Emergency Preparedness and Provident Living Newsletter
April 2024
This month I will focus on how people can save money on groceries and how to stock up on pantry items. I will also write about how to incorporate “food storage” into their everyday meals.
I recommend watching a few videos on YouTube by the channel, Frugal Queen in France. They are a British couple who are retired and live in Brittany, France. She has many, many ideas on how to live a frugal lifestyle. They post several videos a week.
How to save money on your groceries
#1 If you are not shopping the weekly specials, you are paying too much!
If you are lucky enough to still get paper grocery ads in the mail each week, be sure to take the time to look at them to see what the specials are. Make your shopping list from the items that your family eats or uses that are on special each week. Some weeks there are a lot of items that are such good deals that I don't pass them up. Some weeks there are not very many good deals. If you are the one who does the weekly grocery shopping you will know what the normal prices are. Be sure to stock up on the fresh fruits and vegetables that are in season. Think of ways you can preserve these foods such as freezing, dehydrating, canning or freeze-drying.
If the stores in your area no longer send out physical ads, you will need to download their app or go to their website each week to see their ads. You will have to create an account. This account will work online as well as when using the app.
It can save you a lot of money if you look at these ads once a week and make your list. After a while you should see the number of items in your pantry grow. Many stores will say that to get the best deal, you need to buy a minimum of 3 or 5 items. Keep in mind that these are usually a mix and match deal so you do not have to get 5 of the exact same item. I never try to clean off the shelf. If there is a lot of something, I get just a few and leave plenty for others.
Just take the time to read the tags on the shelf at the store so you get the right price to ring up. These apps will also have digital coupons. To clip a digital coupon just tap on it. They will stay “clipped” until the coupon expires or until you use it up when checking out at the register. When checking out you will give the cashier your frequent shopper or account number and all the coupons will lower your bill there.
#2 Quite often I have found better deals on the shelf at the store right next to an item that was on sale that week. Sometimes these are on clearance. If the unadvertised item is cheaper that what I was going to get, I buy the cheaper item instead.
#3 Join a local on-line couponing group. There may be some Facebook groups where people share good deals at their local stores. These are nice because sometimes even I miss seeing something in the ads or it is at a store that I have not been to in a while.
#4 Don't be too brand loyal. Many foods are the same no matter which brand it is. There are only a couple foods that I buy that are a certain brand name. For example, we like Miracle Whip dressing but we don't like mayonnaise. So I only buy Miracle Whip when it is on sale. Most things, I don't care which brand it is such as canned vegetables, beans, etc.
#5 Don't buy something that your family does not like just because it is on sale. I have seen people commenting on this online. If you don't like it or use it, don't stock up on it. It will just cost you money and go to waste. If you want to start to learn how to cook and use something, buy just a little of it and try it out. Find a couple recipes that use that items and experiment with it before you buy a lot.
#6 Buy what you eat and eat what you buy! Adjust your grocery list and food storage to your dietary needs. Only you kn ow what your family likes and if there are any food allergies or if someone is diabetic or not. This is why shopping lists that others make often will not work for you.
Resources for bulk foods
I realize that my readers are from all across the US, Canada, UK and several other countries. This list is just to give you ideas. You will most likely need to do an internet search for your area.
Wal-Mart sells some common foods in bulk like rice and beans
Winco grocery stores
Hispanic and Asian stores
Amish and Mennonite stores
Costco and Sam's Club
Honeyville.com based in Honeyville, Utah
Davesfarms.com in Delta, Utah
Grandpasgrain.com based in SE Idaho (buy through a local distributor found on website)
Walton Feed in Montpelier, ID
Lehi Roller Mills in Lehi, UT
Co-op stores such as Azure Standard in the US. They deliver to most states now. Azurestandard.com
I am sure there are other resources that I am not aware of.
How to incorporate food storage into your meals
If you already know how to bake and cook from scratch this will be easy for you. If you are still learning how to cook this will be a little harder.
If you really think about it, this isn't complicated. Many of us use frozen foods as part of our meals. Simply thaw the food and then cook like it was fresh.
If something was dehydrated, simply rehydrate in a little water and then cook as if it were fresh. Dehydrated foods actually take a while to rehydrate. Many rehydrated foods are good in soups and stews as they have a longer cook time.
Freeze-dried foods rehydrate quickly! Simply rehydrate and then cook as you normally would.
Canned foods are easy to use. Just buy the canned foods that your family will eat.
I often use a combination of dinner ingredients that were dried, canned, frozen and fresh in the same meal. For example, for a spaghetti dinner, I will use pasta that I bought on sale and put in a bucket. I will use store-bought pasta sauce or make my own from tomatoes I canned and herbs that I buy in bulk. For the meat I will use ground beef that I froze or use meatballs that I freeze-dried. I can serve fresh, frozen or canned vegetables on the side.
I frequently use commercially dehydrated onions and diced bell peppers in my soups and casseroles. I just grab a handful and put it in the bowl with the other ingredients. No chopping required!
Meat bought at a really good sale can be frozen or pressure canned or freeze-dried before it goes bad.
Don't want to eat bugs for your protein?
If you are not aware of the international push for people to stop eating beef, pork or chicken, you have not been paying attention. The big push from the EU and WEF is for people to start eating insects for protein. If you don't like that idea, one thing you can do is to stock up on shelf-stable proteins that your family will like.
#1 Buy meats when they are on sale and freeze, pressure can or freeze-dry them.
#2 Buy canned meats at the store suc h as canned chicken, beef, pork, stew, chilli, Vienna sausages, Spam, and Keystone meats, salmon, tuna and sardines.
#3 learn about and store other protein alternatives such as beans of all kinds, dried peas, lentils etc. Meals that have beans and rice in the same meal will make a complete protein. Save these recipes and try them out. Practice making more meatless meals using your protein alternatives.
Give the gift of knowledge and preparedness for Christmas this year
You can make a family cookbook for Christmas this year. Your cookbook can include family favorite recipes. It can include recipes from extended family members and family members that have passed on. Share their knowledge and include information such as who used to make that recipe, why did they like it, was it served at family gatherings or certain holidays?
Other things you can include are old-time medicines for certain ailments. Are there family tips to pass on? Are there some food storage tips you have learned? Are there some food preservation tips you want to share? Include what you feel is important to pass on and add information that makes your family cookbook more personal. There are many cooking charts, substitution charts etc online.
You can have it printed by an online cookbook publisher or you can print it yourself and put in sheet protectors and put everything in a 3-ring binder. I prefer this method as it makes the pages wipeable if they get food on them. And you can easily add more pages later.
