If you’ve poked around my content enough, you know that I like cooking and eating from scratch. The main reason I started cooking everything from scratch is because of the crazy stuff they are putting in our food these days. 

I’ve been on my own journey of diets and lifestyles over the past 10 years: Paleo, Whole30, shakes, etc. and I have finally landed in a simple place: just eat real food!

Another reason I prefer cooking at home is cost! I’m cheap. When I go out to dinner and order a $50 steak I think about how I could have bought an article of clothing or a piece of gear that would stick around for a lot longer than that steak! 

Anyway, you get the picture. I want to make and eat delicious food, but I also want to do it efficiently and economically. So here are 7 things that help me save money while still enjoying delicious food.  

1. Buy spices in bulk. 

If you are cooking whole foods, the first thing you need is high quality salt! I’ve used everything – pink himalayan from Costco, whatever is marked down at TJ Maxx, etc. But my absolute favorite is Redmond Real Salt. It has over 60 trace minerals and it tastes amazing. I buy a 10lb tub Redmond (which lasts me roughly 18 months) but they have various sizes. Use code HAPPYHOME to save money!

Grocery store seasonings are way overpriced! $10 for a tiny jar – no thank you. Azure Standard is one of my favorite places to get high quality bulk spices. They have organic options for a fair price too. 

2. When you are sick of leftovers, freeze individual portions

This one is a no-brainer for me because my husband is away every 2 weeks. If I make a family size meal while he’s gone, I can get sick of it in a hurry. If I make something that is too big I will put individual meal size portions in the freezer. They come in handy for when I don’t feel like cooking and make it easier to have variety when I’m only feeding myself. This is also a great resource for a last minute meal if your day doesn’t go to plan. These are my favorite single serving freezer containers.

In the same vein, I will either split meals or make double when I’m cooking recipes that are more labor intensive. For example, if I’m making lasagna, I will either split the recipe into two 8×8 pans (instead of one 9×13) or I will double the recipe and make two 9×13 pans. One for dinner and one for the freezer. I like to have a few meals in the freezer for returning from travel, to bless someone in an unexpected situation, or just having a busy day. 

3. Repurpose leftovers or food that is going bad: 

I know I’m going to lose some of you at ‘leftovers’ because somehow you made it through your childhood without eating them. HOWEVER, is it really a ‘leftover’ when it becomes a whole new dish? Take a leftover pot roast, gravy, veggies and throw it into a pie crust and you have a whole new meal!

Another favorite of mine is doing a whole chicken on the grill (extra points if it’s a smoker) and using the leftover chicken for enchiladas. The smoked chicken adds extra depth that you wouldn’t have had if you had boiled or baked the chicken specifically for the enchilada dish. 

I also try to salvage food that is about to go bad. One of my favorites is refrigerator pickles. If you have part of an english cucumber, throw it in a jar with water, vinegar and some spices and in 24 hours you will have refrigerator pickles – better than Klaussen! 

Another easy salvage is herbs! Fresh herbs go bad so quickly. Save them before they rot! If you can’t use up all your freshly bought herbs, toss them in an ice cube tray! Basil with olive oil is a great addition to your spaghetti sauce. Or toss your cilantro in with some lime juice and you’re guacamole ready!

4. Make more food from scratch: 

Have you ever looked at the ingredient list on your bread products? 

It might look something like this:Enriched Bleached Flour (Flour, Niacin, Reduced Iron, Thiamine Mononitrate, Riboflavin, Folic Acid), Water, Vegetable Shortening (Interesterified and Hydrogenated Soybean Oils), Contains 2% or Less of: Salt, Sugar, Baking Soda, Sodium Acid Pyrophosphate, Distilled Monoglycerides, Enzymes, Fumaric Acid 

Now if you’re emotionally attached to those things, go on and keep buying your favorite premade tortillas. However, if you’re more comfortable with a list like: flour, salt, baking powder, olive oil, water, then let me encourage you that it is possible to make them at home! 

For some reason I thought english muffins, bagels, tortillas were for expert level bakers, but as I tried making them myself, I learned that they really aren’t that hard to make.

Another great thing about these products is that you can make them in bulk and freeze them. They thaw and reheat wonderfully. 

5. Buy meat products in bulk (and make your own sausage)

When chicken is on sale, buy more than you need and freeze the rest. When pork shoulder is buy one, get one free. You can grind it, throw some spices in it, and make breakfast sausage. Depending on where you live, that would probably come out to around $1 per pound of sausage instead of $3-5 of the pre-made stuff. Much less expensive compared to the prepackaged sausage in the store that’s loaded with MSG and other chemicals you can’t pronounce.

6. Make your own broth. 

This is probably the easiest thing to do on this list and nearly free since you are getting an additional product from something you would have thrown out. All you have to do is save your bones – beef or chicken. And save your vegetable scraps – onion tops, the heel of celery, carrot ends and shavings, etc. Toss it all into the Instant Pot (or crock pot, or pot on the stove) with some salt and bay leaf and wah-la you have a wonderful broth that will taste way better than store bought. My bone broth recipe is here.

7. Stop going to the grocery store multiple times a week. 

If you think you need to run to the store for one thing, rethink what you are going to make. Think about what you have on hand. Could you substitute what you have on hand? Could you go without that one ingredient? I used to run to the store multiple times a week for very particular recipes, now I modify the recipe or challenge myself to make something else with what I have on hand.

One thing at a time. 

I know this list is probably overwhelming – no person has time to start doing these things all at once. And I totally understand that people are in different stages of life, have different capacities, and interests. It took me years to learn and implement these things and of course I don’t follow all these suggestions all the time! This list is just to help identify some things you may not have thought of in the past. 

If one of these catches your eye, try it! Once you master one of them, try the next thing and before you know it you’ll be a super savvy kitchen queen!