The Frugal Lifestyle

[squeak]

Since moving from Florida to Los Angeles, my rent has tripled, my car insurance has doubled, and my paycheck has been hit by a furlough - I have a better understanding that frugal doesn't just mean buying two pairs of shoes instead of three to save up for that new necklace like it used to. It means comparing the price per ounce on clearance frozen veggies at the discount store and wondering how in the world someone can afford to spend $4 on a luxurious bundle of fresh asparagus or real lemons when they could buy four 1lb bags of green beans! I can't wait to chastise my future grandkids on how good they have it.

I've really learned how to be much less wasteful while simultaneously bonding with my mom over casserole recipes and freezer methods.

These are tips most of you know, but that I've only recently taken to heart:

1. Make a big pot of split pea soup and freeze individual portions in ziplock bags for lunches/dinners in the future. The soup is high in protein and low in fat if you make it vegan. This is my favorite recipe: Fat Free Vegan Split Pea Soup
   
2. Many recipes call for just a tablespoon of tomato paste or a single chipotle chile in adobe, etc., leaving you with half a can of tomato paste or chiles. (Both of these have a limited fridge life and a phenomenal ability to grow a beard in under a week.) Just take a sheet of parchment or wax paper and scoop out the paste/chiles by the tablespoon and plop them on the paper not touching another scoop - freeze on the paper for a few hours and then put them in a freezer ziplock. Tada! Now when a recipe calls for a tablespoon/single chile, etc you can reach into the freezer and they are in individual serving sizes.
   
3. Bell peppers are typically very expensive here for much of the year (especially my favorite: red peppers!) - but one magical month a year they are abundant and affordable. I stock up on peppers and de-seed and cut them into strips, freeze them individually on parchment paper and put in a ziplock the next day like above. I also do this with celery since any recipe I need celery for calls for one or two stalks at most. Both are full of water and will lose their snap when thawed, but are perfect for using in stir fries and soups. You can also wrap the celery in foil and it will extend its life in the fridge.
   
4. Toilet paper from the 99cents Only Store is just as effective as toilet paper that costs four times as much.
   
5. Stir fries and beans and rice are healthy and economical. Serve with homemade cast iron skillet cornbread and you'll be pumped with iron.
   
6. Instead of throwing away the ends of bread that have gone stale, throw them in the freezer. When you have a few bread ends, throw them in the blender or food processor with an assortment of your favorite herbs and toast in the oven for a few minutes and make your own breadcrumbs instead of buying a chemical blend from the store. Fresh breadcrumbs taste amazing.
   
7. Make your own vegetable stock by saving all carrot tops, onion tops, celery tops, potato skins, parsnip tops, beet tops, etc in a big bag in the freezer. When you have a bag full, boil in a soup pot of water with your favorite herbs (mine are thyme and sage), strain, and use immediately, freeze in an ice cube tray, or save in 1-cup increments in ziplocks for later. You can use a few cubes to really flavor plain rice.
   
8. Speaking of rice, if you are lucky enough to live close to an Asian neighborhood or an Indian neighborhood with well-stocked niche grocery stores, buy rice in bulk from these places. It might hurt to pay $20 for a bag of rice, but you'll use that for MONTHS. It took me nearly a year to use up the jasmine rice from the 25lb bag I bought. (Also: Indian grocery stores have cheaper saffron and Asian stores cheaper tofu and mockmeats.)
   
9. When berries are abundant in summer and go on sale, buy in bulk and freeze to enjoy in pies, muffins, etc, later.
   
10. If you are blessed to live in a city with a fair amount of reliable and far-reaching public transportation available, check into getting a bus pass and seeing if that is better for getting to work. Where I work, I would have to pay $65/month to park, not to mention the gas, the risk of accidents, and the general stress of driving. The unlimited monthly bus pass costs me $33/month and also works for the subway. I use it to go everywhere, and save on having to feed parking meters or pay $10 to park in a garage elsewhere, too! (I also get to enjoy guilt-free reading time!)

xosqueak. Sucking it in.