The Top 9 Money-Saving Tips on Food

Staff | Posted on September 16, 2019 |

One of the easiest ways to sock away some extra cash is to learn some new money-saving tips & techniques at the grocery store and in your kitchen. That’s why we’ve put together a solid list of tips and tricks for you to utilize in your culinary endeavors from getting the best buy at the grocery store to keeping your food fresh longer. These money-saving life hacks will keep your wallet happy and your stomach full.

1. Understand Grocery Stock Rotation

Grocery stores do what’s called stock rotation. If you want your purchase to last longer so you don’t have to replace it, always grab the least accessible perishable items. Just reach into the back or bottom of the grocery store fridge to ensure you’re getting the freshest and longest-lasting product.

2. A Basic Food Vacuum Sealer is a great investment

You never want to waste a well-prepared dish when you have some leftovers while sealing them up in a zip bag can stretch the longevity of your dinner for a day or two. It’s often difficult to retain that original flavor. You can save some significant cash over time by investing a small amount of money in a basic vacuum sealing system. Many people start with these handheld sealers before advancing on to a full-scale vacuum food sealer. The odds are if you are reading this article you at least own a handheld food sealer, if not I would suggest you at least invest the twenty bucks or whatever to prove to yourself what a money-saving investment a food sealer will be.

Just think about all the leftovers that you’ve thrown out because you didn’t trust it to be safe anymore by removing all the air before storing it, you can make your food last from anywhere, have a few extra days to some cases years. If you buy frozen vegetables or fruits and only end up using half the bag, just seal up the rest of the pack in the freezer, keeping it handy for the next time you need it.

Normal storage can keep these goods for months, but a vacuum ceiling can bring it up to years. Just check online and see what the recommended max storage time for your type of food is.

3. We Make Our Own Chicken Fingers

If you’re looking to get chicken tenders or fingers, you might be paying significantly more just to save a minute of work. Get yourself a pack of chicken breasts and turn them into tenders on your own. We found that you can save about a dollar or two per pound when you cut up the raw chicken yourself, so slice and dice your way to significant savings and delicious slivers of tasty chicken. Just a couple extra minutes, if you combine this with your vacuum sealer to compound upon the savings, you’ll always have a healthy meal ready when you are.

4. Don’t Shop When You Are Hungry

We have heard this most of our life, but if you want to save money on food this is a tip you must follow, here is why. Most grocery stores are designed with optimal sales in mind.

This is why you often find the most common items on separate ends of the store. Think about the pieces of bread on the left. Vegetables are on the right or vice versa. Then the milk always ends up somewhere in the middle with the rest of the diary, few aisles down. You might ask, why not put all the common items in the same place?

Well, it’s simple. When you go to grab that bread, you still have to travel across the entire store, which makes it more likely for you to make a few impulse purchases along the way. Never go to the grocery store hungry. By filling up your stomach beforehand, you’re less likely to fill up your cart with various things that sound good at the moment that will often go untouched and end up wasting money.

5. Always Use a Shopping List

We can’t stress this enough, always plan a shopping list before you go and give yourself a timeline. Keep your eye on the prize and keep your wallet happy.

6. Keep Your Green Vegetables Fresh

Did you know you can keep your Broccoli, lettuce, or even celery fresh for four weeks or more just by wrapping it in aluminum foil? Because these fresh greens have such a high percentage of water, the aluminum foil will lock the moisture in much better than a loose plastic bag or wrap. It’s an extremely economical way of preserving watery vegetables. Once they’re there, you just use them up as quickly as possible and get that fresh from the store taste for weeks.

7. Save Money on Tacos

If you want to celebrate Taco Tuesday, but realize you’re out of hard shells, you can just make your own from soft tortillas. This is a simple trick with amazingly tasty results. Just lay the Tortillas on a damp cloth and microwave them for about 30 seconds.

This will get them nice and pliable. Now, pull out your oven rack and carefully hang the tortillas on the bars so that they’re balanced. Set the oven to about 350 degrees.

Your Tortillas should hang down and begin to crisp up. Cooking time is going to vary a little bit depending on the thickness and type of Tortilla that you have, so be sure to check them every couple of minutes until you reach your desired level of crispiness.

They normally take about five minutes to make and came out pretty good. If you want something super crispy, you can even add a little coat of cooking spray to the Tortilla before adding it into the oven.

8. Save Money on Snack Foods

If you have a little DYI in your DNA, you can even say money on popular snack foods like these Mozzarella sticks. Mozzarella sticks can get expensive whether you’re buying them at a restaurant or packaged frozen. Save money by making your own with just string cheese and Wonton wrappers or egg rolls.

Start by cutting your cheese sticks a little smaller than the width of your wrappers. Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner of one wrapper and then fold the bottom corner over the cheese. Roll it up about halfway and lightly. Moisten the sides as you fold them towards the center over the cheese.

Moisten the remaining quarter with water and roll it up to tightly seal it. Just make sure that the Wanton rapper is sealed around the cheese pretty well before cooking it. You can fry these in either an electric skillet with half an inch of oil at 375 until golden or brown or in a deep fryer at 375 for about two and a half minutes. Once they’re golden brown, drain them on paper towels before serving with Marinara sauce. They’re cheap and easy to make and best of all, they’re much healthier. You can also customize them to your liking. You know, add some extra cheese, Pepperoni, Jalapenos, Bacon, whatever you want. This tip will help you save money on many people’s favorite appetizers.

9. Save Money on Guacamole

Holy Guacamole. Avocados certainly aren’t cheap, so avoid uncovering them. Half Brown mush of fruit with your sense of sight and touch. All those skin colors can help you in the initial visual selection of fresh avocado. It’s not always the best indicator of ripeness. Ripe Avocados will yield from gentle pressure in the palm of your hand. If it’s pretty firm, it’s good to go. If it’s very soft or mushy, it’s probably a little bit too ripe.

The real secret to selecting perfect Avocados is looking for the small stem attached to the top of the fruit. This is going to show you a reflection of what’s inside. If it’s tricky to remove, the fruit isn’t ready to eat. If it’s green underneath, it’s good to go. If it’s ground inside, the Avocado is overripe. The practice is obviously going to help you learn what to look for when you’re in the store and save you from wasting money on spoiled fruit.

I hope you enjoyed this article on our Top 9 Money-saving food tips for 2020. We noticed some great deals right now on Food Vacuum Sealers over on Amazon and have placed them below.

You can click right now and check them out while it is fresh on your mind if you would like. There is probably nothing you can do that will save you more money over the long haul than owning a food sealing vacuum. Thanks for reading this article, and please leave your feedback and share this article with a friend that would enjoy reading it.