9 Ways To Save Money At The Supermarket

Photo of a Key Food: SILive.com

As my Mom says when she looks at overpriced food, “Remember, we have to eat everyday.”

Food shopping is a huge expense for the average person, taking a big bite out of a monthly budget. So how can you "get more and spend less?" (That's right Mama, I do pay attention. :) 

Here are 9 ways to lower your grocery bills:

1) Buy unprocessed, real food: meat, dairy, fruit, vegetables (fresh and frozen) and whole grains. Not only will you save money, you will improve your diet. Shop along the sides of the supermarket where the real food is laid out and avoid the middle aisles, where sugary and processed foods tend to be.

2) Don't buy prepared food. With few exceptions, buy food you wash and cut up (and season) yourself. Fruits and vegetables you slice and dice yourself stay fresh longer, and it's not that much trouble. A whole cantaloupe is usually less expensive than slices.

3) Stock up on sales. Before going through the store, look at the weekly circular and circle items you normally buy, when they are priced to draw customers into the store. They are called "loss leaders," meaning items sold below cost.

Here is an example of what I circled recently:

Skarkist solid white tuna, 99 cents/ 5 ounce can
a dozen extra large eggs, $1.69

5 lbs Idaho potatoes, $1.79

3 - 8 oz blocks of cheddar cheese, $5
a bunch of fresh broccoli, 99 cents
plum tomatoes, 79 cents/lb
globe grapes, 99 cents/lb (big and juicy!)

frozen green beans, 16 oz bag – buy 1 get 1 free at a cost of $1.75

Stock up on staples: You might buy $10 worth of cheese, 10 cans of tuna and 4 bags of frozen green beans. They last for a while, and the savings add up. (Months ago I picked up a couple of cans of unsweetened pineapple and pureed pumpkin for 99 cents each. Nice!)

4) Unless you are planning a special dinner and need a certain type of meat, fruit or vegetable, plan your meals around the store's weekly specials. If beef, potatoes and broccoli go on sale, eat that for dinner. Cook pork chops and corn-on-the-cob when they go on sale. Have chicken, asparagus and wild rice the week they go on sale. Also pay attention to manager specials on food. Since new items go on sale weekly, you won't really want for anything, nor deprive yourself of variety. You'll just pay less if you are flexible, take advantage of specials and plan ahead. I see a few tuna melts in my future. (The pineapple might turn wine into sangria, and the pumpkin becomes either soup or a cake.)

5) Slowly change habits: Eliminate foods made with white flour and refined sugars like boxed cereal, pot pies, canned cinnamon rolls, or frozen french fries. Even on sale, they are not the real bargains, nor are they the best food choices. As a special treat, I might buy a frozen pizza or bag of corn chips, but mostly, if I want chocolate chip cookies or french fries (treats I formally bought), I have to make them myself from scratch. The result: you start to streamline your grocery list and eat healthy, saving a few bucks in the process. Grocery shopping for me takes less time too.

Photo: Frank, Jr.

6) Personally, I don't clip coupons, but I'm not opposed to using them. You can save some bucks if you find coupons for items you buy anyway.

7) If your supermarket offers a rewards card, sign up. Get something back for stuff you buy anyway.

8) Buying in bulk isn't always a good idea. Not all food has a long shelf life. Only buy what you will eat, plus a little extra, so you don't have to run back to the store the next day. Eat a variety of fresh food, so you stay healthy and don't get bored.

9) Never overbuy food (or any product) regardless of how low the price goes. Waste is waste, even if you get it cheap. If you have this tendency, scare yourself straight by watching an episode of the most frightening show on television, Hoarders. Seeing how bad it can get will cure you!

Now go back to read the words in bold to remember the 9 tips for reducing your grocery bills ... and still come home with plenty of food.

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My Rustic Beef Stew

Photo: msbuenavida here

A hearty beef stew is a popular dish. Definitely, comfort food, which many of us grew up eating, often in winter. I made a pot over the weekend using ingredients I had on hand. It turned out especially delicious! Sooo. I'm sharing the recipe for a purely selfish reason ... so I'll remember how to make it again. I can always come back here to look it up! Here are all the ingredients that went into the pot:

Rustic Beef Stew (my style, um, um!)

Ingredients: 

1 ½ - 2 pounds of beef, cut into cubes (chuck, top round, London broil, or whatever is on sale)

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper (12 turns of the pepper mill)
1 tablespoon flour

1 onion, chopped, big chunks

3 stalks of celery, diced

4 carrots, cut into big bite-size pieces

2 parsnips, sliced
3 medium potatoes cut into chunks
1 tomato, diced.
1 teaspoon dried garlic

1 teaspoon onion powder

½ teaspoon dried rosemary

sprinkle of thyme
sprinkle of nutmeg
5 cups water

1 big bay leaf
dash of dried cilantro
dried parsley

A tiny sprinkle of red pepper flakes (Adds a kick without the heat. Careful: Too much adds heat.)

2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce (Sprinkle and just eyeball the amount.)

2 large beef, or chicken bouillon cubes (Doesn't really matter which flavor.)

1 teaspoon vinegar

Optional: I had a handful of mushrooms in the refrigerator, so they went in, but don't go to the store for them; you have enough beef and vegetable chunks and flavor without mushrooms. In the spring if you have asparagus, dice and toss it in. Sometimes I have a turnup or lima beans or peas I add. Stew is a good dish enabling a cook to get rid of vegetables.

Directions: 

1) Sear the beef cubes with a tiny bit of olive oil in a 6-quart enameled cast iron pot until golden brown. While browning, salt and pepper the beef.
2) Next add the onions, celery, carrots, parsnips and spices as listed. Saute for about 5 minutes.
3) Add the water, bay leaf, cilantro, red pepper flakes, Worcestershire sauce, bouillon cube and vinegar.
4) Bring to a boil and simmer on low heat for about 1 hour.

5) Cut the potatoes into big chunks and dice the tomato; add to the pot and let simmer on low heat for another 1/2 hour, or so. Garnish with iron-rich parsley.

6) When the beef and vegetables are tender, dissolve 2 - 3 tablespoons of all-purpose flour in water and carefully add it to the pot to thicken the stew. Simmer on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes.

Tips: In cooking, if you want vegetables to disappear into the sauce, dice them up small. If you want the vegetables to remain spearable-with-a-fork, cut them into big pieces. With this stew, the only vegetables I dice small are the tomato and celery.

This evening a cup of green beans, a cup of peas and carrots, baby carrots, parsnips, potatoes, a big onion, and celery went into the beef stew.

The cooking time may vary, depending on the cut of beef you use. Cook until the meat is tender. Lean cuts of beef (for example top round London broil) are cheaper, tougher, and require a longer cooking time to break down the tissues, but are very flavorful when tender. Lean is good!

Extra tips: If you have frozen peas in your freezer, throw a cup or so into the pot at the end of the cooking time. It adds nutrients and a pop of green to the dish. Frozen peas and carrots and frozen green beans are perfect complements.

Click here to learn more about beef cuts.

Needless to say, beef stew is scrumptious on day 1 and excellent as leftovers. Serve with cornbread or hard-crusted, whole-grain bread.

My next post will address how to reduce your grocery bills, so check back in a couple of days for tips.

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Premiers: NBC's Believe & ABC's Resurrection

This week two promising shows premiered on network TV. While the scenarios of each varies, both shows feature children with special gifts as central characters. 

Believe is co-created-written-and-directed by Gravity's Oscar winning director, Alfonso Cuaron. In it a little girl, who has paranormal powers, must be watched by a team of protectors to keep her from falling into the clutches of a corrupt millionaire, played by Kyle MacLachlan. MacLachlan's character, the well-connected Mr. Skouras, wants to use the child's powers for his own misguided purposes.

I adore a scene in Believe where the young girl, named Bo, tells a convicted murderer, Tate, who is sent to a hospital to bar her kidnapping, that the reason he has a tear streaming down his cheek is: "You remembered you were good once."  

The chase over the course of a television season should be fun and suspenseful, if the characters are multi-dimensional and worth getting to know. I will give the show a chance.

If you have ever lost a close family member, you may be disturbed and equally drawn in by Resurrection. In the series, an 8 year old boy, named Jacob, appears at his 60 year old parents' door, looking very much like the day he died, 32 years earlier. Most of us can identify with loss, grief and wanting our loved ones back. So it's not an easy episode to watch, but you don't turn the channel.

It looks like Jacob won't be the only person in town to rise from the dead. Previews show other dearly departed arriving. Past events will now have to be re-examined. Jacob's cousin, Maggie, a local doctor, gets involved. Her own mother died in the same accident, trying to save Jacob from drowning, or so everyone believes. Soon long ago secrets begin to unravel, and new mysteries need to be understood. What is happening in the small Midwestern town of Arcadia?

If the creators are clever in responding to the age-old questions about the meaning of life and death, the show will be gripping to watch. Resurrection is co-produced by Plan B Entertainment, Brad Pitt's company. Brad just won an Oscar for co-producing Twelve Years A Slave.

Fantasy and sci-fi genres can be more creative and take more liberties than straight dramas in explaining good and evil. The really genius ones (like HBO's Game of Thrones) do shed light on human nature. 

Let's hope these latest two will be complex and entertaining to watch. It's fantastic the networks are hiring talented people to produce different kinds of shows. Hopefully, it will lead to imaginative and great storytelling.

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Selecting The Right Houseplants

Photo: Make The Best Of Things - Lovely green pothos in a beautiful cobalt blue vase.

Plants bring a little bit of nature indoors. They can turn a house (apartment or dorm room) into a home. Reportedly, many varieties purify our air as they take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. 

I have green and golden pothos (epipremnum aureum) growning in my apartment. Pothos grow best with a few hours of sun, but are nearly impossible to kill. If not in a sunny room, they still manage to live. I usually water my houseplants once a week, but at times, am a forgetful gardener. So pothos are perfect for me. 

Likewise, I have success with African violets (saintpaulias). Sit the plant in a windowsill with a few hours of sun per day and only water it once a week.

Most of us don't think about the maintenance of plants until we've killed a few of them. Why do I buy a poinsettia every Christmas when I can't seem to cultivate one to last past February? The trick to keeping houseplants alive is to assess your lifestyle and the conditions of your home, then selecting the right plants, which thrive under those conditions. 

Before you bring a plant home, consider these factors:

African violets photo: Wikimedia Commons

1. How much light do you get?
2. How warm, or drafty is your place? Will the plant be close to a heater in winter, or an air conditioner in summer?
3. Do you travel? If so, a catus requires lots of light, but little water. Jade and snake plants are also rugged.
4. How much do you want to fuss? Weigh hardy plants (examples: peace lilies, rubber trees, English ivies) against delicate plants (like orchads, zebra plants, gardenias).
5. And equally important, which plants fit the decor of your home?

Based on my experience, pothos and African violets are low maintenance plants. If you enjoy gardening, you may be more ambitious. Here are other choices from Better Homes And Gardens and This Old House -- the latter listing plants that absorb indoor carcinogens.

Few things are as beautiful as Mother Nature. Indeed, there is a houseplant for every lifestyle and green thumb.

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Happy 5th Birthday To THE SAVVY SHOPPER

It's a busy week. Yesterday ... the Academy Awards ... and today THE SAVVY SHOPPER turns five years old.

Over the past year the blog gained more page views, but lost a loyal reader, Ms. Loretta G, who passed away in late June. Time has a way of marching on, but I will always miss Loretta, who was lovely and generous with her support. I am grateful for her comments and emails.

Thanks to all of you for stopping by.

Here's to another year of new topics, practical tips and entertainment. Let's aim for good writing mixed with fun stuff for eyeballs to make your stay worthwhile.

I hope you continue to find some wisdom and humor here.

***** *****

Not only is today THE SAVVY SHOPPER's birthday, it's the time of the year when *spring* is around the corner. We will spring forward next Sunday, March 9th, gaining an hour of daylight.

Lent is fast approaching on the Christian calendar. It begins on Ash Wednesday, March 5th, the day after Mardi Gras. Although I am not a religious person, I have a thought. What if in lieu of giving up something, people add something during Lent? Something to make the world a little bit better ... like public service, volunteering for a worthy cause or simply helping a neighbor. 

You can think of it as giving up your time, but don't just give something up. Do something for someone else. Add kindness. Let's try to make a difference in another person's life. I'm not a scholar of theology (far from it, believe me), but isn't that what Jesus did? 

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Favorite Red Carpet Oscar Dresses 2014

Details tomorrow. I'm still watching the show!

March 3, 2014 Update:

1. Cate Blanchett is wearing Armani Prive; 2. Amy Adams is in Gucci Premiere; 3. Naomi Watts is wearing Calvin Klein Collection; 4. Charlize Theron is in Dior Haute Couture; Jessica Biel is in Chanel; and Sandra Bullock is wearing Alexander McQueen.

The color trend at the Academy Awards was darks and neutrals. No outlandish attire this year, the look was polished and old Hollywood glamour. As it should be, elegance ruled the night. What's the point of hiring a stylist and having your choice of haunte couture, only to look ridiculous? Class is the name of the game.

Angelina Jolie in Ellie Saaab, Brad Pitt in Tom Ford. Who's looking at him?

Angelina is her usual, beautiful self. This is something like what I would wear, if I attended award shows ... ladylike sleeves to keep me warm, as well as, the glitter. Despite not showing a lot of skin, she still looks stunning ... and comfortable.

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Making Homemake Yogurt

Photo: My Healthy Green Family (here)

Years ago while still living at home with my parents, I bought a yogurt machine. I still have it and recently decided to make homemade yogurt again. Supermarket yogurt keeps shrinking. I need a full cup of yogurt to feel satisfied. So, I will go back to making it myself! 

You don't need a machine to make fresh yogurt. All a yogurt machine does is control the temperature like an incubator. If you don't have a yogurt machine, you can pour treated milk into a pot or jar, mix in plain yogurt (as a starter), wrap towels around  it, and put the batch inside your oven, using the pilot light to keep it warm until it turns into yogurt about 12 hours later. 110-112 degrees F is the desired temperature.

Since I have a yogurt machine, I use it. I replaced the 6 ounce (grrr!!!), milk cups with 8 ounce, Mason jars. Not only do they hold more yogurt, they travel well. I love the metal, screw-on lids. Very secure ... and I feel a bit like a city dairy farmer pulling out my canning jars. I'm a serious yogurt maker, mister! 

I like to use powder milk to make yogurt because it produces a good consistency. Here's how:

My yogurt machine

Homemade Yogurt - one quart

Ingredients:
4½ cups water
1 2/3 cups dry powder milk (that's a little extra for a thicker yogurt)
2 - 3 tablespoons of plain yogurt with live active cultures

You can buy plain supermarket yogurt for your first batch, then remember to save a few tablespoons of the last of the yogurt to make future batches.

Directions: 
1. Boil the water to kill any bad bacteria.
2. Let the water cool to about 110 degrees F, so you don't kill the good yogurt bacteria.
3. Stir the dry powder milk (equals 5 tablespoons per cup + a little extra) into the water until it dissolves.

Photo: Lousia Enright (here)

4. Next whisk in the plain yogurt.
5. Pour into a large jar or individual containers, or leave in the pot. My 8 ounce Mason jars go into my yogurt machine with their medal lids, but without the screw-on cylinders.
6. Leave for 12 hours.

If you use liquid milk, it's super easy too. Just heat one quart of milk and let cool. Whole milk and 2% milk make a thicker yogurt. Skim milk yields a thinner yogurt. Just like when using dry milk, add the spoons of plain yogurt to the liquid milk. Pour into container(s). Let the batch set for 12 hours. Voilà.

Time makes a thicker yogurt also. The longer the batch sits, the thicker the yogurt. But, the longer the yogurt sits, the more sour it becomes. So to keep the taste mild, I pop the yogurt into the refrigerator after 12 hours. I prefer a thinner and milder flavor to a thicker and sharper taste. Some manufacturers add gelatin to thicken the yogurt, but I like to keep yogurt-making simple.

Greek yogurt is yogurt strained of some of its liquid (a/k/a whey). Drain more whey to get yogurt cheese.

Enjoy the creamy freshness!

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Logitech Ultrathin Keyboard Cover For The iPad

A mini for an ipad mini

First of all, if you are thinking of buying an ipad, consider the ipad mini. It will cost up to $200 less than its larger model siblings. I have played with all three tablets, the ipad air, ipad 2 and the ipad mini, and to my surprise, I prefer the mini. When you look at the mini's 7.87 inch screen, it doesn't seem that much smaller than the bigger 9.4 and 9.5 inch screens. Unless you have a specific need for the extra 1.7 inches, why not save your money?

What's more, the mini is the most compact and travel-friendly of the three. Weighing under a pound, it fits conveniently into a purse, or the inside pocket of a trench coat. Nice to take on trips!

keyboard cover fastened to an ipad mini

Once you have an ipad, you need some type of a case. There are many choices.

I like Logitech's multi-tasking Ultrathin Keyboard Cover. The aluminum cover fastens to one side of the ipad with a magnet, protecting the screen when your ipad is idle. Just 8mm thick, the cover is slender and perfectly matches your ipad mini. Together, they are still lightweight, ultra thin and attractive. (Don't worry: If you have a larger ipad, Logitech makes its keyboard cover for all sizes.)

The sturdy case's built-in wireless Bluetooth keyboard is super simple to set up by following a few prompts. The keys, though not quite standard, are a good workable size too ... even for larger fingers.

keyboard cover in its viewing stand mode

The keyboard cover converts into a very practical viewing stand, so you don't always have to hold your ipad when in use. You can secure it in the stand to watch videos, or prop it up in the stand while you lie on your couch to monitor your email and do web research.

However, the keyboard cover doesn't protect the back of the ipad, so you will probably want to buy an inexpensive sleeve (available for under $15 bucks) just in case you drop it.

Once you make the investment, THE SAVVY SHOPPER says ... use your devices until they hiccup, cough and die, or you'll go broke!

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A Four-Cube Organzier With Storage Bins

Once upon a time while living at home with my parents, I wore a 14k gold watch they gave me for Christmas. We lived in a house with beautiful wood furniture and fancy china. Expensive figurines decorated the shelves of a large, walnut cabinet.  

Judging by what we buy today, times change. Life is less formal and simpler in many ways. I'm a different kind of consumer than my mother was, and I bet you are too.

Instead of fine china for 12, I bought sturdy place settings for 8 from Pottery Barn (when PB sold dishes in the 1990s). I remember selecting dishes I could use for everyday, as well as, a dinner party. I didn't want to buy 2 sets of dishes for different purposes. One set does it all, and no guest has ever batted an eye.

Nice enough, right? Goes upright or lateral.

Now I buy Timex watches ... and organizer cubes from Walmart. As long as the cube is strong enough to serve its purpose and looks decent, I don't care if it is made of inexpensive pressed wood. Paying hundreds of dollars to store one's stuff makes no sense to me. When I think about it ... perhaps I could get rid of all the stuff that hides behind other stuff in a closet. Tell me why we hold on to things we rarely use, since it seems like too much trouble to get up on a ladder to rearrange stuff in order to get to other stuff? 

As I get older, I'm becoming something of an under buyer. I think more about the world as a whole and my carbon footprint in it, and I can live with less. I only want stuff I actually use.

Don't get me wrong. I want to live well, have fashionable clothes and own everything I need to live a comfortable and purposeful life. But I don't mind wearing garments I like over again. I don't need to replace a computer or car the year a newer version comes out, and I don't want tons of extras (clothes, shoes, appliances, bedding, bath towels) I never use. Ideally, belongings shouldn't sit around idly ... collecting dust. 

The stuff we buy should make our lives better, easier or more fun. Don't bring anything into your home without a clear function.

Space is valuable. Clutter looks bad. Be sure you won't mind losing your empty space to any merchandise that will occupy it.

Moreover, know when to pay top dollar, or not. When a similar item is ten times more expensive, ask yourself -- if you will get ten times more value or enjoyment out of it. When the answer is "yes," splurge. If "no," save.

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Happy Valentine's Day From THE SAVVY SHOPPER

Photo: Karen Morris

Celebrating Valentine's Day with images from around the web: What would an elegant dinner be without a tasty bottle of red wine? And ... what would Valentine's Day be without lots of hearts, flowers or petals, candles, desserts and the passion of bright red? So lovely!

Photo: Better Homes & Gardens (recipe here)

Photo: Better Homes & Gardens (recipe here)

Flickering hearts. Photo: familyholiday.net

Enjoy! -- Amore. -- xox.

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Zyllion's Shiatsu Massage Pillow, A Review

Periodically I have lower back pain. Sciatica. Usually it goes away in a few days, but recently the twinge lingered. After several weeks of stiffness, I decided to buy a massage pillow. 

Why just a pillow? Well ... to be honest, I am too cheap, plus didn't want to make room in my New York City apartment for a massage chair. (I value my space!) I've tried the chairs at the Sharper Image shops, and they are fantastic! I hoped that good things ... um similar results, could come in small packages.

So I bought Zyllion's Shiatsu Massage Pillow With Heat ... and it works! Here are the pros:

• It has a 6 cm compact body.
  
  
• Indeed (as promoted) 4 deep kneading Shiatsu balls do "relax, relieve and soothe aching muscles" and nerves. 
• The heat definitely helps. It feels great!
• The nodes rotate in both directions, alternating, much like the knuckles of a real human being.
• The device is programmed not to overheat, and it shuts off after 20 minutes for safety. You can also push a button to turn the heat off.
• You can use the slim cushion on your lower back, upper back, neck, stomach, calves, and thighs.

The one con: A longer cord -- another foot, or so -- would be useful to reach further. Sometimes I accidentally unplug the pillow while on my couch. Why be chintzy with too short of a cord when you make a good product? What would an extra foot cost the company?

The portable cushion has a strap to wrap around a chair, but I haven't used it. 

The manufacturer claims the device can be used in the home, office or car. Included is an adaptor to plug into a car dashboard, and the packaging shows an image of a little stick person reaching for a steering wheel. What ... seriously!?! 

Who wants to be on the road with drivers who are having a massage! Lord God, No! Some people won't stop a moment for directions much less pull over for 20 minutes to treat a spasm! So please fellow motorists, for the safety of all of us, keep your full attention on driving and use your Shiatsu massage pillows at home.

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Peter Pilotto For Target

Target's latest collaborator is one of London's most coveted fashion brands. Peter Pilotto -- headed by designers Peter Pilotto and Christopher De Vos -- is known for its innovative, colorful prints. Called classic and modern, the clothing is attractive, complex and energetic. There's a great interplay of funky flowers with graphics in the patterns, which is very warm and playful. It's a bit like looking through a kaleidoscope.

The 70-piece collection, priced from $14.99 to $79.99, includes dresses, swimwear, trousers, crop tops, tote bags and sunglasses.

The vivid line is available at Target, beginning February 9th and for the first time, internationally, through net-a-porter.com.

I love these well-thought-out and fun collections (despite some controversy).  They make luxury designs affordable to most everyone. For $40 or less, you can get a lovely vibrant dress (Some are more expensive. Wait for the sales.) 

Don't be tempted to overbuy, though ... and stay away from cheap, disposable fabric. If you select wisely, the apparel from Target's partnerships with top designers will last for many seasons. My Liberty of London black, cotton dress (purchased in 2009) is still going strong.  With Peter Pilotto in tow, perhaps it's the perfect time to add a new piece to my wardrobe. How about you?

Purple foral print, $69.99

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