Beat the high cost of food

These soaring grocery prices are enough to make any frugalite nervous and finding every way we can to cut costs there is important - BUT... just buying food at the lowest cost is only half the battle. No matter how much you coupon, shop the sales, grow your own, barter, etc., if you waste the food once you have it in your kitchen, you've lost the war.

There are so many ways we waste food without even thinking about it. I challenge you. Next time you prepare a meal, think of what you would do if the food you were preparing was the only food you would have for the next three days. Don't go adding more food... just use what you would normally for a meal. Could you find ways to stretch it or to use more of it?

How about chopping up those celery leaves into the salad or soup? Cooking beet and radish greens? Scrubbing potatoes before you peel them so you can use the skins in another dish?

Or how about those leftovers? They can make another appearance in an entirely different costume. Example: Leftover turkey from the freezer (Thanksgiving!), plus a cup or so of vegetables leftover from Easter and a few tablespoons of Ham gravy that I made from the pan drippings from the Easter ham (didn't have it for Easter dinner), and I made a turkey pot pie. Good, too, I must say. All leftovers except for the flour and salt. The fat was saved and rendered from the said ham.

Don't throw out perfectly good food because you've never saved it before. Get creative and use everything you have and your grocery costs will go down. Guaranteed.