The Farmhouse Edit: Reverse Meal Planning, Stock-Up Staples & Grocery Hacks for Real Life | Christine of Frugal Fit Mom
5/31/202652 min
I’m chatting with Christine from Frugal Fit Mom all about feeding your family well on a budget—without stressing over perfection. Christine shares her tried-and-true strategies for keeping grocery costs low in today’s economy, including how she stocks her pantry, finds the best meat deals, and plans meals based on what’s already on hand. We also dive into the hidden costs of organic and local food, why she skips most grocery delivery services, and how you can still enjoy fun foods without blowing the budget. Whether you’re shopping for two or ten, this episode is full of real-life tips you can start using today. In this episode, we cover: Why Christine avoids Instacart and prefers Walmart Pickup for cost savings The key pantry staples she stocks up on—and how that helps reduce impulse grocery runs Her method for spotting true stock-up prices on meat and stretching it to feed a large family How she feeds a family of five (including three teen boys) on as little as $200/month A realistic starting point for grocery budgeting: $150 per person per month Why she generally skips organic (aside from milk) and how local sourcing can dramatically increase grocery costs How reverse meal planning works and why it saves more than traditional recipe-first planning Tips for making frugal meals taste amazing with salt, fat, and acid Christine’s go-to bread recipe (not sourdough!) and how she keeps it soft for days Her rule for buying fun foods like chips and ice cream—only when they’re 50% off How shopping less frequently helps avoid overspending (even for perishables) View full show notes on the blog + watch this episode on YouTube. RESOURCES Check out Christine’s banana bread recipe Join my FREE masterclass to learn my 4-step framework for making money on YouTube Master the rhythm of sourdough with confidence in my Simple Sourdough course Gain the sewing knowledge and skills every homemaker needs in my Simple Sewing series Turn your content creation dreams into a profitable business with my YouTube Success Academy Keep all my favorite sourdough recipes at your fingertips in my Daily Sourdough cookbook CONNECT Christine Ashby of Frugal Fit Mom | Website | YouTube | Instagram | Facebook Lisa Bass of Farmhouse on Boone | Blog | YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Facebook | Pinterest Do you have a question you’d like me to answer on the podcast? A guest you’d like me to interview? Submit your questions and ideas here: bit.ly/SFLquestions.
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsChristine Ashby· Guest0:00
And here's the other secret. We were an ingredient house.
Lisa Bass· Host0:02
Mm-hmm.
Christine Ashby· Guest0:03
I only bought the ingredients to make the meals. We didn't buy granola bars. I didn't buy fruit flavored syrup for pancakes. That was a splurge. We couldn't afford that.
Lisa Bass· Host0:11
Right. Same here.
Christine Ashby· Guest0:11
I didn't buy popcorn. I didn't buy fruit snacks.
Lisa Bass· Host0:13
Yes.
Christine Ashby· Guest0:13
I would make my own granola, 'cause I was like, "Who can afford to buy granola? But oats are cheap." I made everything from scratch. I didn't buy bread. I made bread.
Lisa Bass· Host0:20
Mm-hmm.
Christine Ashby· Guest0:20
I didn't buy lasagna noodles. I made lasagna noodles.
Lisa Bass· Host0:22
[upbeat music] My name is Lisa, mother of eight and creator of the blog and YouTube channel Farmhouse On Boone. On this podcast, I like to talk about simplifying your life so you can live out your priorities. I help you learn how to cook from scratch and decorate on a budget through this podcast and my courses, Simple Sourdough and the Simple Sewing series. I also help people reach their goals from home through my business course, YouTube Success Academy. I will leave links to these resources in the show notes and description box below. Now let's get into the show. Welcome back to the Simple Farmhouse Life podcast. Today, we're gonna talk about grocery budgets and staying on track, especially right now when everything can feel, and it is, more expensive, how to still stay within a budget, nourish your family, and not also be a perfectionist about it. I think this is a great topic, 'cause a lot of us feel like, "Okay, well, if I don't do everything absolutely perfectly, which is gonna cost me, you know, 10X my grocery budget, then my family can't live, like, a healthy life." So I think that's an important thing to dive in, and I can't think of a better person