Food has gotten expensive over the past 5 years. But I also think we’ve been taught to shop for food in one of the most expensive ways possible. We buy individual meals instead of ingredients. Many times people pay someone else to chop, season, portion, marinate, package, and even deliver our food. We buy the convenient cut of meat instead of the affordable one, and we throw away leftovers because we don’t know how to turn them into something new.
Then people wonder why a trip to the grocery store costs $200, and somehow there’s still “nothing to eat.” (Unless, of course, you have 3 young boys; then they eat everything in sight).
So this week I wanted to do something a little different. No single recipe. Instead, here are some of my favorite rules for buying better food, spending less money, and actually using what you buy.
1. Shop for ingredients, not meals
This is probably the biggest change you can make. Don’t go into the grocery store thinking,
What do I want for dinner Monday? What about Tuesday? What about Wednesday?
Instead ask:
What can I buy that turns into three or four different meals?
A large package of chicken thighs can become roasted chicken one night, tacos the next day, and chicken soup after that. A chuck roast can be Sunday dinner, sandwiches for lunch, and beef hash with eggs. A bag of potatoes can become roasted potatoes, breakfast potatoes, mashed potatoes, soup, or a side dish.
2. Stop paying other people to cut your food
Every time somebody touches your food before you buy it, you’re paying for it.
Pre-cut fruit. Chopped vegetables. Boneless chicken. Individually portioned meat. Pre-marinated steak. Shredded cheese. The list can go on. Labor has a price (especially in California).
A whole chicken is usually cheaper than buying the breasts, thighs, and wings separately. A block of cheese can be a better buy than a bag of shredded cheese (and it’s healthier and melts better). Whole carrots are generally cheaper than prepared carrot sticks, etc.
You don’t have to eliminate convenience entirely. Sometimes saving 20 minutes is worth a couple bucks. Just understand what you’re paying for.
3. Learn to love the “cheap” cuts of meat
Some of the most flavorful cuts of meat are also the least expensive. Chuck roast, pork shoulder, chicken thighs, drumsticks, eye of round, beef shank, top sirloin, and other tougher cuts can be incredible if you know how to cook them.
The basic rule is simple:
Tender cuts usually cook quickly. Tough cuts usually need time.
Low-and-slow cooking turns inexpensive, collagen-rich cuts into tender meat. The expensive cut isn’t always the better cut. Sometimes you’re simply paying for tenderness and convenience.
4. Buy the big piece and portion it yourself
This is one of my favorite restaurant tricks to use at home. Compare the price per pound of a larger roast with steaks cut from the same general section. Compare a whole pork loin with individual pork chops. When the math works, buy the larger piece. Cut some into steaks or chops and leave some as a roast. Freeze what you aren’t going to use.
5. Learn the price-per-pound game
The big number on the package doesn’t matter nearly as much as the little number underneath it.
Price per pound is your friend.
A $12 package isn’t necessarily cheaper than the $18 package if you’re getting half as much food. This is especially important with meat, cheese, rice, dried beans, frozen vegetables, and other staples. Start paying attention to the unit price and, after a while, you’ll know immediately when something is actually a good deal.
6. Don’t be afraid of frozen food
Frozen food gets unfairly lumped in with processed food. They aren’t the same thing. For example, frozen peas are peas; frozen blueberries are blueberries; frozen fish can be an excellent option.
Frozen vegetables and fruit are especially useful because you only use what you need and put the rest back in the freezer. That means less waste.
As the cliché goes, food you throw in the garbage is the most expensive food you buy.
7. Build meals around affordable staples
Some of the best foods on earth are still relatively inexpensive:
- Eggs
- Potatoes
- Rice
- Beans and lentils
- Oats
- Cabbage
- Carrots
- Onions
- Bananas
- Plain Greek yogurt
- Whole chickens
- Chicken thighs and drumsticks
- Ground meats
- Canned tomatoes
- Frozen vegetables
You don’t need every meal to be built around a giant steak (although that would be nice). Use a smaller amount of protein alongside potatoes, rice, beans, vegetables, or eggs, and you can stretch it much further.
8. Shop the sales, then decide what’s for dinner
Most people do this backward; they decide they want steak and then go shopping for steak. If steak is $16.99 a pound, that’s what they’re paying. Instead, walk into the store and see what’s inexpensive.
Are chicken thighs on sale? That’s dinner. Chuck roast marked down? Grab it. Is pork shoulder ridiculously cheap this week? Build a couple meals around pork.
Let the deal write the menu. That’s essentially how restaurants operate.
9. Look for markdown meat
Learn where your grocery store keeps meat approaching its sell-by date. This is one of the best values in the store. If you’re cooking it immediately or freezing it promptly, a markdown can turn an expensive protein into a bargain.
Obviously, use common sense and check the package and condition of the food. But most of these cuts still have multiple days of shelf life; don’t automatically assume a discounted package is bad just because the date is approaching. It’s all about inventory for these stores.
10. Your freezer is a savings account
If chicken is deeply discounted and you have freezer space, buying only enough for tonight doesn’t save you much. Instead, buy extra, then portion it, label it, and freeze it.
Do the same with meat, bread, stock, sauces, and leftovers.
But here’s the key:
A freezer only saves money if you actually eat what’s inside it.
Every couple of weeks, have a freezer night. Don’t shop, open the freezer, and figure dinner out like you’re a contestant on “Chopped.” Heck, film it live, and I will share it here!
You’ll be amazed at what you already paid for.
11. Stop throwing away “scraps”
A lot of what we call scraps are actually ingredients; this is why I dig through the garbage in my kitchen when I see food cost creep up.
Chicken bones can become stock; vegetable trimmings can flavor that stock. Stale bread can become croutons or breadcrumbs. Overripe bananas can go into pancakes, oatmeal, smoothies, or banana bread.
Leftover roasted potatoes become breakfast potatoes while yesterday’s steak becomes today’s steak-and-eggs.
12. Master five inexpensive techniques
Throw away that Martha Stewart Bible. You don’t need 500 recipes; instead, learn five techniques:
Roasting. Braising. Sautéing. Grilling. Making soup.
Once you understand those, you can walk into a grocery store, buy whatever is inexpensive, and figure out dinner.
That’s when cooking really starts saving you money. Recipes tell you what to buy, but technique teaches you how to cook what you already have.
13. Learn how to make inexpensive food taste expensive
Restaurants don’t make food memorable because every ingredient is expensive. We use technique and master salt, acid, fat, heat, and texture. A $2 potato roasted until crispy and finished with butter, salt, and herbs can be incredible. Chicken thighs with crispy skin, lemon, and garlic don’t feel like “budget food.”
The best is beans simmered with onion, garlic, stock, spices, and a little bit of bacon fat can taste better than something 10 times the price. Cheap food doesn’t have to taste cheap.
14. Make your own sauces
This is another place where people spend a surprising amount of money. A basic sauce can completely change all of your food, especially leftovers.
Greek yogurt + lemon + garlic.
Butter + garlic + herbs.
Olive oil + vinegar + mustard.
Mayo + mustard + pickle juice.
Tomato sauce + spices + a little vinegar.
One batch of protein can become several completely different meals simply by changing the sauce.
15. Use meat as an ingredient sometimes instead of the center of the plate
This is one of the oldest ways families stretched expensive proteins. Instead of giving everybody a 12-ounce steak, slice a smaller steak and serve it over or into potatoes, rice, or vegetables. Turn a pound of ground beef into tacos with beans. Put shredded chicken into soup. The best is leftover pork added to fried rice. You still get plenty of flavor and protein, but the expensive ingredient goes much further.
16. Don’t confuse “healthy” marketing with healthy food
You can spend an absolute fortune in the health-food aisle, but you’re getting mostly seed oils and patchouli. I can see it now: Protein cookies. Keto crackers. Organic snack bars. Wellness drinks. Superfood powders.
Meanwhile, some of the simplest foods in the store are sitting an aisle over: eggs, potatoes, meat, fruit, veggies, Greek yogurt, rice, beans, etc.
My general rule:
The more marketing required to convince you something is healthy, the more skeptical you should be. Real food doesn’t need much of a sales pitch.
17. Have a leftover strategy before you cook
If you’re roasting a chicken tonight, already know what tomorrow’s meal is.
For instance, chicken tonight, chicken tacos tomorrow – stock or soup after that. Now you’re not “eating leftovers.” You’re preparing ingredients for the next meal. That’s a completely different mindset.
18. Cook once, eat three times
Time is a huge part of the cost of food too, so if you’re already turning on the oven, don’t roast two chicken thighs; roast a whole rack. If you’re making rice, make extra. If you’re browning ground beef, cook enough for tomorrow. If you’re roasting potatoes, fill the sheet pan.
The goal isn’t traditional meal prep where you eat the exact same container five days in a row; the goal is component prep. Cook useful ingredients once and turn them into different meals throughout the week or a snack the next day cold.
19. Have one “use everything” meal every week
This could be soup, tacos, fried rice, an omelet, frittata, hash, a cheesy bake, etc.
Once a week, open the refrigerator and build dinner around whatever needs to be eaten — half an onion, three potatoes, a little chicken, two carrots, a slice of cheese, a handful of herbs.
We call this controlling food cost in the restaurant industry (or job security). At home, it’s just being smart.
20. The cheapest meal is usually the meal you actually cook
This might be the most important rule.
You can spend hours chasing coupons and saving 40 cents on a package of chicken. Then you’re tired Wednesday night, order $70 worth of delivery and erase everything you saved.
So I always suggest you keep some meals ridiculously simple: basic ingredients like eggs and potatoes, roast chicken and vegetables, ground beef and rice, or pasta with meat sauce.
It doesn’t all need to be content-worthy; it just needs to be good enough that you don’t open DoorDash.
My basic formula
If you’re trying to feed a family well without blowing up the grocery budget, start here:
Buy one affordable protein, one inexpensive starch, one or two vegetables, and ingredients for a simple sauce. Next, learn how to turn those same ingredients into multiple meals.
That’s all you need. You don’t need a pantry filled with expensive “health foods” or 37 ingredients for dinner. And you definitely don’t need to be a chef.
It’s just about a handful of basic techniques, a little planning, and the willingness to cook.
One of the best ways to fight rising food prices isn’t finding cheaper processed food; it’s finding your way around a kitchen.
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This is republished with permission from the author. The original can be read here. Subscribe to American Gravy here.
Andrew Gruel is a chef, restaurateur, and Huntington Beach City Councilmember.
