save money – in thriver words

Is This a Great Value?

If you are doing price comparisons, you may be asking – is this a great value or is it just cheaper? To be a food product with great value, it needs to contain the same amount of food and nutrition for a lesser price. If it comes with fewer additives, even better.

I’ve seen videos that say store-brand foods like Great Value are exactly the same as their name-brand counterparts, come off the same manufacturing line, and are just put in different packaging. While I have no doubt many store-brand products are made by the same manufacturers as their name brand counterparts, I’m not as certain they come off the same line and only differ in packaging.

potato chips spilling out of plain brown wrapper.

Sometimes that may be true, but beware of the videos that advise things like Great Value^TMToasted O’s are exactly the same as Cheerios. One is labeled gluten-free. The other is not. That’s an indicator that there’s some difference. It’s also a reminder that reading labels remains essential if you must avoid certain foods or ingredients.

Walmart is revamping the packaging for Great Value. It’s a two-year project. One of the aims is to have the nutrition information listed and in a consistent location. I’m all for better labelling! https://corporate.walmart.com/news/2026/04/15/walmart-unveils-modern-redesign-of-great-value-its-flagship-private-brand

I sometimes prefer store-brand or lesser advertised products because they contain fewer chemicals and additives. Often the additives are flavor enhancers. Those may make the food taste better, but flavor enhancers trick your brain. If you eat a lot of processed food, you aren’t just ingesting chemicals that don’t add to your health, it can change your perception of fresh food.

So back to value. If the ingredient list is the same or preferable to your usual product, the amount of food per package the same, the nutrition value comparable, and the price less – yes, it’s a great value. The packaging isn’t always as appealing, but that’s not critical.

Now that we’ve addressed store brands, here are some other great values to consider:

When fresh vegetables aren’t in season or affordable, store-brand frozen vegetables can be a great value replacement.

I sometimes buy organic milk because it stays fresh longer. That means less waste. Also, keep in mind store-brand organic milk can be $2 less than name-brand.

I don’t like the texture of most frozen fruit, so I don’t use it in fruit salad, but it can work well for baked goods and be less expensive than fresh. It’s also easy to always have on hand without worrying about it spoiling.

Look for deals on protein. One local grocery store does a Pick 5 meat deal for $25. You can mix and match cuts as long as they have a Pick 5 sticker.

Some save by buying in bulk. If you live alone, consider partnering with neighbors to maximize your bulk buying power. I live on a block with lots of cooks. It’s not odd to suggest a food exchange on the neighborhood text chain.

Grow your own herbs. Fresh herbs are both expensive and easily grown in pots. Growing your own is a great value. To reduce the initial investment, look for free pots on a community gifting group or check a thrift store. You can grow from seed or plants. Sometimes herbs are available in plant exchanges.

There’s no shame in finding new ways to save. I always keep the question, is it a great value, top of mind!

Disclosure of Material Connection: I have not received any compensation for writing this post. I have no material connection to the brands, products, or services that I have mentioned. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Soup it Up and Save

Cold weather is time to soup it up and save! Not only is soup warm and comforting, it’s a great way to cut down food waste. With the high cost of food, it feels painful to even waste a morsel. If you’re not in the habit of making soup, we have a few tips to keep it delicious, nutritious, and budget friendly.

Three gold soups in small white bowls sitting on whitewashed board. Hand garnishing middle bowl.

Save vegetables

You may be in the habit of throwing away veggie waste, but some of it can be saved to add nutrition to soup.

Here are some commonly discarded items you can use.

Woody stems of asparagus
Mushroom stems
Misshapen ends of bell pepper
Outer leaves of brussels sprouts
Celery leaves
Carrot tops
Beet greens
Large broccoli stems
Cauliflower stems and leaves
Large stems from greens like chard or collard
Greens that are beginning to wilt
Stems of herbs

Save meat or poultry

If you’re wanting to create a flavorful broth, you can save fatty trimmings from chicken, beef, or pork to add to your pot.

You can also add leftover meat to soups and stews. Just chop and place in the pot for the last 15 minutes of cooking.

Save broth and pot likker

Save broth left from cooking beans, peas, greens, or potatoes. This can be used as a base for your soup or for additional flavor.

Save Time

It’s not necessary to chop veggies like broccoli stems or celery tops into bite-size pieces. You can use items to flavor the soup then remove them before serving.

Use a slow cooker. Soups are best when they have a chance to slowly simmer. That doesn’t mean you have to be home to enjoy the aroma. Throw everything in a slow cooker and go away. You’ll have a flavorful broth and tender meat when you return. Any vegetables that are too done for your taste can be removed with a slotted spoon. You can then transfer your soup into a pan, bring to a boil, add frozen vegetables, and cook for five minutes before serving.

Start with boxed chicken broth, beef broth, or vegetable broth. You don’t have to cook from scratch to make a delicious, hearty soup. Begin with store-bought broth, strained tomatoes, tomato juice, or canned pumpkin. Make potato soup using mashed potatoes from the store. With sufficient herbs, spices, and vegetables you can dilute these bases with generous amounts of water, milk, or cream to create a flavorful soup.

When there’s no time to simmer, use the microwave, boxed broth, rotisserie chicken, and frozen vegetables. Or make a quick tomato soup using strained tomatoes, and Italian spices. Add a few leftover meatballs for more umph.

Change it up

Soups are versatile and easy to change with minor adjustment. Rev up basic chicken soup with a bit of coconut oil, curry powder, honey, and frozen English peas.

Add a peeled, thinly sliced sweet potato to chicken soup. Allow it to break down and thicken the soup.

Consider seasoning soup with fresh grated nutmeg, ginger root, turmeric root, cilantro, pesto, bay leaves, lemon, lime, honey, maple syrup, or balsamic vinegar.

Add some milk or cream to tomato soup. Top soup with a pat of butter for added richness.

Serve a cold soup when least expected as long as there’s a cozy fire to warm the room.

Add rice, noodles, or lentils to give the soup a new feel.

With winter approaching, upcoming holiday gifts to buy, and high grocery prices, there couldn’t be a better time to soup it up and save!

Save Time and Money When You Use These Tips

eggshells Last week, I let the chicken I was baking make cream of mushroom soup, and this week I will save even more time and money by using these tips. Of course, you can do this too!

It’s not really that I’m getting lazy these days, it’s that I have an overwhelming number of additional tasks that were unexpectedly added to my already full plate. When my mother had a stroke in December, I took over the management of my 95-year-old cousin’s affairs. While she’s in great health, able to live in her own home, and to get out and play dominoes with friends on Saturdays, she can no longer deal with her mail, manage her financial obligations, schedule her own appointments, or transport herself.

Then a few weeks ago, my mother passed away and I became a co-trustee of her trust and co-executrix of her will. While co-executrix is a pretty cool word, it also means lots of extra research, forms, sorting & filing, meetings, phone calls, and decisions to make.

These real life storms happen to all of us. At the time, it always feels like they occur at an inconvenient time. The truth is, that there’s never a convenient time for sadness, grief, loss, or extra caregiving duties. If there were, it would mean we aren’t living very full lives. We’d most likely be failing to pursue the challenging job we desire, the degree we want, our next athletic achievement, or the dream vacation we can finally afford.

Knowing that the ebb and flow of life will always deliver intermittent difficult times, it’s good to have a few tricks handy that make things easier on the budget and your schedule when times get tough. Here are a few tricks I rely on regularly:

1)Cook 2 things in the same pot or pan at the same time that can be later mixed and matched for 2 or 3 different meals.

Baked Chicken and Cream of Mushroom Soup
Last week’s chicken spaghetti blog featured a perfect example of this trick. I made cream of mushroom soup in the bottom of the pan while baking chicken. Later, I used both in chicken spaghetti. Then I took the leftover mushroom soup, added some cubed potatoes, and ate potato mushroom soup for a couple of meals.

Pork Chops and Polenta
I like to cook polenta in the bottom of a casserole dish when I bake pork chops. It’s probably the easiest way ever to prepare polenta and later I can use some of it to make grilled polenta cakes with tomato and kale. The pork chops cut into thin strips or cubes can be made into tacos or added to macaroni and cheese.

2)Save pot likker to use in other dishes or one pot meals.

Traditional pot likker is the broth produced when you cook greens, but I like to save the broth from boiling black eyed peas, beans, and broccoli as well. Seasoned, it can be used as a base for a soup or sauce. It can also be used in place of chicken broth to cook rice or to add flavor to a one pot meal. Storing vegetable broth in the refrigerator has saved me more than one trip to the store.
pulled pork
3)Remake leftovers into something new.

When I began to tire of the aforementioned chicken spaghetti, I sautéd some onion, broccoli, cauliflower, and carrots, then added the leftover chicken spaghetti and some extra cheese to the pan. The chicken spaghetti was transformed into pasta primavera…with chicken. It tasted fresh and new and took less than 20 minutes to prepare.

I sometimes make pulled pork enchiladas with leftover smoked pork. Roasted chicken becomes chicken salad, chicken quesadillas, or chicken and rice. Leftover veggies fill my frittatas or get added to browned turkey for a one pot meal.

James flew in hungry late the night I baked chicken for chicken spaghetti. He topped one of the chicken breasts with mushroom, potato soup and a piece of pepper jack cheese, then popped it in the microwave for a quick and filling meal.

4)Boil some eggs and store them in the refrigerator (they’ll last a week).

Boiled eggs are an easy protein to grab when you’ve waited too long to eat. Just add a little salt and pepper and they’re good to go. They’re also easy to carry in the car or on airplane trip.

Boiled eggs can become egg salad or a great addition to tuna salad, chicken salad, or pasta with sausage and peas.
dates
5)Keep nuts in the freezer and dried fruit in the pantry.

I always have raw almonds, pecans, walnuts, and cashews in my freezer. I use them for desserts, meatloaf, meatballs, and salads. At any given moment, I’ll also have a variety of dried fruit in the pantry. I like the ones without added sugar – dates, papaya, mango, pears, figs, and raisins.

My standard breakfast is Greek yogurt with raw almonds and golden raisins. When I travel, I carry nuts and raisins with me. Sometimes I throw in a few chocolate chips. It’s like extra simple trail mix.

In order for me to deal with added stress, it’s important to keep my eating, sleeping, and exercise routine fairly constant. While it might be easy to rely on fast or overly processed foods when I’m overbooked, doing so makes me feel bad so I try to keep it to a minimum. Using a few tricks in the kitchen helps keep me stay on track and have time for the rest and exercise I need to remain resilient.