This post originally appeared on TheKitchenHour.com about a year ago, which means some of you might have missed it over here! Since the cold weather has driven me in my kitchen even more than usual lately, I thought I’d dust it off and re-publish today.
In my last post in this series, I wrote about how many popular grocery-store-saving strategies just don’t work for me. Couponing, bulk-shopping, freezer-meal-cooking…they’re all solid methods for some, but don’t fit my personality, circumstances, or organizing style.
In fact, those strategies can have quite unintended consequences for me! Many times I’ve found myself buying a product I never otherwise would, just to use a coupon. More than once I’ve cooked a huge batch of some casserole or other, only to toss half of it out when nobody seems interested in the leftovers.
So many grocery saving strategies seem to revolve around getting as much food as you can for as little money as possible. But cost-per-ounce is only part of the equation. I’ve come to realize that what we do with food at home is just as important as how much of it we’re able to get for $100.
After all, I could spend hours shopping sales and carefully cutting coupons, but if my meal plan is bloated and leads to throwing food away, I’ve wasted my time in addition to food and money.
Based on a lot of trial and error, I’ve come up with a formula for reducing food waste that works for us:
Shop More Often + Buy Less Food + Make Simple Meals + Plan Great Leftovers + Shop The Pantry = Save Money, Time, And Food.
