Paper Bag Blues

I just heard a very interesting story on NPR about the rising cost of groceries.  In it they profiled three women of three very different income levels, and each women spoke about the changes she had to make in her life as far as grocery-shopping is concerned.  And though I was fascinated to hear what these women had to say, both because I am interested in food and because I'm interested in saving money on food, I was a bit disappointed at the lack of creativity in their solutions.  The woman with the lowest income (about $700 a month, with kids to support: Yikes!) said she had to switch from whole wheat bread to white bread, and she started shopping at a Mennonite grocery store where the products have passed their expiration dates, and where cereal costs a dollar, but you run the risk of finding an insect colony in your breakfast bowl.  The woman in the highest income bracket said she had to stop shopping at Whole Foods, the poor dear.

So I'm interested to know: what have you done to make your dollar stretch further in feeding yourself and/or your family?  I would love to get a response on this, even to the point of publicizing my blog to all my friends and family, a step I had not fully taken.  But the more comments, the better, I think.  Let's inspire each other to save much and eat well in the process.

I guess I should start, since I'm asking the question, but I'll be honest: I'm just learning how to be frugal.  Going out to dinner is one of my all-time favorite activities, and though I do love to cook, I'll go to the store five nights a week to get the ingredients for ONE meal at a time!  So I'll share my practices with you, though I'm hoping some of you out there can outshine me in the creativity department (come on Mom!  I know you've got some good ones up your sleeve!).

1.  Look at your price per unit.  This is not original, but many of my generation may not know this.  It really is cheaper to buy a $30 dollar drum of olive oil than a $9 bottle, if the larger one is cheaper by the ounce.  All price tags will have this per-unit price on it.

2.  Find the cheap produce market in your town!  See my other blog today about Limbo Produce in Portland to see what kind of savings you can get.  As long as it's not all the way on the other side of town and only open during rush hour, the drive should be worth it.  The drive to Limbo for me, for example, costs me no more than a pound of cherries.  A Limbo pound of cherries, that is!  (ie, a couple bucks!)

3.  Plan meals where there are ingredient crossovers.  For example, this week we're planning on making seven layer dip one night for dinner (thanks to Raina's birthday party for the inspiration).  The avocados and tomatoes and cheese used in it will be used for sandwiches and salads.  The yogurt (great sour cream replacement) will be used for a yummy curried lentil recipe.  Your ingredients take you farther, and you waste less.

4.  Plant herbs, lettuce, and tomatoes!  They are so easy to grow, and freshen up any meal.  Of course there are a million other things you can plant, but these are the easiest, and you won't be paying for your most basic salad fixin's all summer long.

Ok, People.  Lay it on me: whether we're in a recession, or headed for one, or just want to plain have greater awareness of our consumption, What's your greatest tip for saving money on food?  What's your favorite recipe that's dirt cheap to make but tastes like a million bucks?  What have you sacrificed from your shopping list?  What item can you not live without?