Mission Tips
Buying in Bulk
Buying in bulk can help bulk up your wallet but you need to strategically do so to ensure the food does not spoil before you can eat it. Here are some ideas that can help:
- Split the quantities with a friend.
- When shopping for bulk items with an expiration date, grab from the back of the shelf.
- Store dry goods in an airtight plastic container or glass jars with screw-top lids in a cool, dry place.
Batch Cooking
Save money by cooking in large batches. With a little planning, you can get ahead on meals, plan for the week, and make impromptu meals a snap. Designate one day of the week to cook batches of food for the week to cut down on your daily cooking. You can even cook double batches of your favorites: Eat the first batch and freeze the second for a quick future meal.
Family Meal Planning
Cut costs by planning ahead. Read your Sunday paper and use the coupons to plan your dinners for the week. Often times your local grocery store will run specials and you can save more money by pairing up your coupons with the weekly discounts. If you know a family event that always takes place at a designated time – or certain nights that are always busy with activities – plan ahead for the meals.
Pantry Substitutions
The next time you’re missing an ingredient in a recipe, don’t panic. Many recipes are flexible and will still come out delicious when you improvise. Here are just a few helpful hints:
- Try to keep ingredients within the same ethnic category. Ethnic flavor combinations have been developed over centuries and blend together naturally.
- Dissect the basic flavors of the dish. If you’re missing a certain flavoring, ask yourself if it is basically sweet, salty, sour, bitter, or spicy? Think of something from your cupboard in the same category.
- Substituting starches and proteins makes less of a difference in overall taste than spices and flavorings.
- Try the pantry approach to cooking: If you find yourself continually missing key ingredients, analyze your pantry and consider restocking it.
- Assemble complementary herbs, spices and flavoring in groupings in your pantry. That way, when you are experimenting with a dish—Italian, for example—your Italian seasonings such as basil, parsley, garlic, and oregano will be grouped together, and you can substitute accordingly.
- Keep staples such as flours, oils, beans, and grains on hand so you don’t have to run out to the store at the last minute.
