Money-Saving Tips for Cooking

Do you love to cook but hate to waste money? Learning to cook meals at home is not only a great hobby but can even prove beneficial to your health! However, if you want it to be beneficial to your wallet as well, you might need to do a little planning. Fortunately, you can easily save a little cash while still whipping up delicious, home-cooked meals! Here are some straightforward money-saving tips. 

Get Creative With Pre-Prepared Ingredients 

One easy way to save money on home cooking is to get creative with pre-prepared ingredients. Rather than spending a lot of cash purchasing large quantities of ingredients you may only need once or twice, you can use pre-prepared products and get creative with them. For instance, you might: 

• Purchase an entire rotisserie chicken from the grocery store and break it down to use in soups, stews, and sandwiches rather than buying and cooking expensive separate cuts like boneless skinless chicken breasts 

• Stock up on pre-cut or frozen fruits and vegetables instead of splurging on farm-fresh ones 

• Use small, pre-mixed spice packets when you need them for specific recipes rather than buying several large, individual containers of different spices 

Use Cost-Effective Ingredients 

If you’ve been splurging on expensive items at the supermarket, you could easily lower your final bill by swapping out pricey ingredients for more cost-effective alternatives. The next time you go to the store, give the following ideas a try! 

• Instead of fresh vegetables at every meal, alternate with some canned or frozen ones. 

• Instead of meat or fish at every meal, alternate with other sources of protein, including beans, rice, nut butters, eggs, or tofu. 

• Instead of name-brand products, consider switching to alternatives such as generic store options. 

Get Creative to Avoid Food Waste 

Food waste can cause you to lose significant amounts of money on food you don’t eat. To avoid wasting food, try getting creative with your leftovers! For example, you may want to: 

• Slice up leftover cooked roasts and use them as filling for lunchtime sandwiches 

• Take leftover scrambled eggs and mix them into homemade fried rice 

• Eat dinner leftovers for lunch the next day 

• Use leftovers from breakfast later in the day and have a “breakfast-for-dinner” themed meal 

• Chop up extra veggies left in the fridge and make a quick and easy soup 

• Break up stale bread to make homemade bread crumbs 

• Repurpose older bread products and make French toast or bread pudding 

Cooking your own meals in the comfort of your home can be a relaxing activity and may even help you eat a little healthier! If you want to cook at home while keeping costs low, be sure to use these money-saving tips.