Thrifty Tomato Frugal Foodie

I've been on a mission to add some new frugal recipes to my repertoire. 

Check out the other posts in the series so far...

Eating Well On a Budget

Budget Cookbook series

This time I worked on The Frugal Foodie Cookbook : Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook  by Lara Starr with Lynette Shirk. 

I love that this book is all about the idea that frugal cooking is NOT about just using only dirt-cheap ingredients, but getting the most out of the food you can afford. 

That is exactly what I learned from this book. It is full of wonderful tips and tons of tasty recipes that I was excited to try, but what I took away from this was delicious twists on some recipes I already make or love. 

I tried the Sweet and Sour Glazed meatloaf. I forgot to get a picture, but it got the seal of approval from Tomato-Papa.  Two helpings in he told me, "You can make this again" in between bites. 

I also made Sushi Salad. It was easy and fresh. Like a loose sushi roll.  I had recently gotten rice, cucumber, avacado, and crab meat on sale so it was the perfect storm for this recipe tasting. I made some fried cream cheese wontons to do with it and add some crunch, but I'm pretty sure the un-healthiness of them cancelled out any benefit from the salad. It was a yummy lunch anyway!

To wrap this book up I tried the Coffee Mug Cakes. They are basically Warm Delights ( Betty Crocker) with stuff that you have on hand in your kitchen. I have gotten W. D.'s a few times free with coupons, but they were just ok. I wasn't a big fan, but I keep getting them everytime they are free! I thought this would probably taste about the same, but this recipe is so much better! It really is an easy, quick chocolate cake recipe baked right in a coffee mug. Don't tell Tomato-Papa ( who is the chocolate lover in this house ) that I split the recipe in half between the two mugs so that I could just try a little. Next time, I will make him the full recipe in one mug. Topped with some vanilla ice cream it was a really great and frugal dessert! 

Up next...

The Thrifty Tomato: Eating Well on a Budget

I've been doing some delicious homework this week! Last week I decided to try out some of the budget cookbooks I found at my library. Budget Cookbook Series. I'm really concerned about news reports I've been hearing lately about food prices skyrocketing in the near future. I already keep a really close eye on our food budget and try to feed my family healthy, tasty food so these cookbooks could potentially make a big difference in the Tomato household. Plus, I just love trying new recipes.

The cookbook that jumped out at me first was EatingWell on a Budget (EatingWell). This book made my stomach growl at the library just looking at it! It is a slim, slick looking book that won't take up much room on your cookbook bookshelf, but is bursting with useful information! It has large, beautiful pictures that made me consider a lot of recipes that I may have flipped right past otherwise. 

The Introduction has a section on ways to cut your grocery budget. Most of the suggestions are things I already do ( keep a well stocked pantry, use coupons, meal plan, eat vegetarian a few nights a week) but I did get some ideas on using cuts of meat I had not thought of before and inspired me to try some spices I'm not very familiar with. 

I chose 4 recipes from this book to try. I tried to choose recipes that I already had most or all of the ingredients for, but chose a couple just because the picture made me drool!

I made...
Spaghetti Fritata ( Used leftover spaghetti from the night before.)
Crab Quesadillas ( Used imitation crab meat I had stockpiled in my freezer.)
Chicken Tostadas
Szechuan Tofu & Green Bean Stir-Fry

We already eat plenty of quesadillas and tostadas in this house, but I liked the healthy recipe variations in this book and will probably make them this way again.

The Spaghetti Fritata was really yummy and a great way to use leftovers in a new way so that they don't get boring.

The Tofu was the most surprising. I have had tofu before, but have never cooked it myself. I wasn't sure I was really going to try this recipe until I found organic tofu on sale for under $1.50 so I gave it a try. The recipe was tasty and easy to follow and was a hit with my family! I'm glad to have a new frugal, vegetarian meal option to put into rotation.

Next up in the series will be The Frugal Foodie Cookbook: Waste-Not Recipes for the Wise Cook.

Budget Cookbook Series by Tomato Mama

We are on a strict grocery budget here at the Tomato household. I try to keep a close eye on how much we spend on groceries. I use everything I can to help keep the grocery bill low. I coupon, stockpile, buy loss leaders, mark-downs, and comparison shop. It's a lot of work, but I've been doing it for awhile now and can see how much of a difference all of it makes to bank account.

I also have been collecting and concocting budget friendly meals for a few years now. It is important to me to feed my family as many healthy options as I can, but it is incredibly difficult to keep things tasty and interesting on a shoestring budget. While browsing at my local library, I came across the "budget friendly" cookbook section. I grabbed a bag full and have been impressed with what I found! 

What I'm looking for in a cookbook like these are new ideas. I want some ideas on how to use the food already in my pantry and freezer and I don't want to have to buy tons of new ingredients to make them work. 

Tomorrow I will post my first cooking experiment with a book called EatingWell on a Budget (EatingWell).  I'm trying a few recipes from this book and can't wait to share them with you! 

In the meantime, here are some ideas for saving money on cooking and getting your grocery budget healthy...

1. Know how much you can afford to spend on groceries and stick to it! The Tomato household grocery budget is currently $250 a month. I do not include toiletries and household items in this list right now. 

2. Make a meal plan! By looking at the grocery store ads and coupon blogs I plan about a week of meals at a time with the deals I find. I write down 7 dinner ideas, lunch ideas and breakfast options. I make a loose plan for what day I'm going to make each meal, but I'm flexible. 

3. Cook once, eat twice. When possible I make a double batch of a meal and freeze half of it for another night's meal.  One of my favorite meals to do this with is stuffed shells, but I also cook rice and waffles in large batches for freezing. 

4. Use coupons if you can. Not only that, but go to a grocery store that doubles your coupons to get the most bang for your buck. Not all areas get great coupons in their Sunday paper, but there are a lot available online as well. I do not use as many coupons as I used to, but they are still a big part of my shopping trips. ( More on this in a later post.) 

5. Look for markdowns at the grocery store. Every time I go to my local Meijer I find markdowns on meat, bread, pastries and fruit.  

6. Shop your local Farmer's Market. Duck Momma and I are lucky enough to have an indoor, year round market in our town and are planning a trip soon. We will show you how we did in an upcoming post!

If you missed it, here is a frugal meal idea I posted a little while back. It's one of the Tomato Family faves! 

Shredded Buffalo Chicken Sandwich