Frugal Food

I know that everyone is feeling the economic pinch this year, for a large variety of reasons. Some of us have been 'pinching' for years. I decided to list a few frugal breakfast ideas and tips on retrieving those items.

My SIL, Mary Frances, has inspired me with her bread making. We visited over the New Year and she had made all varieties of delicious breads from rustic to french. During that time, she gave me a few 'insider tips' which has formed me into a '4-loaves-in-1-day-girl'. These four loaves take a little time and save a lot of money, not to mention the complements of fresh-baked bread from Mike and the kids. I will give the tips and recipe in my next blog.

Here are some frugal breakfast ideas:

1) Cold cereal...bought from Aldi or Walmart (I buy all the ones that are less than $2, as they rotate and this gives variety)

2) Oatmeal...I use the whole oats and stir in butter and brown sugar at the end

3) Grits....good with white sugar stirred in

4) Apples and cheese slices...each kiddo gets half an apple sliced thinly(it makes a pile of apples) and 2 or three slices of a brick of cheese

5) Toast and jam...from that homemade bread..can add a few cheese slices for variety/protein

6) Cinnamon Rolls...these are a weekend special at my house (I roll out the 4th bread dough loaf for these..see next blog..)

7) Pumpkin Chip Bread...topped with cream cheese, if desired....easy to throw together 2 loaves together and bake while homeschooling (freeze well)

8) Pancakes...also saved for a weekend breakfast...homemade and special! Leftovers can be frozen and microwaved for a weekday breakfast.

9) Toast and Peanut butter plus 1/2 banana....spread PB on hot toast for a treat!

10) Scrambled eggs and 1/2 slice toast

11) Hard-boiled eggs and 1/2 slice toast and 1/2 sliced orange (make the eggs the day before. the kids love to peel them at breakfast)

12) Cinnamon Coffee Cake...quick to throw together, but takes 1 hour to cook~I usually do this on a special occasion day and serve with bacon or sausage...

13) Muffins...you can find a basic recipe and add all sorts of things to the base. They will freeze well also to pull out the night before you want them.

Tips:

1) Watch your ads. If you can be diligent, Walmart will honor any ad that is a price for the EXACT same item. So, bring in the ads and save gas driving around for brand name deals. Mike and I do a 1x per month/2hour trip there for all the basics. We usually spend ~$150 in household and ~$200 in groceries. Then, over the rest of the month, we will buy ~$150 in milk, fruit, cereal, eggs, fresh veggies at Aldi. 

2) Buy what you can at Aldi. You usually come out ahead price-wise and they really have upgraded their selection and healthier choices.

3) Make more from scratch. I have to now for medical reasons, but I have noticed we spend much less on groceries that way.

4) Think about using the 'Share' program, where you can get a lot of fresh foods for only ~$20 per month. You can even buy more than one. I have not found the 'ad-ons' to be the best for the price, but the holidays have some good deals.

5) Keep an eye out for marked-down items at the grocery that can be frozen. Our deep freezer was full last year of price-reduced items that we froze when we got home. This included meats, etc...they are always a few days shy of actual expiration.

I will post more later....