Eating Healthy and Saving Money with Zaycon

If you are like my family, we are always looking for ways to eat healthier, better food but still save on our food budget.

Impossible? Well, not exactly, though sometimes it takes a little research and time.

But one thing we have found that is easy for us to save money AND eat better quality food is getting our meat from Zaycon.

If you have not heard of Zaycon, you will want to check them out. But the long story short is that Zaycon buys their select products straight from area farmers and brings them direct to the customer – in this case, me – for a great price.

For instance, we are a military family and therefore have the benefit of shopping at the commissary on our local base. The commissary has great meat prices typically. Their regular price is usually around $1.69/lb for boneless, skinless chicken breast. But it’s not fresh, hormone free chicken.

If you aren’t looking for fresh, hormone free, preservative free chicken that has never been frozen then you don’t have to read any further because I have found that you can watch the ads at Aldi and Kroger and get boneless, skinless chicken breasts there for around $1.69/lb on sale. However, you will need to watch the ads and buy up when the opportunity presents itself.

However, we want hormone free, preservative free, fresh, never been frozen chicken (or don’t want to constantly shop the ads for the best chicken prices) then that’s where Zaycon comes in.

I order my chicken 2 to 3 times a year from Zaycon and get free chicken that I can feel good about feeding my family for the same price I can watch the ads and get on sale at the grocery store but MUCH BETTER QUALITY.

So I save money in that I get the best price I would get at the stores anyway but I ALSO get FRESH, QUALITY CHICKEN.

This is also the case with their ground beef. They offer it for a good price, competitive with sale prices in our area, but its fresh, quality, lean ground beef.

They have other products too, like bacon and salmon, ground turkey and all beef hotdog and even milk. They are adding products all the time.

So, what’ the catch, right?

Well, you have to buy in bulk. But this is a good thing for us as well. I know we do this 2-3 times a year. We buy 30-60 lbs of chicken at a time, depending upon what we think we need and freezer space and then we know we got the best price on all of it, we don’t miss a sale, and we have it ready to go.

You check out Zaycon’s website through this link (or the links on my website) and then see what they have available. It isn’t ALWAYS available, you have to wait for them to have their “events.”

Sign in and search for upcoming events in your area. It’s easy to do by entering your zip code. Then you can see what is available, when and how close to you.

Most of the time the events happen a few times a year and they are held at area churches or community centers. These churches and community centers allow Zaycon to use their parking lot on a particular day to deliver their product.

So, you find the product you are interested in, look at the price, determine how much you want, place your order online and THEN MARK YOUR CALENDAR for pick up.

I love that I can sign up for reminders and I get emails and text messages reminding me of my event. Which is good because I almost always order early so they don’t run out of my precious chicken – and trust me, THEY DO RUN OUT so order early if you are interested.

Then on event day, you will go during the designated time, pull up to the coned off area near their big Zaycon truck, and their friendly driver will verify you are who you are and your order, you can pop your trunk, he’ll put in a trash bag as a liner and then load your box or boxes of product on them, close you up and see you off. It’s as simple as that.

The drivers are always friendly and helpful and I don’t even have to get out of my car, which is nice with 4 kids in tow.

Then comes the fun part.

I head home and start “processing” my meals.

For instance, if I have 30 lbs of chicken breasts and I know I’m picking up on Saturday, I plan out my meals beforehand and make sure I have what I need before I even head to pick up my order.

When I get home from picking up my order I start right in (though I had waited a few days, if you have refrigerator space, and have had no issues. I make crockpot meals, various cuts, and even precooked items.

22 freezer meals

This time I got 30 lbs of chicken breasts. I made 22 frozen bags with various meals or marinated chicken in them as well as started one crockpot of white chicken chili to cook while I was making the rest of the chicken up for the freezer.

I cut some in strips for fajitas or stir fry

I cut some into nuggets for salads or the kids.

I cut tenderloin sizes for other meals.

I leave most as breasts.

I marinate some. I leave some plain. I put in all the ingredients for a meal in many. Here are some of the meals I made up this time.

White Chicken Chili
Mexican Chicken
Chicken with carrots and potatoes in marinade
Barbecue chicken for pull chicken sandwiches
Cranberry chicken with carrots and peppers
Sesame chicken

I mark the bags on what to serve with them if necessary or what to add if any ingredients need to be added after the fact.

I put them all individually in Ziploc or seal a meal bags and freeze. I put the date on them as well.

Then we have 22 meals ready to go for use over the next few months. Since we typically eat chicken 1-2 times per week, I have 15-20 weeks of one of my meals done and planned. Yay!

This all takes me about 2 hours and boy do I feel good afterward.

I have meals, they are done and ready, and they are healthier with fresh, healthy chicken. Something to feel good about, right?

Most of the meals in the bags are complete or close to complete (I might need to add a side vegetable, buns, or some rice.) And each bag is about $3 worth of chicken. That $3 of chicken serves my family of 2 adults and 3 children. (Did I mention the chicken is GOOD SIZE!)

And get this – They have a fundraising program. You can buy your great product from Zaycon, tell your friends, and raise money for your favorite cause – mission trip? church group? Whatever it is, Zaycon can help you out. Check it out by clicking this banner.

So, if you haven’t checked out Zaycon, I highly encourage you to check them out.

Their chicken is quality, good priced, and great tasting and their customer service is outstanding!

Have you used Zaycon? What was your experience?

UPDATE: 1/22017-3/31/2017 – Use promo code BL20 to save 20% off your FIRST order Excluding sales tax where applicable. Offer ends 11:59 pm PST on 3/31/2017. Offer available to new orders only. Cannot be combined with any other offer or promotion. One promo code per order. Limited to one-time usage per household. Offer is non-transferable. Void where prohibited. Offer will be revoked if terms and conditions are not met due to partial cancellation of order.