Dried beans
If you’re one of those super-inspired folks who have plenty of canned bean recipes on hand, then congratulations! I know that canned beans are genuinely a faster approach to cooking something tasty in less than one hour, but from time to time, you could reconsider your habits.
Besides the time-saving and frugal benefits of buying canned beans, you need to take into consideration the health aspect, too. For instance, canned beans pack a ton of additives (salt and calcium disodium EDTA), which makes them less of a healthy choice, compared to their dried counterparts.
Whole produce
Time-saving products come in packages, and in most cases, they’re way more expensive. That’s why you shouldn’t ignore the fact that you can purchase seasonal whole fruits and vegetables, especially in bulk, so you can maximize your savings to the fullest. Depending on the season, you can find fresh produce like apples, oranges, onions, potatoes, tomatoes, and carrots.
Whole chickens
If you never tried this until now, you have to start somewhere, right? Trust me, it will change your life! Instead of focusing on buying casserole chicken legs, it would be much better just to get the whole “package”.
This is the ultimate frugal hack, because this way, you get to cut costs to the maximum while increasing your culinary options. Also, it’s worth mentioning that cheaper poultry is grown in less humane farms than organic or free-range ones. So if that’s something that bothers you, the best thing you can do is visit your local farmers market and ask for the cheapest cuts you can get.
Local fish
When there’s local fish in abundance, it only makes sense for the price to go down. However, if you don’t have access to local fish, the best solution would be to try the American- and Canadian-caught. Whatever you decide upon, DO NOT rely on seafood that’s coming from China or Southeast Asia, because their regulatory rules are…fishy.
