• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Save your favorite recipes by creating an account today

Good Life Eats®

finding the good in the kitchen and in life

Home
  • Recipe Index
  • Ingredient Index
  • Search
  • About
  • Subscribe
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twiter
  • Recipes
  • Ingredients
  • About
  • Search
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twiter
Home » Uncategorized » Homemade Pantry Staples – Eat Well Spend Less
taco or chili seasoning
April 5, 2011

Homemade Pantry Staples – Eat Well Spend Less

From the Kitchen of Katie Kick

Share this recipe

  • Share
  • Tweet
  • Email
  • Threads

Yesterday the hosts of the radio morning show I listen to on my way home from dropping the kids at school asked: “You cook ____ times a week?” Answers were sent in via email and the hosts read them on air.

I was shocked at the number of people who said things like: Does putting frozen pizza in the oven count? If so, I cook 4 times a week. OR I make up an excuse to get take out at least 5 times a week.

Thoughts raced through my head: Do they know how much money they’re wasting? How bad that food is for them? How cooking at home is not just tastier, but healthier, thriftier, and often times faster when you consider the time it takes to order, pick up, and drive home with take out.

eat well spend less

Do we enjoy convenience food? Yes, on occasion. We have a few local joints that we enjoy for birthdays, special family date nights or on the rare occasion that I just don’t feel like cooking (or rather, cleaning up the mess!). But the vast majority of our meals consist of what I’d call real food.

So, naturally, when Jessica approached me along with a few other bloggers about a series called Eat Well, Spend Less I was eager to jump aboard. Over the next 3 weeks I will be discussing topics such purchasing (and storing) food in bulk, inexpensive meals, menu planning, and more.

Our goal? Show that you don’t have to go broke to eat well.

I don’t mean eating like a king day in and day out. Eating well to me means eating delicious, healthy for your body and the planet foods. Cooking with your family. Being creative in the kitchen.

For this week’s topic, I wanted to offer pantry staples that are simple enough to be made at home, and often cheaper than their high-quality grocery store counterparts.

Why Homemade?

Homemade version offer unlimited customizations specific to your family’s needs and desires. I ventured into this realm out of necessity. Many of the items we love to eat just aren’t an option for Logan with his peanut allergy. I had to start making more and more from scratch.

And through that process, I found that Logan’s difficulty eating has been helped some (not cured) by encouraging him to help me prepare these homemade alternatives.

For example, he loves to help me grind all of the whole grains to prepare our homemade, 5 Grain with Flax Pancake Mix. We talked about how there are so many kinds of grains and you grind them up and they’re flour just like you can buy in the store, only better. After a few times, he was sold. Pancakes are now a favorite of his.

Some Ideas for Getting Started

  • Shop around and shop in bulk. Compare prices. Flour in bulk may be cheaper at stores like Costco, but other items might be less expensive when purchased online or at a natural foods grocery store. Do a little research before getting started
  • Decide which items you’d rather make homemade vs. which you’d rather purchase. Some items might be less expensive to prepare homemade, but are so laborious that you’d just rather purchase them – and that’s okay! Find the right balance for your family.
  • Don’t – I repeat – Don’t attempt to do it all at once. You’ll only stress yourself out. Instead, pick 1-2 items to focus on and each month add another. After a year you’ve made several changes that along the way are rather simple.

Basic Breads

With Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day I have found that homemade bread is an easy reality. I highly recommend checking out that book.

Rustic Garlic Rosemary Bread

Baguette | GoodLife Eats
Pizza Crust | GoodLife Eats
Rustic Bread | GoodLife Eats

Homemade Mixes

Homemade Mixes are easy to make! Just take the dry ingredients for your favorite recipes and sift them together.

If you make a larger batch for multiple uses, be sure to calculate how many cups of the mix per recipe you need. Then, prepare as usual with the remaining wet ingredients.

homemade jar gifts - 5 grain pancake mix

Brownie Mix | Lynn’s Kitchen Adventures
Bisquick | Kitchen Simplicity
Pancake Mix | GoodLife Eats
White Cake Mix | I Am Baker

Spice Cabinet

Many basic spices are available in bulk or at club stores, such as Costco. Bulk spices are often a fraction of the cost of a traditional sized spice jar and can be used to prepare your own homemade spice blends for relatively little cost.

Croutons | Good Life Eats

Spicy Taco Seasoning | Good Life Eats

Homemade Garlic Herb Salt | Good Life Eats

Homemade Southwestern Pork Rub | Good Life Eats

Homemade BBQ Chicken Rub | Good Life Eats

Pantry Treats

Personalize some of your favorite snacks such as granola and fruit and nut bars by making them from scratch. Purchase ingredients such as rolled oats, dried fruits, and nuts in bulk to cut cost.

how to make homemade granola bars - recipe

Fruit and Nut Crisps | Simple Bites
Granola Bars | GoodLife Eats
Pumpkin Granola Bars | Good Life Eats
Marshmallows | GoodLife Eats
Whole Wheat Graham Crackers | Deliciously Organic

How do you cut costs so you can still eat WELL while spending LESS?


Tags


Meet Katie Kick

My lifelong interest in cooking has shown me that part of the goodness in life is enjoying delicious food with friends and family. I love trying new foods, discovering new places & things that help my family live the good life.

More About Katie
Updated: January 21, 2025

Reader Interactions

Leave a Comment Cancel reply

  1. Stef@hauteapplepie says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:26 PM

    Great post! Before I grab something at the grocery store, I think, can I make this myself? The answer is usually yes, with some ease. Especially things like rubs, gravy and seasoning packets. Reading ingredient lists is key. Other things like homemade oatmeal are so easy and SO good: http://hauteapplepie.com/2011/04/01/the-art-of-toddler-food-breakfast-time/

    Reply
  2. Jenna says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:06 PM

    With various diet restriction for both my husband and I we have not choice but to eat at home or pack our meals.

    I love the spice blends posted. If I can suggest one more..try your own sausage blend. http://thefeistyfairy.wordpress.com/2011/03/27/italian-sausage-seasoning-blend/ This one has become a staple in our house. You can season plain ground turkey, ckicken, or pork yourself for a fraction of what you can purchase ground sausage. Best of all you can talior it to your own taste.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:50 PM

      Thanks for that link, Jenna! That is a good one to add to the mix, especially if you can get ground turkey or pork for a cheap price. I admit, I’ve never though about making my own sausage seasoning. Definitely going to give that a try!

      Reply
  3. Amanda says

    April 5, 2011 at 1:11 PM

    My goodness this post is awesome. I would love to print off the whole thing and every link and make over my kitchen pantry!!! Thank you guys SO much for doing this!!! You are seriously providing such a huge service… all this amazing information in one place. THanks!!!

    Reply
  4. Shaina says

    April 5, 2011 at 1:01 PM

    Fantastic post and great lists of pantry items you can make at home!

    Reply
  5. Amber | Bluebonnets & Brownies says

    April 5, 2011 at 12:48 PM

    I am absolutely loving this series! Such great ideas, and money saving too.

    Reply
  6. new2natural says

    April 5, 2011 at 11:25 AM

    Wow! Thanks for this series! I’m definitely going to be paying attention. I can’t wait!

    Reply
  7. Louisa says

    April 5, 2011 at 10:56 AM

    I love the idea behind this series! It’s true that there are so many things that are relatively easy and cheaper to make yourself. Plus better for the environment (less packaging!) and better for your family. Can’t wait to follow along!

    Reply
  8. Rebecca says

    April 5, 2011 at 10:08 AM

    Thank you for creating this new series. I will definitely share this with my family and friends.

    Reply
  9. kitchentinker says

    April 5, 2011 at 9:43 AM

    Home cooking is one family activity that i was aware of ever since i was a kid. This was my folks way which I adopted because of the advantages that went with it. It’s not just a matter of costing less but more importantly a matter of cooking healthy foods for the family. This is simply cooking from scratch. Your ideas about this are great they are very useful. Thanks for sharing

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:57 PM

      I couldn’t agree more! My parents definitely shaped my attitude towards home cooked, healthy meals. It was our lifestyle and one that stuck with me. I also like the quality family time that is involved with cooking and sitting down together.

      Reply
  10. Michaela says

    April 5, 2011 at 8:00 AM

    I made a rule that I couldn’t eat anything unless I knew how to make it myself. That meant learning how to make things like granola bars and bread.. but now I’ve found it’s difficult to go back to the store bought stuff.

    Reply
  11. Aimee @ Simple Bites says

    April 5, 2011 at 7:46 AM

    Great post, Katie. You make some excellent points. I agree – don’t take on too much at once! Hmm, I’m thinking that brownie mix is a good place to start. 😉

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      April 20, 2011 at 4:44 PM

      Me too!

      Reply
  12. Karyn Good says

    April 5, 2011 at 7:25 AM

    We are in the process of trying to convert to a healthier lifestyle. This post is very helpful. I like the idea of trying one thing a month. It seems doable and therefore a more successful route to go. Will be following along and trying the ideas!

    Reply
  13. Sofya @ Girls' Guide to Guns and Butter says

    April 5, 2011 at 7:17 AM

    Very good subject!! Well you know, my situation is a little unusual for most people because we chose to live in the country (because we love it, among other things), but this also means that we have a plot of land where we raise what seems like a large proportion of our own food, and that makes it much cheaper – especially when it comes to premium, grassfed-free-range-organic meats – too expensive to buy, cheap to raise – and we were huge, huge meat eaters. Cooking at home too is something that sort of goes without saying – I grew up that way in the Soviet Union, and frozen pizza might happen once in three month, but that’s about it. But anyway, we raise/hunt all of our own meat except bacon (beef, venison, chicken, ducks, what not), eggs, potatoes, tomatoes (which I can), freeze a ton of vegetables so hardly have to buy any, garlic, onions in a good year (these are the things that go all year round), and then of course when there is summer abundance (and I mean at that point we grow herbs, cucumbers, squash, asparagus, berries, apples, just about everything) we shop even less. I bake all of our bread and yogurt (which we eat up to 2 gallons weekly!) and then I buy the rest, but pretty much always basics. Granola I buy though rather than making my own. Right now we just about got done collecting maple sap for drinking, since I don’t buy juice or frozen concentrate (husband does often though).

    Reply
    • Kelly says

      April 20, 2011 at 4:43 PM

      Lovely description of your life!

      Reply
  14. Lynn says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:42 AM

    I agree, I love to be able to make mixes and items at home and customize them to my family’s likes and needs. It is also usually a cheaper and healthier version. I also love the Bread In five book. It is a great resource for bread making. Thank you for putting such a great list together.

    Reply
  15. MsBrownBird says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:25 AM

    I’ve actually been meaning to get into making my own ‘pantry treats’ for a while, partially because every homemade granola bar I’ve seen looks amazing… and because knowing I can cut out all that extra sugar and salt is hugely tempting. I’ve never thought of making my own flour, though. Thanks for all the ideas!

    Reply
  16. Mark Scarbrough says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    How right you are about cooking at home. Bruce and I did a lot of research about it last year for our book and discovered that U. S. government statistics indicate the average American spends less than 13 minutes a day cooking food–ALL the food they eat. It’s a recipe for big expenses, as you point out. And for weight gain, too.

    Reply
    • Adrienne @ Whole New Mom says

      April 6, 2011 at 2:21 PM

      So now I don’t feel so bad that my kitchen is always a mess – because we cook EVERYTHING! And I also know that this is part of how we have managed to not go into debt.

      Literally, I think that our culture’s obsession w/ a neat house together with our willingness to live beyond our means are two things that make it harder for us to convince people that they should cook and make things from scratch! And, these things have probably, though I hadn’t put the pieces together until now, have added to the prevalence of obesity in our culture.

      Reply
    • Kelly says

      April 20, 2011 at 4:42 PM

      Adrienne, what a very interesting perspective! I seem to only have the energy to clean my kitchen once a day, and that’s usually in the morning before I start another round of cooking. So when I’m done that day I just don’t have it in me to clean again, so the kitchen seems to be perpetually messy! I thought it was because there isn’t much coutner space, maybe it’s just the way things are when cooking at home?!

      Reply
Newer Comments

sidebar

Katie Kick from Good Life Eats in her kitchen

Meet Katie Kick

Hi, I’m Katie! Thank you so much for visiting my corner of the internet. I am passionate about cooking delicious and beautiful, yet accessible, food for my family and friends. I love tasting new foods, discovering new places and things that help my family live that good life.

More about Katie
easy artichoke frittata recipe
Previous Post
Artichoke, Leek, and Potato Frittata
photo of grapefruit curd in a jar with a spoon
Next Post
How to Make Grapefruit Curd (and 15 Ways to Use It!)

Related Posts

  • frugal recipes
    Eat Well Spend Less Round Up - Week 1
  • eat well spend less extreme pantry makeover
    Eat Well, Spend Less: Extreme Pantry Makeover
  • Eat Well, Spend Less: Wk. 3 Round-Up
  • 12 Months of Eat Well, Spend Less
  • eat well spend less grocery series
    Eat Well, Spend Less: How I Shop to Save
  • 45 Homemade Christmas Gift Ideas
  • Homemade Trail Mix
  • Easy Homemade Marinara Sauce
    Homemade Marinara Sauce


View all posts

About

About
press
Contact
Work With Me
Privacy Policy
Facebook
Instagram
Pinterest
Twiter

Let’s Cook

Recipe Index
Ingredients
Kitchen Tips
Dinner Ideas
Thanksgiving
Back to Top

Good Life Eats®. All rights reserved. Images photography original text, and original recipes contained are property of Good Life Eats® and may not be used, copied or transmitted without author consent.

Site Credits
Designed by Katelyn Gambler Developed by Once Coupled