Easy money saving tip to make fresher and more nutritious food

I had never really put any thought in to this, so thanks for sharing. The only tip I have it to watch for good sales...and better yet, sales that you also have coupons for. Marsha

I also buy stir fry vegtables to cook. It is easier and faster and just as good if not better then buying all of the vegtables you want to make stir fry. I sometimes add shrimp with mine. It tastes really good mixed together then sometimes I add salad dressing. It's a meal all in one this way.

You are so right about the stir fry blends, Wal Mart has them as well. I buy a combination of peppers and onions and add them to homemade pizzas. I do sometimes want fresh things as in I really want them raw, and uncooked. I also will "treat" myself with frozen fruits and berries, they are so good, and are well ripened, and have already been washed, pitted and stemmed for me. It feels like a luxury, but since berries are supposed to be superfoods, it is a health investment. You sometimes have to look at things differently to get the most nutritious food.

That is great to know. We also throw away a lot of fresh veggies as we don't eat them fast enough to keep them fresh. I didn't know that the frozen ones had more minerals in them but it does make sense. I think that I may start buying more frozen items. I do like stir fry veggies and I think that it gives you a great variety of items to eat each week. I don't know of any tips other than to use your left overs for something. I know we put stuff in the frig and think we will use it later and several weeks later I am throwing it away.

I've been using frozen veggies for a while now too and love it. It is so much cheaper and you still get a great quality results. I love to pop a piece of chicken on a sheet of foil ontop of some brown rice (raw) and throw some frozen veggies and sodium free chicken broth over that and then wrap up the foil to make a packet. It steam cooks everything and it tastes great. Super easy clean up too!

Freezer bags are an excellent addition to the kitchen supplies. I buy in bulk, larger packages of meat and staples, and freeze them for future use. Generally I can save anywhere between 10-40 cents per pound when buying in bulk, bring it home and split it into portions to be cooked later. I also cook in double and triple sizes for things. For instance, when I make spaghetti sauce, I purchase my tomato paste at the dollar store at the price of 3 cans for $1.00. I pick up 9 cans, make a ton of sauce and freeze it for use later. When cooking meat, purchase larger packages and either cook it all, freezing things like chicken or steak to be used for future meals, or split it into smaller portions before cooking and freeze the extras for another meal. Many people do not like to shop at dollar stores for various reasons. However, if you are watching your budget, it is a great place to buy things like pasta, tomato paste, cereal, bathroom staples and more, and shave a bunch of money off of your weekly grocery bill. I typically save between $50 and $75 on a trip to the dollar store. Between dollar store shopping and shopping for meat at my local butcher or warehouse club, I can save well over $200 off my bi-weekly grocery bill. And the best part? I can cook two weeks worth of food in one day, and use the microwave to save time and energy for the next 13 days! Beautyqueen, I'm going to use your idea of the frozen vegetables. Thanks for sharing!

That's a great idea! Thanks for sharing. I've just been trying to cut back in general on things not needed like snacks!

We buy a lot of frozen veggies, too. The only things we buy fresh, are the things we are going to be eating raw, and mushrooms! We eat a lot of mushrooms, so we always eat them before they go bad. Mushrooms, carrots, onions, celery, potatoes, and lettuce are the main veggies we buy fresh. Just about everything else we buy comes from the freezer section as well! Sometimes the bags we buy include potatoes, carrots, and/or celery, but since we eat raw carrots and celery so much, it's still necessary to buy them fresh! We use fresh potatoes to bake them. We use frozen veggies a lot to make stews and roasts. We also do rice dishes, stir fry, and even just a side dish of mixed veggies.

hi beautyqueen. I also like to buy frozen veggies. I do it cause they are not so expensive. And they taste as good as boiled raw veggies. I think that saving time saves us money too. And when I buy frozen veggies I don't need to wash then or cut them, so I save time too, not only money. I often buy soups in small bags, Those which we have to mix with water and cook for 3 minutes. I choose those which contesins mainly dried veggies and have no chemical preservatives. They are nutricous and healthy, and fast to serve. have a nice day, jazgottt.

I don't usually by frozen vegetables because we eat alot of our vegetables raw or blanched. On saying that though, one of my friends always uses frozen packets of vegetables and raves about the savings. Recently I have found frozen mashed potatoes with all the herbs and spices pre-mixed through and they taste wonderful! In five mins you have mashed potato for 6 people for $3, its quick and easy and so tasty. We use it for under casseroles, on top of shepherds pie and even as a side with steak. I use it at least once a week and it really beats having to peel and boil and then mash the potato. I am guessing that you do not live in Australia because there is no way that we could pick up four or five bags of frozen vegetables for under $10! Lucky you! What sort of sauces do you use for your stir fry?

What great ideas! Thanks for sharing! I usually buy the frozen veggies to put into my vegetable beef soup. And I am lucky that we have a produce store nearby that has excellent prices and I shop from them for my fresh produce. I think I will look into doing stir frys like you do and see how that turns out. Thanks for the advice!

I also do the same thing and shop on line at albertsons and buy a lot of frozen veggies and yes they have a 'really excellent stir fry veggie blend. I likeit very much. I also buy frozen fruit for the same reason and lean beef stew meat as I can make a delicious beef stew with carrots,onions and potatoes and have at least' five meals from it. I cook for myself only. and love it.

For veggies, I cook the veggies in season coz they are cheaper. I forgo cooking off-season veggies if I found them to be too expensive, instead a choose cheaper alternatives that gives the same nutrients. Life for example, if carrots are expensive.. then I change my menu and go for squash. I also do not throw away left-overs, I always recycle especially the meat and fish, I can always add them to my fried rice but veggies I always cook enough for a single meal consumption because veggies should be eaten freshly cooked and hence no veggies will be thrown away.

I don't have a tip for right now, but I must say that is an incredibly useful thing to know.Thank you so much for sharing it! We always use the fresh veggies ourselves, frozen veggies are more of a treat for us (gotta love the lima beans! =D). I wonder if I would be successful in changing my mom's cooking style... Lol.