Food Savings Tip: Freezer Packing Meat

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Today's post is going way back to why I started this blog. I originally started this blog and the urging of friends. They were amazed that our grocery budget is $155 per week (it was even less when I started this blog) to feed a family of 4 including all of our cleaning products, toiletries, etc. I don't use any coupons and we eat primarily natural and as much organic as the budget will allow, which is a good amount. My friends wanted me to start this blog to show them and others how I do what I do. I've never quite figured out what my 'secret' is and it is also not a passion of mine, so I have taken my blog in a different direction. 

I do have a tip that will save you money at the grocery store for you today as it is one of my 'secrets.' We buy our meat in bulk at Costco. I usually do this with ground turkey and buy organic ground beef because we don't eat beef that often. This time, however, we were buying a bulk package of ground beef. You can save a good amount of money by buying the meat in bulk because the price per pound is lower than for one pound. In this case it was $2.89 per pound. Almost half the cost of my usual pound of organic ground beef (and for those who don't usually buy organic buying in bulk will still save money as it is less per pound).

Here's what you need - the meat, plastic wrap, a container that can hold one pound of meat and a scale. I like using a square container as you can see pictured. You will see below, but I like the square because when I am done portioning out the meat, it stacks easily and neatly in the freezer bag and fits easily in the freezer.

Line your container with plastic wrap, pushing it down to the bottom and sides of the container.

My scale has a feature to zero it out once I place the container on it. I zero it out and add the ground meat up to 1 lb. Here is my scaleif you are interested....I love it! It is a little pricey, in my opinion, but for products that work well and last, I don't mind 'investing.' I know I will be using them a lot, which makes it worth it to me.

After you have weighed your meat, use the plastic wrap to push the meat into the shape of the container compacting it a little as you go. Pull the meat in the plastic wrap out of your container. I use the plastic wrap hanging over the edges almost like a handle to pull it out. Once it is out of the container, I always double wrap mine as they are going into the freezer. You can see my meat squares all stacked up above. See how easily the squares work together? 

All the pre-weighed meat then goes into a freezer bag and into the freezer. It takes me about 10 minutes to pre-portion everything. It is then so easy to pull what I need for a recipe as most recipes call for 1 pound of ground meat. Easy and money savings....works for me!

There you go...one of my 'secrets' to feeding a family of 4 for $155 a week(including cleaning, toiletries, paper products, etc.). As I come up with other 'secrets,' I'll pass them along to you.

Enjoy your day!

  

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