How to save money on meat and decrease your budget’s bite
J.D. has already covered ways to save money on food. But this time, I wanted to focus on animal protein.
According to a survey by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, meat makes up over 22 percent of our at-home food (not out-to-eat or alcohol) budget. Obviously, you can cut your food budget by decreasing your meat consumption. But if you want to eat meat, how can you do it most cheaply? And waste the least amount of food?
Eat the Crazy Stuff
By the time my husband and I bought our first freezer full of beef, I knew my way around most steaks, roasts and ground beef, of course, but we didn’t know what to do with round steaks or even the brisket. Meat is expensive, so I didn’t want to waste anything. I hate food waste.
And I wasted even more of the animal than I realized. A couple of times a year, I help a friend sell her meat products at a popular, big-city farmer’s market. One of the most popular items is chicken feet (makes great broth that gels, I’m told!). Knuckle bones, chicken livers and gizzards, and organic liver are also popular (and cheaper), along with the normal steaks and ground beef.
My grandfather, raised during the Great Depression, said butchering was a community affair. Very little of the animal was wasted. They even scrambled the brains, which are highly perishable and had to be eaten within hours of the animal being butchered. Tongue sandwiches were also favorites.
Although things weren’t wasted during the Great Depression for obvious reasons, I wonder if my grandfather’s immigrant parents were just used to eating the entire animal. A former student (her parents weren’t born in the US), says a cow’s head wrapped in foil and roasted is incredible. She doesn’t like the eyeballs, though they are a delicacy to the rest of the family. And her favorite food ever is a soup with tripe in it.
“Nourishing Traditions,” by Sally Fallon gives several suggestions for eating organ meats like sweetbreads, kidneys, liver, heart, brains, and chicken livers. Consume with care: Liver, for instance, can accumulate toxic substances, and some believe that eating brains can transmit bovine diseases to humans.
Grinding up organ meats and mixing it with ground beef can disguise the taste if you’re unsure. But I’d rather save money using less adventurous techniques.
Make the Meat Stretch And Use it All Up
When I first started cooking for my husband, meat was the focus of our meals. Pork chops, steaks, chicken breasts, you name it. Our grocery bill was high for two people.
“You eat like what?” my sister said when I complained about our expensive grocery bills. “We eat a lot of one-dish dinners and casseroles, so the meat is diluted with vegetables or pasta. I can feed my family for less.”
I switched, then, and it made a big difference in our food budget. If we do have pork tenderloin one night, then I will make a stir fry or something with vegetables to use up the leftovers.
One of the easiest “stretcher” meals starts with a roasted chicken. Dice up the remaining chicken for a casserole or chicken enchiladas. The carcass, along with vegetable scraps or cut-up onions, can be used to make a scrumptious stock. Actually any bones can be used to make stock. The “Joy of Cooking” cookbook has pages of different stock recipes.
At our house, we rarely buy stock of any kind. In fact, I just made some chicken stock today that went into the freezer.
Cheap Cuts
Some cuts of meat are less expensive than others. When our butcher asked how we wanted our steer processed, I didn’t have a clue. Understanding the different types of cuts can definitely save you money. My farmer’s market friend has drawings of the animals and where various cuts can be found. She gives her customers suggestions on cooking methods and recipe ideas. In general, when prepared well (or medium well – haha!), the expense of the cut doesn’t mean the meat is more or less flavorful. Instead, tougher (more inexpensive) meats may benefit from long cooking times while tender cuts require less time.
And sometimes, you may actually prefer the cheaper cut. For instance, boneless skinless chicken breasts are $1.49 per pound on the biggest sale at our supermarket, while boneless skinless chicken thighs are sometimes $.99 per pound. Because the thighs are juicier, we actually prefer the cheaper of the two options.
Paying Less For Meat
Buying a quarter or half of beef or any other animal may not save you money from the cheapest source of meat. However, the meat will probably be better quality. Or, at the very least, you can find a farmer/rancher who raises the meat in a way that’s important to you.
But sometimes it is cheaper. We don’t often raise beef, but we had two steers about four years ago. We sold them for $1.50 a pound. This was live weight, so our customers (aka family) paid for the whole animal and had to pay processing costs, but it was less expensive on average for them.
We’ve also raised and butchered (just once) our own chickens. In the past, for friends and family who want chicken (but don’t have the space or don’t want to do the chicken chores), we have split the cost of chicks, feed, and processing costs. Then, my husband and I do the work, and we split the chickens at the end. We end up making $2/hour or something, but we know exactly how the chickens were raised. And so do our friends.
Lastly, when meat goes on sale, you can stock up if you have a freezer. My “buy now” price is $.99 per pound or less.
Any way you slice it, animal protein takes up a signifiant amount of our food budgets, so if we can beef up our tactics, we can save some money at the grocery store.
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There are 68 comments to "How to save money on meat and decrease your budget’s bite".
I own cattle so I am keeping one animal for consumption. They only eat grass so the meat is really good.
We also do stews and dishes that do not require a lot of meat, gradually you get used to it and just use meat for flavor. I used to love a huge steak but can barely finish it now.
While I don’t mind reducing quantity I try to keep buying high quality meats. Processed meat like sausages, patties, is made from the worst unhealthy parts and sold at lean meat prices.
We quit eating meat altogether last year for a variety of reasons. At first, it was hard to find recipes for things we wanted to eat on a regular basis… but now we don’t miss meat at all. There are many cheap protein sources that can replace the need for meat altogether!
We currently live someplace where meat is pretty cheap compared to say, vegetables.
Here’s some of our tips for saving money on food. Thank goodness we don’t have to use them anymore (though I still like split pea soup): http://nicoleandmaggie.wordpress.com/2010/11/22/cooking-when-youre-really-broke/
It’s weird how people nowadays think every meal needs to have meat. People used to eat meat a lot less often. American meat consumption per person has risen tremendously and we are fatter and unhealthier than ever. I try to eat very little meat,for a variety of reasons. I really only eat meat when going out to dinner, which is not often. However, reducing meat in your diet to save money may not work. My food bills have never been higher since we’ve been trying to eat a mostly whole food, mostly vegan diet. Fresh produce is crazy expensive, and I’m not even buying organic.
I can’t speak for all Americans, but the more meat my husband and I ate, the healthier and thinner we got. We were only too happy to eat pizza and pasta and had the waistlines to prove it. Our expanded waistlines weren’t specifically due to low meat, but more to low protein and high refined carbs. Now that we know we need more protein and less (like no) refined carbs, we could eat less meat and still maintain our weight, but we’d need to find other sources of protein. But our protein of choice these days is pretty much chicken (and chicken eggs). I doubt there’s a direct link between American meat consumption and American obesity.
We’ve had the same experience. More meat & eggs, less cereal, bread and pasta, and we are much healthier.
So saving money on meat is a good thing to know how to do! 🙂
When I eat unprocessed meats, eggs, and veggies, I lose a bunch of weight and feel great. For me, grains and starches are the killer.
The fattest and most tired I’ve ever been was while trying veganism, and not carelessly but “the right way.”
We read books, and we ate fresh salads and nuts and seeds and beans and buckwheat and kasha and tofu, we made seitan, used nutritional yeast, etc, etc…– it was the horror. Recovery from workouts would take days, and I was always sleepy, and I put on fat.
Your medicine–my poison–and vice versa. Right?
My experience completely matches yours, Mom of Five…and not one of us is ever sick, even during cold/flu season. Too many dietary simple carbs are a really negative factor for some people…others are unaffected by grains and sugars, at least in the short term.
I have seen the opposite affect: I have been able to lose weight by eating MORE meat and eliminating breads and grains. A while ago, in trying to keep my grocery bills lower, I unintentionally started eating a higher percentage of pastas, breads, etc. My weight increased slowly over time. Now, I’m trying to focus on health and am feeling better and losing weight by eating mostly meats, veggies, and fruits. Skinless chicken breasts have very little fat, as does fish.
A number of studies have found that there is a distinct link between rates of obesity and poverty. And this link makes sense since good-for-you food, like low-fat meats and fresh fruits and veggies, are much more expensive than not-so-good-for-you foods.
Actually Phoenix fat-phobia is part responsible for the excess carbs that ails us today. Good quality fat is an excellent fuel and keeps you going all day and makes your brain happy.
These days I cook my daily lunch or breakfast with home-rendered leaf lard from pastured pigs (I buy the raw leaf lard, and grind and render it at home). I’ve been losing weight steadily while avoiding hunger, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, etc.
Good fat is your friend! Coconut oil is great too. And pastured butter… mmmm!
Great point about the fat, El Nerdo. It serves as an energy source like carbs, but it is healthier for you. I use Coconut oil and olive oil a lot.
Beans are a cheap alternative to meats. You get most of the necessary amino acids at a much lower cost than meat. Plus, you get lots of fiber.
I was definitely overweight, and borderline obese when my diet was full of starches, bread, pasta, soy, all of the foods that’s cheaper and more accessible for purchase. Now I eat vegetables, some fruits, nuts, seeds, eggs, good fats and meat and fish and I’ve never been healthier, thinner with great blood work numbers.
As someone who has PCOS had insulin resistance, poor thyroid function, etc, my ND recently told me I made one of the biggest comebacks he’s ever seen and I owe it to my diet (and other lifestyle choices).
I also have PCOS (though I’ve always been thin, I had all the other typical symptoms). I wouldn’t say I increased the amount of meat I ate once I was diagnosed. I have typically always eaten meat once per day. The crucial thing was cutting waaaaay down on sugar and simple carbs and all processed food. Nearly all my PCOS symptoms normalized within a couple months.
Sugar and simple carbs are the absolute devil.
It really depends what you’re replacing all the meat with. If you’re eating less meat but more processed carbs then you’re not doing yourself a whole lot of favours. If you’re eating whole grains and things that grow? You’re probably doing better.
I’ve been fighting the strategic use of meat battle in my house. I tolerate meat but my husband would have it as the main at every meal, so we’ve had to figure out compromises. Having less meat-centric meals but being willing to spend money on cuts that we love, and more meals where the meat is just a component (like a casserole or a stir fry) has been great on our budget.
I’ll chime in with the other meat-eaters, here.
While I love pasta, potatoes and the dark breads available in here Germany, these starch-based products fill me up, but do not hold back hunger for very long.
Large portions of fresh fruit work a littler better, but meat and eggs and cheese work best for me.
I just roasted a chicken last night – we got it at Safeway a few weeks ago for something like $.75/lb and threw it in the freezer. Between that and the blanched asparagus that I got on sale for $1.50, we had a nice, reasonable meal and a ton of leftovers. I’ll make a chicken curry tonight for dinner, the BF will take chicken sandwiches to work on Tuesday and Wednesday, and any leftovers will go toward chicken tacos for dinner Tuesday night – three days worth of meals for about $4 worth of chicken? Yes, please!
We raise our own meat sheep who are pastured in our backyard. They mow for us and fertilize the yard, too. No need to invest in lawn equipment. I can’t say their meat is cheaper, but it’s totally clean, grass-based and they’re well-cared for. Not every person can provide meat this way ( since grass-based requires more space/unit calories) so we also incorporate cheaper plant protein in our diet.
I’m a vegetarian, but for those who choose not to be: Get away from the pattern of thinking of meat as the “main dish” and everything else as a “side dish” that’s unworthy of attention. Pay as much attention to the vegetables and grains as you do to the meat – when you’re cooking them as well as when you’re eating them.
We get a 1/4 cow once per year from my uncle who raises grassfed organic beef and butchers the meat himself.
My husband is a big meat eater. I do enjoy the steaks but if I had to live without meat I would be okay with that. I like carbs better anyway!
We eat a meatless dinner at least once per week and it’s usually grilled cheese sandwiches.
I’ve often thought of doing this but given in the last 18 months I lost electricity twice for 5+ days each time, I’m fearful of making the investment. It was painful to throw out what I did throw out—I don’t know how I’d feel if it also included the steaks/etc from a 1/4 cow, you know? That’s the only thing that holds me back,the uncertainty now. (Actually my upright freezer is empty at present. Didn’t fill it back up since the last time. Scaredy cat.)
We don’t eat a lot of meat and this is one of the reasons. We buy when it’s on sale and watch for cheaper cuts of meat. We did also start buying a quarter which lasts us quite some time and they’re not pumped full of hormones and such.
We only eat meat a few times per week now. When we do, it is local and pastured meat. I am strongly against factory farming so if I want a chicken breast it is more like $13.99/lb. We have changed the way we eat so we can buy the better meat. We always make broth from the chicken bones and beef bones. It is a priority for us to eat quality meat so we just eat it less often.
This is exactly what I do. Once I learned about factory farming, my desire to eat most meat practically disappeared. Now we’ll usually have one meat dish a week (but since there are only two of us, that usually means two nights of leftovers), but we make sure it’s something like local grass-fed beef.
Thanks for your suggestions. This sentence caught my attention, though: “Consume with care: Liver, for instance, can accumulate toxic substances, and some believe that eating brains can transmit bovine diseases to humans.”
What is the likelihood of these complications? Do the savings from eating brains and livers actually outweigh the potential costs of dealing with these medical issues? Yikes!
T – I don’t really know the answers to your questions, but I would say forget the brains. They are highly perishable. My grandfather and his family only ate them because they didn’t want to waste anything. He said they weren’t very tasty.
I thought liver could accumulate toxins, but some quick research shows differing opinions. Some sources say liver can accumulate toxins; other sources say it only filters toxins. Eating liver occasionally, especially from younger, grassfed animals, probably would not cause problems. I actually despise liver :). It’s one of the few things I will not eat.
Careful with this and research the nutritional value of various cuts of meat. Cheaper chicken thighs taste better because they are a lot worse for you than a nice lean white meat chicken breast. Hamburger meat is probably the cheapest way to get beef, but it’s often full of junk. I will gladly pay more for the better cuts of meat for my health. A better option is to buy the big bulk bags of breasts, watch for good sales (once in awhile my store runs half off good cuts of steak so we stock up), or to eat vegetarian meals as much as possible. If you used a long term plan of eating cheap cuts of meat, you could be doing serious damage to your health. When anything is consistently cheap, it’s usually because of poor quality.
I used to cut corners with food quality and now I don’t as much, across the board. I’ve cut out most cheaper packaged food and I do green smoothies. My health is better and my previously weak stomach is stronger. I can find hundreds of other ways to cut from my budget. A cheaper soap is probably not going to hurt you. However, a cheaper piece of meat could. What I put *inside* my body is not worth cutting corners on.
Actually dark meat has more nutrients than white. There’s a reason you’re supposed to ‘eat your colors’ – no color = limited nutritional value.
Actually, their nutritional value is virtually the same, however chicken thighs have more sodium, fat, calories and cholesterol. Hands down more expensive breasts are a healthier option.
I am a bit envious of the meat prices you quote, sometimes I see pork for 2$ a pound but meat here is always more expensive, even when on the best of door-crashers sales, than what you’ve quoted. That being said, I really tend to eat around the meat when I cook. I’d much rather eat a veggie stir fry with cashews than the chicken. It takes some creativity to get meals to the table without too much reliance on meat but once you have a few reliable recipes you can please the pickiest of dinner guests:)
Go vegan. You’ll not only save a ton on groceries, your quality and quantity of life will greatly improve!
A good friend of ours was put on a vegan diet by his cardiologist. Our friend got fond of saying, “I don’t know if I’m going to live any longer, but it’s sure feeling that way!” 😉
He ended up switching to an extremely low glycemic index diet – his numbers are a lot better and he’s a lot happier now that he can eat his eggs and bacon(!).
In my experience, people who make fun of vegan diets almost never have any idea what properly prepared vegan food actually looks like.
I’m not making fun of vegan diets, I’m merely pointing out that veganism doesn’t necessarily improve a person’s quality of life.
For the record, we have many vegans and vegetarians among the younger generation in our extended family. We are always careful to accommodate them when we entertain. It’s a favor not returned by them when they entertain the carnivores, but that’s ok because they’ve got a moral objection to meat, and in some cases, eggs and dairy, which I can respect.
If veganism has improved your quality of life, good for you. But a blanket statement that veganism will improve a person’s quality of life is presumptuous and in some cases, wrong.
Mom of five: Like your relatives, I’m vegetarian (and mostly vegan) not because I think it’s better for me, but because I know it’s better for the animals.
“Quality of life” can refer to health, or it can refer to the pleasure of eating tasty food. I don’t feel I’ve lost out in either respect. The human body has evolved to thrive on a wide variety of diets, so there’s no one single best way of eating for everybody, or even for anybody.
@ Johanna,
I think you and Mom of 5 are agreeing on the same point–that there is no single way that increases everybody’s quality of life. For me, lack of meat would mean a reduction in my quality of life–it is one of my favorite meals and I would miss meat too much (and miss social lunches with friends who were wanting to meet at restaurants serving meat).
As for the animals, while I realize that everybody has different POVs, to me, eating meat means that more cows and chickens and pigs actually live. Few, if anybody, has chickens, cows, and livestock-breed pigs for pets. While I’ve never seen domesticated livestock running around wild, I’m not sure their survival would be all that great in the wild. To me, raising livestock on free-range farms would be a much better life for animals than living in the wild with little to no natural defenses (or not living at all because we keep stealing all the land). And, it helps the smaller American farmer and the type of farm that I grew up on. (Or maybe I am just justify eating meat because it’s too tasty 😉
@phoenix: As I’m sure you know, the vast majority of cows, pigs, chickens, and other animals that are raised for food are kept under deplorable conditions that are very different from the free-range farm on which you grew up. In my opinion, the ethical choice is to raise fewer animals under those conditions, even if it means that fewer animals get to live.
If you go to the effort to eat meat only when the animals have been raised in a truly humane environment, I have nothing but respect for that choice. I make a different choice, because it’s easier for me.
Veganism = nast (for me anyway).
I made a post about it in a reply to Mom of Five above, but the spamfilters ate it.
Long story short: never again!
I second the “go vegan” recommendation. My husband and I have been vegan for almost 8 years now and our health and wallet are better because of it.
However, there is a right way and a wrong way to go vegan (as with any diet). Technically, potato chips and Oreos are vegan, so if you choose to live off of those, you’re not going to see the benefits. The same for living off pasta and processed fake meat products (which are also expensive).
But if you look to lentils, beans, veggies and grains like quinoa (which is a complete protein, btw), I guarantee you’ll lose weight, save money and your doctor will thank you.
Kurt,
I think veganism (and vegetarianism) is much like any other diet in that it’s all in the execution. If you’re eating prepared foods, vegan or not, they’re probably going to be more expensive and less healthy for you than if you’re cooking for yourself.
I’ve been vegetarian for 15 years, and sometimes my meals cost more per serving than my husband’s non-vegetarian alternatives. Sometimes not. 12 ounces of tofu is $1.99. Don’t get me started on tempeh. It’s what – $3.99 for 6oz? TVP is insanely cheap to buy in dry bulk, but I’d go nuts if I ate it every day.
I don’t think there’s automatic savings with any diet – it just takes time to figure out where your skill level of cooking is to determine how much work you’re willing to do in the kitchen to save money.
Maybe we could all save some money by eating our relatives when they die?
Your post just made me laugh! Thank you!
Apparently insects could be the next big thing, according to the UN.
Yeah, I’m not kidding…
http://www.cbc.ca/news/health/story/2013/05/13/insects-diet-nutrition.html
Yes! And help you stay thin and reduce greenhouse gases! http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/05/13/us-food-insects-idUSBRE94C0J420130513
And imagine how easy insects would be to rear in your own home! Man, if I could JUST get over the yuck factor!
These are great tips. Meat is a staple food in almost every meal my wife and I make. It can get expensive, but I don’t really like pasta so it’s tough to find much else that fills me up. We’ll have to start trying some of these tips. I’ve wanted to try to buy a 1/2 a cow or something like that, but haven’t gotten around to it yet.
We’ve been raising rabbits for a year now (taste just like chicken). Raising your own is not the cheapest way to go, by far, but if you are into ‘grass-fed’, hormone-free, and such, it is much cheaper. And I have been amazed by how LITTLE space they take up– 4 pens(2 females, 1 male, and a grow-out cage) can be less than ~4′ by 6′. Oh, and gathering wild foods for them 1) makes you feel good and 2) saves you money. 😉
For us, going to the various ethnic grocery stores saves us quite a bit of money. We can get 10 limes for a $1 at the Mexican grocery store or we could buy 2 limes for a dollar at Whole Foods. The jalapenos are so large at the Mexican store it can be somewhat obscene. The lentils and garbanzo beans are much cheaper at the Middle Eastern store than Trader Joes.
We live in a condo so a garden is a pipe dream but I am able to grow some things in my window sill. I love pesto so I always try to have basil on hand. Right now, I am growing garlic from a leftover piece I had and it is super easy and I use the scapes daily.
I don’t cook meat at home but along the lines of “eat the crazy stuff”, don’t forget to use the celery leaves, keep the skins on when making potatoes and shred the broccoli stalk when cooking. It is a good way to not waste food, get more nutrients and possibly fill up quicker.
So true. I recently found a small Middle Eastern market where I got garlic for $1.59 a pound, whereas at Whole Paycheck it’s 100% more. Lemons and limes are 10 cents each. I get cashews, olive oil, tamarind paste, and many other items that we use regularly for a song there.
Loved this post! My girlfriend and I both have cut way down on our meat costs over the last year or so. We mostly eat chicken and/or eggs with any of our animal protein meals and only get red meat as a treat now and then. Very cheap if you know how to shop!
Thank you for this awesome post,Lisa.
I have long been a proponent of healthy foods, even on a very tight budget.There is some truth to the saying that we “pay the farmer/rancher, or pay the doctor”.
There are very good websites and blogs with ideas, tips, etc. All one needs to do is search for Homemade Broth and go from there.
Broths and what we consider offal(awful)or throw-away meat contain minerals and other nutrients that some believe are responsible for many of our present day health problems.
Again, I am so happy to see such an informative article on GRS…thanks!
One last thing to add for fans of chicken as cheaper protein:
In order to satisfy consumer demand, the FDA is authorizing industrial chicken producers to increase the speed of processing lines.
Increased speed means that instead of removing contaminated carcasses from the line in order to clean them manually and chemically clean them (with various harsh chemicals), now all carcasses will move through and will be processed equally — i.e., all industrial chickens will be bleached. They are already irradiated (as is beef).
See:
Radiation – http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2012/12/fda-expands-irradiation-uses-for-meat-and-poultry/#.UZFSa5VrIaU
and
Chemicals – http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2020862149_poultrychemicalsxml.html
(also found in the Washington Post, April 25 issue).
Now, you might say: I’d rather eat bleached chicken than feces, water already has chlorine and it’s safe to drink, etc., so, yes, that’s a valid reasoning.
For me, however, it’s worth it to allocate a good portion of my “wants” money to high quality organic meats (beef, pork, lamb, fish, game, etc).
Last week we got a whole organic chicken for $13 at Trader Joe’s and after boiling the bird we got 5 lunches out of that pot (for 2 people) between various chix salads and some soup variations. That’s $1.30 per lunch per person (okay, add veggies and seeds and stuff like that).
Yes, I get it that not everyone can or would want to pay for organic, but if you can, say, cut cable to add good meat to your diet, it’s well worth it in my opinion– no GMOs in the feed, no antibiotics, no chemicals washes, etc.– and much better taste.
Of course it’s a free country, YMMV, etc., but there’s the info for you to decide and do as you please.
So ture. And supermarket chickens have disturbingly high levels of arsenic http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/05/130513095030.htm, as well as large sodium content from the injected water and sodium put in them to keep the meat moist…exceptionally poor risks for those who must avoid salty foods for medical reasons. In the end, it seems much better to spring for the good poultry and meats and use them sparingly with lots of healthy veggies and some good fats.
The chicken we eat is almost all organic. I switched our family a few years ago when I was last pregnant to the stuff without the antibiotics, which in most cases, is organic. Since then, whenever I’ve purchased regular chicken we notice it just doesn’t taste as good. Same is true with our eggs.
For the most part, we haven’t made the big leap to organic with fruits and veggies. That might be too expensive for us.
Mom of Five, we made the switch to all-organic produce when our oldest kid first started eating solid food. True, it’s more expensive, but we’ve found by trying to eat what’s in season, we can get great prices. We also shop at the farmers’ markets and have a garden (I’m hoping to make it bigger this year by moving toward edible landscaping and growing edibles instead of ornamentals in my containers).
As with anything, it comes down to priorities. I’d rather give up something else so I can afford organic food. Our biggest food budget buster is alternatives to address food allergies. Has anyone else priced rice pasta or non-dairy cheese? Not cheap.
Often, the “stranger” parts of meats have the most nutrients, as well!
We’re a lot like you two were apparently – usually the steak or pork chop is the main dish and we have green beans and a starch for sides. But we also have started saving money by using a deep freeze to stock up when cuts we love are cheap and we use a lot more ground beef and turkey now than ever before. Veggie intake is up and meat intake is down a little – that’s working so far. Thanks for more ideas!
I second the point about making meat go farther. My go-to dish is stir fry and it does a great job of stretching small portions and heaping on the veggies. (I sometimes throw in some frozen with the fresh to help trim costs there too.)
When you actually measure out recommended serving sizes for meat, many people eat more than they need.
I purchase my meat from the commissary. It’s almost half the cost of other supermarkets’ meat. I recommend people to look into it and see if they qualify for any reason.
Great examples of making meat go farther! Although I like the idea of the purity of a hunk of meat, mixing it into a casserole or stir-fry is such a great way to get you [meaty-tasting] veggies, too!
I also love all the comments that debate what’s healthier– meat vs. vegetarianism– and EVERYONE is right, in a way… Your personal health is very unique, and so is the best diet for you!
I agree! What works for one person doesn’t always work for another. Sometimes people have food sensitivities, intolerances or minor allergies that they don’t know about until they try a different way of eating.
The local butcher has been featured on Groupon several times lately–the half price makes it almost (but not quite) comparable to the grocery store, but much, much better quality.
When it comes to managing your family budget, food is definitely a big ticket item. These are great tips for saving money on food and freeing up resources for other things.
One thing that comes to mind as far as saving money is this. For our family it is not so much about shopping for deals, as it is making sure we shop directly after a meal. If we go shopping directly before dinner, we will delude ourselves into believing why we “have to have” the filet mignon, or the $20 dollar per lbs. Halibut. If we go to the market after a great meal, the deals and more fragile budget is made possible. Regards, Terri
I have almost cut meat from my diet because of the price but now I have to take an iron supplement because my iron levels were low.
I only buy final day of sale, marked down cuts of meat and I usually get nasty looks from people who feel they are too good to perfectly good meat with a 50% off short dating sticker on it. I just bring it home, rewrap in milk bags and freeze.
I absolutely hate wasted food!
Waste of food is a wasted money and it will hurt your budget too! So avoid throwing some left overs if you can still eat them and make them fresh. Making a no waste on food is like saving and investment. The more you do it the more you have extra cash on hand. I applied that principle on my trade, I don’t need to throw every good opportunity that comes to me. Money making is not quite easy but binaryoptions-affiliate.com affiliates programs I think I am doing it right and happy with the results so far.
Lisa, your post title reminded me of my new favorite cost-conscious cooking website, Budget Bytes. Most of her meat-oriented recipes seem to run about $1.50 or so per serving. I’ve been making a variation of this one for years:
http://budgetbytes.blogspot.ca/2012/05/chili-cheese-beef-n-mac-781-receip-130.html
If you really did read Nourishing Traditions then you should know meat is eaten for a whole lot of other reasons besides just protein. It provides nutrients that plants just don’t have. There were no vegan societies before supplements were invented; there’s good reason for that.
Also, it’s a myth that liver contains all sorts of toxins. The liver does not work by storing and hoarding toxins. It breaks them down, makes them harmless (or at least less harmful), and gets rid of them. There are a very few exceptions to this but they’re pollutants that are human-made, and if we weren’t making them, they wouldn’t be an issue. Different traditional cultures disagree on which organs are best to eat but nearly all of them prize the liver. And they did not suffer from the chronic diseases we see now. (Infectious diseases and accidents, sure. And yes, quite a few of them DID live past thirty. There’s a reason nursing homes are an entirely modern phenomenon.)
The very best way to save money on food is to quit buying starches, cut way back on even natural sugars, grow your own fruits and vegetables for maximum nutritional value and quit eating in restaurants, which would free up more money for more sustainable meat choices. And don’t limit yourself to muscle meat because that’s the most expensive way to get it. Get that cookbook and other books on the subject of nose-to-tail eating and learn from them.
There are indeed veg*ns with heart disease and cancer and obesity and type 2 diabetes as a direct result of their diet, and how much of each you see in a given person depends on what specific foods they’re eating and their individual physiology. They feel better when they ditch Standard American Diet junk food but it’s a temporary situation; eventually they’ll fall apart from poor-quality supplements, too much carbohydrate, too many seed oils, and not enough animal fats. It’s telling to me that so many of the Hollywood celebs getting cancer or having massive heart attacks were veg*n for some years before they collapsed. Any change in your diet that improves your health will do it immediately and if you do still get sick as a result of past bad choices from which you have not completely healed, your illness should be less severe, not more so. That’s not what I’m seeing in these people.
Hi Dana,
Not only have I read Nourishing Traditions, I have my own treasured copy. So, yes, I know that meat has other benefits than protein.
I also addressed the liver and toxins issue above in the comments. I love learning about nutrition and have many books on the subject. However, one frustrating thing is the conflicting information. One book cites studies that show benefits of eating animal protein while another describes studies that prescribe a vegan diet. Anyway, so I have seen conflicting info on the liver/toxin issue. I think everyone agrees that liver from younger animals that did not consume yucky stuff is definitely better.
Other good ideas, too!