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Save Money on Frozen Foods Tip # 1 - At certain times during the year (including January), stores will have a mega frozen food sale--cutting prices in half or even better. This is a great time to stock up if you have room in your freezer! Always read your weekly store flyers so you'll know when the sales are in progress. Tip # 2 - There are several types of frozen convenience foods my family likes (Tyson chicken tenders, frozen pizza, waffles, ice cream, etc...) but I don't buy them unless they are on sale, period. Tip # 3 - The store brand waffles are always great, sometimes even better than the famous name brand. (If you have kids you may also know that frozen waffles are a basic food staple!) Tip # 4 - Ice cream... When it's not on sale it's $4.00 or more for a half gallon, and when it's on sale it's Buy 1/Get 1 Free. This one is a no-brainer! Buying ice cream when it's not on sale is just like throwing money away. (Unless you have a really intense craving for a particular brand or flavor and if you can't have it you'll end up spending even more money on something else!) Tip # 5 - Store brand frozen vegetables are great. Not only are they convenient because you can cook a small portion at a time but frozen vegetables are quick-frozen, which means sometimes they have more nutritional value than even the fresh vegetables in your grocer's produce section! Tip # 6 - Be careful about packaging. Sometimes the larger 'family value' packages of frozen foods (created for our convenience), cost more by volume than the smaller packages. Tip # 7 - Try fresh foods instead of frozen, they will often cost less than the frozen variety when they're in season. Check out our produce section for a seasonal list. Tip # 8 - Frozen pie crusts are a great convenience, but you'll save quite a bit by making your own at home. And they'll taste better too! Visit our baked goods section for our favorite pie crust recipe. Tip # 9 - The popular name brand frozen biscuits that are currently on the market (they come premade in a plastic bag!) are wonderful, we've had several coupons so we have tried them a few times, but the store brand is almost just as good and about half the price! (And yes, I know, you'll save even more by making your own biscuits at home but not everyone has time for that anymore, including your editor. If you have an easy biscuit recipe you'd like to share with our readers please contact us and we'll add it to the site!) Tip # 10 - I can understand buying frozen biscuits for convenience, and even frozen waffles, as homemade waffles can be a bit of a pain to make--unless you have room on your kitchen counter for a waffle maker and don't have to crawl to the back of the pots and pans to find it! But frozen pancakes? Homemade pancakes are so easy to make and can easily be stored in a zip plastic bag in the freezer for quick and easy breakfasts throughout the week. If this is a convenience food your family has grown accustomed to, you'll save a lot of money by making your own pancakes at home, even with a convenient pancake mix! (And they'll taste better too!!!) Check out my Frugal Family Recipes cookbook for my favorite homemade pancakes recipe! Tip # 11 - For whatever reasons (probably supply and demand), the price on many frozen convenience foods seem to be going up and up. Warehouse clubs can be great for stocking up on these type of grocery items, but there are also other ways to get around the rising prices. Thankfully, frozen convenience foods are always going on sale at local grocery stores so that's the only time I buy them, and most of the time with a matching coupon. Tip # 12 - Don't pay extra for frozen veggies with melted cheese, please! Buy your own cheese (the kinds that melt easily--like Kraft's Velveeta, Cheez Whiz or even the store brand is fine), and store them in the fridge. Then, whenever you want to add a bit of cheese to your fresh cooked or frozen family value packs of plain veggies just melt a spoonful of cheese in a small serving dish in the microwave (or in a small pot on the stove over medium heat). Tip # 13 - Even if you're cooking for one, you can save money by purchasing the large family packs of frozen veggies and use as needed. Veggies can keep in the freezer for six to twelve months, though I think they really taste better if you use them up one to three! * * * Readers' Tips... Contact Michelle to Submit a Tip "I have noticed that the biggest sales come once about every 4 or 5 months, or a couple of weeks before a holiday or a major event, never the week OF... so don't wait 'til then. Remember that most sale weeks start either Thursdays or Fridays. For instance, the sale week before Superbowl Sunday, there was a major sale on the family size box of TGIF appetizers (2 for $10; regularly $9.99 ea.) and Tyson chicken strips, nuggets etc. ($5.99 ea. compare to $9.99 ea.). Last year Pepsi went on sale for .69 cents (the lowest ever) about 2 weeks before 4th of July. Again a couple of weeks before Thanksgiving the supermarkets had another major sale. My family eats a lot of meat, so we bought a large upright freezer. This makes it easier to stock up on all those frozen foods that go on major sales. Don't shop when your hungry... you'll buy on impulse (after breakfast works best for me). Don't shop with others that buy on impulse (husband, kids). Try to stock up on anything possible in order to avoid going to the store more during the week. Think before you buy... do you really need that item, especially if it's not on sale. Try the store brand. I found certain Krasdale and America's Choice items taste exactly the same or extremely close to a brand name. Don't buy the store brand if you find yourself using more of it, it'll run out faster and you end up spending the same at the end because you have to buy more." - Judd D.
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