How to Practise Extreme Kitchen Thrift

Compared to how the majority of our ancestors lived, we are all rank beginners in practising a thrifty or frugal lifestyle. They really knew how to squeeze a nickel back then! I have a lot of ancestors from Scotland myself, so maybe that's why I have such an interest in thrifty living. In any case, if you want to learn some extreme thrift ideas, this article will help you.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• kitchen
• some money for buying food

1. In the past most people were very careful to not waste food. Because their storage methods were a bit more primitive than ours are now, people quickly learned how to use up everything, so that there was little kitchen waste.
   Back then any peelings or other kitchen waste that was not actually eaten would be fed to the pigs, or used to make compost, or, in the case of coffee grounds, spread around certain garden plants. Nothing was wasted, if it was possible to use it.
   
   It has been estimated that about 30% of all the food purchased in The United States is wasted. To put this another way, for every $1.00 spent on food, about .33 cents is wasted!
   
   I was shocked by that 30% figure, and as someone who does try not to waste food, I have resolved to waste a lot less food in the future.
2. One of the things that can save anyone a lot of money is buying foods in bulk. Especially foods like grains, rice, and beans.
   Find the cheapest source for every one of these bulk foods, and store carefully so the food is not lost through improper storage methods.
   
   And, along the same lines, store some extra foods in your kitchen pantry, or wherever you have some storage room.
   
   You'll save a lot of money doing this because food prices are rising sky high right now, and with no end in sight. Try to have a couple of months food storage at least, more if possible.
   
   Our ancestors often had at least a years worth of food in their pantries.
   
   We think storing up food is unusual nowadays, but actually the opposite is true. In the past it was practically unheard of for every family not to have a food storage system for their household.
   
   Throughout human history people of every culture stored as much food ahead as they could.
   
   Food was stored in whatever primitive or ingenius method they could develop for those times when nothing was growing, or their crops failed, or times were hard, or a neighbor lost everything and they wanted to help them out by sharing their extra food with the family.
3. Learn to cook from scratch, and depend less on eating out, and on mixes that are very expensive to buy but that can be made much cheaper at home.
   Learn to cook period. If you have all the basic cooking skills, you are far ahead of someone who can't cook and so is forced to eat out.
4. Buy bread from thrift bakeries, and shop the surplus and discount grocery stores for bargains on everything.
   Stock up when an item you use regularly goes on sale.
   Use store brands.
   Some people purchase food in bulk, informally with a group of friends, or as a part of a food cooperative.
   Shop at Asian, Mexican, and other ethnic grocery stores, for a wide variety of vegetables, and other foods, and very often cheaper prices too.
5. Do bulk cooking. Prepare a huge batch of a meal or recipe that you regularly eat, then save enough for tonights meal, while the rest gets placed into meal-sized containers and frozen for future meals.
   This will save you both time and money, plus it's nice to know that you always have some quick, healthy, inexpensive meals in your freezer for those times you're just too tired to start a meal from scratch.
6. tomatoes on the vine Grow a garden, as big as you have room for and can handle. In the past nearly everyone had a garden, whether they lived in the city or the country.
   Can, freeze, and eat fresh, all the produce you grow. Do not waste any of it.
   If you have too much for you own use, share some with your friends or neighbors.
7. There are all kinds of ways you can save money in the kitchen, but one of the most vital is to set a budget and then don't spend any more money on food than you can afford.
   Eat foods in season, and that are grown locally, as much as possible, as they are usually quite a bit cheaper when you do that.
   Substitute a cheaper alternative for an expensive ingrediant in a recipe.
   Make soups, casseroles, and salads more often.
   Eat less meat. Use 1/2 to 3/4 less meat in every recipe for casseroles, stir frys, pasta dishes, and other meals that use meat.
   If you must buy meat, buy it in bulk, and freeze in family-sized packages.
   Use your pressure cooker and crock pot more often, as they can save you time, as well as energy, in your kitchen. Using a pressure cooker or crock pot allows you to buy the cheaper cuts of meat also, as the cooking method will tenderize the meat.
8. Stop buying all snack foods, sodas, candy, prepared meals, and mixes. Make your own mixes, drink mostly water, and eat fruit and vegetables for snacks.
   Desserts should be a treat, rather than something you must have every meal.
9. Use simple products like vinegar, and baking soda for cleaning. They are all natural and do a pretty good cleaning job.
   Avoid wasting water, or constant opening and closing of your refrigerator.

Tips & Warnings

• Simple meals are often the best when you are trying to save money in the kitchen. Use the freshest vegetables in your salads and meals, and you won't feel any sense of deprivation.
• Eating out is very expensive, and if you are on a tiny food budget, should be avoided as much as possible.