Shopping secrets to help you save at grocery stores

Groceries are one of our most consistently high weekly expenses. Learn a few ways to cut those costs down to size.

• Buy fruit and vegetables from a store or supermarket, where you can select and weigh your own. That way, you can buy the exact quantity you need and check whether the produce is bruised or damaged.
• Loose fruit and vegetables keep longer than those wrapped in plastic and are often less expensive.
• Forgo out-of-season produce, which often sacrifices taste for year-round availability, and enjoy them as a tasty and affordable treat in season.
• Fresh is not necessarily the most expensive, but you will pay a premium for vegetables that are both fresh and peeled, chopped or otherwise ready-prepared.
• Remember that when you prepare vegetables yourself, you'll reduce the overall weight. Frozen vegetables are often good value, particularly when out of season.
• Save over half the price of juice by purchasing frozen juice concentrates and reconstituting them. They're just as nutritious and are easier to store, so you can buy in bulk when they're on sale.
• Look for juices made from 100 percent pure juice and avoid juice "drinks" that have too much added sugar.

• Many people think of cooking turkey only at Christmas, but it's an economical choice all year round.
• A 4.5 kilogram (nine pound) bird will feed about a dozen people.
• You don't have to buy a whole bird, since turkey is available in supermarkets and at butchers as oven-ready joints, breasts and ground, and is good value for family meals and barbecues.

• You can save on chicken pieces if you buy a whole chicken and cut it up yourself — all it takes is a good knife and a systematic approach.
• Whole chickens cost around $6 per kilogram, compared to about $5 for one kilogram (two pounds) of chicken thighs or $17 for one kilogram of boneless, skinless breasts.
• Use the bones and any leftovers in stocks and soups.
• Roasted chicken wings make excellent party nibbles.

• Although sometimes expensive, fish is an economical buy as it has little waste.
• Fresh fish should have plump flesh and bright eyes.
• If you cut fish into steaks and freeze the surplus in individual bags, you could save over precut steaks, which cost about $15.50 a kilogram (or $$7.75 a pound).

• If you buy a lot of cold cuts, don't buy prepackaged. Sliced meats from the deli counter stay fresher longer, and you'll save more than 10 percent.
• Make a list of basic foods you use regularly and buy them in quantities suited to your needs. For example, if your family eats a lot of bread, it's worth stocking up when prices are low and freezing the excess for later.

Getting healthy and nutritious meals shouldn't be expensive. But if you shop smart and make good use of your freezer, your grocery bill could drop without sacrificing taste or nutrition.

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