Kitchen Changes

Around here food prices have gone up! Up! UP! Ok, maybe it's not been that drastic but I can tell a marked difference in prices before Kevin was born and now.  (Don't think there's any correlation. haha) So I'm been trying a few new tactics to save money and help us eat healthier. 

1. I've been buying dried beans and cooking and freezing them. Canned beans aren't that expensive but this is still cheaper. And they have much less sodium this way. 

2. I found a recipe for "cream of....soup" substitute. I've made it but not used it yet. I'll let you know how it turns out. This is much cheaper and avoids all the ingredients you can't pronounce. 

3. I'm making my own chicken broth. Since I had Kevin I've been roasting a whole pan of chicken to cube and freeze. This time I used bone-in chicken breasts and kept the bones and discards for the broth. I tossed it all in the crock-pot with some cut up veggies and seasoning (and water!) and let it cook overnight. It smelled amazing, tastes great, and is much healthier! I put it in freezer safe plastic bowls and froze it. Hurray! And I love that I made it with stuff I would throw away. 

4. I am going to mix up my own muffin mix, brownie mix, and hot chocolate mix. Again, cheaper and minus all the preservatives and additives so it has to be healthier.  These haven't been done yet but I'll get to them this week! 

How do you save money and/or eat healthier?