Country Living in a Cariboo Valley

Homesteading in BC

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How to Make Pickled Eggs – Easy Recipe

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Here’s how to make Pickled Eggs – just store them in the refrigerator.

If you raise hens, come late Spring you may find yourself with a lot of eggs!

Whenever you have a surplus of fresh eggs, why not use pickling as a delicious way to use some of those extra eggs?

A jar of pickled eggs sit on a counter
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Pickled Eggs Recipe Backstory

I love our backyard chickens! They add so much to a homestead and they don’t cost a lot to keep. Our chickens help us in lots of ways – we love keeping our chickens busy. And they love to work, fluffing up compost piles and eating weed seeds.

Chickens often stop or slow down the egg laying in the winter time. And let’s face it, chickens deserve a rest just as much as we do. They also expend a lot of energy just trying to stay warm in the cold winters.

New to having chickens in the backyard? Here’s some Chicken Questions and Answers for you to learn before you get your own back yard chickens.

Once Spring starts to come around, chickens start laying again. A lot of this has to do with the hours of light in the day. More daylight hours signal chickens to start laying again. If you’ve got hens, often you will end up with a stockpile of eggs. Chickens lay so well in the spring, it doesn’t take long to get several cartons stacked up.

How to Store Extra Eggs

Eggs will last a long time. And, they don’t need to be refrigerated, although most people do. When we get several cartons full of eggs from our chickens, we start storing them in our cold room. There they will last for months.

I store them in order of when I gather them. So, oldest eggs on the top or at the front of our shelf, and newer eggs behind that. This way, I can be sure we are eating the oldest eggs first.

 

A basketful of extra eggs.
Look how beautiful these fresh eggs are!

 

I often make deviled eggs or egg salad sandwiches, but there’s a limit to how often we eat these egg dishes. So when we have lots of cartons of eggs to use fresh, we start pickling eggs. We just take the oldest ones we have and pickle them up – Graham loves them.

We think there’s nothing better than a pickled egg or two with lunch or as a late afternoon nibble.

Here’s how we make them – super easy! And great to have on hand for a healthy snack.

 

Several cartons full of fresh eggs.
Pickled Eggs take minutes to make. Delicious as an appetizer. Great way to use up lots of eggs.

Pickled Eggs – Ingredients and Instructions

Here’s what you need to whip up a batch!

  • large eggs
  • white vinegar
  • water
  • pickling spice
  • cayenne, habanero pepper or red pepper flakes
  • garlic ( we use at least 5 cloves in each jar because we love it so much)
  • bay leaf

 

Place eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove the pot from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes.

Remove from hot water, cool and peel.

Pickling Brine Recipe:

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together the vinegar, water and pickling spice. Bring to a boil and mix in the garlic and bay leaf. Remove from heat and let it cool a bit.

Fill a clean quart jar with boiling water, let sit while the eggs are boiling. When ready to put eggs in jar, just dump the water.

Put in your hard-boiled eggs and pour the pickling liquid over the eggs. Then seal and refrigerate 8 to 10 days before serving. 

 

Tips on Making Pickled Eggs

  • Here’s the one thing you need to know if you are using really fresh eggs. Don’t. Make sure you are not using really fresh eggs. If you are using farm eggs, leave them in cool place for 2 weeks. Here’s why: the eggs need to be about 2 weeks old.
  • Grocery store eggs are never as fresh as those from the chicken farmer, so you can likely use store bought eggs right away.
  • Your boiled eggs need to be aged a bit because, if they are too fresh, you can take a bunch of the egg white away when you peel them. They’ll look awful with gouges of white missing. You want them to be pretty and smooth, especially if you want to serve them to guests.
  • Pickled eggs take only a few minutes to get ready and put in the fridge. They make for a great quick snack. They’re nutritious, low in saturated fat, filling, have lots of protein and come in their own carrying case 🙂
  • Serve them along side some Garlic Pesto on crackers and some smoked canned salmon. You can even have them as a side dish at dinner.
  • Pack them for school and work lunches for a quick healthy bite to eat. They are also great to take along when you are hiking or camping.
  • Take 30 minutes and get a jar ready. Then, leave them there for a couple of weeks before eating.

 

Fresh eggs in a chicken coop.
Keeping your own chickens and collecting fresh eggs is incredibly rewarding!

 

How long does it take Pickled Eggs to be ready to eat?

You have to give the eggs time to sit, so the pickled flavor can get right through and penetrate the eggs. I put the date on the lid, so we know when they were made. Roughly, they take 10 days before they are ready to eat.

Do pickled eggs need to be refrigerated?

There is always a debate about whether eggs should always be kept in the fridge – some people leave theirs out on the counter at room temperature. 

We don’t do that – we always store them in the fridge. If we don’t want to eat them really cold, we remove a few, set them on a plate and let them warm up just  a bit.

Here’s the finished product – don’t they look good? And they’re delicious along with some of our home made Pickled Fiddlehead Ferns!

 

Jar of pickled eggs and peppers.
Look how delicious these eggs and peppers look together, and so easy to make!

 

If you want to make the flavor milder, you may want to use 1 tbsp pickling spice and skip adding any peppers for your first batch. Go ahead and add dill seed if you like!

You can always spice things up more when you make your second batch, should you want them a bit zingier. You can also add beet juice for beautiful color.

And by the way, here’s an easy way to test an egg for freshness. This is a sure fire way to tell if eggs are still good. This works well if you should ever find a clutch of eggs your hens have been hiding!

 

Green and red peppers still on the plant.
These fresh peppers really heightened the flavors of our pickled eggs.

How Long do Pickled Eggs Last?

Once opened, food that has been pickled generally lasts for months if kept in the fridge. Pickled eggs can last up to 4 months, provided they are kept in the refrigerator in an airtight container. Their long life makes them one of the perfect snacks there is. 

Variations and Serving Suggestions

  • You can vary this recipe by using different kinds of peppers, using mustard seeds or adding some small pearl onions.
  • The only thing you should not change is the ratio for the vinegar and water. Sometimes we add jalapeno peppers or habanero peppers….or both! Make these spicy pickled eggs with any spice you like.
  • Graham loves eating the peppers and I love eating the garlic cloves!
  • Since we grow all kinds of peppers in our Greenhouse, we usually have several varieties of peppers to choose from! We grow cayenne, jalapeno, habanero along with different kinds of sweet bell peppers.

 

More Recipes

Our entire Country Living in a Cariboo Valley Recipe Collection can be found here, but here are some highlights!

  1. If you like beets, here’s a recipe for pickled beets that is sure to please.
  2. Lentil Soup with Ham is a delicious and hearty soup recipe.
  3. Another great snack is Paprika Kale Chips; so easy and tasty!
  4. Making Homemade Lemonade is a great way to stay cool and refreshed in the warmer months.

 

Pickled Eggs Recipe

If you enjoy this guide on how to make pickles eggs, please be sure to rate it 5 stars below! And print this off or save it to your Recipes folder!

Pickled Eggs

Pickled Eggs

Yield: 12 servings
Prep Time: 45 minutes
Total Time: 45 minutes

This Pickled Eggs recipe makes a dozen to keep in the fridge. Great with a beer for an afternoon snack. Healthy and tasty; add peppers and garlic if you like.

4.9 Stars (8 Reviews)

Ingredients

  • 12 extra large eggs
  • 1 1/2 cups white vinegar
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 2 tablespoons pickling spice
  • 1 cayenne or habanero pepper
  • 1 clove garlic, crushed ( we use at least 5 cloves in each jar because we love it so much)
  • bay leaf

Instructions

  1. Place eggs in a small saucepan and cover with cold water. Bring water to a boil and immediately remove from heat. Cover and let eggs stand in hot water for 10 to 12 minutes.
  2. Remove from hot water, cool and peel.
  3. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, mix together the vinegar, water and pickling spice. Bring to a boil and mix in the garlic and bay leaf. Remove from heat.
  4. Fill a clean quart mason jar with boiling water, let sit while the eggs are boiling. When ready to put eggs in jar, just dump the water.
  5. Put in your eggs and pour the hot liquid over the eggs then seal and refrigerate 8 to 10 days before serving.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 12 Serving Size: 1 Servings
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 79Total Fat: 5gSaturated Fat: 2gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 3gCholesterol: 186mgSodium: 73mgCarbohydrates: 1gFiber: 0gSugar: 0gProtein: 6g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

© Annie
Cuisine: American

First Published January 2017; Updated March 2021

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Bowl of fresh brown eggs.
Whether you use fresh or store-bought eggs, this recipe makes for a delicious and healthy snack or breakfast!
 

Preparing for an Emergency

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Winter is coming and it is important for us to prepare for such things as huge snowstorms, ice storms, loss of power and all kinds of natural weather problems. Are you ready? Here are a few things that should be at the very top of your list – this list could (and should) be a lot longer but these are the absolute essentials you need to put in place.

There is no reason for you to join those long lines of people emptying supermarket shelves – these are the folks who have FAILED TO PLAN. Don’t be that person!

Preparing for an Emergency

 

Light


Candles are one of the simplest but most crucial supplies you can have. In the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy on the East Coast, power was lost in an astonishing 8.1 million homes as the storm ripped down power lines, flooded electrical networks, and even caused an explosion at a substation. Power outages are common to all disasters and, after being plunged into darkness, the glow of a candle is one of the first things you need to get other emergency measures put into place.

Of course, you will also need a supply of matches, or a lighter. You don’t want to be hunting for these in the dark, so keep them with the candles, somewhere easily accessible. Have a pack of 50 small tealight candles which you can place at different points around the house, as well as longer ones, for which you will also need candlestick holders.

Make sure your candle bases are wide and heavy enough that they don’t tip over. And of course, be sure to never place the candles near curtains or any flammable material.

 

Hand Crank Lantern

Have you bought a windup lantern? These are great to have on hand, they are inexpensive and if you have kids, they never seem to mind cranking the handle to keep the lantern bright!

 

Water


Your next concern may well be your water supply. Contamination of water supplies is common in serious disaster events, and shops may be inaccessible. To be safe, you should always have a supply of bottled water – 20 to 30 two-liter bottles is not too much to have on hand. Remember, if there is no water coming from the faucets, you may also be reliant on boiling  water to cook with.

 

Power


Given that electricity will be down, a small propane stove is an essential item to have. These can be picked up inexpensively from camping or outdoor stores, but you should make sure you have the correct size of propane cylinders to fit. If you are unable to boil the kettle or heat water on the cooker, you will quickly realize how important a hot drink such as tea or coffee is to calm the nerves during the stress of an emergency situation.

 

Food

 

Start Canning to Save Money!
Are you a mother with children at home. Your first instinct will be to ensure your children don’t go hungry. For that reason, it’s always best to keep a stock of non-perishable foods, such as pasta, rice and tins of soup. If your pantry is full with home canned food you can easily provide meals (and know you are all eating healthily, too!)

Frozen pizzas may be easy and popular with kids, but remember you can’t cook them on a stove.

 

Fuel

It’s always a good idea to keep your car topped up with fuel. In winter, it is even more important. For one thing, if there is a natural disaster, you KNOW there are going to be huge lineups at the gas stations.

For us, here is another very real reason to keep our vehicles full. We live twenty minutes from the gas station on gravel roads. Much of this twenty minute drive is isolated, meaning there are no or very few homes along the route. Since we get a lot of snow and ice, there is a real possibility that we could slide off the road, either over a bank or more likely, crash into the mounds of snow piled along the road.

A full tank means that as long as the vehicle is still running, we can stay in the car where we can stay warm. Note: If this should happen to you, be SURE that your exhaust pipe is not buried in snow. Use that folding shovel that you need to keep in your car, to dig out around the exhaust pipe!

 

First aid

 

First Aid Kit for the Car


Finally, always have a basic first aid kit in your house. In the immediate panic of a natural disaster situation, injuries such as cuts and bruises are common, and may need to be treated.

Prepare like this, and you should be far less likely to panic yourself if the worst happens. There is a great deal of satisfaction and peace of mind when you know you are already prepared for emergencies.

 

How to Can Homemade Sauerkraut

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Ever wondered how to can sauerkraut so you can enjoy it all winter long? You can easily ferment and can your own sauerkraut in the comfort of your own kitchen!

Recently I wrote about our Cabbage harvest and using some of it to make Sauerkraut. Water bath canning Sauerkraut is pretty easy; a beginning canner can preserve cabbage with confidence and just a few ingredients.

a head of cabbage growing in the garden
We love our home-grown cabbage!

What is Sauerkraut?

Hailing from Germany, this salted cabbage dish is created by fermenting cabbage and results in a distinctive sour flavor.

Because it has a long shelf life, it’s an easy way to preserve some shredded cabbage and Graham loves it along with pierogies and sausages.

Read here to see how to make your own Sauerkraut including more details about the normal fermentation process.

The best part is the sauerkraut ferments passively, which means for the most part you can let it be.

The process essentially involves removing the outer leaves of the cabbage (don’t discard these, you can eat them!), shredding the cabbage with a knife or food processor, and layering with pickling salt.

It’s easy to cover cabbage and let the fermentation process do its job! Check out the recipe above for more detailed instructions on fermented sauerkraut.

Jar with homemade Sauerkraut ready to be canned.
Learn how to can Sauerkraut safely.

After leaving the kraut in a 3 gallon crock for a couple of weeks and checking it often, I scooped some out for Graham to do a taste test. He found it to be delicious and mild, which he likes.

That meant it was time to finish off the preserving of the Sauerkraut. If we wanted to, we could just put the crock down in our Cold Room and use the Sauerkraut when we wanted some.

We keep our Cold Room between 32 and 40F, and this temperature would be fine for the Sauerkraut.

However, we chose to can it instead – so should you if you cannot keep the crock in a cool enough place. Here’s how I did it.

You can also raw-pack your sauerkraut by skipping the steps that involve heating it before packing it into the jars. I prefer to hot-pack when canning sauerkraut.

See every one of our Preserving Recipe and Instructions Guides – right here!

Water Bath Canning for Homemade Sauerkraut

  1. Heat the Sauerkraut in a large pot, stirring with a plastic or wooden spoon. You want it to gently simmer, don’t boil it. Gentle bubbles means you’re at the right temperature.
  2. Add a bit of the juice. Make a brine (1 1/2 tablespoons of salt for each 1 quart of water), in case you don’t have enough juice in the crock.

    sauerkraut heated on stove before being canned in jars
    To hot-pack, you’ll want to heat the sauerkraut on the stove before transferring to jars.
  3. You’re going to Hot Water Bath the Sauerkraut, so wash your jars and then set them into your boiling water canner. Keep them in there for 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, get your seals and rings ready. Pour boiling water over them and let them sit until you need them. I’m using Tattler lids for some of the jars – I should have ordered more so I had some new lids!

    tattler lids on a counter
    I love using these lids for easy and reliable food preservation!
  5. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt for each 1 quart of water. Heat this brine on the stove.
  6. Once you get your Sauerkraut warmed up, hot pack it into jars. I use these pint jars but you can use quarts if you like a larger jar size.
  7. Leave 1/2 inch headspace in the jars. Add the warm liquid and use the brine, if you need to. Leave 1/2 inch of headroom and wipe jar rims.
  8. If you are using Tattler lids and seals, there is a slightly different process to follow and you can read it here. It is very important to let the contents vent during the processing.
  9. Place your jars in the Boiling Water Bath and once the water comes back to a boil, set your timer for 15 minutes for pints. If I had used quarts, the processing time would be 25 minutes.

    hot packed sauerkraut in jars ready for water bath canning
    Be sure to leave a bit of head room in your jars.
  10. I have to add 5 minutes because of our altitude (2800 ft). Make sure you always take your elevation into account when you do canning, it is very important.
  11. Once the time is up, remove your jars and leave them alone for 24 hours. After that, you can wipe the jars down, remove the metal bands if you like, and place the jars on your pantry shelf.

    canning jars of sauerkraut ready for canning
    Here’s the sauerkraut all packed into the jars. It’s easy to make dozens of jars like this all at one time!

What Supplies Do I Need for Home Canning?

Not sure where to start when it comes to canning? Here are some recommendations:

I have a very handy food grade Canning kit (Presto) that includes jar lifter, seal grabber, a funnel, a measuring gauge that allows you to easily figure out the headspace and more.

These items are almost a necessity when canning. You can order one of these Canning kits here.

For sauerkraut, I also recommend getting a nice sharp knife to slice the cabbage into nice thin shreds. A mandolin is also another option for slicing.

Here, you can find the Canning Supplies and Equipment Needed to Preserve Food

What Can I Use Sauerkraut For?

Graham has already enjoyed a meal of Bratwurst and Sauerkraut along with Perogies, and is looking forward to many more.

It can also be eaten on its own or as a simple side dish if you really enjoy the flavor. It pairs well with bold, savory flavors like onions and garlic.

Sauerkraut has many health benefits: lots of naturally occurring probiotics that foster beneficial bacteria in the body to improve digestion, nutrients, vitamins, and it can even help strengthen the immune system and reduce the risk of certain diseases.

A hearty mason jar of sauerkraut can also be given as a nice homemade gift for friends, family, and loved ones.

We ended up with 17 pints of Sauerkraut using a 3 gallon crock, which held a total of 15 pounds of cabbage.

Here’s an article about Canning Tips You Should Know

Jar of Sauerkraut ready to be canned.
Save this to your Pinterest board for later!

More Home Food Preservation Guides

How to can Sauerkraut jars on a shelf

How to Can Homemade Sauerkraut

Cook Time: 25 minutes
Additional Time: 1 day
Total Time: 1 day 25 minutes

This easy homemade sauerkraut is perfect to quickly can right in your own kitchen! This will extend its shelf life and keep it fresh and tasty for much longer.

No Ratings

Ingredients

  • 10 pounds cabbage leaf
  • 6 tablespoons pickling salt

Instructions

  1. Heat the Sauerkraut in a large pot, stirring with a plastic or wooden spoon, until it reaches a gentle simmer.
  2. Add a bit of the juice. Make a brine, in case you don’t have enough juice in the crock.
  3. You’re going to Hot Water Bath the Sauerkraut, so wash your jars and then set them into your boiling water canner. Keep them in there for 10 minutes.
  4. Meanwhile, get your seals and rings ready. Pour boiling water over them and let them sit until you need them.
  5. Use 1 1/2 tablespoons of salt for each 1 quart of water. Heat this brine on the stove.
  6. Once you get your Sauerkraut warmed up, hot pack it into jars.
  7. Add the warm liquid and use the brine, if you need to. Leave 1/2 inch of headroom and wipe jar rims.
  8. Place your jars in the Boiling Water Bath and once the water comes back to a boil, set your timer for 15 minutes for pints (or 25 for quarts).
  9. Once the time is up, remove your jars and leave them alone for 24 hours. At this point, wipe them down, remove the metal rims if you like, and store them wherever you like.

Notes

  • This recipe takes sauerkraut that's already been made and prepares it for canning. Check this post for information on how to make your sauerkraut from scratch!
  • As a general rule of thumb, you can fit 5 pounds of cabbage for every gallon that your crockpot or slow cooker will fit. Feel free to tweak the amount of cabbage depending on the size of your pot.
  • Make sure you always take your elevation into account when you do canning, it is very important. Higher altitudes will require more time.

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

 

How to Make Homemade Pizza Dough – Recipe

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The evenings and mornings are getting a lot cooler. And once colder weather hits, we often have homemade pizza. Here’s a homemade pizza dough recipe that is super simple.

Our days are still busy although I know it won’t be long now until the garden is completely tucked in for the winter. Then our days get a lot easier, in that the harvesting and a lot of the canning has been done. 

The freezers are full, not only of meat but also berries and frozen greens, broccoli and cauliflower. The sauerkraut has been made and canned up and put away. Later in the Fall will come the time for pulling the berries out of the freezer and making jam or wine or both.

A few years ago, I canned a lot of tomato sauce and we still have a few jars left. We also have quite a few jars of homemade Pizza Sauce on hand and it is so tasty.

How to Make Pizza Dough at Home

 

Here’s a recipe for Sicilian Pizza Crust – get a batch of dough ready and add whatever toppings you like or have on hand.

adding yeast to warm water to make pizza dough

 

Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. I like to let it sit for 10 – 15 minutes.

Then stir in the salt and olive oil. Finally, add in the flour.

Knead the dough about one minute, just until it is smooth. Let it sit and rest for about 20 minutes. Then cover and keep the dough warm for 1/2 hour.

I usually turn on the oven, set the bowl with the dough on top and cover with a clean tea towel. 

Cover your pizza pan with olive oil. Extra virgin olive oil is the best kind of oil you can ever use.

Buy it in bulk and transfer some to a small bottle to keep on the counter. Keep it close by and use it all the time.

Your body will thank you for it.

 

I grew peppers, onions, oregano and garlic to make homemade pizza

 

Here come the toppings – homegrown onions, peppers, garlic and oregano. I added some store bought mushrooms and some pizza sausage.

Also had to buy the cheese, as we don’t have a cow and don’t have access to the goat cheese we usually get (which is awesome and I wish my friend would come back so we could get more!)

 

add homegrown herbs to pizza for a wonderful taste explosion

 

Homegrown Oregano, what is better than using lots of fresh herbs in your food? Bonus  that I just clipped off a branch in order to make the pizza.

There’s nothing like using fresh herbs – try it and put that salt shaker away. Herbs taste much better!

 

I made my own dough for our homegrown pizza

Home made Pizza Crust

Back to the dough – split the dough into 3 or 4 separate balls – I do 3, because we like a bit thicker pizza crust.

If your family really likes thin crust pizza better, you can get 4 balls of dough out of the recipe.

 

homemade pizza dough pressed into olive oil covered pizza pan

 

Press out your dough onto the coated pizza pan. Take the other 2 or 3 balls, put them in separate containers and toss them in the freezer.

Now you’ll be able to quickly make a pizza when you are running out of time or ideas for creative dinners.

 

make and can your own pizza sauce

 

The Pizza Sauce – this tastes so good. This sauce is nice and thick and we love it.

I can it in half-pint jars and we use a whole jar on one pizza.

 

I added peppers, onions, mushrooms and lots of mozzarella cheese

 

Add your toppings and bake in a preheated oven. Bake it at  425F degrees for about 18 minutes.

Let it cool for 5 minutes and then slice it into pieces.

 

make your own pizza dough, sauce and grow your own toppings

 

Pour a nice glass of red wine and enjoy with your dinner. Add a green salad and you are set to go!

 

home made dough rising for pizza crust

Homemade Pizza Dough Recipe

Yield: 3 pizza crusts
Prep Time: 1 hour
Cook Time: 20 minutes
Total Time: 1 hour 20 minutes

This easy Sicilian Pizza Dough recipe makes 3 pizza crusts. Just pop extras in the freezer for a quick meal later.

5.0 Stars (2 Reviews)

Ingredients

  • 1 pkt (2 1/4 tsp. yeast)
  • 2 cups warm water
  • 1 tbsp salt
  • 4 tbsps olive oil
  • 5 cups flour

Instructions

    Dissolve the yeast in the warm water. Let it sit for 10 - 15 minutes.

    Stir in the salt and olive oil.

    Add in the flour.

    Knead the dough about one minute, just until smooth.

    Let dough sit and rest for about 20 minutes.

    Cover and keep the dough warm for 1/2 hour.

    Split the dough into 3 or 4 separate balls, depending on desired thickness.

    Put extra dough balls in separate containers and put in freezer.

Nutrition Information:
Yield: 24 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 115Total Fat: 3gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 2gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 292mgCarbohydrates: 20gFiber: 1gSugar: 0gProtein: 3g

Did you make this recipe?

Please leave a comment on the blog or share a photo on Pinterest

Cuisine: Italian

Enjoy this homemade pizza dough recipe and make a fast and easy dinner.

 

Our entire Country Living in a Cariboo Valley Recipe Collection can be found here

Being a Tightwad Can Save You Thousands of Dollars

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Earlier, I wrote about a few ways to stretch out the budget. No matter how much money you have (or don’t have) it’s always a good idea to set a budget and then stick with it.

We always try to keep as much money in our jeans as possible. There is nothing wrong with being a tightwad!

Saving more money is always a good thing.

Here are a few more ways that we save money every month

 

reduce debt, save money

 

Buy groceries on sale

Does your grocery store have a monthly case lot sale? If so, this is the time to stock up on the foods your family eats on a regular basis.

 

a cart full of groceries at the supermarket

 

We can save up to 45% buying our favourite soup in a case of 12, instead of buying the cans one at a time when they aren’t on sale.

We don’t eat very much processed food, but there are certain things we do buy. Building up a good supply of these items means we are saving a good chunk of money.

It also means we save the gas money and time it takes to make a weekly grocery store run! This equals more money in our wallet.

 

Buy food in bulk

Who buys toilet paper when it goes on sale? I know I do; it’s something every single person needs and uses, unless you are looking into alternatives. I am not 🙂

 

a bulk section in a grocery store

 

However, whenever I am in the grocery store and I see a good sale on toilet paper, I buy at least two 12 packs and maybe more.

I get teased a bit about it, but guess what? We never run out and I never pay full price. That’s a good deal in my book.

 

Start canning and preserving your own food or fresh food you can buy in bulk

Check out all our canning and preserving posts and start stocking up on food. Buy seasonally when it is much cheaper!

Then, can it in jars and eat it all winter when produce prices are really high.

 

home preserved fruits and vegetables sit on a counter

 

Water bath canning is a great way to learn how to start canning your own food. Once you are comfortable with that canning process, try pressure canning.

All meats and fish need to be pressure canned. Some vegetables do as well.

Stop spending money on new clothes

We don’t often buy new clothing. I still have things in my closet that I wore 15 years ago when I worked in an office and had to dress up.

Good thing I have always tended to stay away from trendy and buy more tailored classic clothes, because they still haven’t gone out of style!

 

clothing hanging in a thrift store

 

Sometimes, I go to thrift stores. They even have awesome sale days where sometimes you can fill a shopping bag for $1 or $2. How much better can it be?

I can always find work clothes and even nice Tee shirts, shorts and jeans, plus I am saving more money.

If you are looking for something a little more dressy, hit up consignment shops. You can get beautiful clothing for a fraction of the retail price.

Read the store flyers – you will be saving more money

Whether you’re looking for clothing, food, sports equipment or pretty much anything else, it’s a good idea to always check your favourite store websites and flyers and see what’s new and on sale.

 

a sale flyer from the grocery store sits on a table

 

These days, almost all the big box stores offer shopping online. It’s easy, you can get things on sale and lots of online stores offer free shipping!

Another bonus is that you can just shop from home, instead of using fuel and valuable time to go to the store.

Read more about how to save money every month:

Find out how this Texan mom feed her family of 3 an all organic diet for less than $200 a month! And you can too!

Want to read about more Budget Stretching Ideas?

Here’s 5 Ways I am Saving Money Right Now!

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