes and casseroles.
Curb your appetites
To save something, you need to give up something. Reconsider your spending on food. Make it a rule not to throw away receipts right away in the store, save them for at least a week - you will see for yourself how much money goes down the drain. But you just have to take receipts everywhere, including at a shawarma stall, count expenses carefully and not try to justify yourself by saying that you “wanted something tasty.”
