Money Saving Tip: Rice, the Ultimate Budget Extender
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Welcome to another money saving tip! I know a lot of us are already squeaking by with our grocery budgets since the prices continue to increase and now many folks are bringing home less pay than they did before (not to mention those without jobs!) so this is a series I add to from time to time with tips and ideas to get more out of your grocery budget without requiring more from your wallet.
Today’s tip: How to extend your grocery budget using Rice!
In this post I’m going to show you:
- How to get rice for about 1/3 of the price grocery stores charge
- Creative ways to use rice to extend your meals
- Recipes that utilize rice in budget conscious ways.
Let’s start with how to save money when it comes to buying rice…
So here is long grain rice in a grocery store for price comparison.
It is $5.20 for five pounds, so $1.05 per pound.
But this 50 pound bag of the same variety of rice purchased at Sam’s Club costs just $17.84 , which comes out to about
35¢ per pound.
This same amount of rice, if purchased for the same going rate as the five pound bag, would run $52.90, a savings of over $35.00 – and we’re not even counting tax!
BUT WHAT DO I DO WITH 50 POUNDS OF RICE?
1. Store it.
Since rice has such a long shelf life (if stored in airtight containers at 70 degrees it is capable of lasting up to 30 years) this is a great food source to purchase in bulk and save some big dollars. You know how we can go to the grocery store and use a coupon to save $1.00? Well think of buying rice in bulk as having a coupon that saves you over $30.00!
I don’t store grains or dried beans in their original packaging because it really isn’t designed for long term food storage. So the first thing I do when I buy a bag of rice is divide it up into containers. Clean 2 and 3 liter coke bottles are ideal for this. I also fill up my pantry container. This go around, I was short a few 2 liters so I temporarily stored some in gallon zipper seal bags until I have more 2 liters to use.
If you don’t have a lot of pantry space, you can simply store these two liters under beds, in coat closets, even in that unused space between the back of your couch and the wall!
To wash coke bottles: Rinse well with warm water. Add 1 tablespoon of bleach and fill halfway with water. Put lid on and give a good shake. Rinse well again. Leave lid off and allow to dry for two to three days, or until they are completely dry inside.
2. EAT IT
Rice is a primary food source for over half the world’s population and a great way to make any meal go further. I love to use rice as a means of extending my meals and trimming my grocery budget. It can serve as a side dish, an entree (when cooked with meat and veggies in it or topped with a little meat and sauce), breakfast, or dessert.
How to use rice to make your meals go further:
•Make it part of the entree. A great way to do this is to prepare your meat in some type of sauce. Then, combine the two either by stirring the rice into the sauce or by serving the meat over the sauce.
A great example of this is my Sticky Chicken Recipe. you can prepare sticky chicken using skin on chicken legs, then serve each chicken leg atop a bed of rice, with a generous spoonful of the sticky chicken sauce poured over. By adding rice to your entree, you can easily use half the amount of meat you normally would, which can make a serious dent in the most expensive part of your grocery budget.
•In Soups and Stews that call for diced potatoes, use uncooked rice instead. Allow half an hour for soup or stew to simmer so rice can cook.
•Use cooked rice in place of oats or bread crumbs in meatloaf and hamburger patties to make them go further.
•Serve rice as breakfast or dessert – check out this simple preparation for that.
•This is not food related BUT we keep a rice hot pack around our house for those aches, pains, and headaches that arise from time to time. Take a clean tube sock, fill halfway with rice, and tie a knot in the end. When you need a good hot pack, just heat in the microwave for about a minute or so. Be careful because it gives off a moist heat and can burn skin if too hot when placed directly on it. This is a long lasting heat source that can be made in a jiff!
•Freeze it for quick suppers on busy nights – Whenever I make rice, I like to make double the amount I need so I have some for another meal without having to cook twice. Allow rice to cool until warm but not cold, then place in zipper seal freezer bags and smooth flat (this helps it thaw faster). Whenever you need cooked rice, thaw in the microwave or add it frozen directly to dishes that have to cook so that the rice has time to heat up before serving.
RECIPES!
Here are just a few recipes from SouthernPlate.com that utilize rice in fun and economical ways to inspire you.
Mama Reed’s Rice Pudding
Dirty Rice
Janice’s Stuffed Peppers
Slow Cooker Fiesta Chicken and Rice
Steak Tips Over Rice
This recipe actually uses inexpensive stew meat as the “steak tips” and I usually find that on sale.
One Skillet Chili Bake
Hot Buttered Sweet Rice
It doesn’t get any simpler than this….and it’s so good!
When I buy rice from ethnic grocery stores, I sometimes find creepy-crawlies or evidence thereof. To combat this, I put all rice, flour and sugar from all stores into the freezer for seven – ten days. This prevents unseen eggs from making a surprise appearance as creepy-crawlies in my cupboards.
Here in Savannah, I never attend a covered-dish dinner without seeing rice, and someone always says, “Oh, good, *rice!*” It is *very* popular here.
In my house, I store canned goods and other nonperishables just as Christy suggests, under and behind furniture. My cats think I put things there for their amusement, and they love it when I pull out the cardboard trays to find what I want (cardboard trays saved from grocery stores when they display things on cut-down boxes, which make good trays for this).
Christy, Thanks so much for this opportune post. My husband was diagnosed with celiac disease this past week and I am still in shock wondering how I will ever learn to cook with the restrictions. These rice recipes reminded me of some really good dishes that are gluten free. My next big surprise for him is your Rice Pudding (one of his favorites)!
My family loves rice, and dirty rice is one of our go-to dinners. These are excellent tips. I agree that rice keeps really well if stored properly.
This post truly has inspired me!!! I stopped buying bulk several years ago because of the storage restrictions. I must say that as obvious as it seems, I NEVER thought to store using 2L bottles. I always have a big recycle bag full of these bottles each week. I use them around the house as much as possible to water plants, change the fish bowl water (mixing the water solution), etc., but just never thought about using it for rice, sugar, beans, etc. Virtual HUGS to you for this wonderful post!
Hugs to you too Sonya!! I am so glad you found it useful!!
I love rice and I keep it in my house at all times
My son get milk jugs from the local dairy to use at Christmas time to line (he puts lights in them) his drive way. I bet you could get some to store rice and sugar in.