Let’s talk ingredients and portion sizes.
You may notice that every so often I will buy a cut of meat that is single serving, usually smaller than a serving size. This tends to happen a lot with seafood. There’s that one random Grouper filet, or like five scallops on sale. And you may ask yourself, what does she do with these little cuts of meat?
We eat them! These smaller, single cuts of meat get discounted more heavily than the larger family packs, the logic being that they’re a harder sell-small serving AND Manager’s Special. This makes them a very good deal, and truthfully, it’s one of the ways my family is able to afford seafood. Seafood is probably our favorite protein, but it’s expensive. One pound of salmon that costs $8.99 will make one meal for our family of four, but for that same price we can get four and a half pounds of chicken, which we can sometimes stretch as far as four meals. It’s a no brainer. So take any cost effective opportunity for seafood that comes our way.
One thing we started doing a few years ago that’s become a fun family tradition is a “Surf and Turf Night”, where I’ll cook up all the random single serving proteins we have, which usually end up being seafood and one or two other cuts, often beef. I serve it tapas style, so everyone gets to have a little bit of tuna, grouper, swordfish, steak, whatever it is. I’ll also use that opportunity to get rid of whatever fruit or vegetables we only have a small portion of, since it’s on theme. My girls love it and call it “the big dinner.”
These kinds of huge podge meal nights might not seem like a big deal, but it not only saves you money and stretches your budget further, it makes mealtime an event. When you’re saving towards a big goal, fun on the ground can be hard to come by. You get so obsessed with making sure every penny is diverted into your savings fun that there isn’t room left over for spontaneous fun. Meals like a a “Surf and Turf” with small servings bought on sale, or leftover nights with an added element (everyone has to pick one thing someone else eats, the person holding one dish decides who to serve next) become events. They brighten up what can become a drab routine or a meal inspiration rut. My girls think these meals are big treats; they don’t realize they were born out of cost efficiency!
Which leads me to my second favorite protein, chicken. We eat a ton of chicken, as you have probably noticed. My goal is for each meal to give us four servings for dinner, and enough leftovers for at least one lunch serving the next day, preferably two.
This the most basic trick in the book but it took me literally years to figure out. If you are buying chicken breasts, split them. When ever I make a recipe that calls for chicken breasts, I split them. Then one breast equals two, and I stretch my chicken a little further. Plus, it keeps my looking time low.
Another chicken trick: I pound the breast halves. This makes fore more even cooking, since they are a more uniform thickness, which I think leads to better taste. I routinely do this with most of my chicken meals: chicken parmesan, enchiladas, chicken tenders. It increases my prep time a little, but the gains in taste and efficiency are not to be beat.
My final chicken trick is to make a big batch, like an entire package, all at once with the same basic spice flavor profile and then use the chicken in various meals throughout the week. Last week I was able to get enchiladas, green Chile chicken soup, salad, chicken quesadillas and chicken & eggs out of five pounds of chicken.
These small changes have been a big help for my budget. And every little bit helps.
- Bananas, 2.05 lb-$1.21.
- Blackberries, 12 oz-$4.99.
- Heritage Farm Chicken Breast, 4.47 lb-$8.85.
- Kashi Cereal (3)- $7.47. Down to $2.49 with Buy $5, Save $5.
- Kraft Dressing (2)-$1.98.
- Mangoes (2)-$2.50.
- Parrano Gouda-$5.74.
- Private Selection Honey Ham, .25 lb-$2.17.
- Private Selection Honey Turkey, .75 lb-$6.07.
- Private Selections Raspberry Preserves-$2.49. In store sale!
- Private Selection Pasta-$1.10. $.40 off paper coupon.
- Private Selection Wheat Bread-$1.99.
- Raspberries, 12oz-$4.99.
- Red Grapes, 2.15 lb-$2.09. In store sale, $.97 a pound.
- Red Leaf Lettuce, 1.04 lb-$1.76.
- Roma Tomatoes, .93 lb-$.83.
- Simple Truth Organic Baby Food Pouches (10)-$11.90. Sale is over, but the Teacup still needs to eat.
- Strawberries, 2 lb-$4.99.
- Tuna Loin, .63 lb-$6.29. Manager’s Special!
- Vidal Onions, 1.65 lb-$1.96.
- Apps I’ll submit to: Fetch Rewards, Ibotta ($.10 Off Any Item,) CoinOut
Total Budget: $71.37
Total Spent: $81.67
Total Saved: $12.53
Deducted From Next Week: $10.30
What tips do you use to make your food last longer? What tricks do you use to make your meats scratch farther? I’m going to need them, since protein sales haven’t been great lately. Tell me your secrets in the comments!
Kristen B. is wife to the best Prince around, mama to the spunkiest little princesses, and lover of all things Disney. She started her savings journey five years ago and is now dedicated to making her family’s wishes come true one coupon at a time. She is so excited to take her love of saving to the next level and share her journey with you! Click here to catch up on Kristen’s Savings and join in on your own savings adventure!