Hello raving fans! Yes, that’s you! And we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for supporting the B.R.E. (Best Ranch Ever!) If you are new to Uncle Dan’s, check out our video on where we got our start here.

Say you got a 5% raise last year. But according to our government inflation is up 7% year over year, at a 40-year high, apparently not going anywhere and it’s going to go up. It may surprise you to know that you got a 2% pay cut! What the heck, RIGHT? Not to mention its now costing you over twice as much to fill your gas tank and more if you drive diesel.  

I know because I drive a diesel truck and 35 gallons of diesel now costs me $185.00 bucks!!!!!! A year ago, it was $90-ish. Now fuel up once a week and I am spending an extra $4,947.80 just on fuel this year!  OUCH! I don’t care who you are or how much money you make that hurts.  It hurts us all and it especially hurts those families that make under $100k/year. In fact, some of our federally elected officials are directing people making under $200k a year to ride the bus, walk, or bike and to use coupons. Sad but true. 

So how do you make your dollar go farther in this hyper inflationary market? Here are some simple tips.

According to Money Management International, since 2015 Americans have been spending more at restaurants then grocery stores – and the gap is only getting wider. ☹ So, what does that tell us?

1.    As Americans we eat out more than we should.
2.    Those meals away from home are SIGNIFICANTLY more expensive.

Here is a practical motivator to help you with this: on average, a meal out costs 3 to 4 times MORE than a meal you make yourself.

Let’s break it down. First, let’s assume that you averaged all your dining out (restaurants, fast food, etc.) costs for the year and you came up with a figure of $15.00/meal per person. Let’s also, assume that your family of four eats out 10 times/month. That is a total of $600.00/month OR $7,200/year for a family of four.

What does that mean to your food budget in actual dollars? 

Dine in 25% of the time you will save - $1,800.00/year
Dine in 50% of the time you will save - $3,600.00/year
Dine in 75% of the time you will save - $5,400.00/year

So how do you reduce or ween yourself off dining out in this hyper inflationary market when you and your family are eating out? Let’s say you want to reduce your dining out costs by 75%. This would be hard to do in a one-month period without noticing. So how do you accomplish this over time?

Try this simple formula:

Number of restaurant meals per month – 10 x $15.00 x 4 (family members) = $600.00

Month 1:  Multiply $600.00 x 75%(.75) = $450.00  (this is month 1 allotment for dining out)  it will save you $150 in month 1.  OR if you settle here you will have an extra $1,800/year for groceries.

Month 2: Multiply $600 x 50%(.50) = $300.00 (this is month 2 allotment for dining out)  it will save you $300.00 in month 2. OR if you settle here, you will have an extra $3,600.00/year for groceries.

Month 3: Multiply $600 x 25%(.25) = $150 (this is month 3 allotment for dining out)  it will save you $450.00 in month 3. OR if you settle here, you will have an extra $5,400.00/year for groceries.

Result – more money available for groceries or other budgetary needs.

Tip: If you eat out and have leftovers BRING THEM HOME!

HERE is a sad fact:  America wastes approximately 130 BILLION pounds of food each year!  Worth an estimated 161.6 billion.  So, what is the solution to reducing food waste?  This is where you can make a big impact on what we throw away.

Shop your freezer and your pantry and use the food you have. Stuff that is maybe a little older, you forgot about, etc. There is a great site called My Fridge Food. You tell them what you have, and they give you meal suggestions for your ingredients. That is pretty cool!!!!

MAKE BULK MEALS. Being just me wife and I in our household it is sometimes difficult portion a recipe.  Simply because most recipes feed four people. So, we came up with a simple solution we make the full recipe and freeze the other portions or have them on left-over night.  

However, if you have a family of four you can get a lot of bang for your buck and save a bunch of time by preparing meals in bulk for future use. Instead of making four servings of a dish make 8 or 12.  While the food cost remains constant what you save here is your TIME! Next time you go to make that dish, or you do not feel like cooking all you have to do is pull it out of the freezer and re-heat or cook it! 

BOOM – Dinner without the fuss! Time saved!

NOTE: If you choose leftovers, you should do this 2 times a week. It is not good for you to eat food that has been in the fridge for more than three days after cooking. Use it or freeze it. If you freeze it mark the food with how many days, it will be good before needing to be thrown out. NEVER re-freeze after thawing.

One thing I did not talk about above is the consumers need for un-ending convenience. No where is this more evident than in the bottled vs. dry mix dressing and dip categories at your favorite grocery retailer.

So, do you pay more for convenience? Yes/no? Let me ask you a question. Are convenience stores convenient because they are conveniently priced? NO! If you buy a gallon of milk at a convenience, will it cost more than the gallon you buy at the grocery store? Absolutely! 

Convenience costs money very much the same way eating out does.  When you dine out are you doing so because you want to spend the money OR do you just not feel like cooking?

So how can Uncle Dan’s help you stretch your food dollar? 
Let’s use the Best Ranch Ever “Uncle Dan’s” vs. the leading bottled (convenience) dressing for this example.

As of 3/31/2022 a pre-made 32oz bottle of “Hidd^% Vall&^” with all its preservatives, additives, MSG, modified food starch, soy, etc.  will cost you $5.76 or .16 cents per serving.  By the way preservatives and additives are things that have no nutritional value and add $$$ to your food costs.  Manufactures add these things to stretch the product.  Making you think you are getting more.

Now let’s look at Uncle Dan’s “Original Southern Classic Ranch”

A single pack of Uncle Dan’s .75oz. Classic Ranch is $2.85 or .089cents per 1oz. serving. 

Mayonnaise- You may already have it but if you must buy mayonnaise that costs $3.58 / 11.9cents per ounce.  We will only use 16 oz. of the 30oz. jar to make a full batch of Uncle Dan’s.  So, we will use $1.90 of the $3.58 spent.  The rest you use to make more ranch or sandwiches.

Buttermilk – yep for Classic Ranch we need that to.  It is a very important ingredient because buttermilk gives ranch that tang, we all love.  A 32oz carton is $2.98 or .09cents oz.  However, we will only use 16oz. and buttermilk keeps for a good period of time.  16oz translates into $1.44 or .09 cents per 1oz. serving.

TIP: Buttermilk Alternative - Use milk and lemon juice!  This is a trick I learned from my wife, and it takes our ranch to another level.  Take a full packet of Uncle Dan’s Classic Ranch and mix it with 16 ounces of mayonnaise.  Then, add milk (whole, 1%, 2%) and blend it to the consistency you want.  Thicker for a dip and thinner for a dressing.  Then add a squeeze of lemon juice (preferable a fresh lemon) to taste and BOOM! You will have the freshest tastiest ranch you have ever tried. 

Uncle Dan’s tip:  If you do not like buttermilk then try Uncle Dan’s Creamy Ranch.  It’s also less expensive to make.

Leading pre-made bottled dressing $5.76 or .16 cents per serving

Cost to make Uncle Dan’s per package directions $6.19 or .19 cents per serving

Uncle Dan’s using the buttermilk alternative $4.75 or .14 cents per serving (assuming you have milk and lemon)

So how did we do? We established that the costs are generally similar. But you can save some money depending on how you use and mix Uncle Dan’s. Not to mention these great benefits.

1. You make Uncle Dan’s fresh with your ingredients. Giving you FULL control of your dietary intake.
2. Your Uncle Dan’s is preservative free. Also, known as shelf stabilizers.
3. No preservatives mean it tastes fresher and fresher taste is better taste.
4. Uncle Dan’s is Gluten Free, keto friendly and can be easily mixed with cottage cheese, vegan mayo’s, avocado mayo’s, etc.It is very versatile no matter your diet needs.
5. It comes in a dry mix and that dry mix is good for a period of three years.
6. An Uncle Dan’s package produces 95% less WASTE in landfills then plastic bottles.
7. KIDS Love Uncle Dan’s!
8. Uncle Dan’s can make more than just ranch!

Query:  Can you decode or even find the expiration date on the bottle of dressing in your fridge? 

Now we have discovered that Uncle Dan’s is the true “King of Ranch” if for no other reason than it is better for you, then what are you going to buy next when it comes to Ranch?