Rachael Ray's Tips For Saving Money on Groceries

SavvySugar — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 07:15:56 -0700

Home cook extraordinaire Rachael Ray might not personally shop for the ingredients that go into her 30-minute meals on TV, but the gabby kitchen pro has plenty of tips for stretching your dollar at the grocery store. CNN's chief business correspondent quizzed Ray about what it takes to get more with less, and here are the highlights.

On making yourself a frozen food factory: "Stock up on lean meats and proteins, on veggies that you know your family likes and turn yourself into your own frozen food factory. Every time that chicken breast goes on sale, stock up. Go home, put it in individual storage bags, pound it out nice and thin. It's a quick defrost . . . Even with vegetables. You know, if broccoli is on a great price this week, buy a ton of it, go home, blanch it a little bit of salted water, cold shock it, put it in a plastic food storage bag, done."
On whether or not she's a fan of leftovers: "Absolutely. But I don't think they should taste like the first time. You know, I'm all for cooking a big chicken and then making chicken chili, chicken pasta."

To see her advice about how to approach grocery shopping, read more.

On planning ahead to save money: "I think you've got to go into the store armed with a good attitude . . . and with coupons. And another really simple thing: When you go grocery shopping, do not look at the price on the product. Look at the unit price. Right there on the shelf, it will tell you the price per ounce or unit of measurement. And that's how you find your truest bargains."

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Rachael Ray Is a TJ Maxx and Target Girl

SavvySugar — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 09:30:48 -0800

The queen of 30-minute meals, Rachael Ray, is an expert on whipping up family meals, and in her life outside the kitchen she loves to share more than just food with her own family. When Bankrate asked her if she treats herself to many extravagances, Ray said that now she's able to take her entire family on an annual Italian vacation and she enjoys doing things that are "emotionally profitable," like starting the Yum-O! organization.

While she's all for going splurging on her family and giving generously to charity, the bubbly cook doesn't spend much on her wardrobe. She said that she certainly has "more shoes than she did 15 years ago," but most of her shopping habits haven't really changed.

But in our everyday life, I wear literally the same pants I've had for 10, 12 years. I still shop at TJ Maxx and Marshalls and Target, and I do my own grocery shopping. I wander around in Adidas sweats and wear bluejeans most of the time.

Bankrate points out that we can all learn from Ray's habits of living below our means and sharing what we do have when possible.

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