If the cost of food is taking too big a bite out of your budget, Consumer Reports can help.

Shopping expert Tod Marks was able to cut his grocery bill by as much as half by shopping strategically and avoiding impulse buys.

“One of the surest ways to save at the supermarket is to choose the store's own brand,” said Marks. “On average, you can save 25 percent.”

For instance, a national brand of bread crumbs comes to around $2.49 for a 15-ounce package. But just down the aisle, Marks was able to find store brand bread crumbs for 99 cents, less than half the cost.

The more basic store value brands are cheaper still, like economy paper towels and toilet paper.

Fact is some of these products do compromise on quality. But what's the big risk? At worst you're out a dollar or two. And if you don't like it, you can just buy your favorite brand next time out.

You think bigger is better? Not always.

“Most of the time, bigger sizes are more economical,” said Marks. “But about 25 percent of the time, smaller is actually a better deal!”

That’s because brands sometimes charge less per-unit for smaller packages. That old addage that you can get more bang for your bulk by buying in bulk isn’t always correct. Check those unit price labels.

And finally, if you're not using newspaper or online coupons, you're losing money!

Marks suggests you make a list and stick to it when shopping, pick up your store's weekly flyer and always use your store bonus card if your store has one.

Using your bonus card is easy and could save you hundreds of dollars a year.

Consumer Reports says you should be aware that not everything you see in a flyer is actually on sale. Just being included in the flyer can boost sales 500 percent, and manufacturers often pay for ads in them.

For more suggestions, see Consumer Reports’ complete list of ways to save at the supermarket.