Every Thursday in 2025, I answer questions about money and budgeting. If you have a favorite question to answer me in future posts, please send me here.
Today’s question is from Riley:
One of my fights with money is that I love cooking and trying new recipes. However, our budget for our grocery has been engraved upward, even if we plan for a meal. How do you cook creatively without breaking the bank with ingredients? -Riley
How to cook creatively without breaking the bank
If you like cooking and trying new recipes, you are not alone if you find that the budget for groceries is sneaking in even with a meal plan! I have heard from many people who feel a pinch of food costs.
Good news is that you don’t need to sacrifice creativity in the kitchen to stay within your budget. With some smart strategies, you can enjoy making delicious meals without excessive expenses.
My best strategy to help balance that is as follows:
1. Become a strategic where you shop
One of the biggest ways to reduce the cost of food is intentional to where to shop. It may seem easy to stick to one store, but shopping at multiple stores can save a lot, but without running in the town!
Instead of hitting 10 types of stores, check a little weekly to see which one has the best sales. Plan a shopping trip around these transactions and get the best bangs for your spending. For example, ALDI and COSTCO often have good prices in the staple food, but local grocery stores may run weekly sales with agricultural and meat.
If you are shopping at a few stores every week, it feels too many. It is the best way to save money just by rotating a shop that regularly shops. Make the nearest stores alternate, depending on those that make the best transactions every week. In addition to the best sales of the week, please stock what the items to be stored are provided. The next week, do the same at another store. and so on. By rotating the shops that shop, you can provide the best deals that each store regularly provides.
2. Practice the principle of the destination
If you do what you need in that week alone, you will probably pay the full amount to many ingredients. Instead, practice the principle of the destination. This means that the pantry stapler, meat, and other frequently used items will store inventory when the lowest price reaches the lowest price.
For example, if you see that chicken is sold at 50 % off, buy an extra charge and freeze it for future meals. As time goes on, this approach reduces the cost of food and increases the flexibility of the diet plan. Because you already have a lot of important ingredients.
Most stores sell almost every 6 to 12 weeks. Purchasing 6 to 12 weeks at the lowest price and doing it for most items you buy will greatly reduce the budget for grocery.
3. Plan your meal about what you have
Instead of planning a meal based on good sounds at this time, you should stock out what is already in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer. Next, we will build a meal plan around these ingredients and replenish the items sold from the store. This prevents wasteful and helps to be creative with what you already own.
Use an online tool like ALLRECIPES ingredient search Or search chatgpt Find a recipe that uses the ingredients you have. This simple shift can significantly reduce food bills while keeping meals fresh and exciting. (Note: “This ingredient, this ingredient, this ingredient, and the Chatgpt query, which has this ingredient. You need to have dinner in 30 minutes. What can you make?”)
4. Simplify the material
Recipes with 15 specialized materials may be delicious, but they can quickly discharge food budgets. Instead, look for a meal that depends on affordable multipurpose staple foods, such as beans, rice, eggs, potatoes, seasonal vegetables, and cheap meat cuts.
Incorporate more recipes that use the materials you have already purchased regularly. For example, if you like cooking with fresh herbs and often get worse before using, consider growing your own herbs as needed or switching to dried herbs.
Furthermore, we plan to freeze what is not used before returning, use the leftovers of items purchased for another recipe, or do not need everything. Again, Google or Chatgpt is very useful for this. “I have a lot of this ingredient. What are the ideas for simple and inexpensive recipes using that ingredient?”
Do you need a quick and easy meal idea? Go to get my free cheat seats with 60 super simple meal ideas (Some of our families’s favorite!)
5. Make the most of the leftovers
Rather than seeing the leftovers as boring, consider them as an opportunity to be creative! Last night’s dinner turns into a completely new meal. The remaining roast chicken will be chicken takos, heartfelt soup, or homemade pizza toppings. Old bread? Change it to Culton or pumping.
The weekly “remaining night” is a great way to give a break from making a completely new meal. We are planning the remaining night in the rotation of the menu. I set all the odds and the end from the refrigerator, and people can make their plates based on those that they are hungry! In other words, you don’t have to use more than what we have and cook overnight!
6. Utilize budget -friendly cooking skills
Cooking from zero is cheaper than buying prior food and processed foods. Instead of spending money on expensive and convenient items, make a simple standard at home.
- Instead of purchasing a mixed packet, create your own spice blend.
- Cook dry beans instead of buying canned food.
- Bake homemade bread, muffins and granolabars to save snacks.
- For future meals, make a large amount of soup, casserol, stir -fry and frozen part.
7. I will shop in the season and locally
If you are not careful, fresh agricultural products can be a big budget buster. Buying fruits and vegetables in the season is one of the best ways to save money while eating fresh and healthy meals. Farmers market and discount agricultural shops are the best places to find fresh and affordable ingredients.
If you have space and time, consider cultivating your own agricultural products. Even a small herb garden on the window can save money while adding a fresh flavor to the dishes.
8. Set a budget and track your spending
If you are not tracking, it is easy to make your food expenditure inoperable. Set a clear grocery budget, track the purchase, and see where the money is heading. Apps such as YNAB and simple spreadsheets can help you find an area where you can be excessive.
Another great strategy is to use cash for food. Within the grocery budget at the beginning of the month with cash and use only what you have. This makes you more careful about the purchase and prevent excessive expenditures.
Remember: Love food does not mean excessive spending on groceries. In fact, you will be creative in the kitchen and enjoy spending more time to cook from scratch, which will help you save money!
By shopping strategically, you can plan a meal about sales and what you already have, simplify the ingredients, and use cooking techniques that are friendly to budget, so it is delicious while staying within the budget of food. You can enjoy a creative meal. A little intentional, you can keep both taste and wallet happy!
What kind of hints and strategies do you add to my list to encourage others who are dissatisfied with the rise in food costs?
A free one -week menu plan!
Completed a dinner recipe with a simple material and food shopping list!
Source: Money Saving Mom® – moneysavingmom.com
