Community Chat

[AuntG]

Our food budget has gone up, but cutting back on meat consumption helps. I make chicken fajitas that are filled with onions, peppers and just a little shredded chicken. Also, try making a pot of vegetable soup. You can add a half pound of browned hamburger for a little more flavor. We shop Aldi's for our basic needs.

[KG60]

We love to make salmon patties, but salmon can be pricey in the can, so here is what we do. Substitute canned tuna in water! 
Drain the tuna, put in bowl and flake with a fork.

Crush saltines and add to the tuna, (just enough to hold together).

add an egg and some chopped onion and mix well. 

Form patties by hand, 1/2 inch thick.

put a little oil in skillet and go ahead & turn it on medium to heat up.

With oil getting very warm, lay patties in skillet.

salt and pepper to taste.

pan fry on each side for about 10 minutes per side, til golden brown.

enjoy! These are delicious, not only hot out of the skillet, but cold out of the fridge as leftovers. I usually make stewed tomatoes with bread pieces to go with it. We haven't bought salmon for patties in years, this is so good! 

[LizzieInSRQ]

I like to buy Hillshire Kielbasa and Smoked Sausage on sale, especially when they are buy one-get one free.. Freezes great and uniform in size so it stores like a dream. Comes in healthier Turkey, all beef or pork/beef/chicken. Cooks up quickly, microwaved, grill, skillet... Versitile for breakfast, lunch or dinner with veggies and potatoes, pasta and rice; quiche, casserole, skillet fry-ups, stews, bean pots, soups, sandwiches and appetizers. Very flavorful protein, easy to eat and easy to portion for 1 or entertaing for 6.

Can you tell i like it? Sheesh lol

[LizzieInSRQ]

@4kitties great, great tips.

[shoekitty]

I'm in NOCAL, I don't know what I spend on food, I buy what we want. There was a time we couldn't so I feel blessed I would say I spend 1400@ mo or more, , but I do buy little things for older grands that drop by.   I shop traders, Raleys, Costco  we don't eat meat but buy fish and sometimes poultry. I also buy organic. There is two of us    Our gas and electric is about 650@ mo right now. I think it evens out to about 300@ mo. I remember when PGS was 4-6@ mo. It was in the single digets. Lol That's how old I am

[shoekitty]

I just want to say, I don't know where anyone lives that buys gas under 5@ a gallon. We haven't seen prices at 2 bucks since 1999.   I am in NOCAL.  

[Rockycoast]

The $2.47 was in NH as stated with discounts.

[SilleeMee]

Since I've cut back on eating meat, I've gone to supplementing with protein powders to help keep up on my protein requirements. That's important to my health. Protein powder supplements are not an expensive way to get your protein. 

[ahoymate]

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@SilleeMee wrote:

Since I've cut back on eating meat, I've gone to supplementing with protein powders to help keep up on my protein requirements. That's important to my health. Protein powder supplements are not an expensive way to get your protein. 

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FYI.....................In the world of nutritional supplements, protein powder is near the top as some of the most expensive given how many servings you get. Sure, you can find cheap protein powder. But when you buy bargain-brand supplements, you often get what you pay for.

Rose429, Google and learn about protein powders.

[drizzellla]

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@4kitties wrote:

Just a few shopping tips to save money.  They may or may not work for everyone though.

I shop early in the day. 8:00AM or so.  I go directly to the meat section and see what is marked down because the item is on its last day of sale,  I see great buys on meat and poultry all the time.  If I buy I cook the item that day or put it directly in the freezer.

I also see some good prices on other grocery items in the clearance section of each different grocery store I frequent.  Sometimes a box may have a crushed corner and they mark it way down.  The other day I saw big boxes of cereal for half price and the boxes were barely crushed.  Wasn't cereal I use, but someone will get a good buy!

Always get the store sale flyer and buy items when on sale or are offered as loss leaders.  If you have room, have a small pantry or stash of items you know you use frequently, and buy them on sale in anticipation of use.

I always keep an eye on my Walmart when they reset an area of the store.  The last time they reset the laundry detergent/cleaning products aisle I got great buys on name brand detergents.  Bought enough to share with my girls too!

All trash cans in my house are smaller and I can use the plastic bags from stores as liners.  These bags are free and I never have to purchase trash bags.  It gripes me to buy something just to throw it away!🤣

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Excellent points.

I check out the sales flyers. And depending what is on sale, I plan my meals for the week.

Last year the grocery I usually shop had a certain laundry detergent on sale for $1.00 a bottle. So I stocked up.

And I recently discovered clearence items. Lots of bakery goods. Rolls from the previous day that didn't sell. The prices are about half price.

There are some surprises on occasion when you look around the grocery store.

PS  @4kitties I saw your quote by Justin Hayward. Saw him on Saturday night in concert. My son found out that he was in town and got tickets. Justin sounded as good as he did many years ago.