Spend Smart. Eat Smart.

Jennifer sent a note asking if there is an easy way to compare prices across stores? I will share three ways that I do it, but I am sure there are more ways and we would LOVE to hear your ideas.

1. I started using a price book last fall. This way I can see if prices are moving up or down on certain items and also compare prices between stores. 

 

2. I usually make my shopping list the evening the store flyers come out. I look at the list of what I need and then I look through the fliers for those items, plus products I buy all the time, like eggs, apples, carrots, yogurt, etc. As I look at each store ad, I jot down what I would buy if I went to that store. When I get done, I pick the one that has the best buys for me that week. (I only go to one store/week unless there is a really good deal at two stores.) This also helps me learn which stores are best for me.

 

3. Although this method takes the most time, it will give you the clearest answer to which store is best for you. Make a list of the 10-15 items you frequently buy and go to the different stores and write down the prices. Then add up the list costs and see the price difference over the whole list. 

We have priced many foods in the last year for several different projects in Ames, and we do find differences between the stores. If you have ideas how to compare between stores, please let us know.

-pointers by Peggy

food cost price book, price comparison, shopping list, store ad

As I was cleaning the freezer to make room for the coffee cakes for my son Alan’s graduation party, I found several packages of frozen rhubarb. The fresh rhubarb is ready now, so it’s time to clear out the freezer of the old. To make a healthy rhubarb sauce, just cook together some canned pineapple with juice with the rhubarb – no need for additional sugar. For a taste variation, you could stir in a little orange juice. Note that when using frozen rhubarb in recipes, do allow it to thaw and drain it before measuring – you do NOT need to squeeze it dry. The Guilt-Free Spring Fruit Medley in the May issue of  Food for Fitness and Fun will cost only 26 cents per serving if you don’t have to pay for the rhubarb.

-contributed by Jan Temple

food cost, food preparation, recipes freezer, pineapple, recipe, rhubarb

Sometimes it’s the way you present food that makes it special. Fruit Kabobs are an example. You could chop fruits up and stir the yogurt in, but it wouldn’t look this good.

Kids will love to make their own kabobs—let them choose the fruit, and maybe slip in something they haven’t tried. Check out the SpendSmart. Eat Smart. recipe page for the Fruit Kabob recipe and a video demo. Let the kids watch, and after the fruits are cut into pieces, they can take over!

The cost for the fruit kabobs is $2.67 for 30. I wouldn’t buy the whipped topping for just 2 tablespoons, but if you have it on hand, it adds a little.

Fruit Kabobs for $2.67
 1 red delicious apple: $0.30
 2 kiwi: $0.67
 10.6 ounce can chunk pineapple: $1.00
 8 ounces low-fat fruit yogurt: $0.66
 2 tablespoons fat-free whipped topping: $0.04

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, food preparation, recipes fruit, kabobs, kids, recipe, yogurt

I’m back on the coupons today with an investigation of bread products and desserts. See the previous posts for the beginning of this series:
To Coupon or Not to Coupon and
Do coupons save money on vegetables?

There were 21 coupons for breads, pastas, and desserts in the Sunday paper. I wanted to see if the coupons would save money, so off Amanda went to the local stores to check prices.

Cost per biscuit ranges from $.15 to $.31. The store brands are both less expensive than the name brand even with the coupon, and I don’t have to  buy two packages. Store B saves me money.

Cost per breadstick varies from $.17 to $.31. In this example, the store brand in Store A actually costs more than the name brand, with or without the coupon. The breadsticks at Store B are 15-40% lower priced than Store A.

Oatmeal Cookies
At first I was stumped on how to compare these because they all have different amounts of cookies.  But, then I noticed they are all one pound packages, so I just compared the cost of the package to make the comparison easy – Pillsbury refrigerated cookie dough (16 cookies – 29g/cookie), Pillsbury ready to bake cookies (24 cookies – 19g/cookie), Betty Crocker cookie mix (36 cookies – 13.5g/cookie).

In this case, using the coupon saves money over the store brand or the homemade. Here’s the recipe for the homemade Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies we costed. It’s from foodandhealth.com.

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, recipes, resources biscuits, breadsticks, cost comparison, coupon, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies

Memorial Day makes me think of backyard barbeques, picnics, and having friends over. When I have guests, I don’t want to spend the whole day cooking and I don’t want to overshoot my food budget. Amanda, our dietetics student, and I figure we can to do the meal below for about $2 per person, or $16 for a group of 8. We figure it will take about an hour and a half of advance prep, not counting making the burgers since that will be part of the party. If I can limit myself to one deviled egg and one cookie or brownie, my diet should be in good shape, too!

Here’s the menu:

• Hamburgers and Buns - There’s nothing better than a juicy burger right off the grill. Just make sure you cook them long enough and don’t put the cooked burgers back on the plate you used when they were raw (Food Safety Specialist Sam Beattie comments).
• Rhonda’s Deviled Eggs - My sister Rhonda makes the best deviled eggs—and because of requests, she brings them to many of our family get-togethers. This is about the least expensive appetizer I know because the ingredients are inexpensive.
• Vegetable Tray - You can buy these already made, but they cost 3-4 times more than washing the vegetables yourself. Kids can help with this task.
• Watermelon - I usually check out the seedless variety. Last summer, they were often on special for around $4.
• Sugar Free Lemonade Drink Mix (from a tub) - I buy the store brand. I like the taste and it saves a ton of money. (Or, if you prefer, you could serve sun tea for your beverage.)
• Cookies or brownies – I will buy a mix of cookies or brownies and stir them together unless I have some homemade in the freezer.  

Preparations
Before the party

• Bake the brownies or cookies.
• Make the hard cooked eggs.
• Rinse and prepare the celery, radishes, carrots and onion slices (dice enough onions to make 1/3 cup and save for the deviled eggs). Put all the relishes on a serving tray or ready-to-serve container.
• Make the hamburger patties and return to refrigerator. 
• Stir up the powdered drink mix (or make sun tea) and refrigerate.
• If you don’t have to travel, make the deviled eggs and put them on the serving tray, cover and HIDE in the refrigerator. If you have to transport the eggs, carry whites and yolk mixture separately in cooler. Fill eggs on the spot, pressing filling out of snipped corner of bag.

Substitutions that will cost more:

• Buy carrots and celery sticks already prepared at the grocery store
• Buy cookies or brownies from the bakery
• Add dip for the veggies
• Buy soda and beer instead of drink mix.

Costs

Hamburgers (8 - 4-ounce servings)
2 pounds ground beef - $4.48
Wheat buns - $1.59

Deviled Eggs (12 servings)
12 eggs - $0.49
1 1/3 teaspoons mustard - $0.02
1/3 cup light salad dressing - $0.12
1/3 cup pickle relish - $0.35
Onion (counted below)

Vegetable Tray
1 pound baby carrots - $0.99
1 celery stalk - $0.99
1 bulk bunch radishes - $0.79
1 yellow onion - $0.50

Seedless Watermelon - $3.99

Sugar Free Lemonade Drink Mix (from a tub)
Mix for 1 gallon of drink - $0.95

Cookies or Brownies (from a mix, makes 8-9 servings)
Brownie mix - $0.69
1/3 cup vegetable oil - $0.12
1 egg - $0.06

Total - $16.13

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, food preparation, recipes barbeque, Deviled Eggs, food cost, Memorial Day, menu

I was surprised by the number of fruit and vegetable coupons that were in the newspaper (see To Coupon or Not To Coupon), so I took another look. Here’s the list and my analyses:

• Green Giant frozen boxed vegetables (they have cheese sauce on them) - coupon was for $.50 off when you buy two
• Green Giant frozen bagged vegetables (19-24 ounce bags, some have butter sauce on them) - coupon was for $.50 off on one

Buying the brand name frozen vegetables with the cheese or butter sauce and using the coupon is still going to cost more (sometimes double) than buying bags or boxes of frozen vegetables and adding a little tub margarine, or letting some shredded cheese melt on top at the end of cooking. Plus, I get to control the calories and fat. The boxes of Green Giant were running $1.79/10-ounce box and you have to buy two to use the coupon. The Green Giant bags of peas I saw were $3.39 for 24 ounces. With the coupon, the cost per ounce is $.12 ($2.89/24 ounces = $.12), while the store brand was on special at $.88 for 16 ounces, or $.06 per ounce ($.88/16 ounces = $.06). 

• Betty Crocker boxed mashed potatoes - coupon was for $.25 off when you buy one

Boxed mashed potatoes can be a low-cost convenience food if you get the larger size box and add your own seasonings. The coupon was for an 8-serving size box and with the coupon cost per serving was $.18—without the milk and margarine needed. There were two different brands of the large 17-serving boxes. One cost $2.49 ($.15/serving) and one cost $1.69 ($.10/serving)—again without the milk or margarine. Fresh potatoes were on sale for $1.49/5 pounds. The cost of the potatoes to make homemade mashed would be about $.12/serving.

• Nature Sweet Cherry tomatoes (fresh) coupon was for $1 off when you buy two bags

This one is a no-brainer. The cost of two bags of the cherry tomatoes minus the coupon was $5. I guess I’ll wait until later in the summer when my tomatoes start producing.

• Ragu pasta sauce - coupon was for $.30 off when you buy one jar
• Bertolli pasta sauce - coupon was for $.75 off when you buy one jar

The $.30 off coupon for the Ragu is a good price especially if it happens to be on sale. The only spaghetti sauce cheaper would be Hunts in the can. I would use the canned sauce if I was using it in a casserole; but, if I was serving spaghetti and sauce, my family would prefer the Ragu.

• Welch’s dried fruit (6-ounce bag, 5.5-ounce bag, or 9-count variety pack) - coupon was for $1 off when you buy one bag

I couldn’t check this one because my store didn’t carry the product. Not surprising, since coupons are often used to introduce new products.  

Bottom line—I would have used one of the seven fruit and vegetable coupons. 

-pointers by Peggy

food cost, resources cost comparison, coupon, fruits, vegetables

I must admit that I’m not too enthused about using coupons because I never seem to have them when I need them, and many of them are for products I don’t buy. However, since some people think they are a good way to save, it is worth investigating. 

Amanda, the nutrition student who works with us, and I counted 155 coupons in the pull-out section of last Sunday’s newspaper.  Amazing! 

• 96 coupons were for non-food items:
  • 11 for medicines/supplements/et cetera;
  • 6 for pet food and supplies; and,
  • 79 for cleaning products, toiletries, make-up, and air fresheners.
•  59 were food coupons. Here’s the breakdown from most to least:
  • Breads and pastas - 11
  • Desserts - 10
  • Fruits and vegetables - 7
  • Coffee - 4
  • Potato chips - 4
  • Restaurant coupons - 4
  • Beverages - 3
  • Cereals - 3
  • Condiments - 3
  • Dry mixes - 2
  • Frozen meals - 2
  • Side dishes - 2
  • Cheese - 1
  • Peanut butter - 1
  • Pop Tarts - 1
  • Slim Fast - 1

I am surprised there were so many fruit and vegetable coupons!  Next time, I will investigate that further.     

-pointers by Peggy

[Updated: May 14, 2009

See also: Do coupons save money on vegetables? ]

food cost, resources food coupons, fruits and vegetables, non-food coupons, savings

1. You don’t need engraved or photo invitations–it’s fine to put something together on your own computer and have the student hand it out to friends, or even just email it. Either way you save on postage.

 

2. Choose the menu carefully–you don’t have to serve an entire meal. Most people can’t eat at each party anyway. 

 

3. Choose a theme. An example: try having a cookie bar and just serve bar cookies. You can make ahead and freeze, cutting them in various sizes. Or, just serve brownies. If you use store brand vanilla ice cream with it, that can be enough.

 

4. If you work with another family, clearly define everyone’s financial and labor responsibilities before you begin. Example: will you use paper products? If so, are you using the less expensive all white products, or the more durable printed paper products? Who is responsible for clean-up? Will you limit the number of guests invited?

 

5. Choose beverages carefully–you can serve alot of ice tea or lemonade for the cost of cans of pop. Adult beverages are expensive AND you run into the problem of monitoring who is consuming them.

 

For tips on the quantity of food to purchase and how to keep foods hot/cold over the hours of your reception, call Families Extension Answer Line (800-262-3804). Hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., or email questions to answer@iastate.edu.

                      -contributed by Jan Temple

food cost, food preparation, resources beverages, graduation, menu, quantity, theme