Tag: how to budget meals

How to Save Money on Groceries

I love cereal. I can hoard cereal day and night but the cost of cereal these days…are you kidding me?! $7.89 for Corn Flakes at my local kosher supermarket!

I took to Instagram with my shopping woes recently, talking about rising food costs and what we can do to save money on groceries. The feedback came pouring in strong! I have to admit, my attitude towards grocery shopping has always been: TIME IS MONEY. I love the one stop shop where I can get everything in one store – my produce, meat, groceries and cleaning supplies. I don’t do the Costco haul and finding parking at Trader Joes is such as pain in Brooklyn (although the Williamsburg location now has a parking lot!!) that I only go when I need therapy (no joke, it’s my therapy!).  As a recipe developer, I like to pick my own produce (so Instacart doesn’t work for me), and I’m usually at the grocery store several times a week for different projects so pre-planning my list isn’t realistic.

Recently, I went shopping at a grocery store outside of my neighborhood and I decided to price match my groceries with where I normally shop – and OMG I was shocked at the results! The supermarket where I usually shop was so much more expensive! I realized that if I shop with a little more intention, I can really start to save.

So with that, here are some great shopping pointers that my followers shared with me:

• Only shop in kosher stores for kosher products. All the national brand pantry basics are cheaper in mainstream grocery such as Shoprite, Walmart and Aldi.
• Buy the store brand whenever possible – Shoprite’s Bowl & Basket, Target’s Good & Gather and Walmart’s Great Value are great brands.
• Asian markets such as HMart have much cheaper prices on produce than grocery stores.
• Shop in stores that offer additional discounts like Target – you get an extra 5% off using their card or 5% back with Amazon Fresh.
• Costco has great prices on produce as well as eggs, kosher cheese, salami, and even kosher meat and poultry.
• Use delivery apps such as Walmart, Stop & Shop and Aldi that have great prices and their own apps (or use Insacart)
• Aldi (and LIDL on the East Coast) & Trader Joes have great prices on produce (Aldi might be even cheaper), and sometimes Wholefoods too!
• Bingo is great for purchasing snacks, Cholov Yisroel cheese and meat/chicken.
• KRM is a great budget-friendly store for kosher groceries.
• Local Mom & Pop stores often have better prices than chain stores.
• Shop the sales and stock up on sale items.
• Buy in bulk at warehouse clubs and split with friends if you don’t have the room or you don’t need as much.
• Download digital coupons, sometimes available on grocery store apps. You can view kosher circulars on WhatsOnSale or major groceries on Flipp.
• Join a co-op! The KC Kosher Coop currently services 22 communities.

To demonstrate some of the price differences between kosher supermarkets and mainstream groceries, I price-matched Kellogg’s Corn Flakes cereal and here were my findings:

Kellogg’s Corn Flakes, 18oz:
The Marketplace (my local kosher supermarket): $7.89
Season’s Kosher Supermarket $9.99
Walmart: $4.48
Target: $4.79
Amazon Fresh $8.49
Shoprite $6.98
Stop & Shop $8.39 for Kellogg’s or $3.69 for Stop & Shop brand
Wegman’s $6.89 for Kellogg’s or $2.89 for Wegman’s brand
Aldi – Millville brand $1.95
Sam’s Club $9.61 for 2 bags (43oz)
Costco $9.94 for 2 bags (43oz)

The disparity between the prices at the kosher supermarkets versus the mainstream groceries is shocking to me! I don’t know that I would give up my Kellogg’s classic for store brand corn flakes (at just $1.95 at Aldi!), BUT I would definitely consider shopping online for pantry staples (to save time AND money). I do see the benefit in warehouse club pricing, however, I don’t have the space for buying in bulk so that doesn’t speak to me as much.

OK now that I can afford cereal again, there were also lots of great tips about how you can scale things down at home to help save money on groceries:

• Make a shopping list and plan meals ahead of time to avoid impulse buys.
• Consider eating less chicken and meat and eating a more vegetarian diet with eggs, beans and tofu.
• Scale down on gourmet meals – treat Shabbat dinner like a traditional dinner – with one course – plus challah and dessert to make it special.
• You can’t change the price of food but you can change how much we waste – be frugal with leftovers!
• Make dishes that can be stretched further like chicken stir fry from chicken breasts or pepper steak from a London broil.
• Go back to basics and make your own food from scratch – easy no-knead bread and homemade nut milk can save lots of $!
• Buy bones and scraps for soup instead of using chicken or meat.
• Frozen fruits and/or vegetables are sometimes cheaper than fresh, especially when out of season.
• Make use of canned foods like beans as the base for a meal or to stretch a meal further.

Got more money-saving tips? Share them in the comments below!

#YesWeCanChag Yom Tov on a Budget!

Times are tough. With rising food costs and growing expenses, shopping and preparing for countless meals and guests for the holidays is more difficult than ever. I’m on a mission to help! Together, with some pre-planning, smart thinking and budgeting, YES. WE. CAN. CHAG. L’chaim!

I started the hashtag #YesWeCanChag over on Instagram as a community initiative to help us all create delicious and holiday-worthy dishes this Chag on a budget. I believe that the High Holidays should be a time of reflection, introspection, joy and love. They shouldn’t have to be a time of stress – and it all starts with perspective. Why are we here? We’re here to bring our family and friends around the table to celebrate our traditions and heritage. It doesn’t matter what we serve, so much as how we serve it. Set a beautiful table. Set a beautiful tone (relax!). Make everyone comfortable. The food is secondary. Yes. You read that right.

So, realistically, how can one budget when there is meal after meal, night after night?

For starters, my fellow bloggers and I have put together a menu of budget-friendly recipes which you can download here!

sushi nachos, Millennial Kosher, page 68

COMPOSE A BALANCED MENU

First things first, do away with the 3-4 course meals. No one can eat that much. It’s costly. It’s hard on the cook….There are so many reasons to scale back. Instead of a three course dinner with fish, multiple salads and dips, assorted proteins and sides and then dessert, serve a balanced meal without the fuss. To do this, imagine you’re in a restaurant – you order an appetizer – one or two at most, and then your main, which comes with a protein and two sides – then dessert. This is how you serve! So lets plan a holiday meal:

APPETIZER (choose 1-2): salad, assorted dips, hummus with toppings, sushi/tartare/crudo, nachos, tacos

ENTREE (choose 1 main, 1 starch and 1 vegetable or 1 main, 2 vegetables) : main (fish, chicken, meat), starch (rice, pasta, potatoes, couscous, farro), vegetable (cauliflower, asparagus, green beans, brussels sprouts, salad)

DESSERT: (choose 1) mousse, cake, cookies, fruit, sorbet, ice cream

fall harvest roast, Millennial Kosher, page 182

CHOOSE BUDGET FRIENDLY CUTS OF MEAT

Instead of following a recipe for a specific cut of meat, shop what’s on sale. Many cuts are interchangeable! The important thing to understand about how to cook meat is whether you DRY ROAST or BRAISE it. Tough cuts of meat require low and slow cooking in a braising liquid to help tenderize the meat, until it’s soft and falls apart. More tender cuts are cooked at high temperatures for a shorter period of time to firm up the muscles fibers. They’re usually served rare or medium rare, with a pink interior and a chewy texture. Therefore, if you are following a recipe for a braised brisket, but brisket is $21.99/lb., you can substitute a chuck eye roast at $15.99/lb. for any braised recipe. When it comes to braised meat – the simple rule to follow is that it’s ready when it’s fork tender – so put your fork in it and if it feels soft as butter, then it’s ready! If it’s still tough, keep cooking it for another hour, and check again. If you’re a meat novice, you’re definitely safer going with a braising cut, whereas dry roasted meat need more precision so as not to overcook (and a meat thermometer is recommended). It’s hard to overcook braised beef – 325 degrees for 3 hours is a good rule of thumb for a 3 lb. roast. Tougher cuts like 2nd cut brisket can sometimes use an additional hour or two.

Read my Guide to Purchasing and Preparing Kosher Meat for more information about different cuts of kosher meat. If you are unsure, ask your butcher if it’s a “braising” or “dry-roasting” cut.

Another great way to make the most of cheaper cuts of meat is to cook it in an instant pot/pressure cooker or to cook it sous vide – which tenderizes cheaper cuts.

Aside for purchasing budget friendly cuts, you can also get more bang for your buck by braising meat until pull-apart tender and then serving it in tacos, on a flatbread, or over nachos to stretch a small roast to serve many!

Additionally, you can get creative with the most budget-friendly cut – ground beef – and turn it into a festive appetizer or entrée. Some holiday-worthy ideas include: meatballs, single-serve empanadas or meat knishes with a mushroom sauce, spaghetti Bolognese, stuffed cabbage, shepherd’s pie, kofta kebabs, beef flatbread, moussaka.

sukkah onigiri

THINK OUTSIDE THE BOX (OR BARN!)

You don’t need to make meat the star of every meal! Consider serving a dairy meal with shakshuka, frittata, quiche and a cheese board or serve a classic chicken paprikash with dumplings! You can do falafel or sushi in the sukkah. Themed meals are super fun over the course of the holiday.

ramen bowls, Millennial Kosher, page 182

MAKE IT A ONE-DISH-MEAL

With so many holiday meals, you don’t have to be so formal. Consider a one-dish-meal one night in the sukkah – like build your own ramen bowls (you can even use leftovers here!),  Yemenite chicken soup with freshly warmed pita, some schug and hummus, Unstuffed cabbage with little meatballs or a hearty mushroom barley soup.

leftover chicken soup pot pie

REPURPOSE YOUR LEFTOVERS

With meal after meal during the Chagim, waste not! use leftovers to your advantage. Here are some ideas:

•leftover roast can become: nachos, tacos, bourekas, pulled beef pizza/flatbread, shepherd’s pie, pulled beef sandwiches, eggrolls, wontons

•leftover chicken can become: chicken pot pie, chicken tortilla soup, chicken tacos, ramen bowls, chicken Caesar salad, Pad Thai, chicken wraps

•leftover fish can become: sushi salad, fish patties, fish tacos, fish nachos, salmon pasta salad, summer rolls

•leftover rice can become: fried rice, rice pancakes, arancini, risotto, tomato rice soup, bibimbap

•leftover pasta can become: pasta salad, kugel, minestrone soup, Asian noodles
•leftover mashed potatoes can become: shepherd’s pie, bourekas, gnocchi

USE THIS NOT THAT

Remember that recipes are just guidelines, you don’t need to follow them to a T (unless you’re baking, then it’s another story!). Substitute cheaper ingredients when you can. For instance, instead of getting sushi grade tuna for sushi salad, consider using kani (mock crab sticks). Use barley instead of farro or apples instead of figs and sliced almonds instead of pine nuts.

SHOP ON SALE

Be flexible with your menu and buy what’s on special. Most types of white fish are interchangeable in recipes, and as mentioned above, you can substitute many cuts of meat in a recipe as well.

drunken figs

BUY SEASONAL PRODUCE

Seasonal produce is cheaper because it’s abundant and more local  (when produce is out of season, they need to ship it in from tropical climates, making it more expensive).

HOST A POTLUCK

Invite over some neighbors or friends and have them bring a dish or two! Everybody wins!

Got more ideas for cooking Yom Tov on a budget? Comment with them below!