Women, it seems, love a challenge.

With food prices continuing to rise, we asked readers to submit their best strategies for beating the grocery-store blues. The responses were gratifying.

They were also all from women.

Working mothers, stay-at-home moms, retirees, singles. Over the past two months, e-mails poured in from women in different circumstances but all with one thing in common: the desire and the need to make ends meet.

"Women are the chief purchasing officers, as I have called them for a long time, in the household," said Marti Barletta, founder of The TrendSight Group, a Winnetka, Ill.-based consulting think tank that helps companies get smart about marketing to women. "Women account for 80 percent of consumer spending. They make or break this economy."

Barletta said women have long paid attention to pricing as one of several variables in choosing groceries, but now price is taking on an even greater weight. She sees women more motivated to try less expensive, private-label brands because the quality is better than in years past. She also says they will shop closer to home, online, or even, perhaps, ride their bike or walk to the store to get exercise and save on gasoline.

"Women are proud of their coping capabilities and adapt to whatever the situation is," said Barletta. "And when they adapt smoothly without making too many compromises for their family, they are proud of themselves.

"I think they like to make it look easy and sort of wish some of the family would recognize that it's not really that easy."

From the responses received, it would seem Barletta's research is right on the money. Here are some of the cash-saving tips readers shared. Perhaps one or more of these will inspire you to greater savings glory the next time you go grocery shopping.

POWDER POWER

My tip is powdered milk. It comes in all three levels of fat content, and is palatable if it is made the night before and chilled. It can be used for cooking, making buttermilk or yogurt, and you can phase it in by mixing and gradually reducing it with store-bought milk. It was the only way my parents could make sure their six kids could drink milk regularly.

Also, day-old bread outlets are a boon. The bread can be frozen for future use. Many of the grocery stores have racks where day-old bread and bakery goods are sold.

— Pat Green, San Diego

SMART SHOPPING

Buy store brands - when cheaper - if looks don't count (like canned tomatoes).

Be scrupulous about checking unit pricing; never assume the jumbo size is the best buy.

Buy in bulk (a No. 10 can - 7 pounds 5 ounces - of enchilada sauce at Costco is the same price as a 28-ounce can at Vons) and break it down for the freezer.

Don't buy bottled marinades, sauces, etc. — any good cookbook is loaded with recipes for them, and if you don't like the way it turns out, tinker with the seasonings until it's to your taste.

Add generic frozen hash brown potatoes to ground beef for tacos, meat loaf, etc. It cuts the cost.

Ask produce managers if they have any less-than-perfect fruit you can buy. Sometimes they'll just give it to you, and dark bananas and zucchini with soft spots make wonderful, freezeable breads.

— Nancy Hauser, Santee, Calif.

BREAD-MACHINE MAGIC

When I bought my first bread machine 15 years ago, I did so because I don't like the taste of most bread sold in stores. It was only a few weeks before I realized it was also an incredible money-saving appliance.

Although you have to buy the machine itself, the cost quickly pays back. Even though the cost of flour has gone up, I recently paid $4 for a bag of flour that will make six to 10 loaves of bread. A jar of yeast at $9 will make 20 to 30 batches. I am on my third machine, having worn out the first two. And yes, the bread also tastes much better.

— Sally Spero, San Diego

WISE INVESTMENT

An old (unplugged) refrigerator or bookcase stored in the garage can become a pantry for extra food. (Editor's note: Be sure to take the door off an unused refrigerator to avoid a suffocation hazard for children.) When shopping a special on staples, buy extras to put aside in the garage or cupboard. Consider the 10 percent or more that you are bound to save on these items as a return on money you might have had in the bank, where you would not get 10 percent and would have to pay taxes on the interest.

— Arlene Lighthall, Del Mar, Calif.

THE SAVING GAME

The money I save on food often pays for all my gas.

I look at all the store fliers and what's on sale that I can use that week (most can be found online), make a list, then do a circuit of all the stores on one day. I have a big tote-bag cooler in my trunk. I ask for rain checks if a store is out of an item. My menus are planned around sale items, and I also use coupons.

When there's a good sale on beef, chicken or ground turkey, I buy as much as I can store. I cook it all at once, using stove-top, oven, slow cooker and grill. We chop up all the cooked food and package it for the freezer in containers or freezer bags, then label and date them. There's only one cleanup for many future meals.

We always like to increase the percentage of money saved on our grocery receipts, sometimes as high as 90 percent. That's hard to do, but it's like a game, and my teenage kids are learning a valuable lesson in frugality for when they're off at college, or trying to make ends meet in their first years away from home.

— Ellen Elgin, San Diego

FILL 'EM UP

Of course I do the usual: use coupons as much as possible, only buy what I need, buy items on sale. I stay away from exotic cheeses and expensive produce (unless on sale and in season).

I am a gourmet at heart, but economy requires more humble recipes. The way I stretch it is to go back to casseroles and main dishes you can stretch for days. They are not fancy, but I have to say my family loves them. Nothing stretches your meat dollar like adding in rice, noodles or chips in a casserole.

I also use a trick I call meal "filler." It's adding things to your meal that are cheap and fill you up: bread, potatoes, rice and Jell-O. Do not underestimate the power of Jell-O! It's super cheap and is a great filler instead of more expensive salad/dessert options.

— Heather Nelson, San Diego

PLANNING PAYS OFF

For several years I have been a bargain/coupon shopper and picked up many tricks along the way. My response to the recent rise in food prices has been to start a subscription Web site to share my tips with others. I debuted thriftykitchen.com this spring and have been getting quite a bit of interest.

My main strategy is to plan your meals in advance and know exactly what you need to buy, as well as planning those meals around what is on sale that week and what coupons are available. The planning avoids wasted food at the end of the week, as well as desperation dinners at the local takeout. And stocking up when items are on sale means you have usually bought each item at or near the lowest possible price.

I spend about $300 to $400 per month for my family of four, and we lack for nothing with the above methods.

— Lisa Leete, Poway, Calif.

HELP FROM THE WEB

For a small fee, the Web site thegrocerygame.com will link coupons with store sales and provide a list for a variety of stores in the area (you pay per store ... I pay for two, equaling $15 for 8 weeks). It lists the items in the order you would find them in each store and color-codes the list (green — free, blue — bottom-barrel pricing, black — sale but not lowest price). I cut my grocery bill in half, even including the price for the service. I also spend less time in the market because I have my list ordered to the layout of the store.

I also stockpile. If I find an item with a really good price, I buy more than one. The other day I found bread in the day-old section for 25 cents. I bought as many as I thought I could fit in the freezer.

Research the prices for the items you use most and shop at different stores for different items.

Beans! I utilize less meat and more beans with our meals.

As a working mother of two, I find that planning ahead and using lists keeps me from impulse buying, saves time and cuts down on wasted food that I throw away because it wasn't eaten.

— Claire Solorio, La Mesa, Calif.

TAKE A WALK

I've always made a point of shopping for seasonal fruit and vegetables because the quality is highest and the price lowest. I also make sure to select produce that is on sale that week.

I look for good buys at the 99 cent store, such as produce and dairy.

I only "cherry pick" from one of the big grocery stores (such as Ralphs or Vons) if they have an item that I want on a "club" price special and I have a coupon for it, which is then doubled at the checkout. I often walk out paying close to nothing for an item.

I frequently shop at Henry's, where I can buy individual pieces of unpackaged fruits and vegetables. I buy very small quantities several times a week so that there is no waste.

And most importantly, I walk to the grocery stores. I take a long walk every day anyway, so I often turn my walk into a small shopping trip. I get exercise and burn no gas.

— Pat Frost, San Diego

DO IT YOURSELF

If you want to stretch your grocery dollars, you have to learn to cook from scratch, using basic ingredients. Think of it this way — as you eliminate needless driving, you and your family will have time to cook, a shared activity. Plus, you'll all be learning a skill that is a life necessity. Take the challenge: no precooked, prepackaged, prebaked, prefrozen — you get the picture.

— Merry Nickerson, Oceanside, Calif.

LESS IS MORE

I have reduced portion size, especially when I shop at my favorite natural-foods deli. Try to guess what could be a side effect of that! And I'm going to get back to my good bean or lentil recipes that I like so much.

— Gracie Hinman, Escondido, Calif.

RIGHT ON TARGET

You can get cheaper dry goods at places such as Target. I buy my "international coffee" at Target for a couple of dollars less than the grocery store.

— Judy McNair, San Diego

STRETCH THAT MIX

A cheap, easy way to make your own muffins is to buy a box of Jiffy muffin mix and add one more egg and 1/4 cup wheat germ. If I have overripe fruit, I'll throw that in, too. You get eight to 10 muffins instead of six, and they are more nutritious (and many less calories) than store-bought.

— K.K. Boyd, San Diego

SETTING LIMITS

I've been a frugal shopper for years. Each week, I spend about 30 minutes writing down items that I consider a good deal from each grocery-store flier. I mostly focus on what's on sale in the meat department, since that's where I can save the most on my grocery bill. I have set limits on what I will or will not pay for certain items. Why pay $6 or more a pound for boneless, skinless chicken breast when I know I can get it for less than $2 a pound at another store or in the future?

I grind my own meat with my food processor.

I find that if I stay focused on what's on my list, I save time and I don't impulse buy.

I don't buy many processed convenience foods. They are extremely expensive for what you get, and they are full of unhealthy ingredients.

When we do eat out, we try to eat at restaurants that advertise discount coupons. I also try to make two meals out of one by taking half of my meal home.

For those people who eat out to socialize, try inviting friends to socialize outside of the normal restaurant venue. Have more barbecues and picnics at the beach or park.

— Bobi Pixley, San Diego

Caroline Dipping writes about food for The San Diego Union-Tribune.

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