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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. Julia says

    April 16, 2012 at 11:20 AM

    It makes my heart happy when I see people making so many kitchen staples from scratch! What a great round up of recipes!

    Reply
  2. Tamara says

    May 20, 2011 at 10:02 PM

    Hi! I found you through Carrie at DenverBargains. I am SO EXCITED to try out your recipes. Thanks!

    Reply
  3. Christine says

    May 9, 2011 at 3:31 PM

    Wow! I’m learning a lot from this post!

    Reply
  4. Vicki N says

    May 8, 2011 at 4:52 PM

    thanks for these tips! I stumbled here from your kitchen aid give away!

    Reply
  5. Salena Begley says

    May 6, 2011 at 6:37 AM

    I can’t wait to try some of these delicious recipes. Thanks for sharing them.

    Reply
  6. Kim Kenty says

    May 5, 2011 at 10:57 AM

    I think I’ll try to make the Brownie Mix jars to give away! Everyone loves brownies! THANKS.

    Reply
  7. Becky Jo says

    April 17, 2011 at 12:49 AM

    After figuring out how much of my income goes to pay taxes, we decided I should be a stay at home mom again, but accepted we would have to sacrifice some. We’ve discovered that by not buying convenience food and eating out less, we see no difference in our bank balance at the end of the month. My family loves the homemade goodness of cooking from scratch! Great series!

    Reply
  8. Zahra says

    April 10, 2011 at 12:20 PM

    oohh! I’ve been looking for a good granola bar recipe for EVER! 😀

    Question though…is this soft and chewey? Or hard and crunchy?

    🙂

    Reply
    • Katie says

      April 10, 2011 at 12:29 PM

      Yes, they are soft. They are no of the crunchy variety.

      Reply
    • Zahra says

      April 10, 2011 at 1:31 PM

      awesome! I’ve been wanting a soft one! All the ones I found online were hard 🙁 Thanks a bunch! 🙂

      Reply
  9. Wendy Blackheart says

    April 9, 2011 at 10:53 AM

    These are great ideas! I’ve been doing Weight Watchers after having already lost 50lbs with weight loss surgery, so the ability to cook/bake my own foods it awesome for me. First, I enjoy cooking and baking. Plus, I get to know whats going into my food, and I can make it how ever I want!

    I’ve been working out a happy balance between what I buy pre-made and what I bake. Often, I buy pizza dough (I used to get it from the pizzaria, but since I moved to philly…the dough here isn’t up to my standards, so now I use pillsbury) but I’ve taken to making my own biscuits to go with soup. My partner, a man who’s claim to fame in the kitchen is ‘making the best cereal’ is amazed at how much food we get out of a shopping trip, and how tasty it is to eat home cooking.

    Plus, lots of my friends have issues with food – in one group, we have a vegetarian, someone with crohn’s diseas, and someone who can’t eat gluten. Myself, I can’t have fish or fish sauce. Granted, sometimes we only get 3 out of 4 when we’re cooking for each other, but since we can customize our meals from scratch, its pretty nifty.

    And saving money is great – a decent frozen pizza is close to 10 bucks. I can make a pizza that is healthier for 7 or less depending where I shop! I can make stir fry for four for dirt cheap. We get the same thing, super simple, super quick, and with whatever we want.

    We do order in sometimes – since I’m the one who cooks, if I’m too pooped from work we’ll order in, or for special occasions. There are lots of great local places we enjoy supporting when we can. And since we cook more, we can afford it. We also save money on eating out for lunch, since we have leftovers that my partner can take with him (i’m usually home to eat something)

    I’m looking forward to trying some of these snacks, and the taco seasoning mix. If I can make my own taco seasoning, I don’t have to buy those silly pre packaged boxes of stuff. I can get tortillas from somewhere else!

    Reply
  10. Jan says

    April 9, 2011 at 9:45 AM

    So glad I found this post on Craft! Ive already commented on your Croutons post.
    I’ll be referencing this a lot in the future!
    Jan

    Reply
  11. Erin says

    April 9, 2011 at 9:22 AM

    I’ve always cooked homemade. It just makes sense, dollars-wise. AND tastes so much better. I usually double recipes and freeze half, for those nights when I don’t feel like cooking. 🙂

    Reply
  12. Karen says

    April 9, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    I totally agree I hope people start doing it. Too much pizza is not good.

    Reply
  13. Debbi says

    April 9, 2011 at 4:01 AM

    Raising a good part of our food has saved us a lot of money. Last year was the first year I was able to can and freeze a great deal of fresh produce, and now that our stock is dwindling, I can really tell a difference. I’ve already planted peas, cabbage and onions. The garlic planted last fall looks terrific. The asparagus is delicious and we’ll soon have strawberries. If you have any room at all, gardening is an excellent way to save money and eat more healthfully. Mother Earth News is a good resource for small-space gardening. Cooking from scratch with homegrown ingredients satisfies the soul and the budget!

    Reply
  14. Angela says

    April 8, 2011 at 7:03 PM

    Thanks for a great post. I found you by way of the Craftzine blog. With two small children and a ton of processed junk available out there, I try my best to provide healthy but fun food. I’d like to share our favourite easy pizza dough recipe: http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/valentinos-pizza-crust/Detail.aspx

    we love pizza and this is a quick dough that kids can help with. Cheers!

    Reply
  15. Kerry says

    April 7, 2011 at 3:57 PM

    As a student in a catered residence at my (Scottish) uni, I don’t get to cook much for myself. I do, however, keep olive oil, coarse salt, chilli flakes, curry powder, cinnamon and allspice in my cupboard, as well as wholemeal pasta (just as cheap as the refined white stuff most of the time), red lentils, rice, risotto rice, flour (strong brown and white plain), noodles and sesame oil for stirfries. I only have a small pot, a pan, a couple of sets of cutlery, a baking sheet and a sharp knife to cook with, but I can still make my own flatbreads to serve with lentil dhal, or a stirfry with frozen peas and green beans…My two top tips are to learn recipes that don’t need expensive equipment and buy frozen fresh vegetables, because you can use them as many times as you want because they keep for ages! I’ve started making my own sauces for pasta and freezing them, too.

    Reply
  16. Samantha Angela @ Bikini Birthday says

    April 7, 2011 at 11:57 AM

    How about home made nut butters? They are so easy to make and much much less expensive than the store bought variety. Plus, you can add in any flavours you want!

    I made some almond butter here:
    http://gamereviewwiki.com/bikinibirthday/2011/03/31/food-blog-friday-maple-cinnamon-almond-butter/

    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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