Tips for savvy shopping

With food prices going up, what's a home cook to do?

Planning, effort and a little restraint can help rein in the costs of family meals. Here are some tips:

Get savvy about chicken

Buy a whole chicken, which is often as low as 69 cents per pound on sale, instead of boneless, skinless breasts at $3-plus per pound. Roast it whole (good for at least two meals) or trim off legs, wings and breast meat for another dish and use the rest to make chicken stock.

If you're not keen on carcasses, try buying a cheaper cut than boneless breast meat. Choose bone-in breasts, boneless thighs or, cheapest of all, drumsticks.

Cut back on meat, and scout for deals

Find the meat department's "reduced for quick sale" section. Most supermarkets have them, and though you won't find a deal every week, occasionally you score. Gotta use it quickly, though, or it's no deal.

Build filling meals around cheap protein: Dried beans are a good bet — especially tiny red lentils that cook in a flash. Pair them with ginger and curry powder or other zippy flavors, and simmer with inexpensive veggies like cabbage and carrots. And don't forget about eggs, still a decent deal even though the price is going up.

Buy bacon by the slice at the meat counter; just a little bit adds a lot of flavor to pasta dishes and other one-pot meals.

Buy ground meats, or get by on less of the more-costly whole-muscle cuts. Choose recipes that stretch meat, such as stir-fries or fajitas, pasta dishes or frittatas.

Get organized

Make a weekly menu plan and shopping list, and stick to it.

Grocery shop only once a week, at the store that has the best combination of deals and products for your needs. If you have to run out for milk or a single ingredient, send a family member who can resist impulse buying.

Eat in season, or save it for later

Eat mostly or only seasonal fruits and vegetables.

Use your freezer, especially for winter temptations like out-of-season fruit. In late spring and summer, freeze rhubarb, peeled and sweetened peaches and summer berries (head to a farm stand or U-pick farm for the best prices) to use year-round.

When fresh basil is cheap and abundant, make and freeze pesto or purée the leaves with olive oil and nuts. Freeze in small amounts (an ice-cube tray works great), and pull it out any time you need a quick topping for pizza or pasta.

Enforce spending goals

Switch to a cash-only budget. Set spending amounts for groceries, eating out and ,miscellaneous household purchases (light bulbs, cat food). Allot yourself a small amount of fun money for coffee dates, etc. Then put cash in separate envelopes for each category. When it's gone for the week, it's gone. When you visit the farmers market, know what you can afford to spend, take cash and leave when it's gone.

Go green

Plant an herb garden. Backyard herbs limit trips to the store, and perennials like rosemary, thyme and sage need little care. Tarragon and basil are a little more finicky but delicious. Or, buy fresh herbs in bulk at a store where you can purchase a sprig or two.

For deals on organic veggies, look for your supermarket's frozen or canned house brands. Sign up for a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) share with a local organic farm. If the share costs around $500 for the season, that's $23 per week for enough fresh, organic vegetables for a family of four.

Start a soup night

Make soup once a week. It's filling, cheap and delicious: Think potato-leek, Cuban black bean, butternut squash, corn chowder, split pea, mushroom barley, curry vegetable. If you like meat or the flavor of it, find recipes that use small amounts or inexpensive cuts, like ham hocks.

Make your own dessert

When your sweet tooth calls, bake instead of buy.

Be a smart shopper

Buy what you need, and don't stock up without a purpose. Don't buy four boxes of cereal when all you need is one. Shop in big-box membership stores only if you know you can use large quantities, or split large portions with another household.

Find hidden deals at the supermarket: 2 liters of store-brand sparkling water in the soda-pop aisle sell for less than a buck; the family-size packs of corn tortillas are the best value, and you can freeze them in meal-size portions so they're handy.

Cut down on junk food (chips, crackers and sodas), which are pricey and full of empty calories. Rethink your idea of a snack: peanut butter toast, a bowl of oatmeal or some homemade hummus and veggies are healthful and affordable choices.

Use supermarket membership cards. Check weekly ads and clip coupons. Look in newspaper inserts and also online (for a list of free coupon Web sites, see www.couponing.about.com/cs/aboutcouponing/a/lowerbillpt2.htm).

Make sure to read a shelf tag's cost per ounce or pound when comparison shopping.

Buy spices and grains in bulk — but only after checking what you already have in your cabinet. Don't buy more than you can use in a year.