Search results matching tag 'bulk food'

Pumpkin seeds & other food-stuffs from China

Deborahmichelle — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 18:39:12 GMT

Dear All, I have on my shopping list raw pumpkin seeds (I got them from the 2 pumpkins that I've cooked this Fall, but have run out of htat supply). At Whole Foods, in the bins, they always note the company that has supplied the food. They sell 2 types of raw, green pumpkin seeds. One was empty. The other was labeled "Origin: China." Well, you can bet that I didn't buy any at all! Are others as leery as I am about made-in-China now, especially food-stuffs? Yours in Him, Deb

Cooking from Bulk

karen604 — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 04:36:31 GMT

I agree with some of the posts I have read about cooking using bulk purchase foods as THE best way to save money.

I bulk purchase onions at the end of the summer. I love to make onion soup with them. Of course they get added to every thing else too!

I bake a lot of bread so grains, flour and yeast are bought in bulk. I like to buy the add ins by the handful from the bulk barrels in the health food stores. It is a great way to buy just a little when that is ll thaat is needed.

So what are you buying in bulk and how are you using it?

Re: Grocery Discoveries Over The Week-End

usellubuy — Mon, 06 Oct 2008 05:43:23 GMT

I am a Foster Mom and as part of the kids Independent Living skills needing some work, we began reading the Sunday ads together. My habit is to go to Sam's Club once a week, and there is a Super Walmart right next door and along the way, I pass Food Lion, CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid and Food City. I could go from store to store without much extra traveling, but I have found by simply tracking the ads for the loss leaders, I can save money the easy way until I can get my price book more complete. I take the ads for any "loss leaders" with me on my shopping trip and when done at Sams, run next door to Walmart. I found my local Walmart will MATCH any price in the sales circular, as long as no coupon is needed and the brand is the same. So when I saw A & W Root Beer on sale at KMart (on the other side of town, no less!) 4 12 can packs for sale for $10, I was a happy camper. I headed to Walmart with the circular in hand and bought all they had and stocked my pantry (it also included the diet cherry Sprite, Sprite and Diet Rite Zero sodas). My local stores carried the same thing for anywhere from $3.08 a 12 pack to $4.98 a 12 pack. I got mine for $2.50 a 12 pack. It was the best deal I had ever seen on soda. Up until then, I might see 4 12 packs for $11, but never 4 for $10. And the other was a 12 pack of Scotts tp for $4.99 (making it less than .50 a roll). So I can get the sale price, without having to drive and stop at half a dozen stores. When I can't find that brand at Walmart, I make a point of scheduling a stop when in that area. If the one of the kids has therapy, we will hit the Salvage Store and Kmart. If its the Dr, then we can go to Kroger and so on. With gas now hovering around $3.50 a gallon, every penny counts. The kids are learning how to spot the real sales and the "fake" sales, and love helping me circle the ones that are GOFERS (we need to show the circulars) and writing on the front of the circulars, what deals are inside. By updating my price book on each shopping trip, I am finding lots of "deals" that aren't really that big of a deal, and some that are even better than I thought. We like to figure up what we saved when getting these items at the loss leader price VS paying the actual price, if we didn't have the circular. Last week, we bought stuff we wanted and needed, and just on the loss leader, we saved $33 + tax. And that was without doing anything more than checking the sales against the store that meets or beats the price. Hope this helps you!

Making meals that make other meals

usellubuy — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 16:28:23 GMT

I have started trying to plan better, by making meals that make other meals in order to cut down on waste and to save money. This has been a big budget saver for me. I would like to get some more ideas. What do you do to make your meals budget saving and also saving time and energy in the kitchen? If I make my homemade spaggetti, I make a large batch in the slow cooker and add extra meatballs and pepperoni and sauce. So one day is spaggetti and meatballs, next day is meatball or pepperoni subs with cheese, and then chicken parm with a salad, and perhaps a lunch with salad, half a meatball sub and leftover spaggetti. If I make roast Chicken, we'll do roast chicken and veggies one night, Cheesey Chicken enchiladas the next night, chicken soup another, and either chicken salad sandwiches, or just salad topped with chicken, and if any leftovers, perhaps a Shepards pie. At first I thought, WHY haven't I been doing this all along? It has saved me a lot of money in just a short period of time. What do you do to keep the budget under control, the meals nutritious and delicious and save time in the meal making?

Bulk Buying

Brandy — Tue, 04 Sep 2007 13:20:44 GMT

"Often bulk buying is discouraged among some frugal minded people. I suggest that we take another look at buying single items versus buying bulk."

I began buying more in bulk and shopping less. The outcome? My grocery expense for the month is down.

I did find that once I was stocked up on some things, it was easy to buy a smaller package that was a good deal and just add in to the stock to stretch it a little.

The author mentions freezing canned fruit so that it's divided into smaller packages. Does that work out well?

Food Storage - More Organisation

Brandy — Sat, 25 Aug 2007 11:53:42 GMT

I think I found a workable container solution for grains and for storing boxed goods where I can worry less about water damage or pests.

I bought a couple clear plastic storage boxes. I slid one on each shelf of the plastic shelving unit in the kitchen. Then began stacking them on the floor in the front. I discovered that for the most part with boxes of flavored rices, pasta and hamburger helper type mixes if I went on a ratio of using one box a week, I can fit a month's worth in a container. I was able to put 6 months worth of beans into one container. I think I will get a few more of these storage containers to fill this way and trade out with those that are easily accessible.

I bought a case of canning jars a few weeks ago and used them to put my flour and sugar in. As we empty the large pickle jars we get, I will wash and replace these smaller jars. No worries, the little jars are not wasted. I plan to make some baking and cooking mixes to put in there where I can label and even tape on cooking instructions.

The plastic containers I buy lemonade and tea mix in work very well for baking soda, corn starch, brown and powdered sugar. These seal well and are rather heavy duty plastic. They fit perfectly in the cabinet and when labeled, has made finding what I need easier.

Re: Food Stock Challenge

Brandy — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 09:37:59 GMT

My savings and stock so far:

Funds

$150 in a savings account
4,674 My Points to cash in for a $25 gift certificate
1,020 My Points for my husband, no GC value yet

$175 in funds and future GCs

Food

2 weeks of canned veggies
1 month of canned fruit
1 month of powdered milk
1 month of pasta
6 months of dried beans
1 month of frozen veggies
1 month of meats
3 months of staple items

Household items

3 years of deodorant
1 year of soap
6 months of shampoo and conditioner
1 year of cleaners
1 month of laundry detergent
1 month of paper products
4 months of dish liquid

This is not a complete list but what I can remember without looking. I won't post a full list again in the near future but I will post when I add to my stock.