OcalaMom.com

I read an article recently w/ tips from local readers on how they whittle down their grocery bills.
People mentioned meatless meals a couple of nights a week, finding prices for other grocery stores and taking them to Super Wal-Mart for price matching or by making their own food (bread, soup, etc...)

What are some things you've been successful with in helping trim down your grocery bill?

making my own baby food!! So cheap and of coarse they taste better!

if you have space and little extra time, growing some of your own easy stuff is a great idea (ie strawberries, tomatoes and peppers). Also, once I took time to really price match, (which took a lot of time initially) - making a schedule and getting certain pricier things from different markets has made the biggest impact on our budget. Sticking to a budget saves me. If its out of the budget this week, we eat something else. The little farmer's markets usually have the best prices on produce, if you buy whats in season. Fortunately, being creative in the kitchen helps too. Thinking of my grandparents, who were always on a budget but always had yummy food, inspires me as well...they always made it work. Food for my family is one of my passions, as you can probably tell! ha ha

So, linetteandkelly, when you did your price comparison...was there a location that was the obvious cheaper place to buy from?

1JenT -- we made all of our baby food, too!
Did you get in the freezer kick?
I was really bad about freezing everything in the ice cube trays. Even bananas. Silly, I know.

I think, too, now gas prices to get to certain stores has to factor in prices almost.
I just re-joined at Sam's Club today (but boy do I wish we had a BJ's like my mom does -- you can use coupons there and sizes aren't quite as huge as Sam's.)

I still think, especially when stores such as Publix have their BOGO sales, that's cheaper.
So, for instance, they had spaghetti sauce on sale a month or so ago -- I swear it was like a different brand every week -- I stocked up. We have lots of sauce now.

Fruits and veggies really are the clincher, though, and the most expensive.

How do you grow yours? In containers or ground? I did some container plants last year and my mom did tomato seedlings this year and is gifting me some of her precious babies. My strawberry plant from last year hasn't started blooming yet, either. Bummer.
I really would like to start veg. gardening.
I have a lot of herbs going now (I'm kinda proud of my stash -- all alive, too! A miracle for me) and those are nice touches in recipes.

DH and DD (and I) like southern style peas so when they come in this summer, I will buy a lot and freeze them to use during the year, but I admit (out of pure laziness b/c I don't feel like doing the car seat dance yet again) I often drive by the mom-and-pop produce stands on the side of the road. I need to start going to those again b/c there are a couple in our area.

Sorry -- another thought.
My mom got me doing this (at first I was skeptical.)

I will throw in a chicken fryer w/ a couple of cubes of chicken broth in the crock pot and let it cook. It only takes about 5, 6 hours in mine.

Then I toss it in a colander, de bone it and the chicken is really very tender.
I save the broth for recipes (and pour some over noodles and veggies for the dogs for a treat.)

Then that chicken stretches a long way w/ meals -- popular around here are chicken pot pie (not like the real pot pies -- we love this recipe. I'll have to post it), chicken roll ups (w/ cr cheese, a little butter and chives baked in a crescent roll), etc...

I still have bags of this frozen meat my mom did for us to grab from for recipes. Where I fail is actually remembering to defrost it.

hi coopellie...no, unfortunately, there isnt one place,so i do shopping at different places...like for example wal mart is by four dollars!!! cheaper on somethings, but then by two dollars more expensive on others, so...obviously i get some stuff there, but then stick to publix for others and sams club for some stuff...winn dixie i found is great but i have to watch the sales to get the best deals, which i dont always have time for, so i stick to a same list type of shopping and that has helped...hope that helps.

My husband has started a compose pile and we have started growing our own tomatoes. So far we have spent 5 dollars on supplies. We are working towards making a garden in various planters and/or recycled containers. Then we are going to work our way to a green house. Our hope to eventully have our food bill cut in half.

We also grow tomatoes and herbs. I have big containers for them and I can move them in the garage if it freezes.

I save money on Veggies and fruit by going to the Fruit and vegetable stand by Sweet Bay in Belleview. The prices are less than half of the grocery store. For examaple I can get 3 red peppers for a dollar sometimes. The Market at Marion Flea Market also has excellent prices on produce.

Another way I save is by going to www.sundaysaver.com to check out all the grocery sales at one site. Then I pick which store I go to based on that information. Winn Dixie has the buy one get one free sale often on meats.

I buy organic milk and consistently Publix Greenwise by the gallon is the cheapest or Archwood brand at Target unless you have coupons.

No matter what way you shop it is just expensive.

those are awesome tips sky...thanks

Another little tip I learned is if you don't have the room to grow things like tomatoes then you can plant them in bales of straw. But be careful here cause cutting out the little holes for the tomato plants is hard work! It takes a lot of effort to saw through the bale of straw.
I'm doing that this year so I'll have some good home grown tomatoes. And to keep the hungry little bugs away from your plants just plant some marigolds around your tomato plants and you're good to go. I'm also attempting to grow some sweet peppers this year as well.

Speaking of food inflation....

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/24127314/

Help a gardening dummy, please, OcalaDeanna!
Why do the marigolds work to keep the bugs away?

I planted my own 'maters last year but got too busy this year. My mom bought a bunch of seeds and I'm getting some little babies from her this weekend. She has my little organic ones (I've just used Black Kow) separate and sends me pictures of them.

I've just always read that marigolds were a natural bug repellent. I guess that even though a marigold smells sweet to people it emits some kind of foul scent that just keeps the bugs away.

Here are some more tips that repel bugs as well:

Asparagus planted with tomato, basil and parsley repel asparagus beetle.

Cosmos, Chrysanthemums and Marigolds repel Mexican bean beetle from beans.

Plant garlic with strawberries to repel insect pests.