It’s no secret – at least to those who live here – that the cost of living in Manhattan is so inflated it’s almost surreal.

The $6 land-o-lakes pound of butter is not unheard of in these parts, and cuts of meat that we might consider “humble” or “rustic” go for over $7 a pound, with prime cuts topping over $20. This makes it a challenge to keep one’s grocery bill modest, and a lot of new NYC residents I’ve spoken with are eager to learn money saving secrets. Note that this is intended for Manhattan readers, as the food prices in the outer boroughs are significantly less, and this information wouldn’t apply.

I want make it clear that there’s no such thing as saving money while eating things like salmon and microgreens for dinner. I don’t shop at Dean and Deluca, Russ & Daughters, or Citarella because I’d rather have a down-payment for a house.  On the other hand that doesn’t mean I live off of rice and beans.

Lesson #1: If you don’t learn to cook, you’re fiscally irresponsible.

There’s no savings to be had when shopping for prepared and packaged foods, you may as well be setting your paycheck on fire. Furthermore, once you learn to cook and see how much money you’re saving you’ll feel bruised and cheated about the substandard, processed crap you’ve been eating all those years.

Where to start?

Read Julia Child’s famous book Mastering the Art of French Cooking volume 1. Discard all your fears that this is not the book for a beginner, or that the food is too fancy. Her book literally starts the reader out on how to make a simple egg omelet, and gradually steps up the complexity with each new recipe using the skills learned in the previous one. Another culinary powerhouse is the almighty Cooks Illustrated.  They have an online subscription that I highly recommend, it’s wonderful for beginners for a number of reasons: 1) Many recipes have illustrated steps or video instructions, 2) Some recipes include a lesson about proper technique and food science, so you’re not blindly following instructions, 3) I’ve never run across a bad recipe yet, and 4) Their product reviews are like consumer reports for the culinary world, the subscription fee is well worth this feature alone.

Do your groceries cost your first born?

Lesson #2: Whole Foods is often the cheapest place around

You heard me. Walk into the Food Emporium and take a look at the price of their top brand of ricotta cheese “Polly-O”. Last I checked it was $5 and change. Now head over to Whole Foods, which sells Calabro brand (FYI, much better than Polly-O) and the price is $3 and change- a two dollar difference for a vastly superior product!

Whole Foods has a reputation for being expensive, rightly so if you look at the low cost of living in other other parts of the country. But in NYC grocery prices are so inflated that Whole Foods prices are either fair or less than the going rate for certain things. Furthermore, Whole Food’s prices for “conventional” (not organic) produce is roughly dead even and of better quality than places like Food Emporium, Gristedes, Garden of Eden, etc.

Whole Food’s store brand “360″ is excellent and cheap (comparatively speaking of course)!

• Canned tomatoes
• Olive oil
• Balsalmic vinegar
• Dried pasta
• Flour
• Fruit cereal bars- (note: Trader Joe’s version is actually better, and not as painfully sweet)
• Canned beans
• Tomato paste in a tube
• Tomato sauces

These 360 items are better- in my opinion- than name brands like Progresso. Their canned tomatoes are very good, unless you’re making salsa with canned tomatoes (in which case I recommend splurging on Muir Glen brand)  they will do. For produce and cooking staples you can’t go wrong with Whole Foods.

And now for the list of things you should steer clear of if you want to save money. Outside of produce and some of the cooking staples I mentioned above Whole Foods is very expensive. Especially for prepared foods or rare organic/gourmet brands:

• Non-seasonal produce (this is a rip-off no matter where you go)
• Oddball gourmet/exotic things that are out of budget anyway (ostrich eggs, caviar, fiddle-head ferns,  etc)
• Seafood (other than PEI mussels)
• Meat (except for chicken on sale)
• Avoid buying organic unless the price difference isn’t much more than the conventional equivalent.
• Gourmet cheeses
• Prepared foods ($7 a pound or MORE!!)

Unless you’re preggers, breast-feeding an infant,  buying food for an infant, or have some immediate health issues like cancer or severe allergies- don’t bother with organic unless you have a lot of disposable income for that kind of lifestyle, it’s a total waste of money. There’s usually no flavor difference and health benefits are moot (unless you’re preggers, breast feeding, have cancer, etc). Sure we’d all love pesticide free food, but as long wash your produce (which you should be doing anyway) there’s no need to buy organic.

Lesson #3: Trader Joe’s sucks, but there are a few $aving grace$

I hate Trader Joes in Union Square. The lines are painfully long because of the novelty and addictions to poor-quality prepared foods (although TJ’s does charge less for it). For my money saving purposes, I ignore most of TJ’s crummy products and make a B-Line for the dairy section. Cage free eggs are very reasonable, and prices for milk, Greek yogurt and Cabot sour cream are cheaper than neighboring stores. Another goldmine is their cereal isle- Kashi is reasonably priced here, and the TJ’s brand of cereals are cheap and of decent quality. They also have good prices on nuts and dried fruit, but I must caution the reader to check the expiration dates- I’ve bought stale bags of nuts due to carelessness. TJ’s bagged salad mixes are a good buy for $2, and much fresher than what Whole Foods sells with a 50 cent price difference in your favor. They also sell bagged brussels sprouts and strawberries year round, which is awesome. If you don’t like brussels sprouts, its because your mom can’t cook. More items worthy of mention are: Olives, Sardines, bottled poland spring sparkling water, cherry preserves, blackberry preserves, and their 99 cent prices for health bars (cliff bars, power bars, larabars, etc). Stay away from their prepared foods, they’re not that good. I tried their Indian food in a box, it tasted like vomit spiced with cayenne pepper. The assurances from the cashier that TJ Indian food was “her favorite” amounted to nothing, except a deep feeling of pity that she probably never had good Indian food in her life (Haveli in the East Village is the place to find that!)….

A word of caution about their union square location- during warm months large palates of food sits out on the sidewalk in the hot sun because they can’t load them into storage fast enough. This leads to liquefied lettuce, dairy that spoils well before date, and other unpleasant issues with food spoilage. Make note of this and be careful buying certain items during the summer.

Lesson #4: Save the world from commercial doom, buy from local specialty shops

My heart broke when Kurowyksky’s closed it’s doors. Luckily, baczynsky’s is still around for smoked and butchered meat. If you like kielbasa (unless you’re vegetarian, you should give it a try) they’re the last place in Manhattan left (Hillshire farms makes an embarrassing parody of kielbasa that I wouldn’t feed to my worst enemy’s rabid dog- but I digress…), but they also have great prices on cold cuts they smoke themselves. baczynsky’s offers better prices than grocery stores on top quality meats-  I always get my short ribs and veal hot dogs here. While I never advocate buying prepared foods I will admit they sell some of the best home-made borscht I’ve ever had.

If coffee is your thing, I recommend Puerto Rico Import Co. They have excellent prices on coffee beans of infinite variety.

East village cheese shop is worthy of mention, but I must caution the reader that most of what they sell is surplus from other stores. Meaning: you better eat that cheese fast, because it doesn’t have long before it spoils. On the upside, you get GREAT prices on gourmet cheeses here. Just don’t let it sit in the fridge too long.

If you see some local specialty shops (even if they look a little divey), check them out! You might be walking past a goldmine and not realize it! A lof of these places are dying out, rent hikes have slaughtered so many mom and pop places that the city has lost much of it’s original character. Support what remains with your loyal business!

Lesson #5: Farmer’s markets are not as cheap as they used to be, but they can still save you a few bucks

Ever see the Union Square Whole Foods sell Red Jacket Orchard apples for $2.50 a pound? Did you know that if you got off your butt and walked two blocks to the Union Square farmer’s market you’ll find the Red Jacket Orchard stand selling those same apples for $1.50 a pound?

Sadly, farmers have caught on to the fact that New Yorkers pay astronomical sums of money for groceries and have inflated their prices accordingly- knowing very well that we’d gladly pay them for something fresh. Luckily, seasonal vegetable and fruits are grown by nearly all the farmers at the mearket, so they’re in competition with each other to sell the same things. This competition helps keep the prices honest.

What’s usually cheap:

• Fresh zuchini and yellow squash
• Pumpkins, butternuts, and other fall squashes
• Corn on the cob
• Herbs
• Kale, lettuces and other leafy greens
• Carrots
• Potatos
• Onions
• Anything seasonal

I love Paffenroth’s farm stand (they have a yellow and red striped tent) for just about everything. Their prices are reasonable and they have a great variety of vegetables. Some favorites of mine are tender leeks the size of your leg, fresh onions, carrots, radishes, kale, lettuces, celery root “celeriac”, squashes, corn (theirs is more expensive but well worth it) and more potato varieties than you can count (fingerlings and carola potatoes are my faves).During the fall they sell one of my favorite squahes: the japanese kabocha!

My favorite fall-time apple stand is Terhune Orchard from Salt Pt. New York. Red Jacket is “OK” but not nearly as good. You’ll notice Terhune sells apples well into the winter, they have a special nitrogen cold-storage facility where they reserve some of the fall harvest so you can feast on their crispy apples until the spring thaw.  Are they the cheapest? No, but they’re not terribly expensive either. I’ve tried just about all the apple stands in the market, trust me your extra few cents is better spent with Terhune. Their cider and pie are fit for kings.

Lesson #6: Fresh Direct to the rescue!

I’m sure you’ve noticed the price of meat is insanely high. Unless you’re a vegetarian that’s not good news. Even chicken breasts are $9 a pound in some places. WTF?

Don’t despair! I found a savior: Fresh Direct! You’ve seen their trucks all over the place, and probably seen a few commercials too. Ever try em? If you did you might know they have excellent prices for meat in bulk quantities. Other than their seafood, I’ve found the freshness to be good, consistent and reliable. I know a few people who are hesitant to buy something they haven’t inspected or handled themselves, but if Fresh Direct did nothing but box up rotten food they wouldn’t have lasted this long. In my experience, they’re very good!

For this money saving trick you need quart and gallon sized zip-lock freezer bags in BULK quantities- buy them at costco, otherwise the price savings isn’t very good.

step 1: buy lots of freezer bags

step 2: once a month, order as much bulk meat deals from Fresh Direct as will fit in your freezer

step 3: Upon arrival, trim and cut the bulk meat shipment into quart or gallon sized bags – depending on the amount of meat portions you require per meal. For example, it’s just the hubs and I so I portion enough chicken breast into a quart bag for one meal (If I had kids, I’d probably put in larger portions per bag). Finish bagging up all of the meat and toss it in the freezer.

step 4: The night before you plan to cook the said meat, move one ziplock bag from the freezer to the fridge- it should thaw in time to cook tomorrow’s dinner.

I buy the bulk packs of chicken breast (untrimmed)- this gets my per pound price down to about $3. I can save even more if I get bulk packs of chicken legs or a whole chicken (note: it’s not hard to cut a whole chicken down if you have a good set of kitchen shears). Some might sneer at the idea of cutting up and processing some of their own meat, my advice would be to get over it. If being lazy and having fresh direct do it for me is going to cost an extra $2 a pound or more, I’d rather get off my butt and save some cash. It rarely involves more than trimming a little fat, or making two easy cuts to separate the connective tissue that holds two chicken breasts together, not a big scary deal- right? Fresh direct has similar bulk deals on other meats, and they make very good turkey sausage and Italian sausage (you can get these in bulk too!)

In my household we do a large fresh direct order once, sometimes twice a month. We can’t stock up as much as we’d like due to our modestly sized refrigerator. I would avoid buying anything other than produce and meats from fresh direct, unless you do your homework first. If something’s on sale and the price is right, by all means- stock up!

Lesson #7: Seafood is just out of the question

Other than canned tuna and sardines, it’s just too expensive. Trader Joes has some frozen fish at a good price, but they come from questionable places. Asia has some unpalatable fish farming practices. If you can find something farm raised in the USA or Canada- grab it. Otherwise, I would pass. I’ve never found a reasonable place to buy seafood where the source or the freshness wasn’t in question. Some advocate shopping in Chinatown, but if you can smell the fish store before you can see it (which has been my experience shopping for seafood in Chinatown), just walk the other way. Trust me, the stomach benders just aren’t worth it.  The only indulgence that is affordable are Prince Edward Island mussels, you can grab ‘em at whole foods for around $4. Whole Food’s seafood looks great, but I rarely find anything less than $7 a pound unless there’s a sale going on.

Lesson #8: Make your own salad dressings

This saves a lot of money, is healthy, and helps steer one away from dependence on processed food. Although, we cheat once in a while and use a packet of good seasonings to make Italian dressing (note, the packets are pretty cheap and you can experiment with different vinegars!). Most of the time we just give our greens a splash of olive oil, vinegar (balsamic or champagne) with a good dash of slat and pepper- it doesn’t need anything more then that. Occasionally we’ll make mustard dressings (lemon, olive oil, champagne vinegar) or carrot ginger sesame (shred carrots fine, add in some champagne vinegar, add grated ginger, toss in some mayo and a few drops of sesame seed oil). You get the idea. My old boss, Richard had some great dressing recipes, I’ll see if I can dig those up!

Lesson #9: Save money on non-food items

Need deodorant? Toilet paper? Toothbrushes and toothpaste? How about garbage bags, recycling bags, soap and shampoo? Then don’t you DARE set foot inside a Duane Reade or a Walgreens. Find your nearest K-mart or Bed Bath and Beyond where you’ll find all your hygiene or household needs for a buck or two less. Many years ago I started to get ticked off at supermarkets for selling recycling bags (they aren’t very big, and they’re only 10 to a box) for over $3, and they weren’t very good about keeping them stocked either. On a search for a more reliable source, hubs and I went to Kmart. Not only did we find a roll of 100 clear recycling bags for $2, we noticed EVERYTHING was cheaper- from household cleaners to hygiene supplies. You too can learn from this experience.

For things like toothbrushes and shaving razor heads, your best bet is finding a relative with access to a costco who can pick up a few things for you (that is if you don’t have a car to drive there yourself- and if you do you probably don’t do your grocery shopping in Manhattan either, do you?). This is also a great place to stock up on ziplock bags for those bulk order from Fresh Direct. Whenever we visit the in laws, we’re always schlepping items on the way home: peanut butter, soap, toothpaste, swiffers, wet swiffers,  ziplocks, jars of strawberry jelly (anything we use a lot of that isn’t perishable).