Frugal Ways to Save on Meat

Meat is a staple in most diets, though that may be shifting somewhat as more and more people choose a plant based diet for a variety of reasons.  We've found several ways to save on meat over the years to keep our grocery budget low (we try to keep it at about $150/month for our family of four with two smaller kids).  Meat can quickly eat up your hard earned funds if you let it, especially if you don't shop sales.  So, here are a few ways we save on meat:

Eat Less
This is probably the first and easiest to master.  When you consider ways to eat less meat, you can think of meals where meat is a small portion, such as soups, pot pie, or stir fry.  We've also learned to stretch meat in even meat-based dishes like meatballs or meatloaf by incorporating some grains or cooked quinoa.  One of our favorite ways to eat less meat is to use legumes as a substitute.  I often make lentil sloppy joes or chili with black beans instead of using meat.  The recipe is just as filling and tasty, and it means that we can save the meat for another meal.  Then, you also have the option of having a meal that's entirely meatless, such as a dinner salad with nuts and hard boiled eggs on top.  This ensures that you're getting plenty of veggies (I shoot for 9 cups a day, though I know most aim for less than that), as well as getting your protein.

Use All the Parts
This used to be traditional, especially when families hunted for their food or harvested animals they raised.  Now that our culture has moved away from that food landscape and into a more industrialized one, we seem to have lost some of the respect we once had for food.

In our house, we try to purchase organic meat, so that means that meat is more costly.  So, when we purchase it, I find that it's generally cheaper to get a whole chicken, for example, rather than having it already cut up by the butcher (because, of course, we pay for that labor).  I'll either butcher the chicken at home myself or cook it whole.  Then, we save the bones to cook with veggie scraps for a delicious and nutritious bone broth.  Bone broth is very healing for your gut and immune system, and it provides glutamine which supports your liver in detoxifying your body of things you don't need in your system.



You can also access bones for stock through your local butcher, and we've also found local farms that will sell soup bones for a very reasonable price.  I'm also the one to always ask for the turkey carcass at a family holiday meal.  Most of the family doesn't want to bother with soup later and is happy to have me take care of part of the clean up!  You could employ the same strategy with roasted chickens at pot lucks, etc. when you're with people who understand your way of thinking.  When you use all the parts to make stock too, you quickly recoup the money you spent on that organic meat.

Raise or Hunt Your Own
While we don't have the land to raise our own meat, we are fortunate to have family and friends who hunt.  Many times, they're very willing to clean out their freezer of last year's venison before this year's hunting season begins.  I've also had students who hunt bring me some frozen venison, because they know I understand the value of their hard work in providing for their family and helping to control the local deer population.

If you do have the land a skill to raise your own meat, you could raise some heirloom breeds.  I'm fascinated with heirloom chickens, and my aunt and uncle are considering raising rabbits in their retirement.  You can have a local processor process the meat for you at harvest time, or you could be bold and do it yourself.

Seek Out Low Cost or Free Sources
Saving on the meat you eat doesn't have to be really complex.  When we do purchase meat, we make sure we're purchasing on sale.  Sometimes you can catch markdowns, especially if you pay close attention to when the butcher cycles things through.  If you talk with your butcher, you can usually learn which day of the week they mark things down and stop by that day.

Another way we've learned to save on meat is by utilizing our local food pantry.  We volunteer regularly at ours to help with the grocery store pick up, and are able to get a few things when we volunteer.  For example, this past week, we picked up some packages of bone in organic chicken.  So, those few packages will last us for several weeks, if we plan well and use all the parts.

How do you save on meat?  Are there other strategies you employ?  I'd love to hear from you!