Americans looking to cut their grocery bills may need to rethink their habits before they ever walk through a store’s doors, according to Boston-based cookbook author Jenn Lueke.
“The No. 1 biggest mistake is just not taking the time to plan ahead,” Lueke, author of “Don’t Think About Dinner,” told Fox News Digital.
Lueke, known online as Jenn Eats Goood, said building a grocery list and mapping out meals for the week ahead can reduce both spending and stress around mealtime.
She also pointed to a more subtle driver of overspending: the pressure, often amplified by social media, to cook something new and impressive every night. Lueke said home cooks don’t need to chase novelty to eat well.
“You really can repeat meals,” she said.
According to Lueke, a single “base recipe” can be reworked repeatedly depending on the season or whatever happens to be sitting in the freezer. One example from her cookbook is a one-pot chicken thighs and rice dish, which she said can be adapted with different proteins or seasonal additions such as squash in the fall or asparagus and peas in the spring. Bowl-style meals and vegetable frittatas can serve a similar purpose, she said, acting as flexible templates for using up food before it spoils.
Keeping a stocked pantry and freezer, Lueke said, gives shoppers more options to work with during the week without extra trips to the store. She recommends staples such as canned beans, rice, pasta and quinoa, which can be bought in bulk or on sale, along with frozen proteins that cut down on how often shoppers need to restock.
For households trying to make a $50 to $75 grocery trip stretch, Lueke suggests leaning on hearty, lower-cost produce like carrots, onions, potatoes and sweet potatoes, paired with budget-friendly proteins such as chicken thighs, tofu and chickpeas.
She also advises getting more than one use out of a single ingredient. If a recipe only calls for part of a can of artichokes, for instance, the rest can go into another meal later in the week. Spice blends and homemade sauces, she added, can change the character of a protein so the same base ingredient doesn’t feel repetitive.
“The biggest thing is having that plan, but also using one ingredient in more than one way, if you can,” Lueke said.
