Why I think most recipes qualify as frugal
In the survey, some readers wondered why I post recipes, since this isn't a cooking blog and since not all of the recipes I post are classic frugal fare.
So, I thought I should explain!
Honestly, Amy Dacyzyn of the Tightwad Gazette would probably never cook the things I make for dinner.
I don't do a lot of meatless dinner meals, I make very few casseroles, I hardly ever cook with beans, and so on.
But here's the thing: I view all (ok, most) recipes as frugal.
Why?
Because when you're using a recipe, it means you're cooking at home, and that is an incredibly surefire way of saving money.
Eating out, getting takeout, or buying hot, prepared food from the grocery store is going to be more expensive than almost anything you cook at home.
I mean, you can practically eat lobster tail and rib-eye at home for the cost of eating out.
(I don't really recommend doing that, because you can maximize your cook-at-home savings by eating something other than the most expensive protein at the grocery store!)
I know there are some of you out there who are black-belt levels of frugal and you have the motivation and energy to really zero in on cooking with the most frugal groceries possible.
But based on what I hear, more of us are just trying to get something on the table instead of takeout.
So, my goal is to provide readers with reliable, accessible, delicious recipes for dinner.
Because if you can make something that's family-pleasing without spending hours in the kitchen, you are going to be way, way, way more likely to eat in instead of out.
If a recipe includes shrimp or boneless chicken breasts or a block of Parmesan cheese or even flank steak, I'm not going to sweat it, and you might not need to sweat it either.
Also, there's this to keep in mind: Done is better than perfect, and the perfect is the enemy of the good.
If you make a rule that you will cook only with the most frugal ingredients available, you may find yourself burnt out and uninspired about eating what you cook (that would be how I feel about most casseroles!), and you may be more temped to give in to the takeout monster.
If that's true for you, then take a middle road, and just focus on cooking at home as much as possible instead of fretting about the cost of a block of cheese or trying to feed beans and rice to a family that loathes beans.
If you get really consistent at cooking every night, then hey, maybe you'll have some extra brain space to start focusing more on frugal ingredients*.
*at which point The Tightwad Gazette or The Prudent Homemaker can help you out.
But the main thing is to just get food on the table at dinner.
So. I don't post explicitly frugal main dish recipes, but I'm pretty positive that every recipe I've ever posted, regardless of the ingredients it calls for, will save you money if you make it instead of takeout.
And that is the reason I post recipes.
P.S. Just do you know, I do think about the cost of a recipe when I decide if I want to try it. For instance, there's a Crab Louis recipe in a Cook's Country magazine that looks delicious, but I feel like that's going to be a little too expensive for my family. Also, I'm not into cooking up expensive steaks all the time. The point is, I just don't think that hardcore focus on the cost of ingredients is important unless you've tackled the takeout problem first.
I, for one, very much appreciate this mind set. Thank you, Kristen, for all the yummy recipes.
I completely agree! My family would rebel if all we had was beans and rice and other super frugal foods. So, I shop the high end/organic stores and get the clearance meats and cook them up fast. I got to the salvage grocery store to get the perfectly fine necessities and I make it work. Also, I'm about the pickiest eater of the family, so dinner needs to be good!! 🙂
I guess your recipes seem more frugal to me because you don't seem to overcook. My family doesn't like leftovers, so stuff gets thrown out when I overcook which certainly isn't frugal.
My husband used to throw away leftovers before we started dating too. However, after seeing how frugal I was, he changed his mind and started eating leftovers with me. I think it's a personal preference.
At our household, we usually cobble all the leftovers together for lunch on Saturday or Sunday. It saves us money and time by not cooking a full meal. 🙂
I love your recipes! I've tried more than a few. I am of your mindset on home cooking vs. takeout as well. I know there are much more frugal ways to meal plan that what I do. I just figure out what I want to make in a particular week (generally fairly seasonal) and then shop for that. I would save money if I reviewed the ads first and selected recipes that used the current sale items or if I could shop at Aldi more frequently. I don't do the first because it is time consuming and frankly, I feel like I deserve a medal when I meal plan at all. I don't do the second because I am an early morning grocery shopper, and Aldi's store hours don't allow for that. BUT, I know I save money vs. takeout by the steps I do take, so I will continue on not making the perfect the enemy of the good!
One of the truest posts ever!! Two comments: we went out to eat at a new pizza place last week. For 3 of us, the tab was $111 with the tip. Now, this is the Boston area, so there's that, but 1 appetizer to share, salad, pizza and a beer each. The other side of that coin is, I can buy 3 lovely ribeyes for about $40 and that gives me a nice Sunday meal plus steak salad lunches for 3 people. Just no comparison with eating out. One of the most shocking things about moving to Boston for me (besides buying a house) was the cost of restaurant meals. $15 for a cocktail!! And a salad is almost always a la carte. Anyway, just my 2 cents. I don't think I'm particularly frugal, except that I absolutely recognize the value of home cooking (and my pizza is better than theirs was anyway!!)
I was scrolling down to get to the end of the comments so I could leave one when your $111 pizza bill caught my eye. Good heavens, gasp! We don't eat out much, so I may be out of the loop, but that's a lot of money. Makes me thankful that I'm perfectly happy to stay home and cook. Your ribeye example is spot on. It would be an expensive grocery week, but it would be that much more expensive to eat ribeye at a steakhouse!
I was pretty aghast myself - but as I sorted it out in my mind, each item was about $15, so 1 app, 2 salads, 2 "individual" pizzas, $10 each for a beverage and we're right there at $100. And basically in Boston eating out is about $35 a person, but generally that's for an entree, not just pizza.
I live in NYC so can absolutely relate. I feel lucky to have so many amazing restaurants around, but have to cook at home most of the time so I can afford to try them occasionally!
Right? When I lived alone in Cleveland, it was almost less costly for me to get takeout every night. Not so here!! A sandwich and a side like pasta salad is $18!!
Same in Canada. For a decent meal out for 2, whereI live you are looking at at least 50$, before taxes and tip.
Also, we are forever grateful that you posted the CI pizza crust recipe. It's now our Saturday night tradition. XO
Yay! I'm so glad.
I love the CI pizza crust recipe and use it 3-4 times a month. We put the ingredients we like on it and cook it how we like it. No more trips to the pizza place where the staff is sometimes rude and the cost for a medium with 3 toppings is almost $30.00. Love CI. It is my go to for recipes. Thanks Kristen.
Can you repost or a link to the CI pizza crust recipe ? Thanks !
Here's one of her recent pizza recipes. https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2017/07/52-new-recipes-a-new-grilled-pizza/
You can also search from the homepage of thefrugalgirl.com; there are probably other pizza recipes too.
I think this one might be the one you're looking for! https://www.thefrugalgirl.com/2013/04/how-to-make-great-homemade-pizza/
Very true. I do try to shop wisely, but have found that on nights when I am completely uninspired, steak from the supermarket and a salad is still cheaper than a takeaway. Also healthier, and more enjoyable.
YES! I totally agree. I would also argue it doesn't take more than a few minutes more to make a homecooked steak (or chicken or fish) dinner than to sit in a drive-through (or wait for a server). I also know exactly what I'm eating and how it was cooked.
I enjoy when you post recipes because they are simple, quick, and don't require many strange ingredients and/or seasonings. Because frugal is definitely NOT buying a $7 bottle of herbs for a recipe that you end up never making again!
Isn't this so true? I have been caught up in that trap so many times!
"But based on what I hear, more of us are just trying to get something on the table instead of takeout." <--- This is completely true for our family. I'm often inspired by your sharing recipes and "what we ate" posts.
Kristen, thank you, thank you, thank you! I am with you on this. "The perfect is the enemy of the good" is so very true. For a (sort of) recovering perfectionist, this thought is so very liberating! I recently read a book on which selections of produce were the healthiest, including the healthiest ways to prepare said produce. I returned the book to the library, thinking, "That may all be true, well, and good, but if I have to remember WHICH kind of tomato is the healthiest or WHEN to add my chopped (or was it smashed or minced?) garlic, then I'm going to be paralyzed. I figure a home-cooked meal, cooked and served with love, after having given thanks to Our Good God for His blessings, is waaaaaaay better than any other food choice I could make. So, I won't be sweating over the PERFECT to present a delicious and healthy meal to my family and friends. Thanks again, for this insightful post. God bless.
Oh man, I'd feel the same way about the book. I give myself gold stars for just putting veggies on the table, so I am totally not at the point where I can obsess about the type of tomato I serve.
I try to blend the two philosophies. We eat cheap meals regularly, but only meals I know LO and DH enjoy, i.e. spaghetti, tacos, chicken curry. I also have figured out how to stretch the meat for myself but not DH (having a side of re-fried beans with the tacos. I love a smear or two on my tacos as does LO, and the meal goes further for less $$ if I eat some beans). I serve veggies with every meal and I also serve starches with most meals to stretch things.
I like that you actually are showing that you can be frugal and still have a life. There's a difference between being frugal and being a tightwad and I think kids of tightwad families oftentimes rebel. I've seen it in my friends-I think they were embarrassed of their families growing up never being able to do or buy anything so now they are going the BMW lifestyle route.
Your kids fit into the norm because they go to movies, coffee shops and on vacations unlike the tightwad families yet you have trained them to do it smartly.
I think it's a great mindset to have! I totally agree that when we cook at home, we're already saving money. It doesn't have to be cheap ingredients all the time.
Mr. FAF and I usually look for deals for inexpensive veggies or fruit. But we still buy shrimp and mackerel because they are delicious. If we eat good food at home every once in a while, we are less likely to seek goodness at a restaurant.
Not sure why someone would criticize your recipes, but I think your reasoning is pretty legit!
I love your moderate approach to frugality. Cooking interesting things and eating food that actually tastes good and nourishes our bodies (and I am of the opinion that we all need animal protein and saturated fat in our diets for good health) is more important than cutting the budget down further. What is the good of an overflowing savings account if you have cut all the enjoyment out of life? The reason I try to be frugal is so that we can afford to splurge on the things that actually make us happy, and good food cooked at home is one of those.
Very true. It's important to see what frugal people eat, especially if you're trying to cut down your grocery budget. When I was on my own food savings journey I really enjoyed your food posts because they gave me ideas!
Your recipe posts have helped encourage me to cook different foods! I have the tendency to cook the same meals on repeat, and since reading your blog I've been trying out at least one new recipe (or random food combo, since I don't really enjoy following recipes) each week. I rarely cook what you recommend, since we are vegetarian at home, but your recipes still get me thinking outside the box. (I think your Friday What I Ate, What I Spent posts (my favorite posts) also help with that!)
I think cooking fun meals that your family enjoys is the most frugal option! That way take-out isn't so tempting! Thanks for all the inspiration!
Yes, exactly. If the choice is takeout or blah home-cooked food, then takeout looks so tempting. So, it's important to make food not-blah (whatever that looks like to each person!)
High five! I don't enjoy following recipes either. They're more like a road map for the general direction I'm going. (But I've found this doesn't work for pressure cooker food. Have to follow those recipes closer ... or at least I'll have to until I figure out the tricks.)
Actually, this shows another thing I love about your blog. It's a place where people who disagree can still all talk politely. When you have vegeterians and people who thing a healthy plate is at least half animal protein (like me) both commenting favorably about the same food posts, you know you're doing something right.
I know, that makes me so happy too! I'm thrilled that there are people from all walks and stages of life that read my blog, and that all these people can be kind and polite to each other here.
Which is especially heartening when you see what a bonfire most comment sections on the internet are. (!)
I have to agree. I'm quite sure I'm a demographic outlier in terms of this blog (no kids, over 50 and not a Christian - we're Buddhists.) But I've always felt welcome here. Kudos to you, Kristin, for creating such a welcoming environment.
Agree with above! Kristen, you make things seem possible and fun for all (or most), instead of "Here is the only right way to do___". This includes, recipes, shopping, saving money, travel, raising kids, happy marriage... you have a true talent for bringing people together for good purposes, and this is what life is all about for me. THANK YOU!
Thank you so much for your kind words! I really, really appreciate the encouragement.
Agree here, too! We're childless and in our 30s (well, I'm in my last year of my 30s) and work full time. I have learned SO much from Kristen and her readers!
I'm in my last year of my 30s too. We must be birthday year buddies!
I wrote this sentiment in the survey! I may be a single 30-something with no children who eats mostly plant-based, but I still find a lot of value in this blog. Rare to find anything online without a train wreck in the comments section.
I have "whew, what a week; I need special food," dinners such as steak or shrimp on occasion, but we buy the ones on sale and we each eat only about 4 ounces of protein at a sitting -- it's normal for us to split a single steak. I watch for sales and buy food in bulk when I can, but like Kristen says, cooking at home is a frugal win right there, so a splurge now and then doesn't bother me.
Plus, the cheapest foods -- beans and rice -- are not good for either of us. My husband has to eat a low carb diet for his Type I diabetes, and I have a gastro issue that means I have to be cautious about eating too many beans, even though I love many of them. I'll serve them now and then, but they aren't ever going to be frequent items on our table.
I love the recipes! Keep 'em coming, I say.
We do eat tons of beans because we do not eat land animals but I completely agree with you. I feel like using the occasional exotic ingredient is frugal if it keeps me cooking, rather than doing take out or a restaurant meal. I do keep an eye on things so that expensive home meals remain a treat, rather than the norm, but I believe that you do that as well (based on your meal posts).
I find the recipes interesting but I don't cook them. That is because I eat a mostly plant based diet though with dairy and eggs. I think it is clear that Kristen's income has gone up during the time she has been writing the blog so she spends more money than say seven years ago, but that is not uncommon in life.
There are seasons in a family and each family is different. We can enjoy reading about something that doesn't match our circumstances. We each will have our favorite blog based on what is best for us, but the others have value for someone. Several other blogs with other recipe mixes are: http://www.onehundreddollarsamonth.com/ and https://www.budgetbytes.com/.
We do have more money now, that is true (Mr. FG switched to IT vs. warehousing)...but we also have three teenagers and one pre-teen now, whereas when I started blogging, Zoe was two and Joshua was nine. So, even if our income hadn't gone up, we'd have had to expand our grocery budget somehow or another. My people just eat more food now than they used to!
And yes, there are lots of other blogs out there that can help people who are needing to squeeze every penny out of their grocery budget. Budget Bytes came to mind while I was writing my post, but I forgot to include a link.
I appreciate the recipe posts because I'm in the middle of a food funk. Basically I eat the same stuff over and over so it's nice to see some other ideas of what other people eat (even if I don't cook them myself.)
Ugh, I hate it when I get into a food/cooking funk. I hope yours lifts soon!
We're trying, if for nothing else to expose the toddler to new and different foods. Who would've thought a 2 year old would love her dad's chicken and fried rice curry?!
I always figured that the people who really take the cheap food route either actually like eating beans and vegetarian food a lot, or don't really care about food much. So they can cut back in that area without it feeling like a real issue.
I am way, way, WAY too into food to do that, so I actually have no food budget and don't track how much I spend. Of course, we also raise a lot of our own food, because I like to garden and preserve, and my husband likes to hunt and raise animals. In that way, we can have the best quality for very little money. And that's why I cook, too: My food is of vastly superior quality to anything I can buy prepared.
Also, we drive old cars and spend almost nothing on clothing, because those are things we don't care about and so not having the best of those things doesn't really feel like a deprivation. Everyone has different priorities.
OK... I'm laughing out loud at the "actually like eating beans" comment! As a kid, we never had beans of any kind because my mother hated them. One day we went out to dinner and the soup du jour was lentil. I'd never heard of a lentil and I asked what it was? My mom was like "Oh, don't order it - you'll hate it." But I was feeling adventurous and gave it a shot. I still, to this day, think that lentil soup is an incredible delicacy! I also feel the same way about potatoes. We never had them as a kid, but I think they are one of the world's most delicious foods. This amuses CatMan to no end. So apparently I'm lucky in the frugal food sense!
Anyhow, no judgement on your comment or food tastes, I just found it funny. 🙂
Mr. FG used to work with someone from...maybe Trinidad? Gosh, I can't remember. Anyway, where he was from, apples were a HUGE rarity. So, when he came to the U.S., he just couldn't believe how inexpensive and readily available apples were, and he ate them all the time.
And of course to Mr. FG and me, apples seem like a very ordinary, everyday, unexciting kind of fruit!
Probably the funniest part of that is that I personally DO like eating beans and vegetarian food, but I happen to be married to the biggest carnivore on the planet. Which means I make these huge meals with a ton of vegetables plus a ton of meat. Left to his own devices, my husband would pretty much just eat animal products, and left to mine, I would mostly eat plant foods and dairy. Marriage requires compromises in so many areas. 🙂
That is the truest truth ever.
CatMan is a vegetable hating vegetarian. So cooking for him is... um... let's say it's a challenge!
I love the variety of your recipes, the ease of preparation and the ingredients that are neither uber cheap (read beans) nor uber expensive (read caviar)!
This helps a lot with my picky eaters, keep em coming!
Thanks Kristen!
Very well put. One of the many reasons I love your blog is that it centers frugality, but doesn't try to make life about frugality. Life is about living life! If you are frugal in that endeavor you will have more money to actually live life.
Agreed!
Great points. I agree. And thank you for lifting some guilt I didn’t realize I had going. I would also add that you frequently discuss using up what is in your fridge so things are not being wasted. Cooking at home and not throwing things out are a powerful dual.
Good point! I love to hear how Kristen uses up leftover fridge/freezer odds and ends in recipes. It helps me do the same!
This is sooo true! At one point when I was uber-broke, I was trying really hard to cook everything from scratch. But my burnout level was very high - especially since I was working ridiculous hours and would come home exhausted every night. I finally realized that all of my frugal shopping rules were backfiring terribly, and all I was doing was beating a path to the local Chinese takeout joint! Allowing myself a few convenience items and luxuries at the grocery store made a monumental difference, so I heartily applaud your approach.
Kristen, I love this perspective! It's mine, too. When I first starting cooking at home more, I used some convenience foods (jarred pasta sauce, canned beans). Gradually I built new habits and I went from eating most meals out (including getting a breakfast sandwich at the bodega on the corner while walking from the bus stop to my office) to eating out once a month or less. Once I had the cooking habit down and got better at it, I realized I love it. I started challenging myself to further frugalize and make more & more things from scratch... but: This Is Fun For Me. Also, I frugalize as much as possible in certain areas of the kitchen so that I CAN always have three kinds of fancy cheese in my fridge 😉 (and btw, pecorino is a really great and less expensive substitute for parmesan)
We buy the big wedge of Pecorino Romano at Costco, cut it in half and freeze half 'til needed. Super affordable and (in our house) lasts a long time.
This is so true and why I love your blog! I love your recipe and what I ate posts because it helps me stay on track even when I'm not feeling particularily inspired.
I've really had to work on letting some things go as well. I used to make more elaborate meals that always had a veggie and a fruit. Then I started to get burnt out and we ate out a lot. I still try to make well balanced meals but there are days when we only eat pancakes (like yesterday) or.....gasp.....mac & chz with hot dogs....and you know what, everyone ends up with a full stomach and we didn't break the bank so I guess that is what is most important.
Yes, exactly. What I remind myself in times like that is this: that if we went out to eat, it's highly likely that we wouldn't be getting a vegetable anyway (you tend to only get those at higher end places). So, we might as well stay home and not eat a vegetable because at least we're saving money that way.
I really love your recipes and have tried several with great success. Your jambalaya recipe for example is now part of our meal rotation. I'm an adventurous eater and enjoy variety; cooking the most frugal ingredients (rice, beans, ground meat) all the time would get old really fast for me and we would inevitably end up going out to eat. Even 'cheap' eat-out options are still quite expensive when you compare with cooking at home!
Great post! We actually DO eat a lot of steak, simply because 1) there are two of us at the moment and 2) steak is quick, easy, and still cheaper than takeout! And my husband hates casseroles with a passion. 🙂 But more power to people who can pinch pennies at dinner time. You do you, and I can do me!
Kristen, your approach is "moderation" and that's why your blog appeals to me. While I admire uber thrifty folks, it's just not a style that works for me. I have more of an 80/20 approach--if I am fairly frugal with meal ingredients, clothing purchases, entertainment costs, and so on, for 80% of the time, then the occasional splurge won't bankrupt me and will add joy to my life. On the other hand, if I eat out all the time and spending money on "stuff" becomes a pattern rather than an exception, I lose the joy of the occasional "treat". It's a balancing act.
I also want to add that frugality aside, another reason I cook at home so often is for health reasons. There was a time when I was less concerned about eating out and I could definitely see the results in my waist line and bloodwork at my annual checkup.
I read the Tightwad Gazette years ago and thoroughly enjoyed it. To this day, I still employ tips and ideas that I gleaned from those pages! However, if I employed Amy's style of cooking then my husband (a born and bred Cajun) would have left me years ago for a woman who would cook "real" food. Life is too short to deprive yourself of everything! I refuse to be a tightwad when it comes to feeding my loved ones. We don't eat filet mignon and lobster but we do enjoy a ribeye and shrimp every so often. Lots of fresh vegetables and fruits, good coffee, organic dairy, fresh eggs from our cousin's laying hens, homemade bread and the occasional sweet treat such as a tart or a pie. Some nights are scrambled eggs night and some nights are homemade pizza night and some nights are Ribeyes on the grill night. We almost never do fast food and rarely go out to eat. The hubs can grill a steak or some chicken better than anything that you can get in a restaurant and feed eight people vfor what one steak dinner for two would cost in a restaurant! Plus leftovers!
Anywho, recipes are good for getting the wheels in the brain turning!
Your comment cracked me up, I think my husband would do the same!
This is so true, and as always, you are very inspiring! This is why I love this blog!
For me the goal is to get nutritious and tasty meals on the table. There's all kinds of cheap crap you can get out or fix at home but both are rarely good for your health or your finances in the long run. I pay more for better quality food and from sources I trust. I'll pay more for USA processed seafood than the cheaper imports from questionable Chinese sources, for example. I'll spend more to get organic produce for items on the most contaminated with pesticides list. I'll favor local produce over items shipped thousands of miles.
As for eating out, I hate when people make that sound like something one should never do. It can be a great way to socialize with other people and try food one would never fix at home. Just do it in moderation as your budget allows. If you have no self control, then make a rule to never eat out but otherwise trying a different cuisine occasionally can be a real treat and you might even be able to copy it later at home! Driving through the fast food lane each night is different - that is lack of planning and really a lack of caring for your health!
Bring on more recipes!
here here, I love recipes & love to eat out - but I have gained great inspiration for my work lunches from copying and improving on a café version of some things I would never have otherwise thought of - Kristen I love your posts and I always like looking at pictures of food and recipes and as some other readers have said even if I won't always cook what you do it still inspires me and gives me ideas and your blog has encouraged and reminded me so much to make conscious shopping choices which in my book is frugal so thank you
This is so true. And in our house, the frugality continues the next day when leftovers are packed into lunches. Thanks for posting your road-tested recipes, it's good to have a trusted source for new ones.
Seeing you serve sliced tomatoes and applesauce as sides gave me permission to not feel like I always have to make complicated foods. I love tomatoes! Serving a few olives with simple foods or throwing some chopped nuts on top makes them feel fancier to me. One of my favorite go to side dishes is rice with raisins and slivered almonds stirred in--simple but tasty and an interesting blend of textures.
Agreed! I ate much more frugally when I had to but now enjoy a higher grocery budget. I remember accompanying a friend to Costco, maybe 15 years ago, and she kept offering to buy me food when we were doing her shopping. I finally asked what was up and it turns out she was slightly horrified when she called me one night at dinner to find I was eating fried potatoes and eggs for my meal, which led to a conversation about how I could eat on $1 or $2 a day when times were tough.
I never minded eating that or any of my other cheap meals, but now that I can afford it, I do buy nicer things but I try very hard not to waste food and eat the leftovers. It is still infinitely less expensive than eating out. I do that more now, too, but do try to keep it in check.
P.S. I love the recipe features!
This reminds me of a time when, early in our marriage, someone asked me, "Do you guys ever, like, not eat because you don't have enough money?"
Things were definitely tight for us early on, but happily, we never, ever had to go without food.
This comment made me think of a book I recently read "Nickel and Dimed: Not Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreicher or something close to that. It was from the 90s but I believe it may be worse now- many people around us in the US are hungry and/or eating very poorly. She mentions living on chips and crackers. It's an interesting, well-written, and surprisingly humorous book about poverty. Yes, I have been working poor, but am not any more. Yes, I am (sort of) grateful for having had that experience. Just thought I'd throw that out there!
This post & the comments are cracking me up!!!!! Goodness gracious people really fuss about your meals not being frugal? And the comments are great, every one is respectful but able to state their own preferences on what they eat. I personally feel that NO ONE should criticize what someone else fixes (unless you know the situation & know they truly can't afford it)every family is different & their taste are different. We do have a budget but we also have some of our own meat that we raise & butcher so yes we do eat steak regularly! Our sons also hunt so we get meat that way also. We live in the country so take-out or eating out is not an option on a regular basis simply because its too far away. Last night we had grilled ham & cheese with popcorn, a supper that we love & fix occasionally. Thank you Kristen for a great blog
Oh, no one in the survey was rude about it or anything. They just were asking what seemed like a genuine question. So, I thought an explanation was in order.
When we began our frugal journey to a debt free life (still working on it), so many of the resources and blogs that I was reading focused on cutting the grocery budget. I felt so much pressure because I couldn't feed my family on less than $50 per week. I easily felt a sense of failure. Paying a premium for local meat from my butcher and product from my friends brought me more joy than sticking to a bare bones grocery budget. I have since found other areas to cut back in so that I have a little more wiggle room in my grocery budget 🙂
I've always sort of wondered why frugal advisors start with food. Is it just because it's a place where you can physically and frequently see the expenditure? I'd think it would be wiser to look at big-ticket expenditures first, or perhaps non-necessity categories. Everyone has to eat, after all.
Thanks for your words, Karen! I am still very mindful of binge purchases at the grocery store (or I try to be). But if I'm planning to make something that calls for an exotic ingredient that might be a little price-y...I'll go for it!
Karen, well said! People sometimes cut back on quality of their food and not other areas and do not realize the long term consequences, especially for children. Nutrition should be one of the last areas to cut!
I think if you are eating out often, it is an easy place to cut back, but otherwise, it requires a lot of work that frequently falls to women to take on. Think about it, those offering up the grocery budget as a place to cut are often not the person who will need to: 1. clip coupons, 2. scan the ads for what is on sale, 3. make a meal plan that aligns with #1/#2, 4. cook the meals including more labor intensive scratch cooking of everyday essentials! The other areas where you could cut back easily - cell phone bill, cable bill, electricity/gas bill, transportation costs - require the whole family to sacrifice while the grocery budget/cooking tasks will impact the person doing the shopping/meal planning/cooking the most.
I think food is one of the toughest places to cut the budget if you're already cooking at home.
We've been able to save more consistently by reducing our spending on monthly payments: cell, cable, electricity, insurance, ect. And those are cuts that we barely notice, but save us money every month 🙂
I LOVE your recipes. Please keep them coming. I especially enjoy any of your bread or dough recipes. Thank you and Merry Christmas
I read the Tightwad Gazette books and I think Amy might actually cook like you if she were raising her kids today. That was a totally different era and she lived a more rural lifestyle. Home cooked meals in 2017 aren't the same as home cooked meals of the 1990s or earlier generations. Food tastes and lifestyles evolve. I think your style is very representative of the current generation just as Amy's was of her generation. Frugal is frugal no matter the time period.
I love the recipes and totally see them as a great part to a frugal blog! For me cooking at home is the #1 frugal thing I do! I am vegetarian and don’t really see it as being a money saver in our case. Hubby is type 2 diabetes so lower carb and father in law is 82 and eats like a picky toddler ( not trying to be funny, it is what it is and to stop the food waste we tell ourselves give him toddler size amount, cater to his unhealthy tastes and that works). No kiddos around here or teens so I know that saves alot.
We don’t really have the option of fast food here, We do eat out some, normally a lunch meal and it always a planned date.
I do buy good quality foods but look at ways to save on most everything I buy. Recently I have discovered the half price meat mark downs at our 1 local store so I snatch those up when they have the quality of meat from the farmers I want to buy from and freeze right away or batch cook. I buy Starbucks coffee (hubby’s fave) we grind at home and stock up when it is nearly half the price at the grocery compared to buying a bag at Starbucks store. Buy eggs from friends with happy chickens for 4 dollars a dozen compared to 7 a dozen for organic etc. at the store, grow a small garden, grind my own wheat, ..and my list goes on and on!
I think the thing about Amy Dacyczyn is that 1) she was writing her newsletter (subsequent books) in the early 90's and so food trends, even frugal food trends!!! are going to be different now than they were then. Also, if I remember correctly, she was writing while they were going their tough times financially. So of course that would reflect in what she was writing about food.
I like to see your recipes. I've made things from your blog over the years! Can't remember everything offhand! Someone commented on a pizza crust, I'll have to look into that! 🙂
Eating food you've made is always going to be less expensive than eating anything out, even if you buy something to "cut corners" in the prep work. Last week my husband and I were both sick but we all still had to eat! One night I bought a rotisserie chicken ($6) and made a simple side. Dinner accomplished. Then the next night I used the rest of the chicken, made stock from the bones, and made soup. So my $6 chicken wasn't so spendy after all and we had two nice dinners with not too much work!
I totally agree and appreciate the recipe posts! I can't tell you how many of them I have tried and loved. I also recite your mantra often - perfect is the enemy of good - and have let go of my drive to be perfect in the kitchen. I am lucky to have a very flexible eating husband who eats pretty much anything I put on the table and never scoffs at leftovers. I don't sweat the purchase of most ingredients either. I will say that if a recipe calls for fresh herbs, I just use dried from my stash - except for cilantro and parsley which I don't mind buying because they're so cheap and recipes often call for all or most of the bunch.
I am also lucky to have a non-picky husband when it comes to food! He will at least try everything I make, and eat it all even if he doesn't love it.
I love fresh herbs but where I live they are quite expensive, we get large potted herbs from Bunnings when we haven't planted them or can't keep them alive. After a lot of experimentation I find my cut herbs or small bunches with roots last heaps longer if sitting in a sturdy glass with a loose plastic bag over the top and rubber band to hold it around the glass. I use dried herbs more now also to save money if I don't have fresh.
Generally I cook fairly healthy meals but one rather unhealthy meal my husband and I indulge in about once a month is a dinner of just oven fries and ketchup. At least it has the virtue of being cheap! We used to do them deep fried but finally broke that habit, so oven fries seem like health food by comparison.
I love oven fries! To make them healthier, I do a tray of potato fries and a tray of sweet potato fries, then mix on the plate.
We do that too and drizzle chilli oil (we make our own with a bottle/jar with chilli flakes and olive oil) or sometimes we sprinkle cayenne pepper before cooking and they're awesome:)
I enjoy your recipes and meal planning posts. I agree with your philosophy about cooking and eating at home. However, I do cook vegetarian meals because I am not a big meat eater (sorry family). I do cook casseroles, but more because my family likes them as comfort food, especially on cold winter evenings, than to save money.
My family of 5 goes through so much food! I am a heavy couponer and that helps cuts costs on many things we need for the house and some pantry staples.. but I don't necessarily skimp on food because I know no matter what I am spending through out the week.. it is SO much less expensive than eating out.. and so much healthier. We definitely have cheaper meals, and we occasionally eat out or grab take out pizza or chinese.. but across the board the meals packed or eaten at home provide nutrients, sustenance and variety. It amazes me the people that are shocked to learn I can make homemade pizza crust or cinnamon rolls.. that the Lo Mein was made at home and not take out.. Cooking is a skill worth investing in.. My 12 year old daughter was so excited a few months ago when I allowed her to use my Ulu to debone chicken breasts..Normally I might not have allowed her to do that but I had scored a stack of family packs and figured if she butchered that package it went into the crock pot for shredded chicken instead of into the bag for the grill...
When I first discovered your blog your recipes were one of the things that drew me in! I guess frugality is a continuum, but I have always appreciated your common sense approach—eating at home is always more frugal and I feel like that’s always a message you have in any post about saving money or cutting expenses.
I also think that it’s so important to look at any of the recipes you post in the context of your whole meal plan and budget—one meal with a more expensive ingredient may be balanced by another with less expensive ingredients. Meanwhile, I really appreciate your emphasis on fresh produce, and generally incorporating produce into most meals. Perhaps not the very cheapest, but I think long term health is a worthy consideration.
First off, I must be hungry, because every one of your pictures is gorgeous, and I want to eat everything in this post. EVERYTHING!!!!
Next, I appreciate you saying that getting something on the table is better than take out. I have a couple of go-tos if I am tired and totally burned out. Normally, I kind of half plan and half go by the seat of my pants. I cook large amounts on weekends, then normally don't cook again until Thursday.
For me, the recipes you share are still frugal. We eat a lot of meat and most of them were bought on sale. Frugality doesn't equate with being cheap. It's about the quality and in your case, you're serving your family good and healthy food on the table and that's what counts.
I have just started reading your blog because I want to balance our family's budget, and food is one of our biggest costs. Like many, I and hubby are super busy because we both work full-time. We used to buy groceries and throw some away because we would be too tired and go out to eat instead of cooking. My first step is to stop throwing food away. I have found great tips on here for using leftovers. I also want healthy food so I wouldn't do it if was just beans or cheap processed food all the time. I think your food ideas are smart as well as frugal.
p.s. My hubby is from a family who eat out all the time (sometimes 3 meals a day). I won't even tell people on here how much we have spent eating out per month.
I agree with the thoughts you expressed in this post and would be happy to sample your cooking anytime. This made me think of an on-line interview with the Dacyzyn daughters that I read a few years back. A journalist or psychologist interviewed them to find out their views of frugality as adults after being raised in a "tightwad" home. Interestingly enough; all of the girls are still frugal, but they did mention having a less rigid food budget than the one they grew up with.
I totally agree. The cool thing to me is getting to cook all these great foods at home for less than take out! We always seem to enjoy a good steak at home when we can buy it on sale & have two great healthy meals for much less than one steak meal at a nice restaurant...which means we can eat this way more often.
I will confess, we have steak night about once a week. But, we paid our dues when we raised our family. We paid off our mortgage 17 yrs ago & about 6 yrs ago we decided to enjoy our freedom with a nice comfortable food budget. Most of it goes to home cooked gourmet meals. (I honestly consider almost all our meals gourmet when we cook basic fresh meals two or three times a day) We enjoy it so much more cooking together, eating at our own pace & usually watching a fun movie while we eat.
Totally relate! I am not a fan of cooking, so I often skim the posts with recipes, but in the past year we have been eating fish tacos because of YOU! Ahah! Never had them before seeing it on your blog.
I agree that cooking at home will pretty much always be cheaper than going out, and I am not interested in eating rice and beans to save money, so bring on the steak and shrimps! Seriously, I've been told by my husband that I can be too strict about the grocery budget (read : cheap!), so I'm trying to relax about it more. I love how moderate your blog is.
Oh my goodness, you mentioned The Tightwad Gazette! I received all of her news letters for years and then bought her books (at the thrift store of course.) Even though I did not do all of her frugal suggestions, it made me think in a different way and to be more creative.
"Because when you’re using a recipe, it means you’re cooking at home, and that is an incredibly surefire way of saving money.
100% YES! We shop at Aldi/Costco, get whatever we want-including steak, shrimp, salmon etc, cook it at home and still save a ton of money to fed our family (3-5 adults sized appetites per meal). Last weekend, my husband and I ate at very expensive (to us) restaurant. We had a gift card for the occasion. Our meal of seafood/steak and NO alcohol or appetizers was around $125 (including tip). This is coincidentally our weekly grocery budget. Though the portions were average to small, the food was tasty and wait staff excellent. However, I could have cooked the same meal for less than half of what we paid AND had leftovers. Without another gift card, I'll just create similar meals at home. So, keep the recipes coming, Kristen!
Just wanted to add that I've been making your pudding cake for years now. It's a family favorite and it's pretty inexpensive to make!
I love your recipe posts and totally agree that eating at home is cheaper than eating out. My kids and DH have different degrees of tolerance for spice - which I know you are familiar with and you mention all the time when you talk about leaving out spices in a recipe. Also, we love having steak, baked potatoes and salads for dinner and then realizing that we had steak dinner for 4 for the price of one dinner out! Bonus.
Well said! I, too, consider it a win if we make dinner rather than do take out. It is inevitably healthier usually, and cheaper to make it at home. My family likes to eat meat and aren't big beans fans either. We find ways to make the meat a bit more frugal by doing things like buying meat in bulk at Costco and then breaking it down into meal-size portions that we freeze and then thaw for dinner.
I'd rather a happy frugal family with a fast/easy homemade meal that is "good enough". Thanks for all you do here!
I am so encouraged by this blog. I read "super frugal" blogs, and get ideas, but always feel like a failure that I don't make beans every week and darn my own socks. Thank you for keeping it real. 🙂
The way that you think aligns well with my thought process about dinner/food on the table. If I only ate frugal meals, I would freak out and gonon a take out spree. I'm going to quote you on this - love it! "Done is better than perfect, and the perfect is the enemy of the good."
Eating out is expensive, so yes cooking at home is a savings to start. And being you are going to be spending the time to cook, cook something fun you will enjoy eating. It is even better if you picked it from your own garden fresh, or next is canned or frozen of your own. Plus you know where it came from and what is NOT in it.Hubby got three deer last year, and the kids despite the many varieties of preparing the delicious meat asked for chicken and other things as well. This year he just got one, and we will be making the venison tacos, jerky, etc, complimented by frozen and canned vegetables as well as herbs and spices dried from the garden. Just will run out of venison sooner. And the kids specifically want the tasty jerky, they inhale it. Have you checked the price of the dried meat snack in stores? Extremely expensive. Planting more onions, tomatoes, peppers, squash as well as the other favorites in May. Garlic was put in back in October. Cook at home from home sourced is the best in delicious frugal fare. Especially when you have guests for dinner . We froze alot of blueberries so holiday desserts of pies, muffins, etc will feature our own blueberries. Next year we plan on having gooseberry products, raspberry and strawberries added as well, being they were transplanted last April.