Frugal Feeds by buying discounted products.
I once used to be a 'Best before/Use by date' snob.
I would not touch anything close to the end date. I even dug deep behind all the shelf products to find the freshest produce. That is, until I went shopping with a new friend.
After lunch one day, before dropping me home, my friend asked if I'd pop into Coles (Aussie mass grocery chain) with him to grab a few things. Sure, why not. I could grab a few things too.
So, while walking around, I noticed he grabbed some chocolate cake heavily reduced. I quizzed him and said, they're gonna be stale. "No!" Was his sudden reply. "They're still very good." Then proceeded to the meat section. Once again he grabbed some heavily discounted meat. At this point I got really anxious for him. The Best before date was that day! I held my comments in, its his shop, not mine.
Then a few days passed and caught up again at his place for drinks. He offered dinner, I thought, why not! Then he pulled from the freezer the meat he bought that day shopping, YES, the one that was reduced by 50%. My heart sank and I thought oh no, I am about to eat this old meat. I got really anxious.
So he started to cook it up. I was ready for a semi off smell but the meat smelt of fresh red meat, it looked fresh, still nice and red. Once dinner was served and with slight reluctance I cut some off and shoved it in my mouth. 'Oh, yum!' This tastes no different. Immediately I thought, maybe I could do this too. However in the back of mind I was thinking I'll confirm this decision in the morning, if you get my drift.
Night went by, morning came and it wasn't until later that day I thought "Oh, I'm still alive!"
So the next time I was out shopping I saw some heavily reduced steaks. I picked them up, I put them back. I looked again, picking them up a second time. I decided to take this and try it. Just one, No more. I only wanted to do it myself to see if it was ok. The meats BBD was that day, it was 50% off the original price and at that price its a massive, and I mean massive bargain. Food here, especially meats in Australia in extremely expensive.
I then cooked the meat that evening, it was just like as if i'd bought it when it was originally placed on the shelf for sale. Absolutely beautiful. But, I will be more convinced when I wake up the next day.
The next day, I was fine. I'm not saying that you should be anxious after eating meat on the BBD, just I was, but now is a different story. Right now, I only buy meat that is discounted.
The reasons I buy discounted meats:
- I am saving anywhere from 40% to 70% in meat costs
- They are still within their best before date, just the last day
- I have money to spend on other things
- I am enjoying cooking different types of meals, I now scan the entire section for discounts
- I am getting different vitamins and minerals from different cuts, beef, lamb, pork, chicken, turkey
- I feel so much better and healthier for it, before this, microwave meals, pizzas, McDonalds etc were consumed almost daily.
- I've stopped spending money on shit food
- I sold my microwave, I have had zero need for it. ZERO
- I now look at other areas I can save, like bread, however I do not buy vegetables marked down, they rot too quickly
So, with the savings on my meat discounts and not as much eating out, I save two fold here.
I have a deep freezer, in fact I bought the deep freezer well before this discovery. I wanted to use it to simply stock up on pre prepped meals. Now, it's full of meats, breads and frozen veggies, plus pre prepped lunches for my partners work. I try to only eat frozen vegetables as they hold more nutrients than shelf. Bread is another thing I have found is really good at BBD too, so I grab them when I can.
I will admit since starting to shop like this I have only thrown one pack out after defrosting, Turkey legs. They had an obvious smell and I live by a mantra I heard years back 'IF IN DOUBT, CHUCK IT OUT' so I did. That was actually 2 nights ago and I started this back in December. Pretty good odds. But those turkey legs were only about $3 after discount, so it wasn't a loss at all, considering the savings I have made.
I have now worked out when my local Coles discounts their meats. So I head there often to see what is discounted. Some days they do it earlier or later than their usual scan of the shelves but I get it right often and hover around while they mark their meats down.
So, if you are frugal or a minimalist like myself, and you don't care about the dates, give it a try! It's a lot like fiat money and cryptocurrency I guess. We all probably cringed at the thought to start but once we dive in, it's not that bad at all! Just use your common sense.. and your nose.
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Oh yes!! Discounted foods all the way. When I go shopping I end up with a pile of random discounted produce. MORE STEEM FOR ME haha
Absolutely! More Steem the better! Plus you get good food too 😃
I find pork and poultryis the mark down meat most likely to be on the nose. It’s awesome to buy big bits of meat and make a big curry or other stew in the pressure cooker. Make multiple meals in one go.
Oh yes I agree. it's most certainly pork and poultry I keep my eye on. And yeah, winter is coming so I'll be batch cooking for those nights warm meals.
Test comment. Please ignore.