With grocery prices soaring you can find coupons for many things but not very many for the "staples" like meat. There are alternatives of course, you can have meatless meals. But my uncle and I...especially my uncle like meat with our main meal of the day which for us is dinner. I've read many articles aout adding fillers like rice, and bread crumbs, even crackers to meat in recipes to stretch a dollar a little further. These are alright alternatives I've tried them all. But in my opinion they just make meals starchy and bland. Not to mention the crackers and rice seem to mush up if it's cooked a while. I found more healthy not to mention flavorful alternatives. Why not use vegetables? Instead of adding 1 1/2 pounds of groundmeat to a recipe add roughly a cup of green peppers, onions, and canned, drained, tomatoes to meatloafs, shepardspie, and even spaghetti. Or you could even add mushrooms and onions to burgers! This simple swap adds wonderful color and taste as well as vitamins and your not using as much meat! Let's get down to nitty grity, is it more expensive?
Crackers: About $2
Bread Crumbs: $1.08
Rice: About $1
Average: $1.36
Green Peppers: $0.89/lb
Canned Tomatoes: $.50 per can
Onions: $.75/lb
Estimated cost per cup: $1.07
Okay so it comes down to it, your saving about $0.29 per meal. Now that does add up! Plus you can't beat the nutrition aspects, along with being able to sneak a few veggies into your family's tummies!
