Grocery Scrooge - Meat

While I am not personally an avid fan of anything that has a history of breathing (bones, blood, gristle and veins.... blech), we consume a lot of meat. The men in my house aren't huge eaters (thank God), but they definitely look at me funny when I try to sneak a meatless meal in once in a while, and my husband makes a big show of getting out some yoghurt or cheese while mumbling about protein.

A little while ago I did a random months tally of our grocery bills, and I have to say I nearly lost bowel control on the spot.

SIX HUNDRED DOLLARS.

For those of you who don't think that's very much - that's a $20 bill per DAY.

Granted, that included all household supplies, toiletries and baby needs, but it seems a bit much to me for three adults and a 20lb drool machine.

Obviously, something needed to be done.

So, what were we burning all of that money on?

Well, the occasional pre-packaged pizza, for sure. And cheese.

But I think it was the meat that was killing us.

So here are my MEAT MONEY tips:

(don't read this if you are a meat snob)

1) I get a 5 pound tube of ground beef at PriceSmart for between $11 - $14 (prices fluctuate). When I get it home, I cut it (still in the plastic) into 5 pieces and wrap them individually for freezing. This is WAY cheaper than buying the individual packs. For those of you that prefer extra lean ground beef (I have a sensitivity to cooked fat, so I know all about that), I just rinse the meat with hot water when it's almost done cooking.

2) Instead of buying different cuts of beef and pork for stirfry's, stroganoff and all manner of cooking, I cut up a cheap roast (or pork loin) into cubes and steaks. I know, I know, it's not the SAME, but we are talking about when you need to save money, and this is SO MUCH cheaper.

3) For tuna, I purchase the enormous can at costco (unless I hit a wicked sale on the small cans). I drain the can at home and using a heaped 1/2 cup measure, portion it out in to ziplocks, which I freeze. I got 12 out of my last can (but I forget how much I paid for it - maybe $8) and each baggie makes 2 sandwiches.

4) Sandwhich meat? Just say NO. That stuff is BAD for you. They are charging you $15 a kilo for pig lips and *ssholes peppered with nitrates. Okay, enough preaching.

5) Okay, and here's my weakness. Chicken. I just can't stomach the little wings and thighs. They still look so... chicken like. I tried. I really did - it was so much cheaper. But I'll go vegan before I do that with any regularity. So what we do is get the $26, 4 Kilo Box of frozen chicken breasts from PriceSmart. I know, I know. There's meat protein in it. But it's that or no meat for me. Yuckies....

And after all of that, you can always do what my friend does to stretch the budget. "Essence of Meat"... which means just use a little bit of meat in the meal and increase the amounts of your cheaper ingredients.