Food Costs

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Since starting solids a couple months ago, the food bills have really gone up and up. Protein is so expensive even though I am buying in bulk from costco. Maybe it is just inflation. I primarily eat chicken products such as small sausage, large sausage, chicken pieces and more. I also have matrix Protein Shakes which takes me a week to get through 2 lbs. each one of the is about $23 on Amazon. I thought food costs would be less then pre-surgery when I used to eat out all the time. Any suggestions?

[Pookeyism 1,143]

Your costs should go down, really. Maybe buying in bulk is not as good of an idea as it seems...are you throwing away alot? Is someone eating more than they were?

It can be less expensive to buy good quality. My hubby gets lean meats, cubes them into pieces that are sbout 2 oz after cooking, and I can prep or dress them the way I want.Cutting them the way he does makes them easy to freeze, fast to thaw/marinate etc.

Veggies should be an after thought...and a daily trip by a market is better for that, in my opinion.

I don't know what kind of shake you are buying to see if you could be getting a better deal elsewhere.

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

Garbage foods are very cheap. This you can eat alot on a smaller budget.

Are you portioning your food now or do you find yourself throwing out a lot?

Example: individualy wrapped tilapia fillets. I can only eat about 1/2 of one. So to prepare a full fillet would essentially double my food cost since I really don't often eat leftovers.

Another thing to consider, have you stopped keeping garbage food in your house? Does this mean your whole family is eating higher quality more nutritious (more expensive) foods? If this is the case then your families health is worth the investment.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Garbage foods are very cheap. This you can eat alot on a smaller budget.

Are you portioning your food now or do you find yourself throwing out a lot?

Example: individualy wrapped tilapia fillets. I can only eat about 1/2 of one. So to prepare a full fillet would essentially double my food cost since I really don't often eat leftovers.

Another thing to consider' date=' have you stopped keeping garbage food in your house? Does this mean your whole family is eating higher quality more nutritious (more expensive) foods? If this is the case then your families health is worth the investment.

[/quote']

I always portion the 3 oz at every meal and do not throw anything away. Use it all. The stuff I buy is typically in small portions. For example the chicken sausage has each serving at 3 ounces. Perfect! I use the matrix shake because I like the flavor and it has really helped me out in my journey because the Protein is super high quality.

[doxieville 799]

Andy, can you post a pic of the costco sausages? Are they in the frozen section? We live 5 min from costco. I love their frozen fish section. Most everything is individually flashfrozen in perfect serving sizes.

[Sleevedreamz 107]

Our grocery bills are 1/3 of what they used to be. Hope it eventually works out that way for you too.

[Mom2IrishTwins 63]

Our grocery bills have gone down a HUGE amount. I can't imagine it going up when you are eating such a tiny amount of food!

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Thanks for the responses. Maybe I am seeing things with regards to all the costs. I'll definitely keep an eye on it because money does not grow on trees as they say, especially in the economy...

[Mom2IrishTwins 63]

Some more advice - I'm a stay-at-home mom and we definitely live on somewhat of a budget.

In order to get the best price on meats, you have to invest a bit of time in the beginning to find out what the best price is. It may seem tedious but it will save you money in the long-run and just takes an initial investment of time.

Here's what I would do....

Go to costco sometime with a notepad (or your phone or whatever) and mark down the price per lb. for the meats you like to buy.

I think a lot of the time costco is the cheapest but not all the time.

Next - Take a look at the grocery store circulars you get in the mail each week.

For me, the stores who put out the circulars are generally more expensive than other stores but they always have "loss-leader" meats on sale. This week, my store has ground beef on sale for $1.97/lb. Last week they had whole chickens on sale for .69/lb.

Look at their meats - find the ones that are on a really good sale that week, as compared to your Costco prices, and buy those.

If you can, buy a couple more than what you would need. For example, if whole chickens are on sale and you would normally buy 2, buy 4 instead. Put two in the freezer. The next week, if pork is on sale - Buy 2 packages, put 2 in the freezer. Eventually you'll get to a point where you have every kind of meat you could want but you've never paid more than rock-bottom prices for it.

If you need tips for what to do whole chickens or how to cook them (it's some of the cheapest meat you can buy), let me know. If I can answer any other questions about this, I'm happy to.

Also - Yes, grocery prices have gone up about 35% in the past 6 months so you're not crazy - Prices are higher but there are still ways to lower your food bills!

[delta_girl 931]

Dollar stores often have canned tuna packed in Water that is very inexpensive. You can make stews with very cheap cuts of meat (just make sure they aren't fatty). Check the local price on tofu as well.

[Fiddleman 4,376]

Thanks for the really great advice everyone. I am going on a walkabout to find my cheap meat.

[O.T.R. sleever 3,386]

I don't know about costco, I don't have one near me, but from my understanding they are very similar to Sam's Club.

My experience with club stores is they are a great place to buy premium products in bulk at discounted prices. However they are definitely not the least expensive place to shop as they don't offer lesser options.