How to Manage with Rising Food Prices!

By Luci Phillips

The changes that have come to the United States in the last few years have been nothing short of a shock to many of us. It has especially shocked me. I'm just your average American working woman. My fiance has a new business and we both have a lot of side projects. We are saving towards a new home and planning on a wedding. This is possibly the hardest time in my lifetime to try to do this. I haven't seen the economy this bad before. It sometimes is overwhelming if I am completely honest. I always try to keep everything real and will continue to do so.

I thought that I would share some recipes in the future and articles focusing on how to save money buying food and paying bills. Let me know if this is something you like. I would love to hear how you save money as well. I had a lot of great teachers and influences growing up. They taught me a lot about survival and thriving in hard times.

My grandparents and my parents were alive during the Great Depression and I have heard a lot of stories. There are actually books written about my grandmother who was a Packhorse librarian. Her name was Grace Lucas. She was a wonderful and wise woman who taught everyone around her how to live and thrive when times are hard. Things today are nothing like what she experienced. We haven't had to use ration cards yet! That is a blessing. I grew up with a garden next to my home. My grandmother would bring us butter once a week. It was the best tasting ice cream that I have ever had. She had a cow and it was fresh raw milk. The good stuff! I wish I could taste it again. As I have grown older I think back a lot to where I came from. I grew up on a little gravel road in Eastern Kentucky. It was a wonderful childhood. It was when you played outside and ran in sprinklers to cool off.

Getting back on track with the healthy meal ideas. One such ideas is something that I am planning on doing. We are building several gardening boxes to plant tomato plants, green peppers, cucumbers, lettuce, and peas. That is one way to offset the cost of produce.

Eggs, peanut butter, and dried beans are a great way to save money. I eat peanut butter most days. I enjoy it with bananas. Bananas are very economical these days. I love eggs in French toast. It is a treat for me occasionally.

Oatmeal, rice, and quinoa are awesome foods to use to save money as well. I eat oatmeal nearly every day. There are health shakes that you can make with oatmeal as well. Rice is also good sweet! I love rice pudding. No-bake cookies are awesome too.

Buy meat in larger portions and break them down. One idea is to buy holiday hams and turkeys and cook them and freeze in smaller portions. Then you can have real ham and turkey instead of buying processed food! Another thing is buying bulk hamburger and separating it. Buy a whole chicken and cut it up. You can use it in multiple ways and it is cheaper that way.

Chicken breasts, lentils and cheaper cuts of beef are also good. Pork shoulder cooked can be great for many different meals. Chicken breasts, lentils, rice and cheaper cuts of beef are great. Make several pound batch of these. Freeze half for later use and eat the other half of my main ingredient for the week. Serve it over pasta or rice, make a quick pizza or mix in a casserole. There are many options.

Make huge batches of soup, stew, or chili and free and freeze it in smaller servings. When you feel like it steam some rice, heat up the stew and pour it over it.

When big bags of onions or potatoes go on sale buy them. You can freeze the onions chopped up for later. Both can be used for soups, casseroles, and other meals. They are inexpensive and filling

Try to shop and eat things that are on sale. Use coupons and store loyalty programs. We go to #Krogers and #Meyers. The important thing is to try to eat most meals at home. That is the true way to save the most money.

Take a calculator with you to the market. This will help you track your spending. Use the one on your phone. This will help you to realize how much the purchases will be and help you follow a budget.

I will be posting money saving recipes in the months to come. I hope these ideas help you. Let me know!