[lrjohnson]

I agree that eliminating certain foods can dramatically reduce a grocery bill, and so can generics. I am not a coupon user-if I didn't like generics and I ate convenience food I might, but it hasn't felt right for me. I think you can do generic/reduce certain foods half-heartedly and still save, but I'm not sure you can half do coupons well. I try to do the Amy D. Pantry Principle-have a well stocked set of basics, and buy great deals when I see them, and cook with that-I rarely (once or twice a year) actually buy6 special ingredients for a recipe. I buy from bulk bins at WinCo when the bulk bins are cheaper. I don't mind certain foods being stale, like cereal-I don't like it when it's mushy stale, but I am not as advanced in tastebuds as some. Dry cereal for me is a treat, actually-I do oatmeal, or home baked muffins. With a stocked pantry I can do simple meals anytime. I prefer shopping once a month for a big run, with maybe one or two produce runs in between. My battle is using up fresh foods especially produce-we are getting better at using more/buying less, but I hate composting a whole head of lettuce! I've had to get over that certain higher priced produce will get eaten faster-I will eat green beans and cherry tomatoes, but lettuce or radishes or celery will sit. So I bite the health bullet and figure a healthy item I eat is a better deal than any item I toss, regardless of original price.

A hard one for me, with a weight battle going, is just to eat less. Of everything. It would be frugal, and healthy. Or, deal with eating a "real" portion of a healthy food that is twice the price of the unhealthy counterpart, instead of a huge triple portion of the cheap stuff. For example, bread: either have one sandwich with smaller slices of dense hearty whole grain stuff with great ingredients, than two sandwiches with the super cheap kinda whole wheat fluffy large slice stuff.