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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

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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?


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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

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  1. Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy says

    April 7, 2011 at 11:11 AM

    I LOVE this post! Thanks for the great article and the excellent links. I would love to join you guys next time you do a similar collaboration – this is right up my alley!

    Reply
  2. Jenn says

    April 7, 2011 at 10:14 AM

    If you have extra time, dried beans taste better than canned ones – and without all that sodium. It doesn’t take that long to process, you need to soak it overnight and then cook about 1-2 hour. Pinto beans cooks faster than black beans – and just as tasty. Lentils cooks in less than 1 hour (doesn’t need soaking).

    Reply
  3. Jill Anderson says

    April 6, 2011 at 9:44 PM

    Thanks for the great tips and ideas. I am always looking for new ways for my family fo eat healthier and budget friendly is always a plus.

    Reply
  4. Tickled Red says

    April 6, 2011 at 9:02 PM

    Great points and ideas! I can’t wait to put some to use and restock my pantry 🙂

    Reply
  5. Daisy says

    April 6, 2011 at 7:02 PM

    Great points! I do keep a supply of canned items in the pantry. I admit it. But the majority of weekdays, I cook from scratch. My husband cooks weekends. We shop sensibly, watch sales, and we keep our kitchen well-stocked so we don’t have to resort to frozen pizza. Homemade pizza is much better, anyway!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:55 PM

      I do keep canned items like black beans, white beans, diced tomatoes and tomato paste on hand. I can get a good price at Costco and they’re often the foundation for other inexpensive, healthy meals. So nice that your husband cooks on weekends! 🙂

      Reply
  6. Happy When Not Hungry says

    April 6, 2011 at 7:00 PM

    Great post! I’m definitely a lot more conscious about food that I buy. I also love making my own homemade stuff. It’s so much better!

    Reply
  7. Jenn says

    April 6, 2011 at 3:02 PM

    Great post Katie. Home made food is the best -it taste so much better than that of restaurants!

    I just started making granola last month, using Mark Bittman’s recipe (http://content.markbittman.com/recipes/granola).

    Really good.

    Next experiment is to try homemade granola bars, 🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:54 PM

      Thanks for the link, I’ll check it out. Gotta love homemade granola!

      Reply
  8. Tracy says

    April 6, 2011 at 9:55 AM

    Fabulous post! I’m with you and try to make as much from scratch as I can. Not only is it healthier but I think it’s fun, too!

    Reply
  9. Kristen says

    April 6, 2011 at 9:26 AM

    It’s so hard to go back to store bought too when you start making your own. When you have control over what goes in, let’s say, your taco seasoning, it makes it more customizable to your taste, which you can’t get at the store!

    Reply
  10. Rivki Locker (Ordinary Blogger) says

    April 6, 2011 at 8:48 AM

    Thanks for participating in this series. Great post – and I love the Artisan Bread book too! I cook for my family almost every night, with the rare exception (about once a month) when I give myself the night off. I do this both for budget reasons but also for health. (Oh, and it helps that I love being in the kitchen. I find it therapeutic!)
    You just can’t get the same nutrition out of a store bought meal as you can out of homemade stuff. Cooking doesn’t have to be a fuss! It can be some simple raw veggies, a bowl of pasta or grains, and some roasted beans or an egg.

    Reply
  11. Lisa says

    April 6, 2011 at 7:38 AM

    Thank you so much for your post! My husband became passionate about watching of our food sources after reading Michael Pollan’s Omnivore’s Dilemma. We strive to cook with natural ingredients while supporting our local farmers. Going out to eat is a rare treat for us. We are on a tight budget for a family of 2 adults and 3 boys. Even though our weekly grocery bill feels high, we could only go out to eat four or five meals a week for the same price we pay to make 21 meals at home. As you said, it becomes easier and it truly is more frugal!

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:53 PM

      That is so true, Lisa! Two meals out with our family is probably about as much as a whole weeks worth of groceries for breakfast, lunch and dinner. It is nice to eat out on occasion to take a break, but I still can’t figure out those people who eat out every day. Yikes!

      Reply
  12. Gina says

    April 5, 2011 at 11:19 PM

    Great tips here, especially on buying bulk. I’ve not bought spices in bulk but am going to as I run out and need to replenish.

    We’ve saved so much money by eating at home and cooking real food from scratch. We’ve practically cut our grocery bill in half.

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 6, 2011 at 7:52 PM

      I can get things like cinnamon, chili powder, dried herbs, etc. in a container at least 5x the size of a regular jar at Costco for just a fraction more in price. I wish they had more variety but they do a good job of representing some of the basics that we all use most often.

      Reply
  13. Melissa@EyesBigger says

    April 5, 2011 at 8:35 PM

    What a great series you are all doing. I try to do as much of this as I can mostly because the middle of the grocery store scares me – I don’t like things I can’t pronounce being in my food! Plus it’s gobs of extra packaging being produced for all the preprocessed food! And you have so much more control of what you put in your food! Thanks ladies!

    Reply
  14. Rana says

    April 5, 2011 at 8:17 PM

    I’m loving this. There are some great links here for refreshing my pantry. I like what you said about taking a couple of these ideas to start. This way I won’t feel so overwhelmed.

    Reply
  15. Sylvie @ Gourmande in the Kitchen says

    April 5, 2011 at 6:53 PM

    Great post Katie, so much good advice here. I like to buy staples like grains and flour in bulk to save money because I know that they store well and it saves me money in the long run.

    Reply
  16. Maryea {Happy Healthy Mama} says

    April 5, 2011 at 2:33 PM

    What a great list of resources here! I am bookmarking this page.
    🙂

    Reply
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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
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