- One of the easiest ways to sock away some extra cash
is to learn some new techniques at the grocery store
and in your kitchen.
That's why we've put together a solid list
of tips and tricks for you to utilize
in your culinary endeavors.
From getting the best buy at the grocery store
to keeping your food fresh longer,
these money-saving life hacks will keep your wallet happy
and your stomach full.
Grocery stores do what's called stock rotation.
If you want your purchase to last longer
so you don't have to replace it,
always grab the least accessible perishable items.
Just reach into the back or bottom
of the grocery store fridge to ensure you're getting
the freshest and longest-lasting product.
You never want to waste a well-prepared dish
when you have some left over.
While sealing them up in a zipped bag
can stretch the longevity of your dinner for a day or two,
it's often difficult to retain that original flavor.
You can save some significant cash over time
by investing a small amount of money
in a basic vacuum sealing system.
Just think about all the leftovers that you've thrown out
because you didn't trust it to be safe anymore.
By removing all the air before storing it,
You can make your food last from anywhere
of a few extra days to, in some cases, years.
Just take a look at the difference.
Which would you prefer?
Now about that whole year's thing.
If you buy frozen vegetables or fruits,
and only end up using half the bag, just seal up the rest
and pack it back in the freezer, keeping it handy
for the next time you need it.
Normal storage can keep these good for months,
but vacuum sealing can bring it up to years.
Just check online and see
what the recommended max storage time
for your type of food is.
If you're looking to get chicken tenders or fingers,
you might be paying significantly more
just to save a minute of work.
Get yourself a pack of chicken breasts,
and turn them into tenders on your own.
We've found that you can save
about a dollar or two per pound
when you cut up the raw chicken yourself
so slice and dice your way to significant savings
and delicious slivers of tasty chicken
with just a couple of extra minutes.
If you combine this with your vacuum sealer
to compound up on the savings,
you'll always have a healthy meal ready when you are.
Most grocery stores are designed with optimal sales in mind.
This is why you often find the most common items
on separate ends of the store.
Think about it - bread's on the left,
Vegetables are all the way on the right, or vice versa.
Then the milk always ends up somewhere in the middle,
with the rest of the dairy a few aisles down.
You might ask, why not put all the common items
in the same place?
Well, it's simple. When you go to grab that bread,
you still have to travel across the entire store,
which makes it more likely for you
to make a few impulse purchase along the way.
Never go to the grocery store hungry.
By filling up your stomach beforehand, you're less likely
to fill up your cart with various things
that sound good in the moment but will often
go untouched and end up wasting money.
Second in the can't stress this enough ,
always plan a shopping list before you go
and give yourself a time limit.
Keep your eye on the prize and keep your wallet happy.
Did you know that you can keep your broccoli,
lettuce, or even celery fresh for four weeks or more
just by wrapping it in aluminum foil?
Because these fresh greens have such a high percentage
of water, the aluminum foil will lock the moisture in
much better than a loose plastic bag or wrap.
It's an extremely economical way
of preserving watery vegetables.
Once they're there, you just use them up
as quickly as possible and get that
fresh from the store taste for weeks.
If you want to celebrate Taco Tuesday
but realized you're out of hard shells,
you can just make your own from soft tortillas.
This is a simple trick with amazingly tasty results.
Just lay the tortillas on a damp cloth
and microwave them for about 30 seconds.
This will get them nice and pliable.
Now pull out your oven rack and carefully hang the tortillas
on the bars so that they're balanced.
Set the oven to about 350 degrees
and your tortillas should hang down and begin to crisp up.
Your cooking time is going to vary a little,
depending on the thickness and type of tortilla
that you have, so be sure to check them
every couple of minutes until you reach
your desired level of crispiness.
These took about five minutes to make
and came out pretty good.
If you really want something super crispy,
you can even add a little coat of cooking spray
to the tortilla before adding it into the oven.
Mozzarella sticks can get expensive
whether you're buying them at a restaurant
or packaged frozen.
Save money by making your own
with just string cheese and won ton wrappers or egg rolls.
Start by cutting your cheese sticks
a little smaller than the width of your wrappers.
Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner
of one wrapper and then fold the bottom corner
over the cheese.
Roll it up about halfway and lightly moisten the sides
as you fold them toward the center over the cheese.
Moisten the remaining corner of the wrapper with water
and roll it up to tightly seal it.
Now just make sure that the won ton wrapper
is sealed around the cheese pretty well before cooking it.
Now you can fry these in either an electric skillet
with half an inch of oil at 375 until golden or brown
or in a deep fryer at 375 for about 2 1/2 minutes.
Once they're golden brown, drain them on paper towels
before serving with marinara sauce.
They're cheap and easy to make,
and best of all, they're much healthier.
You can also customize them to your liking.
You know, add some extra cheese, pepperoni, jalapenos,
bacon, whatever you want.
Holy Guacamole! Avocados certainly aren't cheap.
So avoid uncovering a half brown mush of fruit
with your sense of sight and touch.
Although skin color can help you
in the initial visual selection of a fresh avocado,
it's not always the best indicator of ripeness.
Ripe avocados will yield a firm, gentle pressure
in the palm of your hand.
If it's pretty firm, it's good to go,
if it's very soft or mushy,
it's probably a little bit too ripe.
The real secret to selecting perfect avocados
is looking for the small stem
attached to the top of the fruit.
This is going to show you a reflection of what's inside.
If it's tricky to remove, the fruit isn't ready to eat.
If it's green underneath, it's good to go.
If it's brown inside, the avocado is overripe.
Practice is obviously going to help you learn
what to look for when you're in the store
and save you from wasting money on spoiled fruit.
Huge thank you to our sponsor, Blue Apron.
I wanted to show you how I went
from barely able to make mac and cheese
to cooking delicious, gourmet meals
with just a little help from their chef-designed recipes.
Oh, be sure to check out the description box for a link
because the first 100 viewers will get three free meals
with their Blue Apron order.
So what is it?
Well, Blue Apron delivers all the ingredients
you need to make an awesome meal right to your doorstep
in exactly the right proportions
so you can avoid the grocery store
and stop wasting unused ingredients.
It shows up in a refrigerated box,
so even if you aren't around when it gets there,
it will stay nice and fresh until you get home.
Each week, you can choose from lots of recipes.
My favorite part about these meals is how healthy they are,
with each menu being between 500 and 800 calories per person
For my first meal, I decided to conquer
the Za'atar Spiced Chicken.
The instructions were easy to follow,
and definitely put a novice cook like myself at ease.
With some simple slicing and dicing to prep the recipe,
I was ready to go.
I cut up some collard greens and added the quinoa
to some boiling water as per the recipe.
"It's time to slam! You're welcome to the jam."
After that, I added the greens to the oven
and went for the protein.
With the chicken ready to go,
I went ahead and cooked each side in some olive oil
for about four minutes.
After that was done, it was time to prep the sauce.
Blue Apron's recipe help you save on dishes as well,
utilizing the same pans when they can.
I particularly like this and so did my dishwasher.
Now that everything's done, it was time to plate it up
and see how I did.
I mixed all the ingredients together
and laid them out on a plate,
finally topping it all off with the chicken and the sauce.
This is probably the best looking dish that I've ever made
and it was so easy from start to finish.
But how do you think I did?
I'd say for my first go,
it came out pretty close to the picture.
If you want to make your own gourmet meals
and learn some cooking skills,
make sure to check that link in our description.
Because as I said, the first 100 viewers
will get three free meals with their Blue Apron order.
I hope you enjoyed this adventure in saving money
and watching me try my hand at cooking.
Be sure to share these tips with your friends and family
and give us a thumbs up if you enjoyed it.
We'll see you next time with more tips,
tricks, life hacks and who knows what else?
Thanks for watching!