How to Grocery Shop Once a Month… Part 2: Waste Little

Yesterday’s installment, in case you missed it: 1. Shop Thoughtfully

2. Waste little

This is the fun part! You’ve already grocery shopped. Now, how do you make it last an entire month?

Waste is where your grocery bill gets eaten up the most. You might need 1/4 c. of chopped bell peppers for a recipe on Tuesday and by Saturday, you haven’t used the rest of the pepper so you have to throw it out. Sound familiar?

Wasting as little as possible doesn’t mean saving the last bite of peas or the few slices of chicken left on your plate every night to be reheated the next day. It means planning out your recipes in an order that is conducive to using what you have available.

For example:

- Leftover rolls or biscuits can be used as bread for sandwiches the next day. You can also freeze most breads or let it dry out and make French toast, croutons, or bread crumbs. I reinvented leftover garlic cheddar biscuits, as pictured in Easy Salmon,  in my recipe for Chili and Cheddar Biscuits.

- Tortillas can be used in a million different ways. I made Gringa Tostadas and reused the tortillas to make Enchilada Pie . Use tortillas to make quesadillas, tacos, or wrap up your favorite sandwich ingredients. Use them instead of pizza dough for a quick lunch or dinner. You can also make baked tortilla chips by cutting the tortillas into triangles, brushing them lightly with olive oil, sprinkling with salt or other spices, and baking them in the oven.

- I used sweet potatoes as a side dish to my mom’s Jerk Chicken and again in  Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas.

- Leftover black beans and corn from BBQ Chicken Pizza were used to make  Gringa Tostada. They are also delicious as a salad topper! Just toss black beans, corn, chopped tomato, shredded cheddar, crushed tortilla chips, and jalapeños with a little lite ranch dressing and lettuce. DELISH!

- Frozen peas, whole wheat pastas, and frozen boneless skinless chicken are great to have handy. I used peas, noodles, and chicken in both recipes for Chicken, Pesto, and Peas Pasta and Stir Fry. The three together also works well with Alfredo or sun-dried tomato sauce.

- French fried onions were used in both Crispy Onion Baked Chicken and in John Wayne Burgers. You can also crush them up to use in place of croutons on a salad.

As you can see, your recipes for the month should snowball into each other.

If you go through the recipes in my blog, you can see the progression of foods used over and over again in new and inventive ways.

Meat:

In order to waste as little as possible, buy your meat and portion it out as soon as you get home from the grocery store. I normally wrap up two portions (since it is just my husband and I at home) in plastic wrap and then put each wrapped bundle in a zip-loc freezer bag. Make sure you label the zip-loc bags with the type of meat inside and the date you bagged it so you aren’t left with a mystery bag way in the back of your freezer. Squeeze as much air as you can out of each bag before sealing and stacking in the freezer.

- This tip is straight from my mom and really helps maximize your freezer space. Freeze hamburger meat in individual zip-loc bags and smoosh it down flat so that, once frozen, it can be easily stacked or stood up against the freezer wall.

This also cuts down on thawing time. This flat bag will thaw on he counter in no time!

Try this with EVERYTHING! As you can see, I’ve even done it with individual servings (well, enough for two…) of pizza and pasta sauce. Don’t forget to label these guys, either.

Produce:

Try and use your produce wisely.

-If you only use part of an onion, you have two choices. You can either cut off the hunk you need and keep the rest intact, skin and all, wrapped in tin foil in the fridge or you can dice up the whole thing and freeze what you don’t use. Tin foil will help keep the onion fresh and won’t allow the stinky onion smell to escape into your produce bin.

-Freeze your leftovers if they are about to spoil.

-Keep fruits and veggies with their original skin and seeds for as long as possible. They will stay fresher longer. For example, avocado doesn’t last long once it’s opened but if you save the seed and store the leftovers and seed together, it will keep much longer than without. Also, don’t cut into anything unless you are ready to use it. Pineapple doesn’t need to be cut immediately after purchase. It can hang out on the counter or in the fridge for a week or two and still be delicious once you decide to slice it up.

Always keep a back up reserve in your pantry for those last few days of the month. You might never need them, but occasionally you will and you will be so glad you had them stashed. Items I always keep handy:
- A can or two of Rotel tomatoes
- A few extra cans of vegetables, like beans
- A can of cream of mushroom soup
- A jar of pasta sauce
- Instant brown rice

Ok, one more tip. ALWAYS keep a notepad and pen near the fridge and pantry. The very second you run out of something, WRITE IT DOWN! You will inevitably forget it on your next grocery trip and be so disappointed if you don’t. Remember, organization is the key…

Do you think you’re going to try it?????

Grocery shopping once a month can be a lot of fun. Buying enough food can be the tricky part. You must be aware of the foods you eat most often. If you buy too much of something you rarely use, you are inevitably going to be throwing away rotten food, which is pretty much the same thing as throwing away money. But then again, if you buy too little, you may find yourself needing to go back to the grocery store, which defeats the entire purpose.

At my house, we go through a lot of jalapeños, tortillas, orange juice, peanut butter, chicken, and eggs. So those are the items I buy the most.

It might take you a few months to figure it all out and to stock up on staples like soy sauce, sriraccha, or Worcestershire but it will be well worth it in the end.

Don’t be shy. You are going to have a grocery cart FULL of groceries and it is going to cost you $200-300+, depending on the size of your family and whether or not you are including other items in your trip, such as laundry detergent, napkins, straws, zip-loc bags, etc. The cost may shock you the first time you do it, but if you sit down and add up all of the mini trips you’ve been taking to the store, the cost will probably be a little bit less. Less is good, right?

I hope you try it and it works for you. Try and stay flexible and creative! If not, there is always Google. Just type in the ingredients you need to use and see if there is a recipe out there that sounds good. This website, My Fridge Food,  is awesome! It has a feature where you type in ingredients you have on hand and it generates a list of recipes based on those ingredients. Give it a try!!!

Eventually, you will be improvising and creating delicious, one of a kind dishes that you and your family will love in the time you would normally be wasting at the store.

A few more connections:

BBQ sauce:
John Wayne BBQ Burgers
BBQ Pineapple Luau Pizza
BBQ Chicken Pizza

Tortillas:
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas
Enchilada Pie
Gringa Tostada
Steak Fajitas
St. Patrick’s Day Rueben Quesadillas

Ham:
Loaded Hash Browns
BBQ Pineapple Luau Pizza
Breakfast Sandwich
Potato Soup
Ham and Cheese Tart with Homemade Honey Mustard

Potatoes:
Roasted Sweet Potatoes
Roasted Ranch Potatoes
Loaded Hash Browns
Potato Soup
Sweet Potato and Black Bean Enchiladas

Frozen Vegetables:
Thai Peanut Noodles
Stir Fry
Thin Crust Pizza
Chicken, Pesto, and Peas Pasta

Ground Beef:
Black and Bleu Sliders
John Wayne BBQ Burger
H.B.’s Lasagna

Chicken:
Enchilada Pie
Jerk Chicken
Chicken, Pesto, and Peas Pasta
Thai Peanut Noodles
Stir Fry
BBQ Chicken Pizza
Crispy Onion Baked Chicken
BBQ Pineapple Luau Chicken

How To Grocery Shop Once A Month… And Still Eat Healthy! Part 1: Shop Thoughtfully

The fact that I only grocery shop once a month (minus an additional trip in between for bread, milk, and a banana or two) seems to be a hot topic. Everyone keeps asking me how I do it or they say it isn’t possible. Well, I’m here to tell you it IS possible. AND it is possible to save money while you’re doing it. You just have to be organized and conscious of what you are eating and when you eat it.

Grocery shopping once a month would be easy if you lived off of boxed, frozen, and pre-packaged meals. But filling up your body and the body of your family members with sodium laden ridiculousness will ultimately send you to an early grave… and that’s no good.

You might think this is a disorganized mess, and that is partly true. However, I know what’s in there and where it all is… I can not wait for the day when I have a REAL pantry! If I can grocery shop once a month with only this much space… there aren’t any real excuses.

So, this is how I do it… Hopefully you can take a tip or two and use them to cut down on your trips to the store, or your grocery bill, for that matter! I mean, seriously, who has the time, patience, or money  to waste unnecessarily at the grocery store anyway?

When shopping once a month, there are 2 rules you must follow:

1. Shop Thoughtfully
2. Waste Little

That’s it!

Today’s installment:

1. Shop Thoughtfully

Shopping thoughtfully means you must be aware of the foods you are purchasing.

Produce:

How long will what you’re purchasing stay fresh? If the answer is “not very long,” then you should plan on using these products before others. Don’t use potatoes as a side dish for dinner tonight if you have an eggplant that needs to be used. Conscious choices and being aware of your fridge and pantry inventory will inevitably make your groceries last longer.

When shopping in the produce section, look for what is in season; the fresher the produce, the longer it will last. In addition to what is the freshest, buy green bananas, citrus fruits, like Clementines, Cuties, or other varieties of oranges, apples, and carrots. These tend to last the longest in the fridge.

When choosing fruit, buy fruits that are in season and can sit on the counter or in the fridge for a week or two before cutting. Fruits such as cantaloupe, pineapple, and watermelon can last, if kept whole, until after you’ve run out of strawberries, bananas, or other quick to spoil varieties.

When purchasing vegetables, remember that certain vegetables are healthier if purchased frozen, while others simply maintain their nutritional value. Vegetables that are flash frozen at the peak of freshness  (which suspends aging and nutrient loss) will contain more nutrients than vegetables picked before they are ripe, sent on a truck across the country, displayed at the store, and then taken home waiting to be enjoyed. If a veggie, or fruit for that matter, is out of season, why not buy it frozen? You’ll save on both prep time and money.

A few vegetables that contain more nutrients when flash frozen are:
1. Beans
2. Peas
3. Broccoli

Cabbage, radishes, and celery last a while in the fridge, while potatoes, garlic, and onions last a while in the pantry. Spinach lasts longer than lettuce and organic lettuce sold in plastic tubs lasts forever compared to bagged or loose lettuce.

Also, don’t spend money, unless you can, of course on organic produce if the produce has a thick, inedible skin.

Dairy:

When buying milk, consider how you will use it. Will it just be for cereal and baking or will you be making cream sauces and whipped cream? If you rarely use milk in sauces or soups, most of the time you can get away with using the same milk you use on your cereal. 2% milk lasts longer than whole milk and lactose free milk can last a month!

When it comes to cheese, the harder the cheese, the longer it will last. So when you purchase soft cheeses, such as Bleu, Ricotta, Cottage, or Feta, be aware that these cheeses should be used first. Cheeses such as Cheddar, Swiss, Colby, and Parmesan will last longer and can be saved for later in the month.

Always look at the expiration dates closely. You don’t have to be that crazy person who takes out 5 milk gallons to reach the 6th gallon in the back that expires 2 days later, but you should be aware of when everything expires. When putting your groceries in the fridge, put them in according to expiration date, with the latest date in the back. That way you don’t waste something that could have been consumed earlier. This is particularly helpful with yogurt containers.

Shelved items:

Check the price per ounce on everything you purchase. Bigger isn’t always better. Some cereal boxes will cost less per ounce if you buy the smaller box. The same can be true for jams and jellies. $0.02 cents less an ounce might not sound like a lot of money but when you have a shopping cart that is completely full, it can really add up quickly.

Tortillas, especially corn, and pita bread lasts longer than sliced sandwich bread. Whole grain crackers are also great to have on hand. They keep well in the pantry and work great in place of bread with turkey and cheese or peanut butter and jelly when you are starting to run low on things.

Don’t buy anything if you aren’t sure how you are going to use it. Why would you buy a container of bread crumbs if you only know of one way to use them? You could just pulse a dry piece of bread in the blender instead.

Buy a variety of items so you don’t get bored with the same old thing. For example, instead of buying a box of 12 granola bars to last the month, buy 2 boxes of 6 in different flavors. (Stick to granola bars with real fruit and nuts, not fake flavors with added fiber and vitamins. Those bars are full of way more additives and ickness than you think.)

Purchase products that can be used in a multitude of ways. Jarred spreads or sauces, like a really good pesto or sun-dried tomato chutney, can be used on pasta, spread on sandwiches or wraps, or can even be used in place of pizza sauce.

I could go on… and on… but you get the point. Everything you put in your grocery cart should be accounted for.

How will you use it? When will you use it? Be strategic!

Stay tuned… tomorrow I am posting the 2nd installment: Waste Little.