posted Tue, 03/05/2024 - 08:11
9127
+ 4 What are your tips for saving money on groceries and meals?
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Over the last couple years my grocery bill has gone through the roof. To feed just myself and a dog i spend anywhere from $70-100/week at the grocery store pretty easily. So i'm looking for all you're tips & hacks for both getting groceries cheaper and meals that can be made on a budget while still being filling and reasonably good for getting in the macros/calories we're trying to get in.
So, what do you boys got?
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1.Buy in bulk obviously. Lots of legumes (lentils, beans, etc) loaded with protein.. Buy bulk chicken breast at a discount, ground turkey, lean ground beef, etc.. tuna, salmon, tilapia or other fish/seafood. Pastas are also very cheap if you don't mind the fast carbs. Rice is cheap as well though. So are potatoes.
Learn to cook and prepare easy meals. Invest in a good non stick frying pan, a quality stainless steel pot with a lid, air fryer or slow cooker or an oven trey that you can throw a whole chicken on and veggies and toss in the oven and make other full meals in a single casserole/tray
If you are really strapped for cash/money --find food pantries in your city/town that give away free food to those who want /need it. No shame in doing so.. The government pays these non profit organizations grants so that they can do this..
Split costs for groceries and things and rent by living with family or a girlfriend/roommates. Helps if they share similar goals and are also into bodybuilding/fitness.
Solid tips man. With the discounts for memberships that BJ's, Sam's or Costco send out a membership pays for itself pretty quickly when you buy in bulk from them. But that's generally the first year only on the discount.
Hunting
Garden
Buy cows and chickens from farmer. Yes they will sell you 1/4 of a cow of somebody goes in on it.
Farmers market. When I go I can get 50$ worth of apples for 3$
Ham and chicken are cheap.
Today I am making a full load of freeze dried ice cream sammiches. They are supposed to be fantastic and people sell them. Total pain in the ass prepping them but hopefully friends and family enjoy them
Wow I'm just seeing this Pale. In this hot ass humid weather I could go for a nice freeze dried ice cream sammich! Just seems like summers are getting hotter and hotter....or I'm just getting older and older but at any rate looks good man. I think I'll go get me a ice cream sammich now so please excuse me
This summer is a very hot one . No doubt about it
Yep no doubt about it
How big is the freeze drier?
That is the harvest right large.
Wait. You can buy freeze dryers?
Yes, apparently it is pretty popular
Glad you're in a different market than I am. Can't have you standing on the same corner.
And I couldn’t get that damn pic to flip. But apparently the people that do sell freeze dried stuff really make the mark with them. We have a big bag a skittles to try a candy run as well. Probably will try that next.
@Pale I wish I got a bigger FD, I've been running mine nonstop for about 6 weeks now. So far eggs, (raw and scrambled) are excellent. scalloped potato's, chili, lasagna, spaghetti, cooked shrimp, all great. Making dog food pennies on the pound and good enough for me to eat.
I wonder what it would like to take the cap of a vial of test, standing that on a tray to FD.
Yeah, I took everyones recommendation to go bigger to heart. A friend of mine owns several party stores so we are in the process of setting up to supply him with skittles. Candy runs are quick as well. Like 2.5 hours. If you haven't done pineapple chunks with that red tahini salt for margaritas do them. Easily the best fruit we have done. Mangos are insanely sweet as well. I also bought the Avid armor vac sealer so then we don't have to use oxygen packs. Glad you are having fun with it bro. But now you need to order a large and sell the medium lol
Margaritas...nice!
@Pale I don't eat a whole lot of candy myself, but the pineapple chunks, strawberries, blueberries, apples, pears, cherries, raspberries, bananas are all good. Pineapple and strawberries being the favorites.
Skittles, Milk duds, gummies, ice-cream, mini marshmallows, are all favorites with people.
I invented a "smoothie" cookie with pulverized FD strawberries, added chocolate milk and used FD bananas to thicken it to a pancake batter consistency. I used a teaspoon to dollop silver dollar sized "cookies" on the tray using parchment paper. Those were a big hit. I'm going to play with the recipe using whey protein powder and such.
I've had a vacuum sealer for quite some time that can use mylar bags as well. You can also recycle any bag you get from store bought products, like beef sticks for example (surprising how many products are in bags you can wash and vacuum seal) I put FD dog treats (meat that had freezer burn, old, or scrap) put them in reused see through bags for beef jerky and hand them out to friends; they get a kick out of it.
I recently upgraded with an attachment for the vacuum sealer that will vacuum seal mason jars. Perfect for items you want to use as a quick meal all the time... Like eggs, soup, or chili.
The other day it was fun making Top Ramen, pulling diced FD chicken, bell pepper, broccoli, green beans, corn, jalapeno, and mushrooms into the ramen. Turned a 3-minute snack into a 6-minute meal.
Wow you have been busy. And yes we use the mason jar attachment as well. So for dog food you just dehydrate old meat? I was going to ask that earlier and forgot?
old meat, some raw vegies, raw sweet potato and pumpkin, yogurt or cottage cheese, Turkey tail mushroom for his arthritis, stuff that is good for dogs and have fiber for digestion (Turkey tail for inflammation). I mix everything together then spread on a tray and pre-freeze. It comes out as a cake I can break apart and put in a big bag (reusing an empty Costco bag of pig ears) Precooking the meat and adding it to the mixture is also good.
You can feed dry or add water which basically doubles the volume/weight.
I'll cut 1/2-inch-thick strips of raw chicken breast or lean meat like I was making thick jerky. Dogs love them as a treat, surprisingly, they're really resilient to not absorbing moisture, I've stuck them in a tin for weeks, reaching in to grab a treat every day or two. No vacuum, no moisture or oxygen pouch. Dry as the day I put them in. leave an apple slice on the counter for 2 minutes and it's as limp as @Drexyl on deca.
I thank god daily for blessing us with Cialis.
The cheap dog food is the best thing I'm reading here.
I've tried an "astronaut" ice-cream sandwich (freeze-dried) before. It wasn't bad, I can't remember what I paid for it but I'm sure it's a lot more than doing it yourself.
Mmmmmm. I'll take 10.
This post is spot on! The cost of groceries is really high these days. One of my strategies is to use the self-checkout at Walmart, if you catch my drift. But in all seriousness, Walmart is my go-to place for affordable groceries. Here's what I usually get:
I've also found that making overnight oats with protein powder is a cost-effective and nutritious pre-workout meal:
Additionally, Birds Eye offers some budget-friendly rice and bean packs that you can microwave in just 4 minutes.
Oatmeal with protein powder mix in is a staple for me. Add a couple hard boiled eggs and a protein shake which are premade and it's super simple to get ready but keeps me satisfied for the next 4-6 hours.
I just started using ground turkey. It's less calories than even 96/4 beef. I can still eat the same quantity and lose weight at the same time. Managed to grab 8 lbs last week as it was marked down 25% for quick sale. So that's work lunch for the next few weeks.
Okay you are the guy i want to ask
Ground turkey VS Ground chicken ???
I am seriously considering buying a food freeze dryer. They run around 3k but besides being able to make basic ready to eat meals that can be stored for years I reckon we could probably even sell stuff at the farmers market. I may or may not be a little concerned about the magnetic pole shift and the trouble coming as well.
Well, I bought the large Harvest right freeze dryer. It gets delivered tomorrow and we will start using it. Also picked up another 500 M855 62gr 5.56 last night. Found a pretty good deal online.
I like those green tips. Cheap ammo but it always goes bang. You can shoot through a tire rotor with those
I'm going to have to get on that train. Never knew freeze drying was within reach for personal use.
Apparently my local building center has been selling 10-12 a year. I bought the harvest right large. Like 3500 I think. Comes with everything you need to get started. Check out some of the YouTube videos. My wife joined a bunch of Facebook groups on it already and is ripping to get started
My Gluttony want's the large but after watching some videos the small is a more practical choice for me. Maybe someday If I have a big enough garden or wanted to start a small business.
They delivered it today. One thing nice about the medium or small is you do not need a dedicated 20amp circuit and plug. Luckily I already had one otherwise I would be doing more upgrading. The stainless table I ordered is supposed to be delivered tomorrow and hopefully by friday we will do the "bread run". My wife is super excited.
BTW, in this picture I have the [upper] shelf upside down. The red heat mats go on the top. We also got scolded for not having all the trays in. That apparently messes with the sensors. So I had to stop it and correct everything. The bread run was completed however when I got up this morning. . Waiting on eggs to freeze and will do a run with them and some already frozen Birria taco meat in another 30 minutes or so.
good to know
EDIT: I haven't seen a whole lot of reconstitution videos yet, is steaming a viable method? Seems to me that would be better than pouring hot water over vegies for example.
Yes, several items are reportedly best steamed. I know lasagna is one. We loaded it with 6 dozen eggs , 5 lbs of frozen Birria meat, and a pound or two of green beans. Mixing different foods could be a little complicated but it just might take a bit longer.
All set up and doing the bread run
How loud is it?
Well, upstairs we don't really hear it at all, unless you were down in my daughters old room you can hear it barely. I would compare it to what my grow room used to sound like with the inline fans and pumps running, but honestly it is probably half of what that was. My wife and i were in the basement playing darts last night and barely noticed it. Probably comparable to a dishwasher.. Check out Gran Boards. Really fun and the chicks dig it too.
Good deal. @Black90tsi yep we need to get on board. Makes life a bit easier I can imagine. I take a road trip to the country area where some of my relatives hunt...PROTEIN!
I've def been searching craigslist and fb marketplace the last few days looking for a good deal. When i find one i'm bringing it home and putting my vacuum sealer to work.
I don't blame you at all. I'm right there with ya on that.
Just ordered one. Should be here at the end of the month or first week in April. Other nice things about the small is the DB levels are like that of a standard refrigerator and the weight is only 91lbs (shipping weight is 172lbs).
You'll need @MurderHornet2020 to help you get that bad boy onto the table you ordered.
The large is pretty heavy but the wife and I lifted it up from the garage onto the top of the basement steps, I placed it on cardboard from the packaging and just walked it backwards down the stairs, then slid it on the cardboard over to where it will be set up. It went pretty smooth. I am pretty excited to get it up and running too. It sucks tomorrow my last meeting isn't until 4pm. It is going to be a long day. One of the women my wife personal trains has chickens and gave us three dozen eggs to get started with today lol. I am debating getting chickens myself, it is almost time of year to buy chicks
As long as it’s under 405 you can count on me hahaha!
Compete with yourself and no one else....that's the little secret. Works every time.
You'll be at 500 before you know it man. Keeping moving that weight!
Def jealous. I wish i had space for a large, stand alone freezer in my place. I wonder how small they make them.