In recent years, more and more people have been looking for ways to save on grocery shopping. Indeed, people get a unique opportunity to change their diet filled with all sorts of foods that empty the wallet and at the same time harm their health (crackers, carbonated drinks, chips, etc). Proper and healthy eating should become a habit so that a person will soon feel the positive results of such a diet. Moreover, planning meals helps to reduce the total cost of the budget spent on food. How to save money on grocery shopping by planning meals — read below.
Basic Tips on How to Plan Your Daily Diet
Before satisfying your interest in how to save on planning your diet, we want to make sure that you use all the existing options provided by the supermarkets and large retailers. So, if you still don’t use the advantages of discount cards — we recommend you do it.
Then, proceed to study the pricing of various retailers to find out where it is more profitable to buy different categories of goods. Finally, we encourage you to check the available offers, for example, study the Fred Meyer ads to learn more about the sales, special offers, etc. Now you are ready to maximize your savings by planning your diet. So, let’s proceed to the basic tips on how to do it right.
1. Plan a weekly menu
For the proper organization of meals, it is recommended to plan a weekly menu. This helps in planning purchases and saves you from doubts about what to cook for dinner. For this purpose, we recommend you to use various apps and watch culinary shows to get more information on the topic. Visiting your doctor could also be a good idea because he\she can give you professional advice. Taking into account your plans for the week, you can cook more food on certain days. So, for those who are thinking about how to save on food, the menu for the week is a step in the right direction.
2. Skip the semi-finished food
Avoiding semi-finished products and switching to self-cooking will significantly save money and teach how to control the food on your plate yourself, without relying on the conscience of manufacturers of dumplings or frozen pizza. After all, cutlets, dumplings and other dishes cooked at home will be much healthier and cheaper than those bought in the store.
3. Find recipes of inexpensive dishes
Today this is not a problem to find such recipes on the Internet and cook something that the whole family will like. You will be surprised to hear that Pasta Bolognese is almost twice cheaper than home-made burgers, while rice with baked vegetables is no less nutritious than a pizza. So, why not cook them instead of your favorites?
4. Replace sausages with meat
Sausages are expensive and not very healthy. Meanwhile, baked meat with herbs and spices is a great substitute option. In general, it is better to buy meat immediately in large portions to prepare different dishes from it. For example, pork can be used for cooking steaks, cutlets, or even soup. If beef or pork is too expensive, chicken is a good option. By the way, it is more profitable to buy a whole chicken than its parts. When cutting, all components can be used in cooking.
5. Buy seasonal vegetables
Buying seasonal vegetables and fruits can make significant savings. During the season, prices for many products drop so much that they can not only be eaten as often as possible but also stored for the winter. Additionally, common vegetables such as cabbage and beets are the source of vitamins on cold winter days. So, we recommend visiting farmer markets to buy fresh food from the countryside.
6. Replace salmon with herring
An important part of the dining table is fish, which contains phosphorus, iodine, omega-3 acids, which are essential for the human body. You shouldn’t avoid buying fish, just replace it with cheaper varieties (herring, tilapia, etc.). It will be cheaper to buy the whole herring and pickle it yourself with spices than to buy one that has already been prepared and packaged in jars.
7. Cook dairy products yourself
Do you know that it is possible to cook some dairy products at home? Using modern electric yogurt makers, you can generally refuse to buy fermented milk products in the store. By the way, you can also make bread yourself, by using various kitchen appliances. Thanks to this, you can always be sure of the quality of the consumed product and of course, save on them.
8. Avoid buying carbonated drinks
As for sweet drinks, they contain a huge amount of sugar and other harmful substances. Moreover, they can cause various diseases like diabetes, caries, cardiovascular diseases, etc. Therefore, it will be much more profitable to use ordinary water to cook a fruit drink at home. For example, you can use apples and cherries to do it. Additionally, home-made lemonade can cost you much cheaper than carbonated water of dubious quality.
9. Do not buy sliced and washed foods
It often happens that buying sliced cheese or washed potato is much more expensive than the alternative. Therefore, it is worth considering whether food must look beautiful because ham is not difficult to cut at home, while vegetables will still have to be washed again. Sometimes, you can save up to 30% if you do these simple tasks yourself.
10. Buy tea in big packages
It is more profitable to purchase tea in large packages. Besides, you should abandon the sachets in favor of large leaves. Such a drink will cost less and will be of better quality. If you don’t want to drink the same tea for a long time – share it with your relatives and friends. Big packages are also beneficial for office workers.
In Conclusion
Food is a necessary part of regular expenditures for any family. That is why, having decided to save a little, most housewives are trying to reduce the total cost of their purchase. Planning your meals is the first step towards savings on food. If you master your cooking skills and devote some time to planning your weekly diet — it will be much easier for you to save on food.
Finally, we encourage you to share your tips on how to save on grocery shopping successfully. Leave your comments below and let our readers follow your example.
