Save Money On Groceries! Each week I share one simple tip that you can implement to start saving on your grocery bill right away.
Many of the tips will be familiar, but if you take the Save Money on Groceries Challenge with us, you will actually take the steps each week instead of just filing them in the “I should do that” file. 
[To join in, just leave a comment saying that you already use the tip of the week, or that you will start this week.]
[Click here to see all the tips in this series.]
Todays Tip
Skip the Cereal
It’s one of the easiest breakfasts known to mom-kind: cereal. The only problem is that the cost per serving can be five times or more than that of other breakfast foods, and it is not that filling.
So what’s a mom to do?
The best plan of action if you are trying to eat less cereal, is to find easy alternatives. A few ideas are:
- Bagel with cream cheese
- Freeze Ahead Breakfast Burritos
- Peanut Butter Toast with Banana Slices
- Baked Oatmeal
- Yogurt Parfaits
- Smoothies
You can also make your own breakfast foods ahead of time and store them in your pantry, fridge or freezer. Two of our favorites are Crockpot Granola and Easy Freezer Waffles.
Another idea is to make your own instant oatmeal packets by pre-measuring the correct amount of rolled oats into a small air-tight container or plastic baggy, and adding a little dried fruit and/or brown sugar. When it’s time for breakfast kids just need to add some water and heat it in the microwave (or if you have older children and are microwaveless like our family, they can heat water on the stove to add to the oats).
See more Cereal-Free Breakfast ideas here and check out my Cereal Free Breakfast Pinterest Board for quick and easy breakfasts.
Do you have any easy breakfast recipes or tips? Leave a comment. 🙂
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For more ideas to save money on groceries (and a more in-depth explanation of how to make a price book), check out my ebook Save More–Clip Less: Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half Without Extreme Couponing.
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Image courtesy of bearvader, FreeDigitalPhotos.net.
I found this post very interesting. When my son was on a strict diet of no wheat, I bought Cap N Crunch religiously. Now he is aloud anything. So i buy whatever cereal is on sale- and I remember thinking (as I was throwing out an empty box) that it sure didnt last long. I am going to make a point to see which cereals last the longest therefore giving me the best deal for my money.
I also wanted to tell you about something I figured out this week. For the past 2 weeks on payday I go to the bank and pull out my new “grocery money” in cash and head to te stores with my list. I bought 1 box of frozen pancakes (8ct i think) and 1 box of frozen waffles (8ct) for only $1 each at Save A Lot. I remember being happy that they were so cheap. Then the next morning my boys (ages 4 and almost 3) wanted pancakes. I opened the box and microwaved them. They ate 6 betweenthe two of them. If i would have made homemade pancakes (out of a boxed dry pancake mix) i would have used only 1 cup of the mix to make 6-8 pancakes. In a normal walmart brand they has to be atleast 6-8 cups for $1.57 here. So it would have cost me less than 0.25 for the same serving of pancakes if I would have made them. Instead I paid 3x more just for the convienence. Well, lesson learned.
Having cash only for my weekly groceries has really made me aware of my spending habbits at the grocery store.
Good for you Jennifer for paying attention. I have found that paying cash for groceries makes me a smarter shopper as well.
Pancakes and waffles freeze and re-heat well. On the weekend I make 3-4x as many as needed (from a recipe instead of a box really isn’t much more difficult) and freeze them on a cookie sheet. Then when they’re frozen, I toss them all in a ziplock bag. They reheat nicely in the toaster for a quick mid-week meal!
This morning I made a pot of oatmeal for the 4 kiddos with us (our daughter plus 3 foster kids). I was worried they wouldn’t like it, but for the most part they gobbled it up! I squeezed a little honey into each bowl and then let them choose their other toppings (milk, cinnamon, and raisins). I find oatmeal a lot more filling than dry cereals, and it’s full of fiber and has iron too!
Since becoming pregnant we have done a lot of boxed cereal, and it is SUCH a drain on the grocery budget. It’s awful! I need some super easy ideas, because some mornings it’s asking too much for me to make eggs for the crew. :/ I have in the past made rice pudding and put batches in the fridge for zapping in the morning. Also done the french toast casserole that you put in the fridge the night before (although then they have to wait almost an hour to eat and you would think they were dying! lol).
Congratulations on your pregnancy Jamie! I totally understand. When I was pregnant we were lucky to have anything to eat because the thought of food just made me ill. 🙂
Would something like crockpot oatmeal work for you? The breakfast casserole might work to freeze in individual servings and then it might not take so long to reheat (or you could let it thaw overnight in the fridge).
We only have cereal when we have a good coupon or it goes on big sale. We usually do toast or bagels with cream cheese or yogurt. My daughters fave breakfast for a whole year was yogurt, now she’s switched to toast!
We make a lot of breakfasts ahead. We like breakfast pizza, egg casserole, ( both of these already baked & cut into pieces before putting in freezer), muffins, burritos………………. Its a lot easier since my children do go to public school to have several things ahead so it doesn’t make our mornings so hectic:) We don’t eat a lot of cereal & when we do its not a sugar cereal. Bagels w/cream cheese sounds good the kids might like a change this school year:)