Supermarket Gourmet

by Buck Reed

New Year, New Kitchen

Maybe you are feeling it, and maybe you are not, but I think some prices at the supermarket are dropping. Okay, maybe not as fast as we would like them to or as much. But the gap between cooking at home and going out to eat has never been greater. Dining out has become significantly more expensive. Even fast food is a pricey prospect these days. And let’s face it, a Big Mac should be renamed the Not So Big Mac. So, now is the time to get back in the kitchen.

First of all, ditch the high-priced coffee from that shop that mistranslates foreign words to define the size of your beverage. You don’t need to pay an extra $2.00 for a medium coffee that they misnamed “Grande.” You just need a good coffee maker, your favorite brand of coffee, and any fancy-shmancy creamer you can find in the dairy section. You can use the money you save to buy a thermos to keep your coffee hot for the workday ahead.

And since most donut shops no longer make donuts in-house, it’s time to brush up on your baking skills. A fresh-baked coffee cake is a superior choice, and even day-old is better than a doughnut fried in one place, frozen, and shipped to another. How did they think we wouldn’t notice?

It’s time to go back to the grocery store, not just to buy food, but with a plan to cook tasty, well-thought-out menus with meals you and your family will enjoy. Also work out a way to use leftovers to help extend that food budget dollar. Meatloaf for dinner easily transforms into sandwiches for lunch. Whole roasted chicken is easily added to fried rice or a pasta dish.

Be on the lookout for any sales or join the clubs for better deals and such. I like shrimp, so any time individually quick-frozen shrimp dips below a certain price, I buy a couple of bags. They hold well in the freezer, and I can defrost what I need when I am ready to cook them. A two-pound bag makes a few meals.

Breakfast is a game-changer when it comes to cost-saving. Instead of sitting at a diner or running through a fast-food window, take a few minutes to make something on your stovetop. You can make a breakfast sandwich to-go, coupled with the coffee from your own pot, and watch the savings add up.

Everyone is looking for a way to save a dollar, and the kitchen is certainly a great place to start. So, dust off those cooking skills, and cook up some savings.