Agree on the rice — it’s cheap and filling — and we all love rice, but it’s not the most nutrient-dense food. Believe it or not, we don’t eat that many starches (compared to the quantities of other foods eaten in our household), which probably explains why our bills are so much higher. Basically, it’s meat, veggies, and fruits. We always try to buy organic/fresh (DH usually catches most of our fish, but that’s not cheap, either), so most of our calories are pretty expensive relative to rice or pasta. We don’t drink sodas in our house (which is cheap, anyway); usually it’s just milk, water, and orange juice.
Even when we try to eat “Asian-style,” it gets pretty steep. Just had an incredible spread of sushi with some friends the other night. Not at all cheap (all fresh caught, but fishing costs money), but so very tasty! 🙂 We suck at saving money on food.
We live in “Nirvana,” so the closest Asian market is 99 Ranch which is far enough away that any savings there would be offset by the gas used to get there and back.
You have some good ideas, though, so will try to do more inexpensive Asian cooking to see if it results in any savings. Thanks for all the tips, AN! 🙂
