Need ideas - how to reduce grocery bill

[Kitt3n]

great thread!

christy, you cn use soap nuts in the dishwasher? do you use vinegar to rinse? mine is getting installed next weel woo hoo! but not looking forward to paying for the tablets..............

for an all purpose cleaner i use bicarb, vinegar and tea tree oil in a pre mixed bottle. You cant use it in a spray though, just doesnt work (put more bicarb than you should and each time you use it/shake it up just add a little more vinegar to get the fizzy cleaner effect happening).

i think you are doing really well, and dou dou is onto something there with quilton - if you buy the bulk packs the nice quilton toilet paper actually turns out cheaper per roll (adding in the extra ply, thereofre you take less off the roll).............

bulk - i just bought 12 of te lip balm that i use, why? a 12 pack ends up being the same as the price of 9 when you buy the in single packs. all these little things add up, but sometimes we have to go without something one week in order to get the better bulk price on something else.

[christy]

christy, you cn use soap nuts in the dishwasher? do you use vinegar to rinse? mine is getting installed next weel woo hoo! but not looking forward to paying for the tablets..............

You can! My box I buy at the markets comes with little calico bags that you put the nuts (2-3) into and then into the dishwasher. Then I put 1 tbsp vinegar in the rinse.

[Danni]

I think you are doing well Willow! BUt good ideas in here to try as well

Bath, could you make your own labels? You can buy the sheets of ready made stickers, then in Microsoft Word or equivalent, you can set the margins to be exactly the same size. Then you can type whatever you like and print yourself. Very cheap

[Astrid]

I only got back into baking recently. What I found helped with having the right ingredients was to pick one basic recipe (eg Anzac biscuits), check the cupboard and then write the missing or low items on the shopping list. The next week I looked up a couple of more basic/everyday recipes and added those ingredients to the shopping list. Doing this I also realised that I did not have all the right tins and trays so I have started picking up one of those every week or two as well. At the moment I work from a Womens Weekly Old fashioned favourites book and a high school cooking book. Good basic recipes, often with variations listed as well.

Bath is right, have all the spices you can. Often I found that was why I could not complete a recipe.

[Bathsheba]

Mabello: yep, technically I could (and have in the past) made my own canister labels but the current set i have is just so perfect and on glossy water resistant sticker paper... they can even handle going through the dishwasher... this is an important thing for me. This set is pretty comprehensive... it has sago, gelatine, semolina etc etc you don't often get on pre-made labels... plus they included a sheet of plain (has the blue border but no text) labels but I haven't used them because I'm so obsessive/anal that I can't bear to not match the font.

[DoubleK]

after reading this thread.. i have been convinced to try cleaning without chemicals!!!

[Danni]

Bath, have you seen the Tupperware labels? I remember someone telling me they are comprehensive too

[krisp]

I don't usually buy "no name" or home brand stuff as I've always thought it was poor quality. But lately I've relaxed that way of thinking a bit!
How about if everyone posts to let each other know what 'no name' products they buy that are equally as good as the popular brand labels?
I bought home brand paper towels the other day and they are great!

[Shalou]

We meal plan to keep our shopping expenses down. Since moving to Adelaide where there is almost no supermarket competition from Aldi, Super IGA, Valuemart etc we've had to re examine our budget to make sure we don't over spend. Our budget is $150 a fortnight which covers all our groceries, nappies and petrol for my car. Sometimes it's a stretch to make ends meet but I've learnt to make cheaper meals, I make everything from scratch and make sure that I only make healthy meals which have enough leftovers for hubby's lunch the following day and to buy only what we need and not what we want.

[christy]

Check out this thread as well for ideas on cooking from scratch! https://www.bellybelly.com.au/forums...-habit-10.html

It helps once you get your pantry stocked in keeping the food bill down.

[Shalou]

Thanks for the link

[Willow]

Dusty - that would be great! We spend at least $10 a f/night on yoghurt...don't even talk to me about cheese!

[tattoo_mama]

yep we go thru 2 $9 bags of grated cheese and a $7 block of cheese slices a fortnite...one of the only things i splurge on...id rather spend that than eat crappo tasteless cheese lol

[Kazbah]

With the menu planning, I also write out a list of "thaw" "prepare" etc for the next day. stuff like lunches. I'll use leftover rice and cook up some frozen veg and add in some soy sauce for tomorrow's lunch.

Freezing stuff is handy - if you can, get a chest freezer. Leftover fruit to make sorbet (so much easier & healthier than icecream!) along with leftover white wine.

Any juices etc going out of date, I freeze in an icecube tray for cooking later, also I use flat fizzy drinks for home-made iceblocks during summer.

Salad plants in polystyrene boxes on the windowsill etc. for fresh salad most of the year.

Windows, if you're using vinegar, always wipe with a water-damp cloth to stop the vinegar eating the glass. I use tealeaves for cleaning windows & showerscreens and they come up a treat.

Also keep in mind that each person's serve of meat need only be 90g - a single lamb backstrap does us here for 2 meals (2 adults, one toddler) and that saves $$$ considerablly.

[Astrid]

Also keep in mind that each person's serve of meat need only be 90g - a single lamb backstrap does us here for 2 meals (2 adults, one toddler) and that saves $$$ considerablly.

I think DH would leave me if I only served 90g of meat and to be honest I would leave me as well if I did that!

[bon]

Willow - I keep all the baking staples you mentioned, but also usually have at least 1 stick of butter in the fridge (I prefer to use butter instead of marg in baking, even though they are mostly interchangeable), eggs of course, some desicated coconut, white sugar, vanilla essence, honey/golden syrup and spices like cinnamon, mixed spice and ground ginger. I only buy generic brands. Most baking recipes call for caster sugar, but I just buy white now because its more 'all purpose' than caster and works fine. With these staples you will be able to bake pretty much any basic biscuit, cake or slice recipe, plus batters like pancakes, pikelets and fritters.

[mrscricket]

Willow - I do kind of what Pretty Butterfly does for the shower but I use a spray bottle with 1 part vinegar, 1 part Metholayted Spirits, and 2 parts water. It is amazing how clean it gets the shower glass. I got the idea out of the Spotless book.

* Actually not Spotless, their other one How to be Comfy. Heaps of great tips for cleaning using things commonly found in the home. I think the book was about $20 but you can generally get it cheaper in Target,Big W etc. The inital outlay would be worth the saving on cleaning products I think.

[Bathsheba]

Willow: Pantry Basics: It's up to your preferences but a good database has been written by British chef Delia Smith. I'll see if I can find it online... it's in her first "How To Cook" book. She has a great website. I have three shelves of airtight glass Maccona coffee jars (I use these because I can't afford paying for a comprehensive storage system... and I think that even when I can i'll stick to it!) which constitute the largest part of my pantry "basics". I have lots of herbs and spices because I like using them and with good rotation can last a relatively long time. They are stored in the smallest sized Maccona jars. I find that if you have a good spice collection you can then go on to use your other staples creatively. Spices are needed for baking sweet and savory dishes. Curries all need a range of spices as do cakes and biscuits. I'd collect them all pretty much.

Have at least 3 types of rice: A thin rice like Basmati, a "standard" multi-use one, and a glutinous one for Rissottos... learn to make rissotto... VERY cheap per serve but you can also make it special by adding more expensive ingredients when you can afford it.

Ok... off to find the more comprehensive pantry staples list!