You can save by planning meals and using leftovers

One of the most fundamental rules for saving money on food is to plan meals ahead. That means sitting down on a Saturday and Sunday and deciding what to eat and when.

Liz Solms, founder of Sweet Pea Nourishment, a Philadelphia catering company, suggests planning three or four meals and cooking them all early in the week, then freezing the rest. An efficient trip to the market plus a stocked freezer equals less temptation to eat out.

Also, plan for your leftovers. Make foods that will yield useful and interesting new meals. Tonight's roasted chicken is tomorrow's quesadilla filling. There's no need to start from scratch every night when there's a strategic foundation for tomorrow's dinner in the fridge.

Here are more tips for cutting your food bill:

Focus on whole ingredients: fruits, vegetables, meats, fish, grains and legumes. Plan to make fresh salad dressing and condiments, where possible.

At local farmer's markets, ask for what's hitting the end of its season for the best deals.

Buy big. Where possible, opt for two-for-one sales or bigger bulk packages - but only if your family will realistically consume those goods.

Impulse buys lurk in every aisle. A list is a shopper's best defense for resisting trendy products such as vitamin-enhanced cereals and exotic fruit beverages.

Convenience items packaged in snack-size quantities will inherently cost more for the packaging materials. Break larger bags down into individual servings with reusable Ziplock bags.

This principle goes beyond the snack-food aisle: Buy a whole chicken rather than parts, and whole heads of lettuce rather than prewashed bags.

Focus on the unit price labels on shelves rather than the product price; otherwise, you may be comparing a 12-ounce jar to a 15-ounce jar.

Plan for the unforeseen. Even the most careful meal-planner gets stuck in the hectic crossfire of meetings, business travel and piano lessons, and then the Domino's cravings kick in.

Stock basics for a last-minute pasta dish, frittata or casserole: dried pasta, eggs, potatoes, onions, garlic, cans of beans, salmon, and tomatoes, jars of roasted peppers and olives, and at least one frozen green vegetable.

Resist the temptation to waste. Puree near-expired bananas, apples and squash for baking. (See recipe for a sweet bread with acorn squash.)