If you can't stand the expense . . . get back in the kitchen
BUDGETING 101 | Convenience foods are out, doing it yourself is in, to stretch those food dollars
Connie Fairbanks knows her way around a kitchen. She knows placing an ice cube in the middle of a hamburger will keep it moist and juicy, that hard-boiled eggs require at least 22 minutes after boiling, and that dill pickle juice cleans up a grill.
But the Chicagoan also knows about stretching the food dollar, thanks to growing up on a farm in Kansas and watching her mother feed a brood of seven for $15 a week when her father was unemployed for three months.
(Brian Jackson/Sun-Times)
Fairbanks, author of Scratch That: Seasonal Menus & Perfect Pairings (C&K Press, $35), suggests these solutions to escalating food budget woes:
-Learn, re-learn or resume cooking from scratch while foregoing more expensive convenience foods and dining out.
-Change drinking habits: Switch from bottled water and/or soda pop to tap water and brew your own coffee and tea, foregoing stops at specialty coffee/tea shops.
- "Plan, plan, plan."
The Fairbanks "scratch-to-stretch" plan for economizing means a return to baking birthday cakes from scratch rather than choosing one from a supermarket bakery ($8.49 to $22.99); making pie crust from flour, salt, vegetable shortening and ice water rather than grabbing frozen crusts (two for $2.69); roasting a whole chicken ($7.52) rather than picking up a rotisserie chicken of comparable size ($13.62) from a deli; boiling eggs ($2.49 a dozen) rather than grabbing time-expedient pre-boiled eggs ($3.60 a dozen), and cutting a head of lettuce ($1.49) rather than purchasing a bag of pre-cut lettuce ($2.60).
It means drinking tap water rather than bottled water ($3.99 for six bottles of Dasani) or soda pop ($2.99 for six cans) -- a savings of $30 to $40 a month if only two bottles of water or two cans of pop are consumed daily. Rather than spending close to $4 a day for two regular cups of coffee, $10 a day for two lattes or $3.70 a day for two iced teas from specialty coffee/tea shops, Fairbanks recommends brewing your own coffee or tea. (A can of Folgers that makes 135 12-ounce cups of coffee costs $10.99; 100 Lipton tea bags that make 20 quarts of iced tea cost $4.09).
"And if your workplace offers free coffee, take advantage of it rather than making two latte runs each workday," she prods, citing a savings of $200 a month.
Fairbanks stresses the importance of developing a plan of meals and menus for your week: "That means developing your grocery list from your plan, matching your grocery coupons to your list, and then, once in the supermarket, sticking with your grocery list."
"Planning hasn't gone out of style," Fairbanks reminds. "Eat at home more often, but be mindful of when you have to eat out, so you don't overbuy and wind up throwing out produce and perishables. And plan leftovers.
"People throw out massive amounts of food -- and that equates to throwing away massive amounts of money. Use up your leftovers for the next day's lunch -- for example, make a meat loaf and then have meat loaf sandwiches the next day. Heat up your restaurant leftovers for lunch. Or use leftovers at a future meal -- for example, make bean soup with leftover ham, carrots, onions, celery and tomatoes."
To minimize food costs, Fairbanks also recommends:
• Cut up your own carrot and celery sticks rather than buying pre-cut carrots and celery; chop your own onions rather than buying frozen chopped onions; chop your own garlic; grate your own cheese.
• Toast day-old bread for breadcrumbs.
• Make your own granola and pizza.
• Purchase the largest container of old-fashioned oatmeal (30 servings for $4.39) and portion it out rather than buying boxes of 10 individual packets ($4.19). "If you want, add dried fruit or a little cinnamon or brown sugar."
• Make your own chocolate, vanilla, tapioca or rice puddings and gelatin rather than buying individual servings (six for $3.89).
• Buy bananas in a supermarket (three for $1.50) rather than paying 99 cents or $1.50 per banana in a convenience shop.
• Make your own salad dressings. For vinaigrette, Fairbanks combines 1 clove garlic (minced), 2 tablespoons red wine vinegar, 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice, ½ teaspoon kosher salt, 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, 2 teaspoons Dijon mustard and 1 tablespoon chopped fresh herbs (such as thyme and parsley) in a small bowl. After whisking, she slowly adds one-half cup extra-virgin olive oil until it emulsifies.
• Go vegetarian two nights a week by eating more legumes, vegetables and rice.
• Return breakfast foods -- pancakes, waffles, french toast, scrambled eggs, omelets -- to the dinner table.
• Grow your own herbs.
• Resurrect potluck meals by asking friends or family to contribute a favorite or specific dish to a gathering: "It's helpful to assign [dishes] so you don't wind up with four pans of brownies and no salads."
Don't worry about flubs as you learn or relearn cooking from scratch. "If you make a mistake or have a kitchen disaster, it's OK. We've all had cakes leak out the bottom of an old springform pan or burned garlic in the microwave; it's OK, you will learn from your mistakes every time," Fairbanks reasons.
"Have fun in the kitchen. Make preparing meals a family affair," urges the author-actress, who lives in downtown Chicago with her husband, Kirk. Fairbanks favors having family members involved in every aspect of meal preparation -- from using fractions in recipes to shopping, chopping onions, setting the table and/or cleaning up. "As your family members get involved, you can communicate once again, find out what's on each other's mind, and preserve dinner time as family time.
"I'm a firm believer that people who eat together stay together."
Sandy Thorn Clark is a local free-lance writer.