Grocery Tips | Stock Up and Save with Canned Goods

Last week I did a post for ShopRite's Potluck Blog to promote and support their semi-annual Can Can Sale. If you live in the mid-Atlantic region, you're probably familiar with the event, but even if you live outside this area, I shared some helpful tips for utilizing canned foods in recipes.

Take a minute to check out my post and let me know what you think!

List Obsessed | How I use my iPhone to get it all done.

I like lists.

Lists keep me on budget. They give me a place to dump preoccupying thoughts. Lists encourage me to plan ahead. They make me look like I have it all together when I'm called out on the spot.

I used to keep lists on paper. This worked well, but inevitably I'd lose the paper and be all out of sorts without my list. Now I keep all of my lists on my iPhone. If you don't have an iPhone there are list apps on other smart phones (and even regular mobile phones now), so you could apply these organization techniques to whatever mobile phone situation you have right now.

Organization is a big factor in family meal planning. You need to know what is in your fridge, freezer and pantry and you need to know what you still need to purchase. Having organized lists can help you stay on budget and can prevent the frustration of not having an ingredient you need when you get ready to prepare a meal.

I use something simple and free that comes with your iPhone: the "Reminders" app. If you have a Mac computer or you haven't updated your iPhone/iPad lately the icon looks like a checklist:

If you have an iPhone with the newest iOS (operating system), the icon looks like a list with colorful buttons in the left margin:

Either way, click on it and open it up. I keep the following lists running at all times:

Mall - When I get to the mall, what do I need and from what stores? I don't go to the mall as often as I used to, so this is helpful when I am in a time crunch.

ShopRite - I do most of my grocery shopping here, so this is a basic grocery list.

Target - I go here enough that the store deserves its own list.

Costco - I love Costco, but the store is overwhelming, so this list keeps me on track.

Menu Plan - This keeps me from losing my mind about what's for dinner. I also have a board on Pinterest where I re-pin recipes that I intend to use in the upcoming week.

Farmer's Market - I don't get here often, but they have great deals on grains, produce and spices, so I'm prepared whenever I finally get there

Pediatrician - Baby health questions for upcoming medical appointments

Resolutions 2013 - I keep my New Year's Resolutions in this app. When I'm losing focus, I pull them up. I also check them off as I complete them.

Trader Joe's - Another store I don't get to very often, but I like specific items, so a list keeps me on track if I ever end up in the store.

Blog Updates - Blog article ideas, design inspiration.

Errands - If I need to go to five places in one day, I actually make a list of the order of the errands to keep me on track. Life is hectic.

Freezer Meals - This helps me remember that I have three chicken pot pies and 72 homemade meatballs in our extra freezer. I add meals to this list as I add food to the freezer... otherwise they'd be lost in the abyss and found in the summer of 2015.

Packages - Because I order a lot of stuff online and I need to remember who may be leaving a package at the door while I'm at work during the day. I check off packages as they arrive.

HomeGoods/TJ Maxx - I love these stores for home items, so I make a list of what I'm looking for (pillows for the living room, artwork for Max's room, etc.) to keep me on track when I get there.

How does it work? Well, each of the categories above is the name of a list. First, create the categories that work for you. You can always edit or delete them. Next, click on the list and add items to your heart's content. I just add items to the list as time goes on. When I accomplish or purchase an item, I check it off and it disappears. Making eggs for breakfast and realize that you're almost out? Add "eggs" to the appropriate list. Clicking through Pinterest and see an awesome recipe, but you're all out of unsalted butter? Pick up the phone and add "unsalted butter" to the list. Does your baby have a strange rash on his hand, but you're already scheduled for an appointment next week? Add "rash" to the Pediatrician list.

Once you complete an item, just click on the check box/button and it disappears. The app also archives everything that's ever been on the list, just in case you need to un-click something. I get so much satisfaction from clearing a list, but I always leave the blank list there for future items.

You can also tell the Reminders app to give you an actual reminder (pop up on screen or an alarm) at a specific time. You can even take it one step further and tell it to remind you at a location. Yes, this means my phone will remind me to buy eggs the second I pull into the parking lot at ShopRite! Crazy, right? It can also remind you to grab your glasses when you get to your mom's house. The possibilities are endless.

My favorite part is that if you have multiple Apple devices/computers (iPad, MacBook Air, MacBook Pro, iPhone) your Reminders app syncs seamlessly among your devices. This is a huge advantage if you end up using all Apple products. If I'm at work and I realize I need to pick up a pork roast on the way home, I just add it to the Reminders app on my work computer and I know it will show up on my iPhone as I'm walking into the grocery store on my way home.

Mobile phones aren't cheap, so you may as well make the best of them. I use my iPhone as my personal assistant and it really helps me stay on track.

Is anyone else using a list application to keep their life in order? Which one do you use?

Meal Planning | At the office

I spend a lot of hours away from home. On most days I eat both breakfast and lunch in my office and occasionally I'll work late enough to have dinner here, too. Since I've had Max, I've noticed that my hunger is urgent and I need to eat good food at more regular intervals. On my most outrageous days I'm up around 5:00 am and I start my 10-hour workday (including commute) by 7:00 am. If I don't plan properly, I'll be famished by 9:00 am and angry at the world. When I'm hungry, I often make unhealthy choices...

I used to stop at Wawa on the way to work several days a week. (For those who aren't familiar, Wawa is an awesome Philadelphia-area convenience store with a cult following.) I enjoy their coffee and their breakfast sandwiches and it was the only place I passed during my 36 mile commute. Last year Wawa moved to the opposite side of the highway, thus making it a time suck to stop there for food, so it became clear that I needed to stop relying on a convenience store for emergency meals and start planning better. Between Wawa being inconvenient, the office vending machine malfunctioning one too many times, and my desire to eat better and save cash, I knew I had to do something else.

So I applied my meal planning techniques to my workday meals. I still end up eating out about twice a week, but that's nothing compared to the damage I used to do before Max was born. And I'm human, so some weeks I go out to lunch twice in a row, or I skip breakfast, or I do well all day and end up eaitng Chinese takeout for dinner.

Here are some tips that keep me on track with workday meals and snacks:

1. I always have breakfast at my desk. I usually don't have time to eat breakfast before I leave home, but I normally walk out of the house with a green smoothie (I need to share that recipe!) and a cup of coffee. When I get to my desk I have instant oatmeal ready (yes, I need to share that one, too!) or I have Greek yogurt in my lunch bag. That normally holds me until about 11:00 am.

2. I immediately pack dinner leftovers into lunch portions. I try to cook dinners that reheat well in the microwave (spaghetti vs. crab cakes) and I place single servings into clear, shallow containers so I can just grab them on my way out in the morning. We waste less food and there's no "what's for lunch?" discussions when the food is sitting front and center.

3. Make your own vending machine. I keep single-serve snacks at my desk. Single servings aren't always economical, but I like the portion control. Shop sales or shop in bulk. I like to keep trail mix, nuts, Sun Chips, and even a few cans of soda (for weak moments).

4. Buy an office refrigerator. Some offices have a refrigerator for employee use. If yours doesn't have one and if you have the space and it's permissible, put a refrigerator in your office. Sure, it may cost you close to $100, but think about what you'll save when you can have perishables on hand. You can keep yogurt, coffee creamer, fresh fruit and milk for cereal right at your desk.

5. Keep utensils and cups handy. I always have paper plates, paper towels, plastic utensils and a water bottle at my desk. I drink water from the water cooler throughout the day and I also use the water to make instant oatmeal. If you keep your work space well-stocked you won't end up eating  yogurt with a fork.

Since I've returned to work I've had problems grocery shopping, doing laundry and cooking at regular intervals like I used to. I use my iPhone's Reminder app to keep running grocery lists for ShopRite, Target and Costco and I also have Siri give me reminders, too. If I find myself buying an item from a convenience store or vending machine I always consider adding it to my shopping list. Why pay $1.00 for a banana when you can get four for that price? Why pay $1.20 for a ginger ale when you can purchase smaller cans in single-serve portions for much less?

Consider how much money you could save if you carried your own food to work. Even if my husband and I spend just $5 per day eating out, that's $50 per week or nearly $250 per month for the two of us. I'd rather spend that cash sitting down and enjoying a few real restaurant meals during date nights.

Do you plan out your meals? I know a lot of people are on the dinner planning bandwagon, and that's saved me a ton of frustration and money. But how about lunches? Are you prepared with healthy options for a mid-morning or mid-afternoon hunger attack? If not, why not try?

ShopRite Cans for Fans!

I have the honor of being a contributor for Potluck, the food blog for ShopRite stores.  For those of you who live in the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic, you've probably shopped at ShopRite and you're familiar with their semi-annual Can Can Sale.  Around these parts the commercials with the dancing "Can Can" girls are iconic and I grew up dancing whenever the commercials aired.  As an adult I realized that the sale was also a great opportunity to stock up on canned goods, so now I look forward to the big Can Can Sale in January.  This year's sale starts tomorrow!

This year, ShopRite is donating one canned good for every "like" they receive on their Facebook page.  You can help regional food banks without even stepping away from  your computer!  Please consider liking ShopRite's Facebook page and if you're in the area, I have some tips on items to consider stocking up on during the Can Can Sale.

The great thing about canned goods is that they are shelf stable for years and they can enhance your home cooking.  I'm not a fan of canned soups or similar processed foods, but I love using canned beans and some canned fruits and vegetables (especially the low sugar/low sodium varieties) as ingredients in my recipes.  I am taking this opportunity to stock up on the following canned items:

1. Tomatoes (whole, crushed, and diced) - for homemade marinara, chili, salsa, and soup
2. Beans (especially small red, small white, and black) - for chili, dips, and soups
3. Fruits (peaches and cherries) - for cobblers and cake fillings

ShopRite also has specials called "UnCanny Savings" on items that are not sold in cans like laundry detergent, cereal, and refrigerated items during this sale.

If you live in Delaware, ShopRite just opened at new store in Bear, DE in Governor's Square.  It's a huge, modern store with plenty of space for all of the shoppers who will rush through the doors to take advantage of the Can Can Sale over the next two weeks.  If you're in the area, check it out.  If you're in NJ, PA, MD, NY, or CT, there's probably a ShopRite near your home.  My husband and I have shopped there since college and it's our favorite place to spend our paychecks.  :)

Happy shopping (and saving)!

Foodies Can Coupon and Menu Plan!

It's a new season, so I'm mixing things up.  Today I'm sharing my first guest post!  Today's guest writer is the lovely TiAnna Mae of The Fab Life... For Free.  Please check out her blog!

Do you want to do a feature for My Life on a Plate?  Of course you do!  Email me at keeleycancook (at) gmail (dot) com.

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Foodies CAN Coupon and Menu Plan!

I get it, I get it! You’re a foodie, you enjoy exotic flavors, you want foods that thrill your taste buds, you want organic items, and you really don’t care how much you spend. I’m a foodie too, but I also enjoy doing other things with my cash like: traveling, movies, taking care of my son, and saving for the future. In this post, I’m going to give you a few quick tips on how to enjoy all the foods that you like while saving money doing it.

Great adventures start with a plan….a loose idea at least. Create a dinner menu plan. You can even create one for breakfast and lunch if you choose, however, dinner is the most important meal to plan. Usually it’s the time of day where you have the least amount of time and your whole family will partake of the meal (at some point at least). I would recommend setting a dinner menu plan in at least one week increments. As a foodie, you may change your mind or get a taste for something different, so you don’t want to plan too far in advance. Make sure to schedule things that you love eating all the time, as well as, new recipes that you come across. Try your best to plan your menu around the sales and coupons that you find, which is how you can achieve maximum savings.

Let me see your thumb! As a foodie, we enjoy fresh produce and bold flavors, so starting a vegetable and/or herb garden is a great idea. Herbs can be grown in small pots placed on your countertop, as long as it can get direct sunlight. Vegetables, such as tomatoes, cucumbers, and squash can be easy to grow and so rewarding to eat. Let’s not even get on the savings benefit. If you don’t want to try your hand at gardening, then definitely check out your local farmer’s market where you can get fresh chemical free produce for a lot cheaper than at the grocery store. You can usually find other specialty food items at a Farmer’s Market.

Got Meat? Coupons for meat are hard to come by, so the best way to save is to search the sale ads for your grocer and plan to stock up around holidays. There are always great deals on angus beef, pork ribs, T-bone steaks, etc. leading up to those “cook-out” holidays like: Memorial Day and Labor Day. You can also find great deals on Cornish hens, turkey products, and ham around Thanksgiving and Christmas. If you have a deep freezer, you can store your extra meats there, and if not, only buy what your freezer can hold. There will be another sale.

All seasonings are created equal…in my opinion. Smoked paprika is smoked paprika…it doesn’t matter the brand. Grab the cheapest one your little eyes can find. Farmer’s Markets are also great for finding deals on seasoning, and this is also where a fresh herb garden will come in handy. This may be breaking a foodie golden rule, but if you’re following a recipe that calls for a “non-essential” seasoning, don’t be afraid to leave it out if you don’t have it on the shelf. By non-essential, I mean something that if it were missing, the dish would taste fine, the same even. For example, using regular black pepper, when the recipe called for fresh ground pepper. Sure the flavor will be bolder if you use the fresh ground pepper, but it won’t make it taste nasty if you don’t use it.

Everyone likes a great deal. Foodie or not, everyone enjoys saving money. Coupons are great for specialty items that rarely go on sale. You can always find coupons for Almond Milk, Newman’s Salad Dressing, pumpernickel bread, Magnum ice cream bars, and other very luxe foodie-like treats. If there’s a coupon for it, you can find it at Coupon Diva and also check the manufacturer’s website. Lastly, a Google search can even turn up coupons for those expensive specialty items.

Try these tips to see if you can save a little extra change to do other things that are equally as important, such as, paying bills!

Food Budgeting: Where Do You Shop?

Back in February I posted Food Budgeting:  Building Your Supply.  In January I shared Food Budgeting:  Menu Planning.  Now that we've addressed planning your meals and what you need to have on hand to minimize extra trips to the store, let's talk about the fun part - shopping!

Believe it or not, I love to grocery shop.  I don't even mind when the stores are crowded.  I always shop with a list and I enjoy picking out produce, comparing prices on items, and planning what meals we'll enjoy as a result of a shopping expedition.  My husband and I have been shopping together since we dated in college.  We buy most of our groceries from three places:  ShopRite (regional grocery chain), Costco, and the local farmer's market (indoor, open year-round). 

Although I find Extreme Couponing on TLC very entertaining, I seldom use coupons.  In my experience, coupons are typically for processed items like cereal, frozen desserts, boxed mixes, and cosmetics.  I find very few coupons for fresh produce, raw meat, and pantry staples like flour.  The one exception is that sometimes ShopRite or Costco offer coupons that are only valid in their stores (store coupons, not manufacturer's coupons).  If these coupons are for items that I typically buy (milk, chicken, eggs, pork chops), I may use them.

I limit my shopping to a few stores because I feel comfortable with the layout and the stock of the stores.  I know who has the best price on a gallon of 1% milk (Costco, usually), where to buy unusual produce in small quantities (farmer's market), and where to buy laundry detergent (ShopRite, $1.99).  Since I'm only shopping for two and I'm a very active home cook, I buy whatever we want to eat, I just make sure we pay a great price.  If we want sea scallops or New York strip, we buy it.  We'd rather eat it at home than pay the huge markup to eat it at a restaurant.

I average less than $50 a week on food for two adults, including the occasional  regular bottle of wine or takeout pizza.  We pack our breakfast and lunch on weekdays and I cook dinner at least five nights a week, on average.  It's important for us to keep our food budget under control because other aspects of our household budget (like fuel, tolls, and mobile phone bills) are higher than most families due to our long commutes and long work hours. 

The biggest money drain is last-minute purchases.  Make a list (preferably based on a weekly meal plan) and stick to it.  As much as I enjoy shopping for food, I only hit the stores once a week.  If I don't have a food item and it's not critical, I substitute another item until our next shopping day.

Where do you buy your food?  Do you use coupons?  How many of you end up making multiple trips to the store for forgotten items?

Food Budgeting: Building Your Supply

A while back I wrote about menu planning and how it helps us eat healthier, stay on budget, and not waste food.  I got away from the Food Budgeting series for about a month, but I love writing about food and money since we all have to eat and most people are trying to save money. 

My first tip in the menu planning post was:

Have a well-stocked pantry and plan your grocery shopping so you're not running out at the last minute for ingredients. Running out of food is an easy excuse to just call for take out. Also, incorporate what you have on hand into menu planning, if possible. Using your own supply of food always saves money.

(Click "Read more" below.)

Food Budgeting : Menu Planning

Our meal plan (spelling errors and all) for last week

Last week I introduced a series of posts on Food Budgeting.  I started with the basics, "Get Your Money Right", or keeping track of how much you're actually spending on groceries and dining out.  Believe it or not, I love talking about money and I enjoy making budgets and grocery lists.  E and I consider grocery shopping to be a date (I know it's a chore to most people).  On weekdays I spend two hours each day in the car and my favorite programs on satellite radio are the financial advice talk shows.  We're not perfect, but we've learned to keep more of our money in the bank by planning our meals.

So what exactly is a menu plan?  For us, it's a realistic list of meals we'll consume during the work week (Monday-Friday), including breakfasts, lunch, dinner, and snacks.  We pack our lunches 90% of the time because it saves money, encourages us to eat healthier, and we don't waste our lunch hour running around town (searching for parking) and settling for salty, greasy fast food.  I take it an extra step and pack breakfast.  These days I eat one Chobani Greek Yogurt at my desk each morning and I enjoy my coffee (brewed at home and poured into a travel mug) on my commute.  I also like keeping instant oatmeal at my desk for a quick snack or last-minute meal option.

Where do I get my meal ideas?  I read food blogs every single day and I save my favorite recipes in my Google Reader.  I also have a decent collection of cookbooks and I subscribe to several food magazines.  Between reading recipes and having some old family favorites I know that we'll always have something decent to eat.

Some families plan out what will be eaten each night.  I prefer to make a list of what I can cook that week and I take into consideration yield for leftovers (since we pack leftover dinner for lunch the following day) and the amount of time it takes to cook the recipe.  Anything that takes more than 45 minutes to prepare may put me over the edge after I've worked a full day, fought traffic, and walked the dogs.  I save the elaborate menus for weekends.  My favorite tip is to freeze foods that reheat well.  Today I'm simmering a huge pot of spaghetti sauce that will feed the two of us for at least five more meals.  I'll be putting into the freezer and enjoying it on weeknights over the next two months.

I emptied out the produce drawer and took all the ground meat in the fridge to make a huge pot of spaghetti sauce.

Here are a few tips to get you started with menu planning:

1.  Have a well-stocked pantry and plan your grocery shopping so you're not running out at the last minute for ingredients.  Running out of food is an easy excuse to just call for take out.  Also, incorporate what you have on hand into menu planning, if possible.  Using your own supply of food always saves money.
 2.  Know your limitations.  I'm not baking bread from scratch or stuffing a pork loin on a weeknight.  I'm also not going to leave my husband a massive pile of dishes to hand wash after he worked all day.  Keep weeknight menus simple.
3.  Consider leftovers.  I love these Rubbermaid containers so much that we purposely cook bigger meals and immediately place them into storage for lunch the next day.  I don't like traditional lunch foods like cold cuts and my husband stopped eating processed meat once he married me, so we need good hot meals for lunch.
4.  Don't forget breakfast!  If you work outside of the home (especially if you have a commute) it's easy to fall prey to either skipping breakfast or eating a fast food breakfast.  I will admit that I used to stop at Wawa on a regular basis, but I'm officially reformed!  In an effort to fatten up my wallet and slim down my waistline I eat the exact same meal for breakfast five days a week.  For me it's Greek yogurt and coffee.  Find what you like and figure out a way to carry it with you.
5.  Get organized.  E and I have stylish, oversize lunch bags that look more like luggage than lunchboxes.  We routinely clean out our refrigerator and pantry and we store leftovers in an orderly system (with dates on items in the freezer).  We just got tired of throwing out perfectly good food because we forgot we had it or because it had spoiled.  Organization also includes keeping a grocery list and sticking to it, but that's a future post.

In the spirit of keeping it real, I'm also going to share a little secret.  We always build in one night a week of cheating.  This means that we may order pizza (on special for $7.99) if we've had a long commute due to a snowstorm or if one of us worked late and gets home at 8:00 p.m.  Or, we may enjoy a home-cooked meal prepared by my (retired) mom who lives two miles away.  And every now and then we'll just go out to a restaurant (preferably for a deal or with a coupon or gift card) for no reason at all.  We all deserve a little flexibility.  Budgeting is like a diet.  You don't have to be perfect all the time, but you need to do the right thing most of the time to see results.

Food Budgeting: Get Your Money Right

Last week, I had the pleasure of talking with several friends (some old, some new, some bloggers, some not) and the topic of food budgeting came up.  I thought about it even more after I caught the premiere of Extreme Couponing on TLC (which, by the way is a crazy show... check it out of you have cable).

Menu planning is the key to getting control of your food budget.  But before we even get to menu planning, do you even have a food budget?  I've learned to keep an old-school check ledger where I record every debit, cash, or check transaction (I don't use credit cards).  This gives me a quick view of my spending in all categories.  I have an unusual situation:  we spend more on fuel for our cars than on food.  E and I both have long commutes, so gas and tolls actually cost us more than groceries and dining out.  Every family is different, but here's a rundown of our situation in December, a month notorious for over-indulgence:

Groceries                          $ 225.54
Dining Out                        $ 164.62
Alcohol                             $  82.02
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Total                                 $472.18

Groceries = all food items, not including dining out and alcohol purchases (liquor is not sold in grocery stores in Delaware)
Dining Out = everything from convenience store snacks to a four-course sit-down meal, including beverages
Alcohol = beer, wine, and spirits purchased at a liquor store

Every family is different.  You could be single, partnered, married or you could have one infant or five children.  Regardless, you should have a food budget.  Any realistic food budget will also count dining out because there are few people who can make it through the month without a little help from a restaurant.  I included an alcohol category in my budget because I recognize this is a non-essential expense and that many families don't consume any alcohol.  E and I enjoy pairing wine and beer with our meals, but we choose to drink at home where we can have high quality for a reasonable price.

Our December food budget breakdown (above) reflects the fact that we participated in a few office holiday parties (which required us to eat out for dinner) and that we also purchased some alcohol as Christmas gifts.  I feel comfortable with our total food expenditures being under $500 per month for two adults.  We could absolutely spend less, but this amount allows us to enjoy meals we love, complete with wine and beer pairings.

For January, consider tracking your food expenditures.  Will you be surprised by how much you spend?  Are there any opportunities for savings?  Here's how we got our food budget under control:

1.  We pack our lunches (and breakfasts).  We are often gone for 12 hours a day, but we pack meals 80% of the time.  Packing your lunch is a great way to use leftovers.  I use these containers for most of my lunches. 
2.  Whenever possible, we entertain at home instead of going out to a restaurant.  It saves us a huge restaurant tab, allows me to try out indulgent recipes, and provides a more relaxed atmosphere for our friends.
3.  I have a garden in the summer.  At least four months out of the year I'm eating produce grown in containers on my deck.  It tastes better and it's healthy.
4.  I stock up on staples.  We have a chest freezer in the basement and industrial-sized shelving units loaded with items like pasta, canned beans, rice, canned tomatoes, flour, sugar, and salt.  I buy chicken, pork loin, and ground turkey at Costco once every three months.  I load up on frozen vegetables when they are on sale.
5.  I don't buy convenience foods.  With few exceptions, I don't buy ready-made foods (canned soups, frozen entrees, rice mixes).  If I'm going to consume too many calories, I'm going to make my meal from scratch.  I save a lot of money and I know exactly what's in my food.

We're all busy, but I think everyone likes saving money.  Before we went on a budget smackdown, E and I could spend $100 on one restaurant dinner (and occasionally we still do).  We just got to the point where we refused to throw money away on unhealthy take-out meals because we were too lazy to plan and cook.  The next topic in this Food Budgeting series will be menu planning.  What steps are you taking to address your household budget?

Reader Question: Menu Planning

Happy New Year!  I didn't make any firm resolutions for 2011 because I'm on a continuous improvement schedule and I'm always trying to live better, whether it's January 1st or April 19th.  I believe people change and improve when they are ready and we should all be looking for ways to make our lives better.  (Plus, I'm a food blogger and enthusiastic home cook, so the typical diet resolutions are pretty tough for me!)  Based on discussions with friends and family I know finances are on everyone's minds and this reader question deals with meal planning, which can have a significant impact on your budget.

Q:  I know that you like to plan out your meals for the week. Would you consider sharing those lists with your readers on a weekly basis? Would help make meal planning a bit easier for me to bite off your list.

A:  Absolutely! Now, I'm not perfect and I stray from our meal plan sometimes. I'll start sharing our meal plan and our food budgeting strategies in a series of short posts and you can take whatever tips work for you. Plus, I'd love to have suggestions from readers about what works for them.

I'm starting a new category of blog posts under the "Life" category.  These posts will be tagged as "food budgeting" and I'd like to share tips on grocery shopping, dining out, meal planning, and any other strategies related to keeping our meal expenses under control.  

Do you have a question for me?  Click here to post it on Formspring and I'll answer it ASAP.