My Mawmaw knew how to save money, but she always had the basic necessities to make just about anything we wanted to eat. Today I find myself using Pinterest and other websites to accomplish what she did in her head every single day. The older I get, the more I realize how smart, organized and creative she actually was.
The first thing Mawmaw did was stock pile grocery staples, ingredients that could be used to make a wide variety of foods. She always had plenty of butter, eggs, sugar, flour, oil, meat, peanut butter, can goods, and other basics. From these basics she could whip up everything from an entire Sunday lunch for eight, homemade cookies, beignets, cakes, etc. She didn't have much money, but she planned well and used what she had before buying more; nothing was ever wasted.
I read recently that Americans waste over $500 per person per year on wasted food. This didn't surprise me because I can't tell you how many groceries I've throw away because they spoiled or because I just didn't use them. Luckily, I found a website that helps. I'm not as smart or as organized as Mawmaw was; I need help!
Like Mawmaw, I rarely measure or follow a recipe. I like to create as I go. However, I need to make sure that I have enough of the basics to cover what I plan to make in the near future. Therefore, when it is time for my monthly big shopping day, I use SayMMM.com. If you take just a few minutes, you can enter stuff that you already have in your pantry. Next, install the recipe clipper on your bookmark bar. Just go to http://saymmm.com/mmmclipper.php and follow the simple directions. With this button on your bookmark, you can add ANY recipe that you find on Pinterest or any other website to your Saymmm account. When it's time to make out your grocery list, click on the recipes that you want to make in the next few weeks and it will automatically add the ingredients that you need to buy to your list. You can also plan menus and install the mobile app. What I love the most is that it saves the items that you purchase the most on a "frequent items" list so that when it is time to make your next list, you can check through your commonly purchased items and add them to your new list with a click of the mouse. You will waste less food, avoid running out of stuff that you need, and always have ingredients in your pantry to cook things that you like to eat.
Since I have been using this website, I find that I almost always have the ingredients to whip up all of my family's favorites. In the next blog, I'll share some food storage tips that have helped me keep ingredients for a lot longer. Now if only I could just stick to buying what is on the list like Mawmaw did!
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