10 Grocery Items You Are Spending Too Much On - $5 Dinners 10 Grocery Items You Are Spending Too Much On Which of these popular grocery items are you overspending on? Or what other items do I need to add to the list? I know there are others, and you’ll see a common theme of “pre-made or pre-packaged” items on this list. Here’s my list of most common grocery items that you’re spending too much money on: 1. Pre-Made Spice Mixes Make your own. You get way more bang for your buck when you mix up a “big batch” (a cup’s worth or so) of taco seasoning or Ranch dressing mix. 2. Shredded Cheese It freezes and thaws beautifully, so when you see a sale you need to grab a few packages to throw in the freezer. Then you won’t be paying full price in between sales cycles. 3. Delimeat Change brands. See which brand is on sale at the deli. Price compare, price compare, price compare! If you’re shopping late at night, ask the deli manager if they have any delimeat that they pre-sliced for the day that they need to sell. 4. Meat Only buy when on sale. I repeat. Only buy when on sale. Also freezes and thaws well. Sometimes I leave it in the store packaging, if it’s the right portion size. Sometimes I get it in bulk from Zaycon Fresh. Sometimes I get it individually wrapped in meal size portions. And when it’s on sale, I always get extra packages of meat so that I don’t have to pay full price in between sales cycles. Then I make a few meals for the freezer! And if you have access to local farmer who can sell you a side or quarter and you have an extra freezer <—- do that!!! Great quality, great prices! Never pay full price for meat. Say that to yourself over and over. Oh, and look for the markdown stickers and freeze right away or use that night! 5. Pre-Sliced Produce I have done this before for lunch boxes in a pinch. And it hurt. Like, I could feel it in my heart hurt. Getting a pre-made fruit tray for a gathering (at the last minute), makes me cringe right now just thinking about the markup on that. So, don’t buy pre-sliced or pre-cut produce. Those pineapple chunks look perfectly sweet and ripe. That bright red watermelon would be perfect with dinner. (Just buy a whole one and cut it yourself!) I have all kinds of cutting and choosing ripe fruit tutorials here, if that’s what’s holding you back.  Plan, plan, plan ahead! 6. Fresh Herb Packets Fresh herbs are so easy to grow yourself. Even if you have a black thumb. Keep a small little planter on your patio, or kitchen window if you have one. The upfront cost is more, but if you take care of them well, you’ll have herbs for DAAAAYYYYYYYYYSSSS, weeks and months and you won’t have to worry about wasting $3 per tiny little packet! You could get a plant of basil for $3 that will give you leaves all summer long. 7. Checkout Lane Drinks & Candy Guilty. I work hard to break this habit. And most of the time, I’m successful. But please don’t get the candy, drinks, chips, goodies, even gum, at the checkout. If you must get it, visit the candy aisle in the store…it will be cheaper per ounce/unit there! 8. Pre-Made Lunches First of all, blech. I’m thinking about lunchables in particular. I know there are others, some better ‘healthier’ brands moving into the space, but holy money. Way too expensive for me!!! Make your own lunches. And help teach you kids to pack their own too. (31 School Lunchbox Ideas for you here.) 9. Pre-Marinated or Prepared Meats I’ve seen these marked up 2 to 3x what it would cost if you bought the meat and marinated it yourself. Freezing meat in the marinade is my favorite way to “hack” these pre-marinated meats. And PLEASE…for the love of all things grocery savings…do not ever buy pre-made kebabs. Please. Thatisall. 10. Popcorn Also, no more buying the microwave popcorn bags/packs/boxes. Yes, they are easy and convenient and can taste like movie theater popcorn. But it’s way cheaper to get a simple air popper, or pop it in some oil in a heavy saucepan, and season it yourself. Here are a few homemade popcorn recipes for you: Ranch Popcorn Chocolate Lava Popcorn Smoky Popcorn Peppered Parmesan Popcorn Yes, I am a bit of a nut when it comes to saving money on groceries. Why? Because it’s the area in your budget that you have the most control over. When it’s time to pay off debt, or time to save for something, the grocery line item is the one that YOU can grab by the horns and really “pay yourself back” with savings. If you’re overspending on groceries right now and can’t seem to get your act together when shopping (and preparing for your shopping trip), I’d love to teach you a smarter and better way to do it…so you’ll be organized, in and out of the store quickly, and will save lots of $$$ in the process. I’d like to invite you to my online class, the Grocery Budget Makeover! Registration is open right now…until this Monday, May 16th at midnight EST! For everyone who registers for this class of the Grocery Budget Makeover, I’ll send you my list of 10 Items NOT to Buy at the Grocery Store (along with a list of the best places to find those items!) Register today and save money!      Spinach Artichoke Dip Chicken ~ NEW 31 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipe So. I have very little self-control problem when it comes to book stores. And office supply stores. It’s like I walk into the store and leave my self-control at the curb, then walk out with more than I went in for. (Thankfully I don’t have this issue with the grocery store!) I’ve learned that it’s better for me to order books and office supplies online. Way less tempting to add other things to my cart when I can’t actually see and look through all the planners, or smell the pencils. This same “immediately lose self control” thing also happens to me with chocolate chip cookies. And spinach artichoke dip. Oh, and thin mint cookies too. Most other things in life I can muster up enough self-control to avoid if need be, or indulge without binging or pushing to the point of gluttony. So you can imagine that I fell deeply and madly in love with this spinach artichoke dip chicken. And it wasn’t because it’s made in the slow cooker. (Although that was pretty handy coming home from a long day at the office to dinner being ready!) It goes like this. Add a few chicken breasts, or tenderloin, or slices of chicken to the base of the slow cooker with 1/2 cup water. (I kept the chicken whole because I was in a hurry this morning and didn’t want to mess with slicing raw chicken, and because I prefer the way the slow cooker cooks the chicken when you keep it in one piece. It shreds and ‘melts’ perfectly when you cut into it!) Season with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Mix up the ingredients you would use to make spinach artichoke dip in a bowl. Then spread on top of the chicken. Low for 6 hours. IMPORTANT: I would not cook this on high for 3 or 4 hours, as it will burn the edges/top of the dip. I also would not cook this on low for 8 hours, for the same reason. If you have a slow cooker that automatically switches to warm, you’ll be fine if you are away from home for more than 6 hours. If you don’t have a slow cooker that doesn’t automatically switch to warm, then I’d plan to make this on a day when you can time it to be ready in 6 hours. OK, so that’s that…now onto the recipe…   Above is what the meal looked like early in the morning as I loaded up the slow cooker…in my super dark and yellow-ish lit kitchen! But you get the idea…chicken on the bottom…dip on the top. And 6 hours later you have what I’m going to call “dinner crack.” LOL. I’m kidding, sorta. I hope you can muster up more self-control than I did when you make this summer slow cooker meal {Now, hook me up with a virtual high five, a comment below, a share on FB, a fist bump, or whatever – if you too have self-control issues with office supply stores. Or thin mints. Or spinach artichoke dip.} Note: There is a print link embedded within this post, please visit this post to print it. Slow Cooker Spinach Artichoke Dip Chicken Adapted from: Wellness Mama Yield – 4 servings Preparation Time – 15 minutes Cooking Time – 6 hours Ingredients 4 small boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 tsp garlic powder Salt and pepper 1 cup Parmesan cheese 2 cups mozzarella cheese 10 oz. frozen spinach, cooked and well drained 8 oz. cream cheese, softened 2 cups chopped artichoke hearts Fresh veggies or salad, as side dish Directions Place the chicken breasts into the base of the slow cooker and sprinkle with garlic powder, salt and pepper. In a mixing bowl, combine the Parmesan cheese, mozzarella cheese, well drained spinach, cream cheese and chopped artichoke hearts. Place the spinach artichoke mixture on top of the chicken. Set the slow cooker on low and cook for 6 hours. (If your slow cooker runs hot, you might want to add 1/2 cup of water around the chicken.) Once the chicken is cooked, remove it and slice it up and the add the spinach artichoke dip over the sliced chicken. Prepare veggies or salad. Serve Spinach Artichoke Chicken with veggies or salad. Pin all of our 31 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes here! Erin's Personal Recommendations for Slow Cooker Supplies: Crockpot 6 quart Programmable Touch Screen ~ Great price for great slow cooker! All Clad 7 qt ~ A great slow cooker with a cast aluminum insert that can brown meat on the stove top and then go straight into the slow cooker. One dish dinner! Crockpot 6 quart programmable ~ Slow Cooker with WeMo, a free smartphone app. Instant Pot, 6 qt ~ reasonably priced instant pot, if time = money, then you need this in your kitchen. Slow Cooker Liners ~ because less mess equals more fun in the summer sun! See all of our 31 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes here! Other "31 Days of" Series to check out: 31 Days of 31-Minute Dinners 31 Days of Breakfast Recipes 31 Days of Budget Friendly Paleo Recipes 31 Days of Chili, Soups & Stews 31 Days of Freezer Cooking Recipes 31 Days of Gluten Free Meals 31 Days of Grilling Recipes 31 Days of Healthy Snacks 31 Days of Holiday Sweets & Treats 31 Days of Rotisserie Chicken Recipes 31 Days of School Lunchbox Ideas 31 Days of Skillet Dinner Recipes 31 Days of Slow Cooker Meals      More Recent Articles I want to help you find $200 a month that you might be wasting at the grocery store each month!!!! Mango Chicken ~ 31 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes Lipton Recipe Secrets, Oscar Mayer Selects Dinner Sausage, Silk Cashewmilk + More – Printable Coupons Slow Cooker Berry Crisp ~ NEW 31 Days of Summer Slow Cooker Recipes There are "Systems" for Saving on Groceries???       Click here to safely unsubscribe from "$5 Dinners." Click here to view mailing archives, here to change your preferences, or here to subscribe • Privacy Email subscriptions powered by FeedBlitz, LLC, 365 Boston Post Rd, Suite 123, Sudbury, MA 01776, USA.