I'm going to start posting 1 frugal tip a week every Monday. Let's see if I can keep this up for more than 3 weeks in a row!
This week's tip: spices. My sister shared this tip with me a few years ago, and it's genius I tell you! When you've run out of spices, skip the expensive spice aisle and head to the bulk section. By bulk section, I mean the part of the store with big bins of things - not necessarily Costco or Sam's Clubs. In the Northwest, Fred Meyer and Town & Country Stores (Central Market) are awesome resources. For anyone close to a big city, Whole Foods should have this as well.
This weekend I needed more celery seed. It's hard to find in the spice aisle and if you can find it, it is about $6 for a small bottle. I bought half of a small ziploc bag full for $.31. I'm not mathematician, but those are good savings! And I swear they taste fresher.
We also use a lot of sesame oil for cooking stir fry and hummus. A 7.5 oz bottle was $4 at my local market. Central Market on the other hand has sesame oil in bulk (who knew?!). I got 16 oz plus a new squeeze bottle for $6.50.
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Hi! I just started reading due to your post on food renegade!
ReplyDeleteGo to an international grocery store if you need cheap spices. I kid you not: You can get boatloads of things like cinnamon sticks for just a couple of dollars there, rather than 4 bucks for 4 sticks in a McCormicks jar. Just know which country uses that type of spice the most and you will find it in the right place.