Frozen vegetables can be not only a last minute dinner saver, but they can be an extremely frugal & nutritious option to fresh produce. Winter is no exception, since produce is generally priced higher because most produce is not in season. Most of us meander through the grocery picking up the items on our list. Frozen veggies are picked up and tossed into our shopping cart as needed. If you are using some of the techniques I outline in Trim the Fat: The Ultimate Book on Cutting Food Costs then you are never paying full price for your frozen vegetables. But in the last few months as prices have been rising & falling on items for no apparent reason, I have noticed a trend that can save you even more!

Frozen vegetables are available at warehouse clubs. I have never been big in purchasing these because they did not offer a significant savings, if any at all. I recently sat down to update my Price Book* in an effort to spike our family’s plan to stock pile cash into our savings and noticed something very interesting. Those large bags of frozen vegetables are often less expensive than the smaller bags in my local groceries on sale now. But I have secret to disclose. In times past when I have purchased those larger bags, some always went to waste from freezer burn when not used quickly once opened.

I thought about how I could take advantage of this without having any waste or loss, because that throws the savings right out the window. When you return home from the warehouse club with your bags of frozen vegetables re-package them immediately into portions that are just right for a meal for your family. Use zip style freezer bags or Food Saver bags to assure freezer burn prevention. Be sure to write the date on the bag. I re-use the same freezer bags now. Each time I empty one, I simply cross off the date before I wash the bag. This works great and has been saving us money, while allowing us to have more nutritious vegetables.

These are my thoughts.

*You can learn more about Price Booking by checking out Price Booking the Simple Way. You will never pay full price for any food items again!