BellaOnline Forums Money Frugal Living Grocery Savings

Hello all,

I just posted a new article on grocery store savings. Any further pearls of wisdom to add? What action do you find saves the most on groceries?

Grocery Store Savings

Those are great tips! I definitely try to make lists and shop in an organized fashion. My boyfriend loves to just "shop" so I think he would like to go shopping every single day for whatever random items strike his fancy We are two different people!

Here's a recipe that everyone should try: HOMEMADE COUGH DROPS
Boil 1 cup Molasses, 1 cup brown sugar, 1/4 cup vinegar and 2 tablsp. butter without stirring until a firm ball forms in water, 5 -7 min. add 1 tsp. baking soda, stir briskly and remove from heat, fold in 1/2 of a small onion, finely diced.
Cover a large sheet of wax paper with nonstick spray, drop spoonfuls of mixture on wax paper. Eat at least half before sundown and you'll feel better in the morning. Try it.

Thanks Cindy. It sounded like Candy until the onion part! I'll try it next time I'm feeling under the weather.

Foraging for food in an urban setting? Crabapple trees ( often used as a hardy substitute for cherry trees in downtown parks, are just dripping with ripe fruit: The juice is tart- perfect to add complexity and balance to any smoothie. Simply blend 1 banana, 1 tbsp. oatmeal, 1 cup crabapple juice, 1 cup frozen berries ( I use wild blackberries I picked) and 1 scoop protein powder ( don't use chocolate flavor) run the blender for 3-5 min.
If you want it sweeter, add some unsweetened applesauce, blend a few seconds more. Serves 2

For all novices: Crabapple juice is a snap to make, simply simmer fruit in just enough water to barely touch the top layer until crabapples are soft and begin to split- approx. 45 min.
Use a regular strainer-save juice in large bowl ( If a few chunks of fruit slip through,fine- won't hurt the quality abit)
When cooled, transfer to pitcher, place in fridge.

Cindy, you totally have the best foraging recipes. I want to try the crabapple one - that sounds awesome. And there are tons of crabapple trees around. I never know what to do with those fruits.

Here's one more, then its bedtime- got to get up early, going black walnut picking tommorow. Crabby Brownsugar pie: 1 half cup crushed walnuts,1 cup crabapple juice, 1 cup brownsugar splenda, 2 eggs, 1 stick butter, 1/3 cup wheat or oat flour ( I used rice flour from a food pantry once, came out fine), 1 tsp. baking soda, 2 tblsp. Cider vinegar, 1 tsp. applepie or allspice, blend until frothy: Line 10-12 inch pie plate with pastry, add walnuts , pour filling into pie plate, bake in 325 degree oven 65 min, filling pulls away from edges and middle is puffy.

Yum. I seriously would love to have a little bit of land in a place I would not mind living in, and getting all homespun as a lifestyle. It's a constant fantasy.

I grew up with a crabapple tree in the back yard and we never touched any of them because they were tart. What a waste! We had a ton of free food falling from the sky!