Kitchen Focus

With everyone heading back to school and back to work after vacation season, two things suddenly seem like rare commodities: time and money. September is an excellent time to focus on stretching your meal dollar. That challenge often begins in the grocery store and ends at your dinner table. So, first, here are some ideas about saving up front:

• Don't "crisis cook." Shopping after work for the day's dinner gets expensive. Plan a weekly menu before shopping and watch your grocery bill shrink.
• Don't waste money on prepared foods. Instead, prepare meals ahead of time and freeze them, or double a recipe when cooking, and freeze the second for a hectic day coming up.
• Take the farmer's market approach: Buy produce that's fresh, inexpensive and in season. With less middlemen involved, you get good buys and your family gets the freshest food.
• The highest markup items on the shelves are at about chest level. Reach up or kneel down to select the cheaper house or generic brands.
• Try to shop when you're alone. Those little helpers can quickly boost your bill.
• Avoid shopping for food when you're hungry; you'll buy more.
• Don't grocery shop when you're tired, you'll buy more sweets, more high-carbohydrates. When you're angry you go for crunch food, the junk food.
• Buy on the markdowns and save as much as 20 percent.
• Read your newspaper's weekly food section for local grocery sales and menu ideas.
• Clip coupons. You'll also find coupons in women's and general-interest magazines.
• Take advantage of in-store coupon displays and the machines that spew them.
• Seek out supermarkets that will double -- some super stores even triple -- the face value of manufacturers' coupons.
• Try for triple plays. That's when you use a manufacturer's coupon and a store's own coupon.
• Avoid purchasing nongrocery items, such as painkillers, contact lens solution, etc., at a grocery store. You usually pay more.
• Know when your store marks down goods that expire, like meat and bread. The deal: Use them that night or freeze them.
• Check your store for a small section where they discount products that aren't as popular as the manufacturer had hoped. This area can be a gold mine for bargains.
• Shop with a calculator. That way, you can figure whether the unit price for a case lot is really cheaper than buying one of the same item.

Beyond trying to save up front with your grocery shopping, there are ways to make the most of the ingredients you get for your meals. Some low cost items are particularly flexible and others can be used in ways you might not have thought of. Some of my favorites include:

• Eggs: At home in everything from frittatas to omelets, eggs might well be the world's most perfect food. Packed with great nutrition, they bring a lot of flavor to a party. And they are for more than breakfast! Remember to make egg salad for lunch or add some egg to your favorite stir-fry.
• Rice: At home in a wide variety of meals, rice is a staple the world over. Used creatively, rice can be more than a standby filler. Enjoy it in casseroles, stir-fries and layered dishes. It's a particularly good base for ethnic foods as well.
• Beans: Beans aren't just for having alongside Tex Mex. They are a great source of fiber and are happily at home in everything from salads to soups. Try including a variety to keep things interesting.
• Chicken: Chicken can be a very intelligent choice when you buy the whole bird. Use it all -- roast a whole bird and use the carcass and leftovers to make soup. Split the chicken breasts for use in a special dish and save dark meat for stews since it will hold up to longer cooking times better than white meat.

One of the keys to stretching your dollar is to remind yourself that meat and other proteins, which tend to be more expensive, don't have to be the centerpiece of your meal. Instead, use them to compliment less expensive and more flexible ingredient choices like rice, pasta, potatoes or greens. And just in case you are worried about figuring it all out, here are a few recipes to get you started. Enjoy!

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