Patti:

The best peaches in the world are from Chilton County AL

You are not exagerrating there. I have had some, those are indeed very good peaches.

Have you tried any of the you pick farms?

digiscrappergirl:

I guess I would be lying if I said I wasn't "cooking-challenged."

Reminds me of SIL - when the subject of cooking came up she said "I don't cook. I heat." A bit of an exaggeration, she does cook some. But she's a nurse and works some long hours and just doesn't have time.

I rarely buy anything prepackaged.  Where I live I am fortunate enough to have 3 breadstore outlets and my city isn't that big.  I choose the one with the most fiber and the least sugar.  I can usually get $4 a loaf bread for $.69 a loaf and I freeze extra.  Our grocery store usually has a rack of reduced produce and I usually look there first.  There have been times when I could get a whole bag of lemons for less than $1.  I squeeze the juice out and put it in icecube trays.  Usually around 7:30 ish they start clearing out their deli.  Sliced meat that was $4 or $5 is now about $1 a pound.  I usually buy up the turkey and will freeze that too.  I also like to purchase their chicken breasts when it is bogof.  I rarely buy any "white" food such as rice, flour, potatoes, or iceburg lettuce.  It's always brown rice, whole wheat flour, and romaine lettuce or spring mix.  I can usually get bagged lettuce for 40% off.  I am always checking what is about to expire.  I can also get my meats at between 30% to 40% off too.  Of course that gets frozen too.  I am lucky that our local grocery store does  this.  They usually have their rotissarie chicken for $4.99 but sometimes they cook too many and at the end of the night you can get them for $2.50.  The cheapest and best breakfast I can make for me and dd is old fashioned oatmeal.  We have it every morning.  I have it with frozen blueberries (on sale 3 bags for $8 reg. $3.99), walnuts and flax seed.  DD has it with brown sugar.

The number one biggest savings I ever had on my groceries was after I was diagnosed with a food allergy. I can't have any thing with corn, corn flour or corn starch. You would be amazed at how many processed goods that eliminates and how much money you'll save! A box of granola bars here and there adds up like you wouldn't believe.

I am on Weight Watchers too, and the vegetarian options are all lower in points than the meat ones. I make a lot of soups and use beans or lentils (easier to digest) instead of meat. If you keep canned beans, pasta, rice, couscous, frozen vegetables and other staples on  hand, you can make your own easy meals quickly and easily.

I make soups a lot. I made a good one tonight: 1 cup frozen peas, 1 cup frozen diced turnips, 1 diced potato and 1 can tomato sauce simmered in crockpot for 4 hours on high. Season it however you want, I used a little curry. Five minutes prep, and as soon as my company left, dinner was waiting. 

you all have such wonderful advice.  I too have noticed that I spend quite a bit on fresh fruits and veggies.  But by cutting some of the meat out of our diet I have sort of made up for it.  DH is a big meat eater and sometimes you can't make him happy with a meatless meal, if I could just find some recipes where you can't tell there isn't any meat in it.  And my youngest DD doesn't like soups or the such.

Hugs,

bambi

We run into problems becuase the hubby is 6'6" and works construction, so he needs 3,500-4,000 calories a day to not lose weight. He also has some dietary issues that restrict carbs, so we eat very little potatoes or other starches. So, we don't eat as cheaply as some folks do, but we do a decent job. He's discoveredt the joys of lentils (we buy red, green, and french for variety), and is now making lentil soup and faux falafel regularly.  

You can also maybe try TVP (textured Vegetable Protien) in place of meat, or to stretch it out. I get it for about $1.49/lb, which is a *lot* of TVP once it's hydrated with anything. It's also a great snack--I eat it with some fruit or yogurt, or with some nuts (munch on it like granola). 

Also, the better quality the food, often the less of it you need to be  fulfilled. A good example is chocolate. I LOVE chocolate, and I've learned that one $2-4 bar of Scharffen-Burger will last me weeks, while a Butterfinger will last me about 5 minutes. The initial outlay is more, but I am more satisfied for far longer; so, it's cheaper in the long run. (To be fair, I don't eat either all that often). I find this is true with a lot of things: eggs, tomatoes, greens, meats. Experiment to see what quality of food is the best value for you. Cheapest up front is not alwas the most frugal, if you end up having to use more of it. Expensive doesn't always mean quality.

There are certain things I don't buy for moral and health reasons, like Tysons chicken (worst possible for growth hormones and living conditions). That, too, means more expense. Instead, we make up for it by buying direct from local farmers in-season and freezing it. Sometimes, we can even trade for things (we bake, and I am Chef and cheesemaker). I also get all my eggs from a local farm, and get free-range, natural eggs (they're organic, but can't afford the Certification process unless they want their eggs to be $5+/dz) for about as much as store eggs.  I also try to stick to the Sustainable Seafood list, which eliminates much of the cheaper fish from our diet. Instead, I'll use the fish I do get in a stir-fry, or other protien-stretching dish. My hubby and I made the decision to not shop at Wal-Mart, especially after their "organic" scandal, which does sometimes mean paying higher prices elsewhere (I am not saying you shouldn't shop there, it is a personal decision for us).

It's difficult to eat healthy, sustainably, morally, and frugally; but, it is possible. A lot of eating frugal and healthy is planning ahead. We do a weekly meal plan, with quicker meals or crock pot meals on days we're not going to have a lot of time at home. We make meals with leftovers, so we can take lunch. We schedule our shopping time, and prioritize going to markets or farms directly--it's often a "date" kind of thing for us. As a Chef who specializes in nutrition and sustainable foods, I also do a lot of research on nutrition values and differences (Organic isn't always the best option, as with some fruits) and adjust accordingly. 

daylilly, I found a news article on it here, its about half-way down the page: http://www.counterpunch.org/organic11162006.html

 "The Cornucopia Institute, the nation's most aggressive organic farming watchdog, has filed a formal legal complaint with the USDA asking them to investigate allegations of illegal "organic" food distribution by Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. Cornucopia has documented cases of nonorganic food products being sold as organic in Wal-Mart's grocery departments."

It goes on to explain some more about it, like Walmart using deceptive signage in the stores to identify non-organic food as organic.

While I'm not a big fan of WalMart, I'm sure this can happen in any store.  Store's are very sneaky when it comes to advertising and the like.  I'd suggest that anyone buying organic read over the actual packaging before putting it in the cart and assuming the sign's correct.  Buying directly from farms, if you're in an area where you can, would be even better.

Of course, I can always say "shop at Trader Joe's!"  I don't work there, I just love the store is all

I buy the 1# plastic (chubs ?) of frozen gound turkey meat...Jenny-O....rather than ground beef...it is much leaner and be subbed anywhere you use beef...also I make bean burgers...if you combine beans and rice, or other whole grains, it is a complete protein....without the cholesterol....

arianasilver, thanks for that article link. I had forgotten that I posted here! Sorry it took me so long to reply.

daylily