Saver Saturdays

Here are my favourite deals this week!

*Freebie alert*

Rexall: Crest Pro-health toothpaste: $1.99.  Use in-store coupon (from Shoppers Drug Mart) for $2 off = FREE!

UPDATE: Unfortunately, this freebie expired yesterday. I’m sorry I didn’t notice it earlier! Did anyone take advantage of it?

METRO

Yoplait Source yogurt (16 * 100g) $3.99 - use 50¢ off in-store coupon = $3.50

Blackberries (160g) = 99¢

Always/Tampax $2.99 - use $2.50/2 coupon from Brandsaver = $1.75

ZEHRS

Hothouse tomoatoes = 99¢/lb

Broccoli crowns = 98¢/lb

Gay lea butter = $3.99

Gay lea sour cream - $1.99 - use 75¢ coupon from in-store Foodland Ontario 2009 calendar = $1.25

McCain International pizza - $4.99 - use $1 coupon from Save.ca = $3.99

Always/Tampax $2.99 - use $2.50/2 coupon from Brandsaver.ca = $1.75

PRICE CHOPPER

Oasis health break juice - $2.49 - use $1 coupon from Canadian Living = $1.49

Hothouse tomatoes = 99¢/lb.

FOOD BASICS

2 pack McCain Traditional pizza = $3.99

Catelli pasta healthy harvest & smart pasta - $1.49 - 50¢/2 in-store coupon or coupon from Save.ca = $1.24

Herbal Essances shampoo & conditioner 180-355ml = $1.69

NO FRILLS

Astro yogurt - $2.99 - use 50¢ off coupon from Naturegg package = $2.49

Ristorante pizzas - $3.99 - use $1.50/2 coupon from Save.ca = $3.24

Europe’s Best vegetables = $1.99

Blue water season fish fillets = $2.49 - use $1/2 coupon from Naturegg package = $1.99

Salon Selectives shampoo & conditioner = $1.49

If you found a great deal in your neighbourhood, please link in with Mr. Linky or leave a comment.  If linking in, please put the link directly to the post that shows the deal - not your homepage.  Thank you!

Easy bread crumbs for meat or fish

Cross bread crumbs off your grocery list for good.  Tasty bread crumbs are easy to make with leftover ingredients around your kitchen, and they take mere moments to prepare.

If you have stale white bread lying around, don’t pitch it. Just cut off the crusts, throw it in the food processor along with some fresh herbs (I used parsley here) and parmesan cheese, and you have yourself a delicious breading for fish, pork or chicken.

The inspiration comes from Gordon Ramsey’s Fast Food - a great recipe book that encourages you to cook at home, using simple but delicious ingredients.

Bread crumbs might not cost a lot to begin with, but this recipe provides yet another example of how we can waste less, spend less, and all the while eat food that is fresh and flavourful. 

The high cost of “low-brow” foods

On Monday, the Globe and Mail published an article titled, “Really cheap eats: how low will we go? Sorry foodies, canned meat, condensed soup and Jell-O are making a comeback.”

Sigh.

Apparently the economic recession has led Kraft foods and other makers of cheap crap pre-packaged processed convenience foods, to score massive profits as consumers mistake their products for affordable, nutritious foods.

The spokeswoman for Kraft said that, “we certainly are benefiting as consumers eat at home. We feel that in this challenging environment we’re well positioned to win.”

I wrote the following as a letter to the editor in the Globe and Mail:

Why are shoppers purchasing processed foods when they can boost their budgets by going back to basics? Relying on convenience food is the single biggest mistake you can make when attempting to cut costs. Baking supplies, legumes and root vegetables may appear more expensive because they are sold in larger quantities than single-serving convenience snacks. But compare the cost-per-serving and you will see the difference. To get more for your money, I recommend keeping things simple. Survival foods like carrots, cabbage and chickpeas will stretch your meals and stave off hunger. Dried lentils and beans provide protein for pennies, and homemade stews will go much further than single-meal soups from Campbell’s. The added bonus? These nutritious foods will cut, not contribute to, your health care costs.

It bothers me to think that people who are trying to get by on less are automatically fueling up on goods that can be, depending on how frugal and creative you are in the kitchen, more expensive that home-cooked meals. But the problem doesn’t stop there. As was pointed out in the Globe article, empty carbohydrates that come from, say, Kraft Dinner, leave you hungry and sluggish, leading your productivity at work to wane, and providing you with cravings for more food a few hours (or minutes!) later.

But what really bothers me about this is the idea that being frugal means self-deprivation.  Cheap eats can come in the form of delicious, warm and satisfying meals, shared with your family, and lovingly made. It doesn’t have to come in a box or a can that leaves you starved for flavour and texture.  A lot of our daily pleasure comes from food. By relying on powdered cheese for flavour, you are ignoring other delicious culinary delights that can spice to your life. Deprivation will leave you desperate for a boost and you won’t come out ahead.

Comparing Campbell’s to the real thing

Price Chopper had a sale on this week - Campbell’s soups were 2/$1. Great deal, right?  Well, let’s compare the price to a delicious homemade soup - one of my favourites - Coarse carrot and ginger soup.  Ironically, I found this recipe in a magazine - it was in a Cambell’s soup advertisement for Carrot Ginger Soup.

Let’s compare the costs of our soups.

Coarse Carrot and Ginger Soup - courtesy of Campbell’s

2 cups coarsely chopped carrots

Price Chopper had a sale on this week - 5lb bags of carrots, onions or beets were $1 each. Purchased 5lb bag at Price Chopper and used 3 carrots - each carrot approx. 7¢ - 21 cents

3/4 each, coarsely chopped onion and potato

Purchased 5lb bag of onions at PC and used 2 onions, or 1/5th of the bag - 20 cents

Purchased 5lb bag of potatoes for $2.99 - use 1 potato, or 1/25th of the bag - 12 cents

1 tbsp butter

Purchased butter for $4.19 after coupon - use 1 tbsp - approx. 8 cents

1 carton Campbell’s Ready to Use Organic Chicken Broth

Make your own from chicken bones and vegetables that have already turned (free) plus one onion - 10 cents

1 1/2 tbsp minced fresh ginger root

Bought .055 kg of ginger for 12 cents - use 1/3rd for 4 cents

1/8 tsp ground black pepper

Purchase in bulk - one cent

1 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro

Could easily omit this since a lot of people hate this herb, but I love it and think it’s worth the money - assume a price of $1.69 a bunch in the winter, use 1/10th - 17 cents

Your total price: 93¢ - But this recipe serves FIVE - where as the Cambell’s soup serves two, at best.

The price of the homemade soup: 17¢ per person

The price of the Campbell’s soup: 25¢ per person. We’re also assuming here that the soup you bought is mixed with water only. If it is a cream based, add more cost for the milk. We’re also assuming that no taxes apply.

Not only is the homemade soup cheaper, it is far more nutritious, hearty and packed with the delicious flavour of ginger and cilantro.

The bottom line: eat and enjoy yourself. It’s not just about eking out an existence, it’s about finding ways to experience great flavours - and all the other joys of life.  And you can do so without compromising your budget.

The cloth bag movement

As most of you have heard by now, the cloth bag movement has begun. As of yesterday, customers at Loblaws will have to pay 5 cents per plastic bag.  You can see the full article with Galen Weston, executive chairperson of Loblaw here, published in the Globe & Mail’s Report on Business, in the article “Memories of plastic”.

Apparently there has been some controversy around this subject but the protest seems silly to me.  In fact, Loblaws is going out of their way to help their customers make the transition.  For example, they offer a Green Bin borrowing program.  If you forget your cloth bags or Green Bin, you can add a fully refundable deposit to your bill and take one home with you for free.

If you live in Toronto, you can get a Green Bin FREE when you buy $25 or more worth of groceries - up until January 22 only. Follow the link to get the coupon. (Thanks to Frugal Freebies for that tip via twitter!)

Work the policy to your advantage: Loblaws is still offering 50 PC points for every Green Bin or Green Bag you bring in.  Last time we were there, they gave us points for our other cloth bags.  

Bringing cloth bags can be fun - there’s no need to stick to conventional bags designed just for carrying groceries.  I love my rock and roll cloth bags, which you can find at any rock shop and many luggage or accessory stores.  Some Rock bands are even selling them at concerts now - REM had a cute cloth bag for sale at its Toronto concert last summer. 

Reduce, reuse, rock on.

Garlic: a poor man’s wonderfood

Hi everyone! Sorry about the few and far between number of blog posts. We moved this weekend and are just getting settled in. Although life is far from routine yet, I am back in the saddle and ready to start my daily blogging.

I have a cold coming on so I thought today I would blog about a cheap way to prevent and battle the common cold: raw garlic.

Garlic is a great natural remedy and be consumed in the most delicious ways.

A few weeks ago, I was sadly reading a blog where the women chatted about chewing on a raw garlic clove in order to ward off their cold viruses.  Eating plain, raw garlic cloves? I can think of few things more repulsive than that.  Especially when the opportunities are endless when it comes to eating this little wonderfood raw.

Try adding it to guacamole - it’s a very cheap little dish to make, especially when avocados are in season - or add it to homemade hummus.  Hummus is a great snack to make; it’s dirt cheap, it lasts for a long time in the fridge, it’s very healthy, and it’s delicious. 

You can also add raw garlic to pasta.  During the stretch where tried to eat up the food in my fridge, freezer and pantry, I found it convenient to make a little homemade pasta sauce out of just olive oil, garlic and salt.  Of course, using up the leftover goat cheese made it an extra tasty dish.  You don’t even need a can of tomatoes.

A few deals to say “happy new year!”

We are only one day away from our move now.  Josh and I are both feeling excited but also sad to leave our pleasant home in the Beach. We are also pretty scared about all the changes that lay ahead.

However, I thought I’d post a few good deals and tips that have been assimilating in my mind during my relative hiatus from blogging:

- If you got a Starbucks gift card this holiday, be sure to hang on to it, even after you use it up.  Use the number on the card to get two hours of free wi-fi every day at Starbucks.

- Price Chopper had Ristorante and Casa di Mama frozen pizzas on for $2.77 this week; if you saved your $1.50/2 coupons from previous boxes, this works out to just $2.02 a pizza.  They also had some other great deals on, such as 1 litre containers of coffee cream for $1.99

- Loblaws had a sale this week on Entertaining Ritz crackers at 2 for $4 - but we had two coupons for $1 off each, making them only 99 cents!

- West Jet has sales on from Toronto to Orlando this month - from as low as $19 a trip.  I can’t wait to take a closer look at these, since my sister and I are planning a trip to DisneyWorld soon.

- I am excited to announce that Proctor and Gamble will be having it’s brandsaver coupons (over $90 in value) ready for order on January 17th. I can’t wait to request these coupons - they are the best!  Head to brandsaver.ca to order yours.

- Save.ca has some new coupons up, including $1 off Catelli whole grain pasta - this is a great one because they are often on sale for as low as $1.39, which means you can get this delicious and very healthy pasta at only 39 cents a box; there are also coupons for cereal, including $1.50 off All-Bran, $1 off Pampers wipes and Buy one Get one Free Olay Facial Cleanser. It’s a great time to stock up on new coupons - most of my coupons expired on December 31.

Hope you enjoy these deals!  Happy New Year everyone!

My day in the kitchen

Yesterday I made a delicious chicken stock, salmon chowder and cheddar biscuits using only what we had in the house.  Even though our kitchen is pretty sparse these days (we haven’t gone for a full cart of groceries for about a month now) I managed to pull together a really satisfying meal and use up what could otherwise be left behind when we move in January.

My homemade chicken stock

First I made homemade chicken stock.  I used a carcass from a small chicken that we roasted about 6 weeks ago.  It was a small carcass, but it made enough for my chowder.

I sliced some carrots and onions and then added the frozen carcass, with a couple of bay leaves, and then poured enough water over it to barely cover it.  Normally I guess you’re supposed to let it reduce with a low-boil for about 4-5 hours, but mine was done after just over an hour.  Typically you would also add a celery stock but I didn’t have any and it didn’t seem to make a difference.

When it was done, I strained it through a fine mesh strainer - but you could also use a cheesecloth. The stock was flavourful, but only yeilded about 1.5 cups of stock.  It was enough for my chowder.

My salmon chowder

When making a chowder, you can use vegetable stock or even water, but chicken works fine too.  Actually, I think it gave my chowder a rich flavour.  It didn’t overpower the salmon taste at all.

The main point of making the chowder was to use up the frozen salmon fillets I had bought on sale.  You can find Highliner packs of 4 or 5 fillets for $3.99 - even cheaper if you have a coupon!  I had purchased mine for $2.99, working out to 60-75¢ a fillet - and a great way to get a healthy protein!

I used three fillets and baked them for 20 minutes at 450, along with some butter and garlic. After, I let them cool and then put in them in the fridge.

Next, I browned three diced onions and added one large diced carrot and two diced potatoes with some of the chicken stock. I covered the pot and let it simmer for approximately 20 minutes.  After letting the vegetables soften, I added the rest of the stock and some garlic.  Next I added about a 1/2 cup of cream and another cup of milk.

Then I flaked up the salmon in a bowl and added it to the soup along with some parsley.

Finally, I added some frozen corn, after defrosting it in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 2 minutes (following the package directions.)

I let it simmer for a little longer and that was it!  An easy, delicious and healthful way of using up what was in the house.  I’ve seen many other recipes that call for evaporated milk, but I thought my chowder was thick enough using a milk and cream combo.

My cheese biscuits

The biscuits were adapted from the Canadian Living recipe here.  But I should preface this by telling you that I failed once before making them right.  Not because the recipe was tough but because I easily mix up letters, numbers and all instructions in general.

I started with this recipe. The dough seemed really sticky and upon closer inspection I realized I had forgotten the baking soda.  I tried mixing it with a little extra milk and lemon juice and then adding it to the mix, knowing full well that improvisation and baking rarely works.

But the dough just got stickier and stickier and even with extra flour it wouldn’t ease up.  Upon closer inspection of the recipe yet again, I realized I had put in 3 tbs of baking powder instead of 3 tsp.

So, I started over, with the Canadian Living recipe.  I followed it to a T except I replaced the butter with shortening, since I used up all my butter in my previous failed attempt.  I also cheated by using a muffin tray.

For all my mini-foibles, the cheddar biscuits turned out amazing!

In fact, the stock, chowder and biscuits turned out great.  When Josh got home from work tonight he was thrilled to find a warm, hearty meal waiting for him (it rarely happens around here!) He gave a little head roll when he bit into the cheese biscuit - something that I only see him do when he’s eating something he really, really loves!

Best of all, I created this meal using only what we had at home - didn’t buy a single thing!

Making the most of what you’ve got

Use up your baking supplies!

We are moving on January 2nd - and we will be spending about 4 days out of the house for Christmas holidays with my parents out of town.  With that in mind, Josh and I are determined to eat up what we have around the house and buy as few groceries as possible. 

Yesterday we dropped by Loblaws to pick up a few staples and I couldn’t believe how much food prices have risen.  We have not gone grocery shopping for nearly a month now (just relying on a few mini-trips here or there for one or two items) and I was frankly shocked that prices have gone up within weeks.  A head of romaine lettuce for $2?  Basic brown Wonderbread for $2.79?

So now I have another reason to eat-in - the high cost of food!

Right now the cupboard, fridge and freezer are looking a little sparse.  And by a little, I mean a lot! We don’t have much, but here’s how we are making it last. (I will follow up this post with recipes!)

1. Lentils. The other day I made a tremendous soup using dried lentils, carrots, and canned tomatoes. This made sooo much soup - I had about a million bowls of it and there’s still some in the freezer! 

2. Baking our own bread.  That’s right, we’re giving it another go.  We have all the ingredients so why not? 

3. Roast chicken. I had a chicken in the freezer that I bought on sale for $6.  We roasted it last night, and I can’t believe how much chicken that bird yielded!  

4. Pasta. Remember those Europe’s Best frozen veggies that were on sale for 99¢ after the coupon? We defrosted them in a frying pan and added them to whole wheat pasta, along with olive oil, garlic and some goat cheese.  Deliciously simple!  We still have more of all of the above ingredients so I’ll definitely make this one again.

5. Salmon cakes.  We actually have a ton of HighLiner frozen salmon in our freezer, purchased on sale.  We have some potatoes and green onions and josh is going to make salmon cakes.  I am also going to use what’s left of the salmon, frozen corn, potatoes, cream and milk, to make a salmon chowder.  All I really need is some fresh dill.

6. Everything but the kitchen sink soup. I don’t know what’s going in this soup, but I know that I have beans, lentils, garlic & onions, macaroni, rice, cabbage, carrots, corn, tomato paste, and some frozen chicken bones - and somehow I get the sense that out of those ingredients I could probably figure out a soup to make (any suggestions, btw?)

7. Baked goods.  I have tons of baking supplies and I have a feeling that some muffins or scones will be in order.

8. Hummus. “God bless the chickpea.” It’s just one of those things you can make when your fridge is nearly bare.

9. Broccoli salad.  This morning my Mom sent me a recipe for this and I had to laugh - I had everything I needed to make it except the broccoli - including sunflower seeds, raisins, yogurt and feta cheese.  

10. Tuna casserole - another frugal stand-in when you’re cupboards are getting bare. I do not have mushroom soup but I have a recipe that calls for sour cream and mayo instead, and I have both of these ingredients. 

My shopping list for these meals will include:

1. Fresh herbs - parsley and dill

2. Celery

3. Broccoli

That’s it! (Shall we take bets on if I’ll succeed in coming out of the store with just those three items?)

Frugal hot chocolate mix

Why buy hot chocolate mix when you can make it yourself? Yesterday, we whipped up a batch following Alton Brown’s recipe.

• 2 cups powdered sugar
• 1 cup cocoa (Dutch-process preferred)
• 2 1/2 cups powdered milk
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 teaspoons cornstarch
• 1 pinch cayenne pepper, or more to taste
• Hot water

Combine all ingredients in a mixing bowl and incorporate evenly. We actually used a food processor - trying to mix it in a bowl was just too messy and too difficult with this much powder!

We also cut up some marshmallows we had and put them in too.  However the key is to add the marshmallows at the end.  They nearly exploded in the food processor!

In a small pot, heat 4 to 6 cups of water.

Fill your mug half full with the mixture and pour in hot water. Stir to combine. Seal the rest in an airtight container, keeps indefinitely in the pantry. This also works great with warm milk.

It’s tasty and much cheaper than buying pre-packaged hot chocolate in the store.  You can make this recipe even cheaper by buying some of your ingredients at the Bulk Barn or other bulk foods or baking stores.

Stretch your food budget: stock up on staples

Keeping your pantry stocked with staples is a great way to save money.  By making sure you have access to the basics you can ensure that you eat healthy meals even when you’re nowhere near a grocery store. Not only are these foods incredibly cheap, they permit you to stay out of the grocery store for longer and stretch that food budget! For me, basic staples include chick peas, canned tomatoes, eggs, and carrots.  

Here are some basic, healthy meals and snacks I make with these staples:

Chick peas - hummus, chick pea-salad, chickpea curry

Canned tomatoes - pasta sauce, soups, Indian spiced tomatoes and lentils

Eggs - egg salad sandwiches, frittata, omelette, impossible pie, fried rice

Carrots - soup (lentil and carrot soup, tomato and carrot and ginger soup, etc.,) carrot muffins, and of course carrots are great as raw snacks with hummus or steamed as a healthy side dish; they are also a nice addition to pasta salad

Tonight I made a great carrot and lentil soup using little more than carrots, canned tomatoes and lentils.  It’s amazing what you can do with just a few simple ingredients!

What are your favourite “staples” that you keep around for cheap, easy, healthy meals?