8 easy ways to save money on meat

Shop the sales.

Instead of going to the supermarket set on purchasing a pound of chicken drumsticks, see what's on sale &#; and stock up.

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"When you find meat that's on sale, purchase it in bulk, take advantage of the discount and go home and either seal it in a freezer tight bag or use something like a food saver to save your meat and freeze it yourself," Chef Erica Barrett, founder and CEO of Southern Culture Artisan Foods, told INSIDER.

You're saving on the meat itself and on future trips to the grocery store if you have a freezer full of whatever was cheapest on sale.

Chat up the butcher.

A neighborhood butcher may be your best friend when it comes to getting deals on meat.

"Just ask, &#;What kind of cuts do you have? Or, &#;Do you have anything special?'" suggested Chef Bobby Hodge of Nashville's Oak Steakhouse.

A butcher can help talk you through similarly priced meats to determine which is the best value. "Maybe it's a cut you have never tried and they help you out. Butcher know cheaper cuts that you may not know of that are just as or more flavorful than what you would've bought."

Also, a butcher may have an abundance of something almost at its prime that needs to leave the refrigerated case, state, so they can cut you a deal. Butchers may also be able to share scraps or bones for cheap, so you can make a meaty soup or stew without paying full price.

Eat tongue, tripe, and kidney.

"A nutritious way to save money on meat would be to go for the organ meats instead of the more common options like steak or drumsticks," said Caleb Backe, personal trainer and health and wellness expert for Maple Holistics.

"Organ meats are not only a cost-effective option but are more nutrient-dense than your typical muscle-meat. They contain iron, magnesium, zinc, and folate, as well as Vitamin B12, A, and K which all serve to retain muscle mass and keep you fuller for longer. Whether you feel like trying tongue, tripe or kidneys, organ cuts are an effective and healthy way to save money on meat."  

Don't buy pre-fabricated meats.

Learning some basic butchering skills can help save you cash when you're buying meat. Think of the difference between pre-cut and whole produce.

"A whole chicken is far less expensive per pound then let's say a boneless skinless chicken breast," says Daniel Fleming, executive chef of Primal Cut.

"If you want the chicken breast, cut it off the whole bird, take off the skin and voila! You have now officially saved upwards of 50 cents per pound. Same goes for steaks. Rather than buy a pre-cut Filet Mignon center piece at $22-25 a pound, do what I do. Buy the whole tenderloin, trim it, cut it yourself, and pay $12.50 per pound. Roughly a 35% save after waste. And if you're feeling creative use your scraps for something else like a bordelaise sauce."

Buy a cheaper cut, just know what to do with it.

When it comes to beef, cuts that aren't traditional steaks are typically cheaper, and delicious when slow cooked.

"Take the French for example, they have made a killing off this concept through the age-old technique of braising," said Fleming. "I've had some of the best wagyu on this planet (literally have the birth certificates and nose prints from the cows to prove it), but one of my favorite meals is from time spent in France. Braised short rib stew with garden vegetables and a nice beef broth. Yum!"

Make your meat stretch.

"Buy smaller amounts of meat and add ingredients to bulk up your final product," suggests Fleming. "In my college days, my friends and I would buy a few pounds of chop meat, add some breadcrumbs, a few eggs, maybe some onions and bam! We just took two pounds of meat and made four pounds of meatballs. Works every time."

Hamburgers can also be mixed with pureed mushrooms or other veggies to stretch ground beef.

Eat less meat.

Meatless Monday is one way to save money on meat, but you can eat meat at every meal if you wish if you just limit your portion sizes.

In America, portion sizes typically don't match up with suggested serving sizes: For example, the serving size for a steak is 3 ounces, but restaurants and grocery stores typically sell steaks that are four times that or more. Split a 6-ounce filet mignon for dinner and fill up on healthy sides to keep your budget and overall health in check.

Last week I started a new series called &#;Healthy Groceries on a Budget.&#; If you didn&#;t catch last week&#;s post, I shared my personal parameters for a healthy grocery cart, including how I read nutrition labels.

Today I&#;m focusing on specific areas where I save money at the store.

For starters, let&#;s talk about some common processed foods that frequented my grocery cart in my &#;pre-healthy&#; days. Many of these have been eliminated from my kitchen altogether (aside from the occasional treat for my hubby and kids).

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• Oreos $2.99
• Vanilla wafers $4.49
• Teddy grahams $3.19
• Peanut-butter filled pretzels $3.79
• 1/2 Gallon of orange juice $2.59 [I buy fresh oranges instead.]
• Chips $2.99
• Sugary cereals $2-$4 per box

As you can see, the costs add up (over $20 total for the foods in this list)! And it doesn&#;t even include frozen meals and other junk food I bought on a regular basis too. By eliminating these items from my cart, my budget is freer to invest in healthier options. Not only that, but the healthier options fill my stomach longer so I don&#;t need to revisit the pantry as often. Win-win!

Okay, so let&#;s dive into more details of where I save money at the grocery store.

GRAINS

Most weeks, I buy whole grain bread or tortillas at the store, thanks to the savings I gain by not buying the foods listed above. (A quick reminder about my rule of thumb on ingredients: The contents have to be easily understood and as close to their natural state as possible. No long list of preservatives.) &#;

If money is tight and I have extra time on my hands, I like to make bread and tortillas at home. This whole wheat bread recipe is simple to make in the bread machine and costs around $1.50 per loaf, compared to a similar loaf at the store that can cost anywhere between $3-$5. This whole wheat tortilla recipe costs 64 cents for a batch of 8 tortillas, versus the $4 price tag at my local grocery store for a highly processed equivalent.

MEAT

I try to buy organic meats whenever possible, but it doesn&#;t always fit in my budget for the week. One way I work around this is to buy meat in bulk at Costco. Their organic ground beef is an especially great deal, beating out its non-organic counterparts per pound at the regular grocery store.

Another way I save money is to buy meat when it&#;s been marked down. Usually stores mark their meat down when it nears the sell-by date. The meat is still good; the store just has to take it off their shelves within a couple days, so they try to offload it by marking down the price. When I find these deals, I stock up. I bring the meat straight home to my freezer and incorporate it into a meal later in the month.

FRUITS AND VEGGIES

Similar to meats, I prefer to buy organic produce, but I have to be flexible depending on availability. If all else fails, I always buy the &#;Dirty Dozen&#; foods in organic form whenever possible. This is especially true for foods that my family eats in gobs, like apples. (By the way, my experiment actually proved that organic apples were cheaper than their non-organic counterparts. More on that next week!)

Another way I save money is to buy produce that&#;s in season. I still buy non-seasonal produce all year long (apples, anyone? :)), but stocking up on seasonal items gives more wiggle room in the budget for those non-seasonal must-haves.

Before we wrap up, I have one more budget tip. But first, here&#;s a Pinterest-friendly summary of what we&#;ve covered&#;

All right, now for the bonus tip&#;

If you&#;re trying new recipes, beware of spending half your grocery budget on oddball ingredients you might only use once.

Case in point: A few years ago, I decided to try a really unique, super-healthy cookie recipe. It called for all sorts of unusual ingredients, including a type of flour I could only find at a specialty market. I spent a small fortune on this flour, only to discover that my family hated the cookies after I made them. In retrospect, I would have done a little research to see what I already had in my pantry and substituted it in place of the expensive flour (which, by the way, ended up being thrown out a few months later).

Bottom line: Be your own detective!

You may not have time to track your grocery spending to the penny, but you can keep an eye on your patterns. What costs the most? Does it promote health, or does it damage it? If it damages your health, that&#;s the first place to start when deciding what to eliminate from your list. I promise you WILL survive without that package of cookies! (I&#;m living proof &#; 3 years with no Oreos and still going strong. :))

ONE SIMPLE STEP: Cross out one unhealthy item on your grocery list this week and replace it with a healthy alternative. (i.e., Instead of buying a package of Oreos, buy extra fruit that&#;s on sale.)

ONE STEP FURTHER: Why stop at one? Pick a few more unhealthy foods that can be crossed off your list and find healthy alternatives for each.

Grocery bag photo by Yastremska/BigStock.com

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