<p>We raise our own cows and fish, so I only purchase chicken and pork on sale. We tried raising our own chicken (for eggs) and it was too much work.</p>
<p>We have a pretty nice summer garden, and I grow lettuce (sometimes broccoli) in the fall/winter. We have fruit trees. Often, people give us excess from their garden.</p>
<p>Otherwise, I shop sales and buy whatever is cheapest (usually store brand). When possible, I buy in bulk. I rarely use coupons as they are usually for products that we rarely eat anyway. Beans are cheap (good source of protein and fiber). We eat a lot of rice, too.</p>
<p>Aldi…we do most of our shopping at Aldi. We are eating far less meat (which is not a bad thing) and buy EVERYTHING when it is on sale (we have a large freezer…and most things freeze just fine). Aldi has milk for less than $3 a gallon and eggs for less than $2 a dozen.</p>
<p>herbs are so easy to grow, even in pots & they are so expensive at the grocery. They were my first foray into growing edibles ( but watch out for mint)</p>
<p>Green Markets and fruit/vigetable stands can help. Recently picked strawberries for $.50 for two quarts. For $1.50 I had $24 of strawberries if I had purchased at the grocery. And they were bigger and sweeter. My D’s eat alot of fresh fruit and vegies. No coupons for that, or for the cheese and milk and eggs. But the Sunday green markets and the stands can be good buys if you know what to pay and when.</p>
<p>My husband does the grocery shopping, so I can’t tell you how much milk costs. But what’s really getting to me is the heating bill. It has doubled this winter. We do not keep our temperature above 66-68.</p>
<p>Even cafeteria food goes up. A dish I normally pay around $4 went up to nearly $7.
I have not been doing a lot of cooking lately, so we have been eating out. I don’t notice the grocery bill that much.</p>
<p>there was an article not too long ago in our local paper about the pizza joints having a hard time with the rising costs of their supplies…I can see it now because I had two small pizzas delivered about a week and a half ago, and it cost me $27…ouch !
I don’t know how much of it was the delivery charge, but you can bet that will be last of pizza deliveries for quite some time.</p>
<p>Here in suburban SoCal our next door neighbor decided to start raising chickens. I thought it might violate some sort of zoning ordinance. But it turned out not to be an issue: coyotes had them all cleaned out in under two weeks.</p>
<p>I get pre-made pizza shells (not boboli). that is $4 for 2 of them. I can make 2 12 inch pizzas with less than $4 worth of sauce and cheese for a total of $8 for 2 </p>
<p>I had neighbors once that had a rooster amongst their chickens. I have never held or fired a gun in my life, but I wanted to off that rooster something fierce.</p>
<p>I used to buy about half a pound of gourmet olives every week. Needless to say, I’ve given that up. I make my splurge on fresh fruit. It’s filling, so we eat less junk. ANd it’s good for us.</p>
<p>“I get pre-made pizza shells (not boboli). that is $4 for 2 of them. I can make 2 12 inch pizzas with less than $4 worth of sauce and cheese for a total of $8 for 2.”</p>
<p>I can get 14" from Papa Murphy’s with veggies or sausage for $6.95.</p>
<p>regarding pizza- The Trader Joe’s pizza dough in the fresh food section is a great price and makes great dough. You do have to roll it. I don’t care for the Boboli type of pizza shell. The TJ’s dough is great for sleepovers. The kids love to make their own. I also use it to make Calzones.
Sunnyflorida- I don’t know how you can find strawberries so cheap. I just walked the farmers market and they were 3 dollars a basket or 3 baskets for 8 dollars. We live in a prime strawberry growing area. They might drop in price in another few months but they will never drop to 50 cents. (the one’s at our farmer’s market are organic or unsprayed)
I have been more aware of prices. I still buy certain items but for staples I definitely look for price. Cereal is only bought on sale. We hit Trader Joes often and Costco for some items.</p>
<p>Pizza-buy frozen bread dough, thaw, roll, brush with olive oil and garlic, bake. Add pizza toppings and sauce after partially baked. I do this to get WW crust. I used to do this for kids parties-individual pizzas with lots of toppings to choose from. </p>
<p>Some HMOs in my area give a rebate for CSA membership. As I believe in eating organic, but am too cheap to buy organic for the most part, it ensures a supply of quality organic produce, delivered in the neighborhood, every week. I eat better and spend less time running to farmer’s markets.</p>