Need help on saving money on food!

[gostumpy]

We are not cooks at home by any means... our main meals:

Butter Chicken (Chicken breast fried in a pan, pour a pre-made butter chicken sauce on it, and put it on rice)
Tacos (Cook ground beef, taco seasoning, tomato, lettuce, cheese, salsa, YUM)
Frozen Pizza (Put it in the oven then eat it... so easy)
Frozen Lasagna (same)
Grilled Cheese & Tamato Soup (Great when it's cold)
Breakfast for Dinner

[SeanH]

One of the cheapest places to buy quality cookware is TJ Maxx's home goods section. You can purchase brands like Calphalon at a pretty good discount.

These are my suggestions for basics that you can't do without.

-A reasonable size frying pan / sautee pan.
-A stock pot (ie. a large pot that you can boil water, spaghetti, soup, stew in).
-A spatula - depending on your frying pan this could be metal or plastic (don't use metal utensils if your cookware is lined with Teflon.
-Salt. I'm partial to sea salt.
-Cracked pepper.
-A reasonable grade of olive oil. Note that if you are cooking super hot foods you don't use olive oil.
-Garlic powder (just something I'm partial to - this is different than garlic salt).
-A chef's knife or santoku (7 inches) and a paring knife. You can buy reasonable quality for less than $20 on these if you are at the right place.

A colander and a steamer will take you a long way when it comes to spaghetti and steaming vegetables.

Foods - I like to use $~2 a pound as a price point. I'm not saying I don't go above that number - I just assess based on it. Foods that fall in the cheap category: eggs, any sort of bean (black beans, red beans, black-eyed peas), rice (don't buy white rice - buy brown, black etc), oatmeal, spaghetti (you don't necessarily need tomato sauce and meat - you could do a veg. medley with olive oil), bananas.

I stay away from processed cheese sold in little bags.

Just some thoughts. Plan meals. Shop to your plan. Be willing to eat something for leftovers multiple days in a row.

[Tree0164]

That is a lot of money for one person-that is just under what my family of 5 spends on our food budget each month. Plus eating out all that much isn't that healthy for you either.

Cooking isn't hard at all. What do you like to eat? Pasta simply boil up some pasta and add some pasta sauce. It doesn't have to be fancy.

Buy some frozen meals too so you don't go out to eat as much.

I meal plan each week. I am fairly simple with my menus. I try one or two new recipes a month as a goal but we have family staples.

[Gailete]

The Betty Crocker book is fine but I'm going to suggest something else. There are a number of cookbooks out there that target college students and others who may be just starting out and know little to nothing about cooking. These books start from scratch

Steve are you aware of the actual cookbook we were mentioning. The 1950 copy is a cookbook that teaches you what you need to know. I literally taught myself how to cook/bake from my mom's copy when I was in 6th grade (10-11 years old). I would make 6 loaves of yeast bread from scratch by following that book! If someone that young can figure it out then a college age person should be able to as well. Not only does it teach how to do things with photos, it gives 'key' recipes and then shows you haw to make minor changes to make it different. It also has a list of kitchen equipment. My old copy was my aunt's, then my mother's, now mine. It has survived a fire and the subsequent soaking from the fire hoses. I use at this point a facsimile copy that came out a number of years ago, so my old copy won't completely fall apart. I've at over the course of time owned well over 300 cookbooks and if I could only keep one, that would be it

[disneysteve]

Steve are you aware of the actual cookbook we were mentioning. The 1950 copy is a cookbook that teaches you what you need to know. I literally taught myself how to cook/bake from my mom's copy when I was in 6th grade (10-11 years old). I would make 6 loaves of yeast bread from scratch by following that book! If someone that young can figure it out then a college age person should be able to as well. Not only does it teach how to do things with photos, it gives 'key' recipes and then shows you haw to make minor changes to make it different. It also has a list of kitchen equipment.

Thanks. That isn't the book I was thinking of. That sounds like a great starter resource.

[mekap04]

I not the best cook but I can follow instructions well. What I do is buy foods like hamburger helper, dinner entries, frozen pancakes (they are actually quite tasty), and other meals that don't take much time to cook and then follow the instructions on the package. You only need a couple of pots and pans, spatulas (get at the dollar store for a buck) and measuring cup & spoon. Go to Wal-Mart or your local dollar stuff and buy items that you personally like that are convenient to make. Use coupons and try to eat out less. I used to eat out all the time but it was so expensive even when taking advantage of specials. If you can, hunt down the grocery store specials. My family is pretty large now so I end up visiting 4 different grocery stores for food but I get some awesome deals at each one.

[LuckyRobin]

There are a lot of videos on youtube from the very simple, like how to cook an egg (sunny-side up, over-easy, scrambled, poached, boiled, or omelette) to the very complex like Korean Bi Bim Bop. They have everything from standard American fare to just about any ethnic recipe you can think of. Despite the fact that I've been cooking since I was twelve and spent 8 years as a cook, I am always looking for new recipes and ways to improve my techniques. Youtube in an invaluable resource for me and can be for you as well. And chances are good that if you don't like the way it's presented by one vlogger, there will be ten others of the same food being cooked whose style you will like.

[newlywed2012]

The easiest meal I make (and I do it often, including tonight) is a bag of salad with a can of garbanzo beans, drained. I add it to a really big bowl and add store-bought Kraft Caesar Vinaigrette (or you can do whatever dressing you like) and chow down. Dessert is an orange or cold grapes from the fridge. Voila!

[p_wyt_12]

You've got a ton of advice here and hopefully you can absorb everything they said

$600 a month for food only is really expensive and eating out isn't good for the body (I assume you always eat from fast food diners or so). Being a mother I have to be fixed with the budget every day so what I do to save is always cook the "meal for today", that means aside from breakfast what we eat on lunch will also be our dinner. So start looking for recipe online and that's free rather than buying a recipe book. There are easy recipes available online, all you have to do is Google it.

[Gailete]

I've discovered lots of terrific looking recipes on Pinterest as well. One I saw looked good for the mood I was in and its simplicity and I've now made it twice in just a couple weeks. Just a simple pasta dish and I had to substitute a few ingredients like garlic powder for a real garlic bulb, but some wonderful recipes to find.

For some weird reason Pinterest is by invite only but anyone who hasn't been on Pinterest to see all the absolutley fantastic stuff on there can ask, and I can give you an invite. I've also noticed lots of tips for cheap, green cleaning products, How to and DIY stuff. Lots of ideas for running your home, dressing etc, on a budget although there are many other things there as well (it isn't intended as a frugal site at all, just a place to share via photos). I tend to chill out on Friday evenings by spending time there collecting recipes and looking for great ideas. Sorry didn't mean to make a commercial but I think it is a valuable resource to those just starting in on homemaking to those who are really experienced!

[AccountantSalary]

Take a cooking class -- you'll not only meet a lot of other singles, but you'll learn how much cooking on your own can be fun and save you money. You might also get invited out by other singles willing to try out their cooking skills on someone.

[kartcoup]

Hello everyone,

I am looking for advice on how to save money on food..! I am 23, single, live in Southern California. According to Mint.com I am spending about $600/month on food related expenses. I eat out everyday and it costs about 7 - 8 dollars per meal in my area.

I know that I need to start cooking, but problem is I have never cooked before. If you have and advice on where I can buy cheap, nutritious food(For example, my coworker tell me about Tacos Tuesday where I can get a great meal for under 5 bucks!)or if you have sample recipes that doesn't required much cookware/skill, please let me know!

Thank you all for your help.

Cooking for yourself can save you some money, but there are also times that it may cost you more. You can find for recipes that are not costly. Another way to save on your food expences is just shopping in bulk where you can get much cheaper prices and plan that groceries for your whole week meal. You can also make use of discount coupons and hot deals where you can save lot of money.

[EarlyRetirementJoy]

Of course it's less expensive to cook meals from scratch than buying them pre-made. It takes time, and you may have to put some skin in the game initially, stocking up on the basic essentials, but after that you're pretty much home free. Plus you'll likely have leftovers for days.

I did not have the benefit of being taught to cook when I was growing up. My job in the kitchen was to do the dishes after dinner. I taught myself to cook when I graduated and went to work. I started with crock pot recipes and grew from there. If I can do it, so can you. :-)

[gostumpy]

Take a cooking class -- you'll not only meet a lot of other singles, but you'll learn how much cooking on your own can be fun and save you money. You might also get invited out by other singles willing to try out their cooking skills on someone.

Great idea! A good cooking class can also get someone inspired enough to *WANT* to cook!

[Leslie12]

I agree with you mate, there are many online recipes sites,you can manage your expenses easily with the help them. Stay motivated and keep touch with internet.