Extreme frugality: how we are keeping our food bills low
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- čas přidán 8. 09. 2024
- Yes, inflation is biting and food bills are on the rise, but what, if anything, can you do? Here are some steps that we are taking to keep our grocery bills low.
The recipes I mentioned are below:
Delia's liver and onions in Madeira (I made this cheaper by substituting Madeira for cheap red we had hanging around and I left out the porcini mushrooms): www.deliaonlin...
Tuna penne with olives: www.shoestring...
If you like my content, how about buying me a coffee? ko-fi.com/shoe.... Always appreciated, but never expected!
For ideas on how to live a more frugal and simple life, you can find me in the following places:
My blog: www.shoestringcottage.com My Facebook group: / 1015664032263189 On Instagram: / shoestringcottage On Pinterest: www.pinterest....
One of things I have started doing is making old fashioned pudding such as bread and butter pudding. I keep all my old bread ends, freeze them and then make a pudding once I have a bag of crusts.
Ooh, yes! Love a bread and butter pud
I love your channel, Jane! You are so real. (Loved the candy in the grocery haul “oh, right, not snacking anymore. . .”) That is just what happens in real life, right? Your liver looked very YUM! And congratulations on the new baby in the family! Such a cause for joy! Ok, to save money on food, I guess I’m doing what we are all doing: meal planning, using less expensive cuts of meat or less/no meat (easy for me as my husband really doesn’t care what he eats as long as there is plenty of veg, so we are vegetarian probably 4-5 nights a week). Then being careful with portion sizes, not wasting anything etc. My mom was that way so that really helps. We are not foodies at all, which helps so much! Plus my husband takes lunch to work every day. I make him a big jar of muesli weekly for breakfast and I have porridge, what could be easier? I have switched to canned fruit at least half the time, and frozen veg similarly. So that helps. Our daughter likes organic boneless chicken breast but she knows we don’t have that and she buys it herself occasionally to cook for us all (she is a young adult with a job). So all of these changes help. I think the biggest help, which I have always done, is cook at home, from scratch, for nearly every meal. Love your channel, Jane. 💜
Thank you - we sound quite similar in our approach. Met the new baby today. So sweet!
We just drive to the gym , groc, recycling center , or medical appointments and combine these errands as much as possible.
Combining trips is a really good idea.
Friends and I have been carpooling to save gas money.
I get the cheaper Mexican pasta for 38 cents for a 7 ounce package. I have been buying brands like Goya, Iberia and LaModerna because they are cheaper than even the generics.
For canned meat, I chose the smaller 5 ounce cans which are $1 or less. The larger sizes of canned meat are getting close to $10 a can where I live. I stock up when certain foods are on sale. Knorr has side pouches. Knorr SOPA is dried soup packets which run from 50 cents to 70 cents. With the Knorr, I add a vegetable and a 5 ounce can of meat which make it stretch for several days.
Bouillon cubes can be used to make a cheap soup and come in jars with 25 cubes. One bouillon cube dissolved in 1 and 1/2 cups of water makes a cheap broth. I use the broth as a soup base and add whatever I have. A bit of egg noodles with dried vegetables and a few spoons from a can of the 5 ounce chicken makes chicken noodle soup. Or I could use a beef bouillon cube and dried minced onions makes a cheap french onion. Or I could use a bouillon cube dissolved in 1 and 1/2 cup water and pour a beaten egg slowly into boiling broth for egg drop soup. Or how about adding ABC pasta and mixed vegetables to my broth for some alphabet soup.
Carpooling does make sense. Those brands you mention sound good value too and soup is a frugal standby too.
When I cook liver and onion I add a balsamic vinegar to the liver steaks to the fry pan. I also slice the liver thinly. Blessings Maria
Interesting! I have balsamic so will give that a try next time we eat liver
I used to eat liver in my twenties, cut very thin adding in onions, tomatoes, capsicum, celery and zucchini. I shared my receipe to a workmate who started making my receipe except she crumbed thin slices of lambs shallow fryng in a little oil. Her family eally loved it. Your so right about the snobbery around ALDI. When they opened near me I told my Mother and a brother about the prices, they said they would never go there. Moving on about 6 months they were telling me what they found there and how cheap they were. Mince went from $10 per kilo to now $16 on special and $24.00 in butchers so I add lentils to my mince to stretch it.
That sounds a lovely way to cook live. I am going to try adding more vegetables like that. Thanks!
New subscriber here, love your channel. I too have recently acquired an electric throw, from The Range, I love it! I loved your unintentional pun when speaking about the toilet rolls and "feeling flush"!
Ha ha! I didn’t realise I said that! Welcome to my channel
My dog also won't always eat his dry food, when i cook up a chicken carcass for stock i pick all the little bits off meat off and freeze them with a little gravy in silicon cup cake cases and just get one out the night before to add with his meal it's working for now😊
Prices have risen dramatically in some parts of the store. I had a £34 a month food budget last year, and I put that down to £30 this year. This month however, I've managed to come in at £18. I saved £26 shopping for yellow stickers this month and I've started using cashback sites and have saved another £21 on free food I wouldn't normally buy so I've managed to get more variety for my £18. I have no interest in buying brands though the cashback site items are all branded so that's been different. I think this is going to be life from now on and combined with other cut backs hopefully we'll limp through 2022!
Wow, Claudia! That’s good going
Hello! I’m in the United States in a small town outside of Buffalo NY. I’m so glad I stumbled across you! Love Aldi. 😊
Welcome!! Thanks for watching
Bought beef cheeks this week.. browned them in the pan..added onions and browned them..put them in the slow cooker.. deglazed the pan added to slow cooker seasoned and left to cook for 2-3 hrs on low .leave to cool and remove fat from surface..the resulting gravy is so rich.. gelatinous..and the meat is mouthwatering..ready for veg of choice to be added and cooked again in slow cooker..the taste is amazing and made into a Sunday dinner type meal..can be enjoyed any day of the week..I also eat tripe..just with salt and vinegar..I can hear the Uugghh's..but it goes back to my childhood..we ate it then..my father said if an animal dies to give us the best 'cuts' of meat..the least we can do is honour the beast by using everything..that includes liver/ kidneys..etc..💐Oh and my 'wheels' of choice for shopping is a pull along shopping trolley..no fuel needed..only leg power..👍
That sounds delicious! Going to look out for them.
i buy a lot of frozen veg its so much cheaper and does not go off :)
Aldi has made some of the cans smaller. if the prices haven't gone up to much, check the sizes. very sneaky.
Yes, I have noticed that on many products. You can't compare properly as it's not like for like and they have shrunk
Hello from Canada, we have a beef farm and butcher our own grass fed animals. The heart is the easiest organ meat, because it is a muscle and therefore tastes like a very tender roast. Trim off fat, cook in a slow cooker all day, then cut in half and remove vessels, etc. Slice meat in very thin slices and put back in the juice in the slow cooker for a bit.
Hello! I have never actually eaten heart. Must try it.
New subscriber from the US here. Thank you so much for a video that covers a lot of territory in a very clear and organized way. Aldi has been a real godsend for me as I, like many other Americans, live on a fixed income. Quality -- with a few exceptions -- is comparable to pricier stores and I appreciate the fact that (as you also pointed out) we don't have to walk through miles and miles of tee-shirt racks, lawn furniture, makeup, kitchen appliances, etc. to get to the bread and milk that we're actually shopping for. In other words, the stores are sensibly sized for people who just want to get in, find what they need and get home. Wishing you every success with your channel.
Yes, far fewer distractions! Thanks for subscribing, and welcome to the channel.
it's funny
Here in Australia Aldi is the ONLY shop where you walk through or around miles of clothing...deck chairs...variety..novelty items 😅... .our other supermarkets are purely food
Yorkshire puds all the way! I would starve before eating liver though…🤢🤢
😂 you aren’t the first to say that
I never liked liver. I remember when I was a kid, having liver for lunch at school. I knew I didn’t like it but the lunch lady said I had to eat it. I didn’t want to but I did as she told me. ..I threw up all over myself. She had to clean me up…She left me alone after that!
I meal plan ,write it down on a whiteboard,make a shopping list for my husband. Today we are having bacon and leek suet roly-poly. At the same time I'm cooking roast potatoes and stuffing and pork chops ready to reheat tomorrow. Saving fuel! Always forget to add snacks though.
Reading through old cookbooks for inspiration.
I love reading old cookbooks! Those gals knew about yummy, simple food. Also you really see in sweets how they used fruit, cinnamon, molasses etc (in US; Iʻm sure in UK had other simple sweets) but around 1980s and ʻ90s sweets got far more into chocolate, which is way more expensive. Again, this is the US. My sister sent me a collection of WWII ration leaflets - those ladies could make a meal from seasonal veg and a bit of meat and fat! So careful. I read them at beginning of COVID lockdown to remind myself weʻve come through worse and gotten through it.
This is a really good idea. I am going to start cooking more meals two or three at a time. I did the veg like that this week, so just had to cook the meat the following day.
We can definitely learn a lot from the WW2 way of cooking and eating.
Warmest congratulations Jane on the arrival of a new baby girl in the family....so special and don't they bring in so much joy and cause of celebration, I just love babies and I'm sure they appreciated the chicken meal you cooked for them. Wow petrol prices in the UK is out of control...the conversion price is A$2.73 here in Australia and we are only paying around A$1.88 at the moment. What with petrol and the price of your energy in the home it's no wonder families are trying to cut back on food prices. I really feel for families who are already on a very tight budget. I really enjoy watching your channel Jane, I just love the insert of "who? me?" that really made me laugh at sleeping Archie xx
Thanks, Simone. I am worried too! My budget is pretty tight but I have the advantage of being mortgage free and having no kids at home. The new baby was utterly gorgeous!
Liver and bacon is a childhood memory for me and I do buy it when I see it on a yellow sticker deal and it's really nice.
It really is!
I love watching a grocery haul. We are vegetarian and I buy the cheaper brands but still hard to get under $150 a week. You’ve done really well, you have a lot of food there for £55
Thank you! Is that US dollars?
@@ShoestringJane yes, groceries are expensive here!
Hi Jane , thoroughly enjoyed the video an d picked up some great tips. Regarding bags of potatoes, if you are ever in the countryside you could get a big paper sack of potatoes from a farmer or people do a fruit and veg stall in front of their house. Keep them in a frost free cool dark place like a shed or similar. As we live in a small country town it’s easier for us, but cheaper than a bag from the supermarket. Binge watching your vids at the moment 👍
Thank you! We don't eat enough potatoes these days to get through a sack before they go bad, although I did used to buy from the farm when my daughters were at home. Thanks for watching!
@@ShoestringJane Three adults in this house and we eat potatoes most days , thankyou for replying love all the tops 😊
Tips I meant 🤦🏻♀️
@@angelawhitehead1785 same here Angela ...we are a plant based family and we tend to live on potatoes....and sweet potatoes ..yum
Am still catching up with your videos Jane and very much enjoyed this one. I love the sound of your gorgeous Archie, little fuss bum that he is. Our Alice eats anything I put in front of her and even pulls up her own carrots to eat. Her dry food is very expensive, but I would literally starve to keep her healthy. I have been vegetarian for many years but my husband is not. I cook him meat twice a week, and fish once. He is happy with vegetarian meals in between. The thought of offal or liver makes me gag so I could never handle that. I do cook up a batch of curried sausages for him, and curried chick peas for me and freeze in individual meals for us, which is very economical. Once a week I make a huge pot of soup in my slow cooker, alternating between vegetable, pumpkin, tomato, and a smaller pot of mushroom. I also freeze these soups and they are so nourishing on our cold winter nights. Food prices have also risen dramatically in. Australia, and the fuel prices are criminal! Thanks for your interesting and entertaining videos. 🐾🦋
I have heard that food is especially expensive where you are. I love the idea of your dog pulling up her own carrots! 😂🤣
I like your ideas about changing up the meat. I live in Calgary (western Canada). One of the more expensive places to buy groceries! I spend about $1200 CAD for a family of 4 on grocery bill per month - if I get good sales.
Goodness your petrol is expensive!
Our food seems cheaper than the US and Canada, but yes, petrol is very expensive!
Thanks for video. I’m terrible at remembering how much food costs at supermarkets, so your video helps me focus on prices 👍
I have a price book which is brilliant.....just get yourself a pad of paper....every 3 pages right a letter from the alphabet at the top and for your first comparison prices, get them from your shopping receipt....not hood for fresh produce but great for other food ,& groceries
ie this is what I wr
I only like walkers crisps I hav tried all of the others. And I only buy Lamb when Tescos do there offers for half price. I cook liver bacon very cheap and we luv stews u can put all veg left in fridge use it up .End of the week I do omelettes and I use up every thing up the fridge and they are luvly. 😊
Walkers are the best for sure!
God created 2 minute noodles.
Wow! That was an awesome shop, Jane! I'm shocked your prices are so low! When my Sis and I used to exchange homes in the UK every year our first food shop would be Sainsbury's because she loved it so much, but we would shop Aldi after that because of lower prices. We were so happy when one opened near us in the US. They now have such a vast array of foods that there's no need to shop elsewhere except for TP.
Re: not getting notifications of your Wed and Sun updates, I wonder if Unsubscribing and then re-subscribing would start the notifications again?
It’s worth a try, Shelagh! I get most things from Aldi, no problem. Do you have Lidl yet?
@@ShoestringJane The closest Lidl to me is about 50 miles away so no!
@@ShoestringJane Ok I just resubscribed I hope it works!
No lidless or Aldi in Canada. We pay premium.
@@evelinholmes6401 that’s a shame. I hope they move into Canada soon as it definitely shook the other supermarkets up when they arrived here
I'm amazed at the price of your Ibuprofen. I've checked Boots Ireland to see what the price is here and their website says €5.99 which is about £4.99 Stg for 200 tablets but there are other brands which are a little bit cheaper, but not much.
That’s a good price. I pay $16 for 200 in the US.
@@tinalemna7998 We might have to live with pain rather than pay €5.99, but good grief, $16 is crazy!
Blimey! that is expensive, and even more so at the $16 Tina pays. It is much more expensive to buy the branded stuff here, but still only £3 or so.
@@tinalemna7998 Wow! You must be buying name brand. I buy the Walmart Equate brand. It's $3.88 for a 2-pak of 200 each, total of 400!
I had to smile at the pet food situation, our 5 cats are exactly the same, they wait until you stock up on the food that they've been loving and then promptly decide that they no longer like it 🙄 I shop in Aldi and have switched to chicken and turkey partly for health reasons and partly due to trying to save money. I've also modified my shopping list slightly while watching the video as some things could be swapped for cheaper versions and some were more wants than needs so I've removed a couple but I think its important to have some treats in moderation 😉
You can tell that I agree with the treats comment !! 😂😂😂
I only buy what’s on sale then buy it by the case
Growing up we had much smaller meat potions on our plates, 1 small lamb chop with chips and peas and bread and butter on the side, stuffed breast of lamb was an inexpensive but filling meal, we always had dumplings on top of stews made with inexpensive cuts of meat, I remember rabbit hung in the kitchen, (child abuse these days 😂) when my children were growing up I used to meal plan for the month, but shop weekly, the local butcher would cut a shoulder of lamb into chops for me and if I shopped late in the day the odd sausage or chop would get added free of charge, the fruit shop would give my little ones sat in their pushchair an apple each, just for being a loyal customer, supermarket convenience isn’t always that great a deal especially as you said with “the distractions” we need to be strong minded, have a plan and stick to it. Also when shopping the shelves in the supermarkets remember to look at the bottom shelves, that’s where you can find some good deals, things at eye level are put there for a reason 😉
Yes similar when I was a child. Lamb is too dear now though. I like it but rarely buy it
Lidl does dishwasher salt it’s in a box !
Thanks - I think I have bought that before, but my store doesn't always stock it.
My cat has gone off felix as well 🤔. It made her vomit a lot, changed to Sheba and she’s fine again
Mine won’t touch Sheba. Aren’t they strange creatures! One of mine vomits when she eats really fast - normally when it’s something she really likes. And usually over night - not great to wake up to 😳
Try Crave dog food. It the only dog food my 10 year old dog will eat and it dose not upset his tummy. Up to I found crave I had to cook for my dog.
I think we have tried that one. Might give it another go though!
Liver is expensive here. Chicken livers were 4.78/pound when I bought them this month. Chicken quarters (for comparison) I can get at .89/pound. Even if you add 25% for the skin and bone you don’t eat, that’s $1.11/pound--cheaper than chicken liver. Can’t seem to find calf or beef liver. Never had kidneys or heart. Can’t stomach calves’ tongue! Freaks me out.
Ooh same I think when it comes to tongue. But never say never!
Hi. I am a vegetarian and have been for 30 years. But there was a liver recipe I used to make weekly it was from the dairy cookbook from the milkman ( dont see them very often now) called Italian liver. Just googled it. It was delish!
I remember those dairy cookbooks! They were really good. Will check out Italian liver.
Aldi did the dishwasher salt a while ago but they only come up on specials usually when they do cleaning specials.
I price check everything b4 i go shopping and cost how much the bill will be. Also i get lidl veg boxes when i need them, then i get a little of everything. I moved my mobile network to the cheapest network and if i fone people on whatsapp i fone them through the app and its free.
The Lidl veg boxes can be good, but in our local one they are very variable. WhatsApp
Is a great app, isn’t it!
Ox cheek is good in casseroles - but I can only get it from Waitrose.
Yes, I have never seen it for sale, but then I haven’t really looked. Is it cheap?
I think morrisons sell Ox cheek but it seems quite dear for offal.
New subscriber friend here….and hello 👋🏻
Hi! Thanks for subscribing ❤️
When we go out to eat, it is a social outing for us. A little reward, a date. I have been quite strict about our meat. My question is, can I somehow make two meals from this meat. Can I make three, will it still be tasty and filling?
That’s how frugal folk think and I think more people will be following your lead in the months and years ahead
I also dine out two or three times a week with friends we try to pick places that have senior meals or we have coupons for or we go somewhere where it's all-you-can-eat spaghetti I will eat part of my second plate and take the rest home for another meal along with extra bread. By buying only markdown meat and other markdown food items when available at the store this gives me the extra money for dining out and helps stretch my social security check
Hearts are lovely but a lot of prep work and needs long slow cooking in a slow cooker. I have only ever done lamb's liver but I know people used to eat a lot of ox heart because there is a lot of lean protein in all hearts. And iron of course.
Interesting! I think I should give it a try really
@@ShoestringJane I should have said lamb's hearts Jane.! I like the lamb's liver as well, but pig's liver is cheaper.
Sainsbury’s do a eco toilet paper it’s in paper packaging I’m sure it’s 9 for £3 which works out cheaper than who gives a crap
That seems pretty reasonable. I spend way too much if I shop in Sainsbury's though!
You mentioned liver, is that ox, lamb or pork?
If I'd waited to the end of the video I'd have seen that it was lambs liver!!
@@gillianmeehan3206 I have tried lamb and pork liver but not ox yet. I will try that next time I spot it!
Use the bag from the toilet paper for your trash. We never buy garbage bags.
Great idea 👍
I have shopped at lidl and Aldi for years and felt the same as you people were embarrassed about shopping there !! I’d been saving money for years and these newbies must have wasted loads of money !! And those chefs put way too much butter and salt in their recipes too!
I’d rather be vegetarian than eat liver 🤢
It definitely isn’t for everyone!
Never eaten liver since I had to eat it at school. In my 70’s now and afraid you won’t change my mind. The exception is homemade chicken liver parfait.
Lol trying to sell me on liver ? 😅
I love it! But it is a bit of an acquired taste, for sure. None of my daughters will touch it.