First off: Many thanks for the lovely birthday wishes. It was a wonderful week and I was so thankful for the kind regards.
Today is a bit of an update of a post I wrote this time last year about my desire to spend much less on groceries and to stop wasting so much food.
It seems I am not alone.
Jamie Oliver, he of the thrusting tongue and cheeky demeanor, has a show playing on Food Network Canada right now called Save with Jamie, the companion to his cookbook.
I realize this is not a new cookbook, but the show only recently started airing here and I can tell you, I am learning so much!
I fancy myself a good cook. I fancy myself someone who tries to clean out the pantry, But still, I miss things and end up tossing the odd thing, which is very frustrating and very wasteful.
Prior to a year ago, we were tossing way too much spoiled food and I vowed to change our ways.
I can tell you that it made a difference. In 2014, our budget for food and dining out came in $6,000 lower than the year before. I plan to reduce it even more in 2015. It takes a little more work and a little more planning, but it makes me feel good to see us doing our bit.
Now I am no Janet, mostly because in our neck of the woods we do not have access to some of the higher end cheap places that exist in the states, but I keep working at it and I certainly aspire to be more Janet-like in the food expense area! There are typically 4 to 5 adults eating here every day, but I am positive it can be reduced further.
What I like about Jamie is his intense desire to teach people how to eat healthy, how to cook tasty food and how to waste less. Given the state of our landfills and the fact that millions of people the world over do not have access to adequate, healthy food (I can hear my mother's voice in my head here), we owe everyone to try and do better, don't we?
Tonight's recipe, to use up the rest of yesterday's roast chicken and catch the ginger and onions before they go bad, is a home-style chicken curry. This is a well-loved recipe at our place.
I highly recommend it and you can find the recipe here.
I wonder how much lower I can get my food bills given our current family composition. Will keep you posted! Do any of you have good tips that would help?
One thing I have noticed that makes a difference is to buy veggies and milk as required. Much less wastage. But I really look forward to your secrets!
xoxo wendy
I can't believe how much you saved!!! Well done! I did a weekly shop ages ago thinking it's better but I ended up stockpiling. It's funny tho bc one of the few days the stores are closed are Xmas and New Years and I swear people act like it's the war or something. I wish I could be more disciplined but I want to eat what I wNt to eat so disciplined food shopping doesn't quite yet work. Let us know how you do this year!
ReplyDeleteI shop once a week for dry goods, all the rest are bought as required. And I love to eat and can't plan too far in advance!
DeleteLove this post. Last summer my fridge unexpectedly died and I threw away hundreds of dollars of food between the fridge and freezer. Shameful and shocking to discover I was a food hoarder even though there is a supermarket 200 yards away. Instead of running out to buy the first fridge. I bought a temporary counter height fridge to see if I could change my shopping habits and buy food that I intend to eat. Four months later, I am still using the temp fridge. I still throw out food here and there, but much more thoughtful about purchases, especially now that I am packing lunch for work, which should help with the wallet and waistline. Please do a mid-year update on your progress. Good luck. Looking up Jamie's recipe now.
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea!
Deletecurious to know what tips you glean from your project.
ReplyDeleteSee if Alibris or similar can find you Peg Bracken's "I Hate To Cook" books - it's important to save time as well as money. I believe it's extravagant to spend two or three hours boning, trimming, sculpting out the edible parts of old potatoes, etc., to save a dollar or two.
Who has leftover chicken? Is that a thing?
Remember Julia's tip, when considering a new recipe, rely on your mental tastebuds.
Ah we always have some leftover chicken - not much, but enough for sandwiches! I didn't know you could trim a potato. I love cooking, very meditative to me, so trying harder is not a bad thing for me...
DeleteWowsers! $6K is amazing!! I'll have to get his book - I use his Family Food and his first Naked Chef book a lot, his recipes always work out. I just hope that anything he popularises doesn't end up becoming expensive (cheap cuts of meat, like lamb shanks are now really expensive here after he first started championing them back in the day).
ReplyDeleteI spend SO MUCH on food. Australia has some of the highest food prices in the world, so it's unavoidable (even though I do buy organic where possible, but I do also cook from scratch, so my food costs should primarily be cheap. We also don't get takeaway often at all). This is due to expensive labour, the enormous distances food has to travel in Australia due to the size of the country, plus now producers can make so much money in Asia (as we are seen as a safe food producing nation and also produce a lot of their delicacies), that we have that as competition as well to push up prices. Oh and a supermarket duopoly. I also have difficulty meal planning, as my husband travels so much for work, and I have no idea Monday - Friday if he's going to be home for dinner until usually on that day. If he is then I have to have more food and more effort in for a family meal, otherwise I do a nursery meal for the kids and eat it with them. Also, I try not to do pasta every night (the cheap pantry meal) so it makes it tricky. Sigh. You've inspired me with the post though, I will be trying to do more planning and less waste… Happy Birthday for last week too! I've been away and am trying to catch up now. xx
Our food is expensive as well, in comparison with us prices. I spend $1400 a month on food and dining out. Would like it to be 1200, but we eat healthy and most months we just make it. The age of your kids makes it really hard I think; I used to cook for 2 hours every Sunday to have all of my meals done for mon-thurs - it was exhausting but paid off in week.
DeleteI HATE grocery shopping...I mean flat out HATE it. However, I am now going two to three times a week. I'm hoping I grow to just loathing grocery shopping. The store is less than a mile away and with all the veggies we are eating it just makes better sense. Your food prices must be really high.. Saving $6000 would mean we never eat.
ReplyDeleteMe too, meal planning/buying food - utterly loathsome chore.
DeleteI don't love it either. And our prices are at least 30% higher than your food prices; in some cases 50% more!
DeleteWow Wendy, that is a very impressive saving. The only thing that I have done in the last year or two was to stop buying so much food which was just going to go bad and be thrown away. I try to use constraint in the grocery store and only buy what will definitely get eaten in the next day or two. No more stockpilling or throwing things that simply looked good into the cart. Too often I would hear that someone wasn't in the mood for what was bought. It might mean a few more trips to the store but it leaves more money in my wallet.
ReplyDeleteAgree completely!
DeleteWe adore Jamie! I have that book and I think the tv show is great, definitely picking up some wonderful ideas.
ReplyDeleteI don't have any particular tips, except I use a lot of leftovers to make my husband's lunches - for example, roast pork in sandwiches, or I bake an extra chicken breast and thinly slice that. He also sometimes takes soup - I usually make a big pot of lentil and veggie soup once a week and freeze it in containers for my lunches at home.
I can't believe you saved so much money! Amazing, well done!
Leftovers are our saviour!
DeleteImpressive savings. Shop The Victory Meat Market for fruits and veggies!
ReplyDeleteYou know, I only get in there once a year. It s not on my radar at all...
DeleteI adore Jamie...have a couple of his books and am a devoted viewer of his cooking shows...this one is new to me but sadly we do not have it here on the west coast. Saving $6000 is HUGE!
ReplyDeleteMy big problem is that I still cook for a family and we are just two now....
I worry about that....
DeleteHHB If you don't get FoodNetworkCanada on telly, you can find some of the episodes on their site or on YouTube "Jamies Dinners."
DeleteYou are an excellent cook!
ReplyDeleteWell it's just two of us so I don't have a freezer or cupboards stacked with cans etc, nor do I work a ten hour day, I buy what we will eat,usually two days at a time, more the Euro model of shopping.
Oh and I love a roast chicken we get 5 days worth of dinners from it, it's been ages since we've had one.
DeleteI do that now too. Miso much less wastage!
DeleteI missed this post yesterday and it's such a good one. Especially this time of year when we are all looking at budgets etc. $6000 is major savings, do you shop at a different store now? Or do you think you went out much less last year? I'm noticing how incredibly expensive take-out and dining out is right now due to not having a kitchen. One week to go!
ReplyDeleteI think buying food as needed is key to not wasting it, when we're not entertaining much I can keep our food bills fairly low considering all of the organic stuff I buy, another thing that helps is only eating meat twice a week at the most. Are you cooking more vegan meals this last year? That's another good strategy, beans are cheap.
I always get a kick out of Jamie and his enthusiasm for cooking and food is infectious. xo
we only allow an average of $120 a month for dining out/takeout and Sonera months there is none at all as we''ve used our allotment. I shop a bit at a time and I start with what's left in the fridge and build on that. no more vegan meals at all; I do buy local meat, which is cheaper. we probabltveat meat 5 days a week I think. it has been a challenge, but we really tRy to stick to our budget, so the last two days of the money can be tight, but I don't mind as I'm reminded of all the people forced to live on so much less.
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ReplyDeleteSo dear son has abandoned veganism? I think having local meat is better, as so much soy stuff is awful. We waste very little as there are always hungry hens to take care of any less than fresh food! Then more eggs!!
ReplyDeleteWe eat very simply, lots of veg grown here ( starting to dream of our daily asparagus in May), local meat, beans, fish ( free lobster!). I make a lot of soup and stew as we don;t mind the same thing a few days in a row. We have so many really good restaurants we frequent several times a month, especially in winter to help keep everyone in business! I've been curling up with big Nigel Slater books for inspiration.
Son dips toes into veganism, but until he really does the spade work to know what to do, I think he is better eating with his family! My first veggies of the year are sorrel. I have got to plant Asparagus this year! And hens! I cannot wait to see your hens!
DeleteHappy belated Birthday! Hope this year is successful an the best one yet!
ReplyDeleteYour savings are so impressive. I need to read Jamie's book. I have been much better about throwing out less, but I still buy too much food as I only get to shop once a week and my favorite store that actually sells organic food is about a 40 min drive. I need to get more creative with using up everything I have. And my son is still a picky eater, so that limits what I make to an extent.
Maybe you can do a quarterly post on how you are doing with keeping up with your new goal? I would love to read about your progress!
I know all about picky eaters! They are the worst to feed. I will keep you posted, but one thing I do now when I am down to 2 or 3 ingredients is google a recipe until I find something that I can make!
DeleteLove this post,it really gets me thinking? We don't eat out a lot however I always feel like Iam running to the grocery store?Never totaled what we spend on food. I think I will start using up what I have and maybe start with a small weekly budget to begin. How did you begin this journey. Or did you always keep track of your spending?
ReplyDeletewe started tracking and then made a budget for what we considered reasonable. We are spenders, so we did need to start tracking!
DeleteWe spend a ton on organic produce and meat-2 teenaged boys will do that to you. However, since buying our Vitamix a lot less gets wasted. The uneaten fruit gets frozen for smoothies and the roasted veggies get blended into soups which I eat for lunch or snacks. Planning is the key though and avoiding the trap of eating out for no good reason, ie a bday or date night. I'd rather have a great meal out once a month than pizza night every week....
ReplyDeleteI agree Julie - I am very similar!
DeleteI am taking the same approach as I prepare for 5 kids (4 of them hungry boys!) I look forward to your progress to learn your tips!!
ReplyDeleteIt feels like pouring money down a black hole, doesn't it?
DeleteHUNGER PANGS WMM, great post but I have tummy rumble now. Similar to Julie's soup/ smoothies trick, I try to see what leftovers (meats, brown rice, beans...) I can turn into a satisfying salad. This time of year, I try to think frozen dried and canned (monthly trip to No Name/ Bulk Barn) Up here ethnic markets (as well as the ethnic aisle in the regular supermarket for cheaper coconut milk, dried beans etc.) are good options.
ReplyDeleteThat is an impressive cutback! Here's to your continued progress and updates. And of course xoJO!
yea, we love Jamie!
DeleteWe have a expensive small store-deli at the end of the road and I am ashamed to say i buy everything from there.
ReplyDeleteI buy most days - sometimes twice a day (sometimes I'm there three times a day) as its so close and my excuse is that I buy less.
Places like Cosco are cheaper but that bulk stuff is just so wasteful. Surveys say you use twice as much with bulk buys, I believe it.
I don't like Costco and have decided to let my membership slide. I am not a bulk buyer!
DeleteI love Jamie. I have a similar approach to JulieStyle, I am not trying to save on food shopping by buying cheap food. I have a problem with cheap food in the way that two people will suffer from this: the consumer and the producer. When food is cheap it is NEVER to the depend of the distributor and unfortunately producing quality food is an expansive process. I buy always organic and as local as possible. And I try also to buy the closest possible to the producer to ensure that he receives most of the money I spend. I am from a farmer family and so, I know how hard it is for them to live decently from their production.
ReplyDeleteTo avoid waste juices, soups and compotes are my friends. I use and abuse them to use fruits and veggies which might be not so "sexy" anymore. We also eat very, very little meat (less than once a week), which reduce the grocery bill. I also make sure that I buy seasonal product.
Just after WWII the average family spending for food was more than 50% of their income, and a lot of them had a vegetable garden, today, the figure is between 10 to 13%! We also forget how much nutrition is important. Our body requires essential nutrients from food and if we eat the wrong kind of food we will have to pay back...
I really appreciate your professional approach. These are pieces of very useful information that will be of great use for me in future.
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