Cut your Groceries In Half Literally

I am not here to share with you some miracle that will slash your grocery bill in half if there was an easy way out there everyone would have already found it and as we come in on this homestretch to the New Year the news is already touting that gas prices will be increasing in January.   And read this article from ABC news “Eleven Things That Will Cost You More In 2012.”  Sure I keep a look out for sales and I strategically use coupons but the very best way to save money on groceries is to stick with solid staples in the grocery store…..don’t go for all the glitz basically stay on the store perimeter if you are going up and down every aisle unless you are strictly looking for clearance or close-outs you will spend too much money.  Then you need to ask yourself oh and I do this…..I actually hate to ask these questions….”Will I use this item?”….”How long will it be before I use this item?”…and “How I will use these items?”…if my answer is not rationale then I really just wanted it and did not care if it was a sensible decision.  Little things, little changes that you make do stack up and you make those habits part of your every day life and eventually they just stick.

One of my tricks I started about 8 years ago was to buy my bacon on sale, buy a bunch of it, cut it in half (I use my kitchen shears), and freeze it.  Cut it in half you say?  Yes even with my 6′ 4” son and my husband who both LOVE bacon!  I learned that when you put half on the table they learned to deal with it and as much as I love bacon lets all say its loaded with nitrates and fat I am not sure anyone NEEDS bacon but my family loves it sprinkled on anything and better yet they would appreciate the whole package but they have learned to deal with it and this took our Sunday morning breakfast expense way down.  We have our eggs from our chicken our half a pack of bacon that was purchased on sale for a really good price and then we will usually have toast, grits, or biscuits just depending on my mood and sometimes we add fresh fruit to the mix as well.  This all depends on how good the sales have been that week previously.

I don’t plan our meals and then go shopping.  I shop at the grocery store, the farmers market, pick produce from my garden (seasonally of course) and then I plan our meals.

I never thought our guys would deal with a half slab of bacon on Sunday morning and they don’t notice any more if they do they don’t say everybody knows they get there couple of pieces of bacon it usually works out to be 2 to 3 whole pieces of bacon per person.  The new research on processed meats are that they have been linked to cancer so for us eating less of this is a good thing because we are a family that loves our bacon with the exception of my daughter who usually will skip it.

Also by having bacon in the freezer if I do come home from work tired and unmotivated about cooking I can put together a pasta Carbonara fairly quickly and I can toss the bacon in a pan and fry it up 😉  I love Rachael Ray’s recipe for pasta Carbonara!

Thanks for stopping in!