6 Ways We Save Money in the Kitchen & Recipe Ideas

My husband and I love to cook. We only eat out a couple times a month if that. It saves sooo much money. Our biggest challenge is I get bored with the same foods all the time (and have slowly converted my husband's tastes over the last 5 years) so we have had to purchase many exotic spices to make up for not having access to all of the ethnic markets and restaurants I grew accustomed to when I lived in Boston.

In ambitious weeks we plan 3 recipes in the beginning of the week and purchase whatever ingredients we need. We eat most of our left overs (a huge money saver) so 3 recipes is plenty for 2 people for a week. In less ambitious weeks we turn to the pantry for spices and beans/tomatoes/grains and to the freezer for protein. That's when the wide selection of spices comes in handy. Maybe we have a hankering for Thai or Indian - we have lots of cookbooks, so we'll see what we have on hand and use the necessary spices to round out the dish vs. the recipe.

How we save money in the kitchen:

1. We buy generic canned goods or whatever is on sale the cheapest every time. We are not loyal to food brands and that saves us money. 
2. We keep several types of beans, tomatoes and grains on hand at all times for last minute meals.
3. We buy meats and fish on sale and always look for the cheapest prices. Freezers are your friend because sometimes buying lots at once is your best deal. If we had room we would definitely buy a deep freezer, but our apartment is way too small so we make do with the fridge. 
4. We have lots of cookbooks that we buy second hand for a couple of dollars and use the internet to find recipes. 
5. We eat leftovers for lunch and throughout the week. 
6. We invested in some hard to come by spices (which last a long time) and supplement with bulk spices from the bulk foods store and store them in dollar store or thrifted containers. This gives us lots of versatility in the kitchen - we can prepare chicken or ground beef 100 ways without it getting boring! 

I also use the interwebs as a source for recipes. I've started saving ones I like or really want to make because I think I will like them on my pinterest page.

Here's the pinterest link if you would like to browse my recipe box. I promise you won't be disappointed.