Remember the lines from the musical theme to the old television show "Good Times..."easy credit rip-off, Good Times"? We may think that ease and convenience make for "good times", but most of us have more time than money. Need some money saving food tips? Cross these items off your grocery store list—whether they're rip-offs, fakes, drastically unhealthy, or just plan gross, here are some foods you should never buy again.
Individual servings of anything
The recent trend to package small quantities into 100-calorie snack packs is a way for food-makers to get more money from unsuspecting consumers. The price 'per unit' cost of these items is significantly more than if you had just bought one big box of cheese crackers or bag of chips. This is exactly what you should do. Buy the big box and then parcel out single servings and store them in small, reusable storage bags.
Salad kits
Washed
and bagged greens can be a time-saver, but they can cost three times as much as
buying the same amount of a head of lettuce. Even more expensive are 'salad
kits,' where you get some greens, a small bag of dressing, and a small bag of
croutons. Skip these altogether. Make your own croutons by toasting cut-up
stale bread you would otherwise toss, and try mixing your own salad dressing.
Spice mixes
Spice
mixes like grill seasoning and rib rubs might seem like a good buy because they
contain a lot of spices that you would have to buy individually. Check the
label first: We predict the first ingredient you will see on the package is
salt, followed by the vague 'herbs and spices.' Look in your own pantry, and
you'll probably be surprised to discover just how many herbs you already have
on hand, and you can improvise as much as you want.
Trail mix
We
checked unit prices of those small bags of trail mix hanging in the candy aisle
not that long ago and were shocked to find that they cost about $10 a pound!
Make your own for much, much less with a 1-pound can of dry roasted peanuts, 1
cup of raisins, and a handful of almonds, dried fruit, and candy coated
chocolate. What’s the best part about making your own? You only include the
things you like. Keep the mixture in a plastic or glass container with a tight
lid for up to 3 weeks.
'Snack' or 'lunch' packs
These
'all-inclusive' food trays might seem reasonably priced (from $2.50 to $4.00),
but you're actually paying for the highly designed label, wrapper, and
specially molded tray. They only contain a few crackers and small pieces of
cheese and lunchmeat. The actual edible ingredients are worth just pennies and
are filled with salt.
Gourmet ice cream
It's painful to watch someone actually pay $6 for a gallon of designer brand ice cream. Don't bother. There's usually at least one brand or other on sale, and you can easily dress up store brands with your own additives like chunky bits of chocolate or crushed cookie. If you do like the premium brands, wait for that 3-week sales cycle to kick in and stock up when your favorite flavor is discounted.
Pre-formed meat patties
Frozen
burgers, beef or otherwise, are more expensive than buying the ground meat in
bulk and making patties yourself. We timed it — it takes less than 10 seconds
to form a flat circle and throw it on the grill. Also, there's some evidence
that pre-formed meat patties might contain more e. coli than regular ground
meat. In fact, most of the recent beef recalls have involved pre-made frozen
beef patties.
Energy drinks
Stick
to a cup of coffee for your afternoon boost. Seemingly harmless caffeinated
beverages are often sugar bombs—and the FDA has received numerous reports linking brands like 5 Hour
Energy and Monster Energy to heart attacks, convulsion, and even d
Tomato-based pasta sauces
A
jar of spaghetti sauce typically runs $2 to $6. The equivalent amount of canned
tomatoes is often under $1. Our suggestion: Make your own sauces from canned
crushed tomatoes or fresh tomatoes — particularly in the summer, when they are
plentiful, tasty, and cheap. The easiest method is to put crushed tomatoes
(canned or fresh) into a skillet, stir in some wine or wine vinegar, a little
sugar, your favorite herbs, and whatever chopped vegetables you like in your
sauce — peppers, onions, mushrooms, even carrots — and let simmer for an hour.
Adjust the flavorings and serve. Even easier: Coat fresh tomatoes and the top
of a cooking sheet with olive oil and roast the tomatoes for 20 to 30 minutes
at 425˚F before making your stovetop sauce.
Multi-grain bread
This is junk food masquerading in a healthy disguise. Check the ingredient list to make sure whole wheat is the first, and main, ingredient—otherwise, you’re just getting a few grains mixed into regular white bread. Better yet, forgo the bread and enjoy straight-up barley, brown rice, quinoa, or steel-cut oats.
Ahh,
blueberries...now in everything from your breakfast cereal to muffins, granola
bars, and sauces—or are they? Turns out that most of the blueberry-flavored items on grocery store shelves
don't feature a single actually berry, just artificial blueberry flavor. Buy
your own berries and add them to plain cereal for a real health boost.
Bottled tea
Brew your iced tea at home and you'll save both big bucks and your waistline—bottled teas can have more grams of sugar than a soda or slice of pie. 
Powdered iced tea mixes or
prepared flavored iced tea
Powdered
and gourmet iced teas are really a rip-off! It's much cheaper to make your own
iced tea from actual (inexpensive) tea bags and keep a jug in the fridge. Plus,
many mixes and preparations are loaded with high fructose corn syrup and other
sugars, along with artificial flavors. To make 32 ounces of iced tea, it
usually takes 8 bags of black tea or 10 bags of herbal, green, or white tea. If
you like your tea sweetcalories down, skip the sugar and add
fruit juice instead.
Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese
A few shavings of nice cheese on top of pasta or vegetables can take a simple dish from good to great—but you don't have to fork out $22 a pound for the famous stuff. Instead, look for varieties like Pecorino Romano and SarVecchio, which offer the same flavor at half the price
Live healthy and happy in 2013 and keep a little more of your money in your pocket by makes a few wise changes.
Source: Dollar Savvy; Reader's Digest
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