ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1997, Roanoke Times
DATE: Wednesday, January 8, 1997 TAG: 9701080006
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 8 EDITION: METRO
Now that we're finished with all the trimming trees and fancy meals with trimmings, many of us want and need to trim our 1997 food budgets. Fortunately, doing so is neither difficult nor time-intensive. Statistics show that people can save up to 15 percent on their weekly shopping bill if they spend just an hour at home preparing. Here are some tips from various experts on how to go about it:
* Plan ahead. Jot down a week's worth of menus, including leftovers and unused veggies, and shop with these in mind to ensure that you have all needed ingredients and that you don't buy duplicates of things that you already have on hand.
* Shop with a list and when you're not hungry. You'll buy fewer impulse items.
* Learn typical prices, especially for items you buy often or that are expensive, such as meat.
* Check ads for specials. Watch for them in the store, too.
* Carry a calculator to help you compare unit prices.
* Consider whether a larger size is better. Often, the unit price is less, but not always, so check. Even at a good price, don't buy more than you can store or use before it spoils.
* Buy extra amounts at a good price. Stock up on nonperishables and commonly used pantry items when you find a good sale.
* Clip coupons only for products you would buy anyway. Increase the coupons' value by using them in combination with store sales and double-coupon promotions.
* Ask for a raincheck when an item on special is sold out.
* Shop early in the day to take advantage of discounted prices offered at some stores.
* Shop the store's perimeter, where you'll find the cooking-from-scratch foods. You're in higher-cost territory in the convenience-food aisles.
* Look down. Less-costly items are often on lower shelves, more expensive ones at eye level.
* Try store brands. Often, there is no discernible difference between them and name-brand products.
* Buy produce in season and learn proper storage for each fruit or vegetable. Purchase common produce, such as onions and potatoes, in the largest package you can use before it spoils.
* For out-of-season produce, check prices on canned or frozen options. They offer greater year-round availability than fresh produce and more consistent prices and convenience.
* Check produce bargain bins. Items may be close to discard stage, but, if you can use them right away, you may save money. Marked-down vegetables are especially good for soups, stews and stir-fries.
* Make (and grow) your own whenever possible. Eliminate or greatly reduce convenience foods.
* Buy herb mixes, such as Italian seasoning or apple-pie spice, instead of several individual containers of pure spices.
* Waste nothing. Use stale bread to make croutons for salads and bread crumbs for coating chicken and topping casseroles.
* Eat less meat. Also, learn ways to cook cheaper meat cuts.
* Buy several packages of meat or poultry when they are on sale, then repackage and freeze them to suit your recipes or family's preferences.
* Check the price per pound on several packages of the same cut of meat. This price can vary, depending on the amount, packing date, brand or sale price.
* Cook a sale-priced chuck roast and eat it four times: Meal 1 - pot roast with potatoes, onions and carrots; Meal 2 - shredded leftover beef seasoned for tacos or burritos; Meal 3 - beef and gravy, with any leftover veggies, served over rice; Meal 4 - a soup made with leftovers, water, a little bouillon, rice or pasta, canned beans and canned tomatoes.
* Look for spaghetti sauces that contain meat and vegetables, instead of adding your own. These sauces often cost the same as the plain variety.
* Institute a soup and bread night once a month.
* Stock up on simple canned soups, such as chicken noodle, cream of mushroom and tomato. They usually cost less than heartier varieties. Embellish them with your own leftover vegetables, legumes and meats.
* Cook several meals at once and freeze them.
* Purchase day-old bakery items, then freeze or use immediately.
* Look for refund offers to get money back on fresh foods such as meat and fruit.
* Don't think you have to buy everything at the same store. Nonfood items are often lower priced in a discount store or elsewhere.
Of course, you don't want to confuse frugality with depriving yourself. Consider cost vs. convenience.
Simplifying your life when it comes to eating and preparing meals can mean different things to different people. Saving time and labor may be the most important consideration for busy working families. Saving money and stretching food dollars may be the biggest concern for one-income families, or those trying to get by with less money.
Here are ways both groups can help take control of their lives:
* Don't waste time at the supermarket. Shop during off hours to avoid long lines at the checkout lane. Make a list of what you need and try to list the items in the order that you shop the store. Shop alone, if possible.
* Convenience items, such as precut produce, may be worth the extra cost if they are useful to you by saving time.
* Consider waste when determining costs. Snack-size containers may cost more than larger units, but they are more cost-effective if the larger packages' contents get moldy before they can be consumed.
* Follow the 10 percent rule: Try to buy 10 percent fewer groceries, to spend 10 percent less on them and to waste 10 percent less than you do now.
The recipes above will help you use some of these budget- and time-cutting tactics. Dori Sanders' latest book, "Dori Sanders' Country Cooking: Recipes and Stories From the Family Farm Stand" ($18.95, Workman), is a combination autobiography and cookbook. Sanders says that time is a major factor when she's cooking. Consequently, when fresh peaches are out of season or when Sanders is just plain pressed for time, she adapts new pre-spiced peaches from Del Monte to make a quick and tasty cobbler.
A tortilla pie, from the January issue of Southern Living Low-Fat Recipes ($2.99, newsstands) supplies plenty of fiber and protein at a lot lower cost than meat.
The noodles dish from EZ-Foil EZ Living Recipes ($3, select retailers) puts to new use an old casserole favorite.
Ground turkey, as used in the easy but impressive-looking stuffed loaf recipe from Honeysuckle White, is usually less expensive than ground beef. Or, as noted in the Southern Living booklet, you can also buy a less costly grade of ground beef and defat it by browning it in a nonstick skillet then putting it into a colander to drain. Once most of the fat has drained off, either run hot water over the beef or press it between layers of paper towels to remove additional fat before proceeding with a favorite ground-meat recipe, such as chili or sloppy Joes.
If you have a favorite time- or budget-trimming tip that you'd like to share in a future column or story, send it to Almena Hughes, Food Editor, The Roanoke Times, P.O. Box 2491, Roanoke 24010.
- FOOD EDITOR ALMENA HUGHES; KNIGHT-RIDDER NEWSPAPERS; NANCY BYAL, BETTER HOMES AND GARDENS MAGAZINE; JUDITH BLAKE, SEATTLE TIMES; AND ROSEMARY BLACK, FAMILY CIRCLE MAGAZINE CONTRIBUTED INFORMATION TO THIS STORY.
Recipes for:
SPICED YOGURT CHEESE
CARROT QUICK BREAD
VEGETABLE STUFFED POTATOES
SPINACH-STUFFED TURKEY LOAF
SEVEN-LAYER TORTILLA PIE
EASY HARVEST PEACH COBBLER
LENGTH: Long : 141 lines ILLUSTRATION: PHOTO: AP. 1. Spinach-stuffed Turkey Loaf is inexpensive toby CNBprepare but makes an impressive presentation. 2. Vegetable Stuffed
Potato is rich in taste but low in fat. The stuffing is made with
fresh vegetables, fully cooked lean turkey, nonfat yogurt and skim
milk. color.