A recent post from CouponSherpa.com details some of the (not so appetizing) ways some restaurants are cutting costs to stay afloat during tough times.

Some of these practices may seem a little off-putting when done by a food service establishment, but we common folk could stand to learn a thing or two. So read on for some ideas about saving money and food in your home (but hopefully not if you plan on starting a restaurant soon).

• Cut your portions. How often do you scrape a little bit of food off your plate after a meal? Me too. But I’ve found that dishing up a little at a time keeps me from tossing amounts that seem too small to save, but that I’m sure build up over time.
• Check your water. If you’re still guzzling bottled water, you could save serious moola by switching to filtered tap water. Bonus: you’ll cut down on your plastic waste.
• Recycle old food. This one was particularly troublesome to me in the context of restaurants. But in your own family, using leftover portions of things (yes, even from people’s plates) in soups, stews or stir-fry dishes is a great way to save.
• Redefine rotten. I’m pretty picky about produce, but I discovered that many fruits and veggies I consider inedible are actually just fine when cooked up somehow. Applesauce is easy to make and has rescued more than a few of my mealy apples from the trashcan.
• Cut the paper. I’ve written before about saving money by turning to cloth napkins and rags, and this is something restaurants have caught on to, although admittedly, many are apparently just using cheaper paper products.
• Try substitutions. While I don’t condone restaurants printing one product in their menu (like veal) and serving another (like pork), this may be a good strategy to save money in your home. For meals that involve spices and side dishes, trying a cheaper meat, fish, vegetable or grain could save you money and help you discover new flavors.
• Shop less. Since rising oil prices mean higher shipping costs, some restaurants are reportedly ordering ingredients less frequently, in larger quantities. This leads to less-fresh ingredients, but applied to your own shopping, could mean fewer impulse buys and trips to the store. So if you don’t already, try heading to the store as seldom as possible.

 Email This Post