Saving Money on Spices

Herbs and spices can make or break your meals and baked goods. A bland meal can be a great one with the addition of the correct seasonings. It can become expensive though when you use spices purchased in the spice section of your grocery store. 

This time of the year, we all tend to buy a seasoning or spice that we only need a small amount of. Then the rest sits in the back of the pantry until it is thrown out.

Buying herbs and spices at stores like Whole Foods or Sprouts is my favorite way to buy seasonings; at a better price than the spice section of typical grocery stores and they have a huge selection of quality herbs and spices. Locate the spice or herbs you need sold in bins or jars, and fill a little bag with the amount you want. This is great if you just need a small amount for a recipe you only make a couple of times a year, or one you are trying for the first time. 

Its fun to try new spices! I get a little silly in the spice section, because I want to have a sample of them all! Last week I purchased Cardamon, Ground Cloves, Nutmeg and Star Anise in small amounts as that's all I needed, and it all came to under $2.50....yes you read that right! Why would I ever want to buy a bottle of spice for $6 that I'll only use a couple of times before it needs to be thrown out? 

Skip the spice section at your grocery store and look for packets of herbs and spices in the ethnic foods section, or Hispanic foods section. You will find many different seasonings sold in little cellophane packets at low prices. I have used spices and herbs sold this way for years.

There are also the warehouse clubs that sell large quantities at a fraction of the cost of super markets. I buy certain seasonings like granulated garlic, Italian blend seasonings, and seasoned salt there; also real vanilla extract. Some things like cinnamon for example I will purchase too because the price is so great, but there is no way I will use it all before its flavor starts to fade. So I share it with my family, passing out little containers of it when ever I buy a new bottle. An even better plan would be to find someone to split the cost and contents of these large containers with.

You will need to have containers to put your spices in at home unless you don't mind having them in little plastic bags; I use baby food jars, very small mason jars, and jars I bought at IKEA. 

Thrift stores often have really nice and nearly new spice racks with spice containers (sometimes with the contents still in them! Don’t use it though, throw it out!)  Wash and dry them thoroughly and enjoy!

 

*This is a re post with a few changes from last year.*

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