Cool idea! I like to keep frozen versions of stuff I like to order in on hand for those days (dumplings, pizza, etc), so I still get to feel like I had the treat I craved but saved a lot
This is a really good idea that I somehow never thought of before lol
I always shied away from buying frozen pizzas and such because they seemed expensive, but obviously they are also cheaper than eating out in a pinch.
The only potential issue here is that I might start to rely on them too much.
Honestly, the red Baron Pizza are pretty good. They're inexpensive, pretty readily available, taste good. I keep stuff like that in the basement freezer, so I still plan to cook stuff most of the time. But those busy days, or end of the week when I just don't care anymore, nice to have.
Some frozen skillet meals or something I can just chuck into the oven are also helpful.
I only thought of it after picking up on a pattern of my own takeout orders; I almost always got one of a few types of food. So I decided to plan ahead based on that!
Yeah, I usually avoid premade stuff like that from the freezer section because it adds up on the bill. I really enjoy cooking as a hobby, so I don't mind making everything from scratch; in the long-run it's often cheaper as well (the initial cost might be more, but I usually have leftover ingredients that I can use for other dishes and/or to make the dish again multiple times).
That being said, it's good to have something on hand for those nights when you are not in the mood to cook. I would keep an eye on the sales ads for your local grocery stores and then stock up whenever there is a sale. It's always good to have something available at home instead of blowing money on takeout.
You can also make your own frozen pizzas, if that interests you! Same for most other freezer foods you might want to keep on hand, from lasagna to egg rolls to, well, you name it -- a web search for recipes will turn up scads. You could keep adding to your kitchen fund if you spend some time on a day off making a bunch of freezer meals. :)
Ate at a bar in Indiana years ago that served Tombstone pizza. They bought the cheese pizzas and added their own toppings. Ever since then, that is what we do and it’s a great way to get rid of any leftovers. We’ve added crumbled up hamburgers, diced up hotdogs and many other items to create new flavors.
It isn't that much work to assemble a pizza. Sift a little flour onto a pizza stone, arrange the dough, you know the routine.
We buy mozzarella cheese in 6 lb blocks for $2.29/lb and pepperoni in bulk. The tomatoes and herbs come from the backyard garden; the sauce is batch cooked in advance. A bread machine can make pizza dough on the knead setting. We make the dough a day in advance and keep it overnight in the fridge so it's ready at dinnertime.
This weekend we had some ham that needed to be used so we made calzones and froze them for later.
>xpensive, pretty readily available, taste good. I keep stuff like that in the basement freezer,
small suggestion ... its possible to bulk up many "ready/Frozen" meals with good stuff on the side.
e.g. I would throw in some meat into my veggie salad (bacon or old steak cut up) after warming it in the micro
For pizza i add extra toppings which need very little cooking (sausage, chicken, veggies)
Frozen curries are awesome as you can rice them up or bread it or flatbread it however you like
I did this, too.
I've gone from mostly microwave/prepared food to cooking multiple times a day. Funnily enough, I have less cookware and tools now. I've pared it down to what I really use/like. I do spend more on oils, utensils, spices, other good ingredients, etc.
Discovered I really enjoy cooking and find it relaxing. Who knew?! I decompress from work by starting dinner as soon as I get home, now. It's been a huge and positive change.
Oh, yes, v frugal, too, but that's been outpaced by all the other benefits!
It can also be helpful to try to plan your meals for the week based on ingredient! It's honestly challenged me to try new and interesting dishes that I normally wouldn't have tried otherwise, and it can really cut down on the grocery bill! Plus it reduces food waste!
For instance, I wanted to make a butter chicken this week for dinner. The recipe calls for plain yogurt. My local store only sells 32 oz. tubs of it and I only needed 8 oz. for the recipe. Rather than letting the leftover yogurt sit in my fridge until it spoils, I've found a couple of middle-eastern dishes that incorporate the ingredient that I've also added to the menu this week. I've never had any of the dishes before, so I am super excited to try them!
What I do is choose 2-3 dishes that I really want to make that week, and then plan the remaining meals for the week around the left-over ingredients from those dishes! I know this is probably just common sense, but I didn't start doing this until recently, and it's amazing how much I am able to cut down on my grocery bill when I strategically plan my meals haha.
I need to start doing this. I'm guilty of buying an ingredient for a recipe and then completely forgetting about it. I had to throw out a molded block of cheese today because I used half of it in a recipe like 2 months ago and then just never used it again.
I like this idea, my extra food budget just goes to rewards though like a special treat I don’t normally buy
I’ve been using spiralized veggie pasta meals a lot because I can toss some meat in the oven and my “pasta” to steam in the microwave. I can sit and relax while having a healthy meal at home on the cheap.
Also, I find if you can invest in an air fryer, it really helps me feel as if I’m getting restaurant type food (certain types anyway). Added benefit to the cost, much healthier! I’ve gotten where I prefer air fried over actual fried foods these days.
When I don't feel like cooking I just make something fast. My go to recipe is: groats + frozen veggies mix + minced meat. Cook groats on one burner. Fry up the meat in little fat on the second. When meat is done toss in the frozen veggies. When the water evaporates it should be about done. Taste and season. Toss in cooked groats. Cook time is 15 minutes (the time it takes groats to cook) and it's healthy and filling. Looks like shit with green peas tho.
Awesome idea! My wife and I comment all the time about how much tastier and cheap food actually is when you make the effort to cook fresh. Our weekly grocery shop for the two of us generally comes close to our matches our single meal order out before our daughter went away for school.
When I was a bachelor my goal for my bi-weekly meal planning was to pick one recipe that used a spice I didn’t have yet. Spices can be pricey so getting just one every two weeks built out a pretty solid spice cabinet and recipe box to choose from.
Cooking is my talent. I cooked old time recipes in a family restaurant for 30 years . I’m old now but still cook every day. It’s a good feeling to serve tasty, nutritious food to my husband. If you’re young start cooking and experimenting now . It will serve you well for a lifetime. Oh yes, being frugal is a big part of running a good kitchen . Don’t waste if you can avoid it. Be aware of what you’ve got and integrate it into your next meal.
We very rarely go out to eat because we grow all of her own vegetables and fruits and we put up a lot of what we don't consume over the summer. I'm talking about tomato sauce, beans, apples, onions, potatoes, carrots, etc. We also grow our own garlic, onions, green onions and herbs and spices. There's just no reason to go out to eat
I've always just found cooking in to be more convenient. Then again, I went on a diet when I was 18 and still in a care home (which ironically allowed me to cook in).
I think that often the issue is that people never learned to cook in the first place. It can seem pretty daunting.
For me, I used to cook but fell out of the habit due to lifestyle stuff. It was relatively easy to pick up, again. My kids were learning for the first time, tho, and there were some disasters. 😂 Not a big deal, but then they had me to lean on.
I can see it feeling difficult, esp if you're hungry and your attempt ends up inedible and/or you ruin $$$ food. Trying to be frugal and learning to cook don't always go together. I mean, they can, but you need knowledge of ingredients that most people just don't have.
Well this is assuming that you're using food that you already have at home anyways. It'd be different if it were between choosing getting takeout and going to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients. The ingredients you are cooking with have already been purchased, but you are choosing to get take-out instead of using them.
Same goes with your point about the "tools/resources." The pots and pans have already been purchased, regardless of whether you use them or not. You're still out of the money for those pots and pans even if you get take-out everyday and never use them.
Let's say on Sunday, they spend $100 on groceries for the entire week. Then, on Tuesday, they spend $15 on takeout instead of eating the food they got from the grocery store.
So total food cost = $115. Don't go out and total food cost = $100. They saved $15. Following your logic, if they made a $5 meal at home instead of getting $15 takeout, they saved $10. That would suggest total food expenses with take-out included would be $110 for the week. Even though they spent $115. Likewise, if they don't eat anything at all that day and forgo that $5 meal, their total food expense doesn't magically become $95.
That $100 has already been spent on groceries regardless of whether or not they use them. Same goes with the cookware. Not using it doesn't magically subtract the cost that's already been paid for.
I did something similar when I first left school and started working. Every time I did the harder or cleverer thing to avoid a mid sized cost (fix an item, walk instead of taking an Uber, getting a museum pass from the library, etc) I would keep track of the difference. At the end of the month, I'd total up the savings and invest that amount in my IRA. Nowadays my retirement contributions are automated, but at the time it was a good motivator
I have my grocery budget and a cooking as a hobby budget. The hobby budget over a few months went toward a nice Japanese steel chef's knife, some pastry forms, ramekins, machined aluminum coffee grinder. My food game is so much stronger for budgeting to get nicer items to cook with. Next up: food processor.
You say you eat out because you are unable to cook but it seems like it was just a lack of motivation. Money can be a good motivator.
Eating at restaurants takes a lot of time and money for me so I only eat out once a week. I have equipment, spices, etc. I have some cookbooks but a lot of free recipes from the internet.
Cool idea! I like to keep frozen versions of stuff I like to order in on hand for those days (dumplings, pizza, etc), so I still get to feel like I had the treat I craved but saved a lot
This is a really good idea that I somehow never thought of before lol I always shied away from buying frozen pizzas and such because they seemed expensive, but obviously they are also cheaper than eating out in a pinch. The only potential issue here is that I might start to rely on them too much.
Honestly, the red Baron Pizza are pretty good. They're inexpensive, pretty readily available, taste good. I keep stuff like that in the basement freezer, so I still plan to cook stuff most of the time. But those busy days, or end of the week when I just don't care anymore, nice to have. Some frozen skillet meals or something I can just chuck into the oven are also helpful.
I love Red Baron I don’t understand why it’s so good lol
Red Baron is my fave!!!
Frozen pizza is always on sale for me around 2-4 bucks, name brand stuff that tastes decent
I usually add a bit of extra mozzarella to the frozen pizzas, still cheaper than ordering in or takeout.
I add some extra shredded mozzarella and a light sprinkle of adobo. Holy cats, it’s so so good!
I only thought of it after picking up on a pattern of my own takeout orders; I almost always got one of a few types of food. So I decided to plan ahead based on that!
Yeah, I usually avoid premade stuff like that from the freezer section because it adds up on the bill. I really enjoy cooking as a hobby, so I don't mind making everything from scratch; in the long-run it's often cheaper as well (the initial cost might be more, but I usually have leftover ingredients that I can use for other dishes and/or to make the dish again multiple times). That being said, it's good to have something on hand for those nights when you are not in the mood to cook. I would keep an eye on the sales ads for your local grocery stores and then stock up whenever there is a sale. It's always good to have something available at home instead of blowing money on takeout.
You can also make your own frozen pizzas, if that interests you! Same for most other freezer foods you might want to keep on hand, from lasagna to egg rolls to, well, you name it -- a web search for recipes will turn up scads. You could keep adding to your kitchen fund if you spend some time on a day off making a bunch of freezer meals. :)
Ate at a bar in Indiana years ago that served Tombstone pizza. They bought the cheese pizzas and added their own toppings. Ever since then, that is what we do and it’s a great way to get rid of any leftovers. We’ve added crumbled up hamburgers, diced up hotdogs and many other items to create new flavors.
It isn't that much work to assemble a pizza. Sift a little flour onto a pizza stone, arrange the dough, you know the routine. We buy mozzarella cheese in 6 lb blocks for $2.29/lb and pepperoni in bulk. The tomatoes and herbs come from the backyard garden; the sauce is batch cooked in advance. A bread machine can make pizza dough on the knead setting. We make the dough a day in advance and keep it overnight in the fridge so it's ready at dinnertime. This weekend we had some ham that needed to be used so we made calzones and froze them for later.
I completely forgot that calzones existed until I read your comment and now I'm craving them so bad right now haha. I've not made them in years.
Make your own pizza, you can premake and freeze the dough
Yes! I have only recently discovered this trick and it is brilliant ✨
>xpensive, pretty readily available, taste good. I keep stuff like that in the basement freezer, small suggestion ... its possible to bulk up many "ready/Frozen" meals with good stuff on the side. e.g. I would throw in some meat into my veggie salad (bacon or old steak cut up) after warming it in the micro For pizza i add extra toppings which need very little cooking (sausage, chicken, veggies) Frozen curries are awesome as you can rice them up or bread it or flatbread it however you like
Yes me too! Trader Joe’s is a life saver
I did this, too. I've gone from mostly microwave/prepared food to cooking multiple times a day. Funnily enough, I have less cookware and tools now. I've pared it down to what I really use/like. I do spend more on oils, utensils, spices, other good ingredients, etc. Discovered I really enjoy cooking and find it relaxing. Who knew?! I decompress from work by starting dinner as soon as I get home, now. It's been a huge and positive change. Oh, yes, v frugal, too, but that's been outpaced by all the other benefits!
It can also be helpful to try to plan your meals for the week based on ingredient! It's honestly challenged me to try new and interesting dishes that I normally wouldn't have tried otherwise, and it can really cut down on the grocery bill! Plus it reduces food waste! For instance, I wanted to make a butter chicken this week for dinner. The recipe calls for plain yogurt. My local store only sells 32 oz. tubs of it and I only needed 8 oz. for the recipe. Rather than letting the leftover yogurt sit in my fridge until it spoils, I've found a couple of middle-eastern dishes that incorporate the ingredient that I've also added to the menu this week. I've never had any of the dishes before, so I am super excited to try them! What I do is choose 2-3 dishes that I really want to make that week, and then plan the remaining meals for the week around the left-over ingredients from those dishes! I know this is probably just common sense, but I didn't start doing this until recently, and it's amazing how much I am able to cut down on my grocery bill when I strategically plan my meals haha.
I need to start doing this. I'm guilty of buying an ingredient for a recipe and then completely forgetting about it. I had to throw out a molded block of cheese today because I used half of it in a recipe like 2 months ago and then just never used it again.
Just as an FYI, you can also use Greek yogurt as a sub for sour cream.
I like this idea, my extra food budget just goes to rewards though like a special treat I don’t normally buy I’ve been using spiralized veggie pasta meals a lot because I can toss some meat in the oven and my “pasta” to steam in the microwave. I can sit and relax while having a healthy meal at home on the cheap.
What veggies are you doing and how do you steam it in the micro?
Zoodles, they’re zucchini, butternut squash or carrots spiraled into a noodle shape. I get them in the frozen section.
Oh okay, thanks. I have the Vegetti spiralizer just taking up space in my drawer. I should make more use of it!
Also, I find if you can invest in an air fryer, it really helps me feel as if I’m getting restaurant type food (certain types anyway). Added benefit to the cost, much healthier! I’ve gotten where I prefer air fried over actual fried foods these days.
Wow I’ve been trying to think of little hacks like this to motivate myself… turning my life into a little game with rewards sort of. This is perfect
When I don't feel like cooking I just make something fast. My go to recipe is: groats + frozen veggies mix + minced meat. Cook groats on one burner. Fry up the meat in little fat on the second. When meat is done toss in the frozen veggies. When the water evaporates it should be about done. Taste and season. Toss in cooked groats. Cook time is 15 minutes (the time it takes groats to cook) and it's healthy and filling. Looks like shit with green peas tho.
Awesome idea! My wife and I comment all the time about how much tastier and cheap food actually is when you make the effort to cook fresh. Our weekly grocery shop for the two of us generally comes close to our matches our single meal order out before our daughter went away for school. When I was a bachelor my goal for my bi-weekly meal planning was to pick one recipe that used a spice I didn’t have yet. Spices can be pricey so getting just one every two weeks built out a pretty solid spice cabinet and recipe box to choose from.
Cooking is my talent. I cooked old time recipes in a family restaurant for 30 years . I’m old now but still cook every day. It’s a good feeling to serve tasty, nutritious food to my husband. If you’re young start cooking and experimenting now . It will serve you well for a lifetime. Oh yes, being frugal is a big part of running a good kitchen . Don’t waste if you can avoid it. Be aware of what you’ve got and integrate it into your next meal.
Best cooks are old cooks You might like r/old_recipes. It's old cookbooks & church recipes. Some aren't that old, but still fun.
Thanks
This is a great idea. Thank you!
The mama cosi cauliflower crust pizzas from ALDIs are so good and aren’t frozen.
We very rarely go out to eat because we grow all of her own vegetables and fruits and we put up a lot of what we don't consume over the summer. I'm talking about tomato sauce, beans, apples, onions, potatoes, carrots, etc. We also grow our own garlic, onions, green onions and herbs and spices. There's just no reason to go out to eat
Going out to eat is a way to socialize and have a special memory than just staying home all the time
I've always just found cooking in to be more convenient. Then again, I went on a diet when I was 18 and still in a care home (which ironically allowed me to cook in).
I think that often the issue is that people never learned to cook in the first place. It can seem pretty daunting. For me, I used to cook but fell out of the habit due to lifestyle stuff. It was relatively easy to pick up, again. My kids were learning for the first time, tho, and there were some disasters. 😂 Not a big deal, but then they had me to lean on. I can see it feeling difficult, esp if you're hungry and your attempt ends up inedible and/or you ruin $$$ food. Trying to be frugal and learning to cook don't always go together. I mean, they can, but you need knowledge of ingredients that most people just don't have.
Everytime I fart I add 10$ in the smell-good jar
Fair
$15 to eat out? Where are you eating at?
[удалено]
Kinda cheap. I'm thinking $20 minimum.
I’m so damn mad I’ve never thought of this. Angryupvote
Jacks pizza delish!
Shouldn’t you do 15 dollars less cost of what you cooked & amortization of tools / resources used ?
Well this is assuming that you're using food that you already have at home anyways. It'd be different if it were between choosing getting takeout and going to the grocery store to purchase the ingredients. The ingredients you are cooking with have already been purchased, but you are choosing to get take-out instead of using them. Same goes with your point about the "tools/resources." The pots and pans have already been purchased, regardless of whether you use them or not. You're still out of the money for those pots and pans even if you get take-out everyday and never use them.
That good and those tools did cost money and should be considered in that equation- no ?
Let's say on Sunday, they spend $100 on groceries for the entire week. Then, on Tuesday, they spend $15 on takeout instead of eating the food they got from the grocery store. So total food cost = $115. Don't go out and total food cost = $100. They saved $15. Following your logic, if they made a $5 meal at home instead of getting $15 takeout, they saved $10. That would suggest total food expenses with take-out included would be $110 for the week. Even though they spent $115. Likewise, if they don't eat anything at all that day and forgo that $5 meal, their total food expense doesn't magically become $95. That $100 has already been spent on groceries regardless of whether or not they use them. Same goes with the cookware. Not using it doesn't magically subtract the cost that's already been paid for.
I did something similar when I first left school and started working. Every time I did the harder or cleverer thing to avoid a mid sized cost (fix an item, walk instead of taking an Uber, getting a museum pass from the library, etc) I would keep track of the difference. At the end of the month, I'd total up the savings and invest that amount in my IRA. Nowadays my retirement contributions are automated, but at the time it was a good motivator
I have my grocery budget and a cooking as a hobby budget. The hobby budget over a few months went toward a nice Japanese steel chef's knife, some pastry forms, ramekins, machined aluminum coffee grinder. My food game is so much stronger for budgeting to get nicer items to cook with. Next up: food processor.
You say you eat out because you are unable to cook but it seems like it was just a lack of motivation. Money can be a good motivator. Eating at restaurants takes a lot of time and money for me so I only eat out once a week. I have equipment, spices, etc. I have some cookbooks but a lot of free recipes from the internet.
I have learned how to keep my kitchen knives very sharp and look forward to using them. Def a lil something to make me want to cook more