Comments on: How Can A Single Person Save Money On Food? (Your Advice)

By: patt

patt — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 08:25:50 +0000

Try cooking a large meal about once a week and freeze it in individual servings. Soon you will have an assortment of microwavable meals. If frezer space is limited, use zip lock freezer bags and lay them flat until frozen. After freezing you can line them up like books. Remember to label and date all packages. I also make up deserts but I put them in the small freezer boxes. I put fruit filling into the container and top it of with cumbeled up baked pie crust, baked cobbler topping or apple crisp type topping. Cakes can be frozenjust wrapped in plastic but make sure the frosting is inside the two layers. Some times buying fresh fruit can be a problem for a single person. Try freezing spears of pinapple or melon wrappped in plastic, more tasty than a popsicle and just as refreshing. I’ve even froze grapes and strawberries on a squewer. Happy low cost, nutritious and delicious eating

By: C

Wed, 19 Sep 2007 16:22:45 +0000

How did tossforfree “Eat healthy for under $2.00 a meal and never eat the same meal twice in a week or use a microwave to reheat something.”???

By: JMBIndy

JMBIndy — Mon, 17 Sep 2007 17:53:01 +0000

The crockpot (slow cooker) can be a single person’s best friend. I’ll cook up a couple of different meat meals and freeze them into individual servings (chicken is my favorite). I’ll then cook up some rice or pasta of various flavors and then freeze them individually as well. This way you can mix up your meals when you feel like eating in, or grab a couple of packages to take to work.

I especially enjoy using this method when I can get a good deal on meat at one of the warehouses.

I should also mention that as a diabetic, this is a good way for me to watch what I’m eating and to control the portion. If you are concerned about your eating habits, this might be a good way to go.

There is a series of books called “Fix It & Forget It”, available in general book stores. This series includes slow cooker recipes. I’ve got it and am please with the book.

There’s my 2 cents worth. Good luck with whatever method helps you.

By: Cuckee

Cuckee — Thu, 13 Sep 2007 05:44:20 +0000

In the process of saving on food, do not end up hurting your health. Success requires a lot of hard and smart work. And both of these require you to be very healthy. So keep track of your health meter in the same was as you are trying to keep your food costs

By: tossforfree

tossforfree — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 17:22:41 +0000

Eat healthy for under $2.00 a meal and never eat the same meal twice in a week or use a microwave to reheat something. I did it for 3 years while I was in college. It is possible if u tend to avoid expensive steaks and don’t mind preparing meals everyday. I enjoyed cooking so it wasn’t a big deal. With my cooking experience gained from this 4 years of cooking my wife loves anything I make. It took me the first year to figure out what I could make for under $2.00 a meal. How did I do it? First of all you have figure out what types of foods you personally like. Then learn to prepare/cook the foods. After that figure out how to cut costs. I love rice, beans, bread, pasta, fruits, veggies, chicken, salads, soups, etc. I dislike desserts and onions so for me I had a very large selection of foods to work with and I loved learning how to cook. If you are like me then you’ll figure it out if u keep trying. It keep records of what you are spending and how much it cost u to make things. You’ll see where u are spending and naturally adjust meals to fit within your range. You should see what I can prepare for $5.00 a person per meal. As you are doing this you can quickly see what the food industry has so much competition. If fast food can make a meal for 2.00 plus tax so can you. Except yours will at least be healthy. Oh I went to school for Accounting. So this was largely do to my love of numbers.

By: Living Behind The Curve » Frugality For One: Can A Single Person Eat Frugally?

Tue, 03 Jul 2007 09:15:34 +0000

[...] at PFAdvice, a reader named RobertL wanted to know: I’m single male and I keep reading that it’s less expensive to cook your own food. I would [...]

By: viola

viola — Tue, 03 Jul 2007 07:52:51 +0000

My questions first of all would be, What are you buying? What are you cooking? What are you eating? How creative are you in the kitchen? Do you enjoy cooking? But most of all, I like to know how much a week you are spending and how much you would like to spend/save?

I am a very good, versatile cook with lots of experience (I brought up 5 children). I do everything fresh and Organic and even that isn’t more expensive once you know “how” to go shopping. I do not use Microwawe ovens or food either.

To me it does not make any difference if I cook for 7, 5, or just myself and even if the meals are cooked individually.

I don’t agree with your comment about ready made meals being cheaper. They are ‘crap’, have NO nutritional value and are FAR to expensive!!

By: Mer @ Living Behind The Curve

Mer @ Living Behind The Curve — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 16:15:08 +0000

Some great meals you can make large doses of that freeze (and subsequently nuke) beautifully in individual portions:

chili
lasagna
mac & cheese (homemade)
meatloaf
soup
sloppy joes (meat and sauce – freeze buns separately)

pretty much anything freezes well except: sour cream, fresh mushrooms, lettuces, eggs, pasta (if not in a casserole), cooked potatoes.

By: A Marino

A Marino — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:44:57 +0000

I have a seal-a-meal machine and the bags are much stronger and I tend to use them for items like fish that don’t hold up well. I use the zip locks as well. I make my own ground chuck patties and stack them in either 2 or 3 and put wax paper in between and store a whole bunch in a gallon size bag. I also freeze hot dogs, bacon, butter, a loaf of bread (double bagged). Sometimes, I have used 2 bags depending on what it is.

By: robertl

robertl — Mon, 02 Jul 2007 15:31:46 +0000

Freezing may be an option since it will make it harder for me to snack on. I don’t use coupons. They are never for the foods I buy. I have never understood how people are able to save so much with them, but that is another topic.

Are there certain foods that are better for freezing or can anything be frozen. I’ve never frozen food I’ve made before.