What are some easy ways to save money on food?

Tricky question you have there. Different people will have different ways of saving based on their tastes and where they live. I am in the south. I now make more meals using beans and rice. Both are easy to make and cheap. Instead of buying ham or bacon for seasoning, I use smoked breakfast sausage. I also buy canned salmon and tuna. I stock up on pasta and rice, as both are cheaper then potatoes. I buy either fresh veggies from a farmer's market or I go to a wholesaler and buy bulk frozen veggies. Either is cheaper then a grocery store right now. If you are able to and know how to can, you can save a bundle on other food items. For example, I make and can my own jelly, syrup, pickles, peanut butter, bbq sauce, and mayo. I buy in bulk when meats are on sale, (I do have a large deep freezer). Also having hunters and fisherman in the family helps. When you plan a meal, plan on a way to use the leftover's. I cooked a pork tenderloin last week, (I feed 3 adults and 2 children every night). On the night I cooked the pork we had sliced pork sandwiches. On the next night, I made rice and heated the pork in a soy glaze with summer squash, and had that. On the third night, I diced the remaining pork, tossed some green and red peppers in the skillet along with a can of stewed tomatoes, adding garlic, onions, basil, and parsley, and served this over egg noodles that had been tossed with parm. cheese., for a Italian tasting meal. It was all a matter of planning ahead. To save money only takes a little time, and effort, and a great big imagination.

Plan menus. Take a list and stick to it. Use leftovers creatively and wisely. Buy fruits and vegetables that are in season. Buy things you use often in bulk. Bulk buying can be tricky. If you get a 25 lb. bag of flour and don't store it properly, you'll throw it out when the bugs move in. Take advantage of sales. For example: I get to the store and there's an unannounced sale on pork chops. I can either change my menu or buy ahead for next week. I think in terms of cost per meal rather than in cost per pound of meat. A half pound of sirloin at $6.00 a pound means that I'm spending only $3.00 for the meat I'll use in pepper steak. That's a pretty reasonable meal especially since the rice is already cooked and in the freezer, I've got an onion in the fridge and one large bell pepper is $1.00. I bought 5 whole fryers on sale. I did the following: Cut up the legs and thighs for frying (two meals). Made hot wings (one meal). Boned the breasts (three meals). Put carcasses and backs into a pot for broth and soup meat (two meals). What I don't serve the day I cut up the chickens goes in the freezer. Large pieces of beef can be cut for roasts, meat for tacos and burritos, soup, stew or chili. Roasts can be sliced for sandwiches too. Keep convenience foods to a necessary minimum and cook from scratch. I don't buy salad dressings or salsa. I don't buy frozen pizza or frozen french fries. We like meatloaf sandwiches. I buy hamburger only when it's on sale and I buy a lot. I freeze it in 1 lb chunks. Serve one or two vegetarian main meals every week. Example: Today we are having corn fritters, lima beans, biscuits and fruit salad. Tuesday night we are having a spinach quiche with sliced cantaloupe and garlic toast. Keep in mind vegetarian doesn't necessarily mean cheap. Have you noticed the price of cheese lately?

Here's some things I do: Buy meat and poultry when it's on sale. Shop sales and use coupons. Try generic brands, sometimes there's no difference and they're usually lower salt and have less sugar. You can save a lot buying generic cold cereals. Buy cheese in blocks and slice it yourself and shred it yourself. I've now started buying cheese in 5 lb. blocks/logs to do this and am saving quite a lot by doing this since we go thru a lot of cheese. I'm spending no more than $3 a pound for the various cheeses we go thru in a month. Another perk is that the shredded cheese no longer has the additives, like corn starch. You don't have to buy 1 cheese several different ways - cheese sticks or cubes, shredded, and sliced. Compare prices. Sometimes it's not always economical to buy the larger container. The smaller container may be cheaper. Buy meats and poultry and plan out several meals from them. Like buy a boneless pork roast and you can make cutlets, a roast and chops from it, or stew meat, and meat for stir fries. You can buy whole chicken, cut it up yourself and save the scraps for soup, stock and broth, make boneless breasts, chicken tenders or fingers, etc. Make your own stock instead of buying canned. Make your own croutons if you use them often. The same for breadcrumbs and salad dressings and dips. Freeze meats that are on sale that you're not going to use right away. You can buy fresh veggies when they're on sale too, and blanch and freeze them if it's worth it - but it's not always since pre-frozen can be cheaper. As things, especially meats/poultry, near their expiration date, they are usually marked down and put in a mark down section. It doesn't mean the meat is bad, and it's perfectly fine to buy it and freeze it for a later use. Some markets also have a mark down section for bakery goods and non-perishables. The main thing is to try and plan out your meals according to what you have, what's on sale, and learn to shop sales. Things in the market at eye level or on the end caps are not always on sale and are set up to tempt you to buy them.

Try to plan meals that use the same ingredients. If you can find a nice pork butt on sale you can make 3 meals out of that. Stick it in the crockpot and eat it that way the 1st day The 2nd day take some out and add bbq sauce and make sandwhiches and the 3rd day make this recipe Mexican Roll Ups This is something I made up its a great way to use left over meat. Use one of your choice Shredded Chicken, shredded beef or shredded pork Put in skillet with 1 pkg of taco seasoning Add enough water so that you may simmer it, not to much After simmering like 20 min Place small amount in to soft burrito shell, I like to use the large ones. Roll them up and secure with toothpicks In deep fryer or skillet, brown til golden brown They will be crunchy Serve with sour cream, salsa or gucamole Dont forget to remove toothpicks !!!! You have 3 different total meals for the cost of one !!

You can make your own pizza! Thats always fun and delicious.

To save money on food, well, I would say buy certain things in big proportions. Such as rice perhaps. Eating less and buying more I think would save some money. People don't need that much food anyway, just good proportions will do. What I do is I buy little small kinds of bento lunch boxyes, or any lunch boxes and I fill them up with food, rice, meat, cereal, ect. It's a small fit, but at the end of the meal I feel full and that I've not eaten too much or not enough. It's all a matter of controlling the way you eat and what kind of products you can buy to get more. Oh and reduce the number of times you eat out.

Shop at Aldi's. Dollar stores have good buys on salad dressings, coffee creamer, napkins, toilet tissue, detergent, etc. Use lots of pasta with small amounts of meat. Rice and beans. Lentils and a small amount of ham. We have a meat dish or egg dish once a day, then have a vegetarian dish the other meal. You don't need to eat meat at every meal. Peanut butter has lots of protein. Make a menu plan for the week and shop accordingly. Try to make extra rice or noodles or mashed potatoes to use for another meal.

the best way to save money is to not buy Brands - you'll be surprised at how much you save. for example, steer clear away from the likes of Coke Cola, Walkers, Hovis, Birdseye, or Uncle Ben's. Instead, buy the supermarket's own 'economy/saver' range. For your fruit and veg, don't go the supermarket, go to fruit stalls in marketplaces - much cheaper

If you go into supermarkets at about 6 to 6.30 pm you can buy reduced price meat at a fraction of the normal price. Then just freeze it until needed.