Behind the Scenes Blog

It always amazes me how fast the grocery bill adds up before I get to the cashier's aisle. Good food gets expensive, especially if you pay for convenience for pre-sliced vegetables and pre-cooked foods from deli counter. You'll also pay more for organic foods and for some name-brand products.

You want to feed your family good food, so how do you keep the costs of healthy and easy cooking down? One way to cut cost is to buy foods in bulk when you can. The best foods to buy in bulk include dry foods, items that keep well in the freezer and foods packaged to have a longer shelf life. You need to shop smart, however and only buy foods in bulk when you can use them quickly, or if they store well for a long time. Those beautiful blueberries may be on sale and you might be tempted to stock up, but if they go bad in your refrigerator and end up in the garbage, you just wasted money.

You can probably find some bulk items at your local grocery store, but you'll find even more bulk items at large discount centers. If you have to travel a ways to get to the discount store, be sure to have a list of all the bulk items you need so you don't miss out on any savings because you forgot something. When you get your bulk items home, be sure to store them properly; some items need to be kept in cool, dry, airtight or dark conditions.

Here are some tips for buying foods in bulk:

• Vegetarian Foods to Buy in Bulk
• Foods to Buy in Bulk
• Food Storage Containers: Freshness & Convenience
• Food Storage How-To's