Use your food processor

Use your food processor instead of buying labor+food. Consider shredded cheese and chopped veggies. Blocks of cheese are much cheaper than shredded cheese. If you buy a block and throw it in your food processor to grate, you've saved money. Companies also put ingredients in the shredded cheeses to keep them light and separate. The weight you are paying for includes these ingredients. I adore a nice bag of chopped onions but I can buy a bulk bag of onions, do all the food processing at once and freeze/refrigerate them in packages until I need them.