I get a lot of questions about how I menu plan from my stockpile. Today, I want to share how I changed my thinking and make our stockpile work for healthy meals.
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How do you menu plan from a stockpile?
Hi Penny,
I’m really enjoying your videos. I’ve been learning to coupon, mostly on my own, over the last couple of years. I’m with you on the stockpiling method and I also buy meat in bulk when I can. But how do you save on other fresh items like produce, baked goods, and dairy? I try to get my grocery store’s “club pack” items for products that last — like apples and oranges. But a lot of fresh things just don’t seem to have rock-bottom prices. Any tips? Thanks!
Great questions, Suzanne! My local Walmart will price-match the produce stands that put their advertisements in the newspaper or online (since our local paper does not publish daily.) So, I tend to purchase those items when they are priced low. I also only buy what is seasonal… which tends to have the lowest prices anyway. If I need something that is not available for a reasonable price, I will purchase it frozen. We also have planted a small raised-bed garden to help us save on produce and I plant new seeds every six weeks to make it last into the fall. As for organics, I reserve purchasing organic produce for those items on the Dirty Dozen list that we each the most (spinach and apples). Everything else gets a quick soak in a vinegar/water solution to kill the bacteria.
For dairy, I price-match a lot. We go through at least four gallons of milk a week so I try to keep the children from over-indulging in milk. I also try to stick with portion-sizes and daily requirements. That keeps the children from getting dairy products at every meal and snack. I also use dry milk (adding water) for cooking.
I very rarely buy baked goods. I make everything from scratch except for sandwich bread which I can get buy one, get one free at Winn Dixie.
I hope this helps!