Cook in Bulk to Save Money & Reduce Your Waste



You've likely seen your grocery bill rising in the last few months; everything from beef to eggs seems to be increasing (or the price stays the same but the package gets smaller). If you're disciplined and hold the line and don't spend more on groceries, you're likely going home with less food.

Rising grocery prices can hurt a family's bottom line in significant ways, especially when coupled with this year's tax increases. However, one way you can fight back is by cooking in bulk.

Bulk cooking, also known as freezer cooking or once a month cooking, can save you both time and money. While it's not unusual to spend a few hundred dollars upfront to buy the groceries for your once a month cooking session, once you prepare all of your meals, your dinners for the rest of the month are in the freezer. You can also cook your breakfasts and even lunches ahead!

Benefits of Freezer Cooking

Do all of your dirty work at once. Rather than dirtying dishes every night when you make a meal, you will make a large mess on the day of your freezer cooking session, but then you will have a minimal mess to clean up every night for the rest of the month.

Healthier ingredients. Unlike grocery store frozen meals that are filled with chemicals and ingredients you likely can't pronounce, your homemade freezer meals will be made from healthy foods and will not contain mystery ingredients.

Save by buying in bulk. Because you will be buying a large quantity of food to use for your freezer cooking session, you can buy in bulk and save. Rather than buying several 15 oz. cans of diced tomatoes, for instance, you can buy the large bulk container and save several dollars.

Reduce your waste. Thanks to buying in bulk, you'll also reduce your waste both in food containers and in food that your family doesn't get around to eating that ends up in the trash. You'll also reduce the wasted time of making dinner every night because all of your dinners will be made in one day, over the course of 5 to 8 hours.

Stay tuned for Part 2, which will explain, step by step, how to have your own freezer cooking session!
 




Melissa, a mom to three little ones (ages 7, 3 and 1) blogs at Mom's Plans where she writes about living a fulfilling life on less and focuses on cutting expenses, budgeting, paying down debt, saving money and once a month cooking.

Comments