Large families on a budget-eating healthy?

[Murphy101]

We shop at aldi's, SAMs, sale ads and coupons same as everyone else.

 

My frustration is its rare for healthy food to be on sale or have coupons. I go to aldi's for canned goods like tomato sauce or canned carrots and fruit and a few other things like shredded cheese and butter. That's about as processed "boxed" as I buy.

 

We buy pasta and rice in bulk at SAMs. (tho I'm eating none of it due to trying to lose weight)

 

We usually buy fruit and produce either on sale or at whole paycheck, depending on what it is and the price. (organic bananas taste so much better it's just crazy. Regular bananas are like eating foam board wins hence of banana flavoring. )

 

Just about the only thing we buy at wackomart or grocery stores is cereal and eggs and a few other odds and ends or ocassional coupon stuff and non grocery items like kitchen sponges.

 

Because every time I cut further on food I end up paying more in medicine, we try to focus on getting the best prices for our food and cut back in other areas.

 

 

 

 

[saraha]

I second the half a fruit idea. We also don't do snacks, but I don't have hardcore athletes. I buy a lot of apples, but since they could eat a bag a day or very near, I have started answering the "Im hungry" complaint with "Find someone to split an apple or banana with." Usually half a fruit is enough to curb the hunger, but I don't count these as servings and still strive to have at least 3-5 servings of fruits and vegetables, one of which is usually a 6 oz glass of 100% apple juice bought cheap at Save a Lot.

For dessert quite often we have smoothies. I make my own yogurt, but I dont put geletin in it and it comes out great for smoothies, plus costs less. I put in two bananas, a cup and a half of yogurt, frozen fruit and ice, add milk as needed and blend. It is sweet enough for dessert without the extra sugar and everyone gets in some more fruit. A very healthy alternative to regular desserts since htere is no added sugar.

I add black beans to the taco meat as I am cooking it, and even my ones who say they don't like beans don't mind them being in there.

I make taco soup, which is basically, tomato juice, corn, black beans, meat and taco seasoning. Serve with a dollop of sour cream and sprinkle of cheese. I have served it with refried bean quesadillas, or tortilla chips. A big pot of this is much less expensive than all of the fresh ingredients you need for a taco bar, and they use less of the meat, cheese and sour cream then when they make their own. If we have tacos, they will go through two pounds of meat mixed with beans, an entire package of cheese and container of sour cream, plus fresh lettuce and tomatoes, so this is good to hit the taco spot and real tacos are a treat.

We don't like oatmeal, so we have toast a lot, or my son will make muffins using a cake mix, which makes a hands off breakfast for me when I need one.

We do a lot of carrots and celery and dip as sides for lunch. Dip is just cheap ranch dressing mixed with mayo. Not so healthy in itself, but they will eat more veggies with dip.

When I think of more, I will post them. We don't have a wide variety of stores to choose from, so those tips don't really help me, it was learing to cook with the cheapest ingredients available to me.

[wendybird]

We found a whoelsale supplier of fruits and veggies. Each week we call up and place an order for a case of apples, case of oranges, case of bananas, tomatoes,potatoes,etc. We go pick up at their warehouse, and pay cash. The savings are wonderful! This is the place that supplies fruit and veggies to area resteraunts and small grocery stores.The owner said we are the only family that comes in to do this, I assume because most families wouldn't eat as much produce as we do. ;) We spend right around $100 per week on fruit and veggies, then spend about $100 at Sam's to finish off the groceries.Stir fried rice and veggies with egg(we have chickens) is a staple. Between meals the kids are free to eat as many fruit pieces as they want, as long as they finish it. Bagged shredded cheese is probably the most processed thing we eat.

[Quiver0f10]

We found a whoelsale supplier of fruits and veggies. Each week we call up and place an order for a case of apples, case of oranges, case of bananas, tomatoes,potatoes,etc. We go pick up at their warehouse, and pay cash. The savings are wonderful! This is the place that supplies fruit and veggies to area resteraunts and small grocery stores.The owner said we are the only family that comes in to do this, I assume because most families wouldn't eat as much produce as we do. ;) We spend right around $100 per week on fruit and veggies, then spend about $100 at Sam's to finish off the groceries.Stir fried rice and veggies with egg(we have chickens) is a staple. Between meals the kids are free to eat as many fruit pieces as they want, as long as they finish it. Bagged shredded cheese is probably the most processed thing we eat.

I would love to have a wholesale place like that! Jealous :-)

[wendybird]

Lol...we saw a wholesale truck driving through town after delivering to a resteraunt and followed them back to the warehouse!

[Quiver0f10]

Lol...we saw a wholesale truck driving through town after delivering to a resteraunt and followed them back to the warehouse!

I love it! I am going to stalk the next truck I see! Seriously. Great idea!

[fairfarmhand]

I've learned to cook alot of "filler" food from scratch. Pancakes (with whole grains are more filling), Cinnamon Rolls, Muffins, Homemade Breads, Biscuits can be made easily from scratch.

[dovrar]

 

Dip is just cheap ranch dressing mixed with mayo. Not so healthy in itself, but they will eat more veggies with dip.

 

 

We make homemade ranch with plain yogurt seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, dried dill and dried parsley. One less seasoning mix to buy and since the base is yogurt I don't mind them piling on the dip :001_smile: . Woohoo. My kids who usually only like Hidden Valley like my ranch just as well, if not better.

[dovrar]

 

I make flour tortillas with 2 parts flour to 1 part water, plus a shake of salt and a touch of vegetable or olive oil. I mix everything and let it rest for half an hour, then roll out tortillas and cook them in a dry frying pan on the stove for a few seconds on each side, until they're light brown. If you put them in a bag or a tortilla warmer, they stay soft and pliable. The time spent on rolling and frying is long enough that I only do it rarely.

 

 

 

Thanks

[*Michelle*]

I grind a lot at one time and freeze in large ziploc bags. These recipes use many cups of flour, so the bags don't stay in my freezer too long.

 

I hope you enjoy it as much as we do. When I first started reading it, I had doubts that the bread could really be that good with so little work...but it is!

 

I've got my first boule cooling on the countertop. I hope it tastes as good as it looks, smells, and sounds!

[saraha]

We make homemade ranch with plain yogurt seasoned with garlic powder, onion powder, salt, black pepper, dried dill and dried parsley. One less seasoning mix to buy and since the base is yogurt I don't mind them piling on the dip :001_smile: . Woohoo. My kids who usually only like Hidden Valley like my ranch just as well, if not better.

THanks!

Is the plain yogurt sweet or kind of sour?

[poppy]

All of this on the same day? How do you cook potatoes(hashbrowns?) for a crowd easily and quickly. We LOVE hasbrowns but I haven't figured out how to make them for all of us quickly even using frozen. At my count that is a minimum of three pans on the stove, right? Do you have a system you can share to make all that?

 

I am really really floundering with food purchasing and preparing right now. I have 8 kids 16 and down but the littlest is breastfed. I hope this thread gives me some ideas.

Electric griddle, often on sale for less than $20 at Kohls, does the trick and keeps the rest of your stove free.

[Joyofsixreboot]

I've learned to cook alot of "filler" food from scratch. Pancakes (with whole grains are more filling), Cinnamon Rolls, Muffins, Homemade Breads, Biscuits can be made easily from scratch.

I'm a big fan of healthy filler. Along with the homemade, whole grain baked goods our meals almost always include brown rice, barley, quinoa, polenta ( we call it mush) or whole wheat pasta. Toppings or sauces don't need to be fancy. Some butter, broth, olive oil and herbs or a sprinkle of Parmesan will do. Also baked sweet or regular potatoes (or boiled) fill out the meal.

[Laura Corin]

 

 

Recipes??? )

 

 

Not a big family but...... we cut down on meat by making a lot of: stir fries, risottos, paellas, tagines with couscous, fried rice, pasta with sauce.... We usually use whole-grain starches, which compensates for the lower meat protein.

 

Laura

[busymama7]

 

Electric griddle, often on sale for less than $20 at Kohls, does the trick and keeps the rest of your stove free.

 

I think I know what you mean. I used to have one for pancakes but when it broke I replaced it with a cast iron one that goes over two burners. I am not a fan of non stick (teflon) surfaces so that is why. But I am wondering how you would do hashbrowns on one. There are no sides to the kind I'm thinking of or a lid. When I do hashbrowns there is oil/butter in the pan that I think would run off plus I cover it while its cooking.

 

But if this would work I may just go get one for this reason. Although maybe I could use my cast iron one on my stove?

 

Thanks!

[Holly]

We also shop at Aldis for most things...especially produce! I stick to the inexpensive basics for most of our meals/snacks (apples, bananas, oranges, celery, carrots, cucumber, romaine, sweet potatoes, etc.) and add in a few "treats" like avocados or pineapple if there is a good price on them. We also get most of our dairy from there. I go to Walmart for whole-wheat hamburger buns, breads, and tortillas since aldi doesn't have a huge selection of these...they do carry whole-wheat bagels at aldi. I also only give my DC what they will actually eat...for my younger ones, this is often 1/2 piece of meat and 1/2 potato.

 

Here are some of our "usuals"

Breakfast:

--eggs, turkey bacon, and one "extra" (usually bagels, toast or Greek yogurt with maple syrup)

--Banana split (banana w/ PB, topped with yogurt and granola)

--pancakes with turkey bacon (and real maple syrup from Aldis)

--cereal when we are in a hurry, multi-grain generic cheerios

 

Lunch

--tortillas or quesadillas with chicken (two breasts for all 6 of us), peppers, and onions (also corn and beans if we are having burritos)

--soups (homemade, tomato, or bean & bacon)

--sandwiches with fruit and/or veggies...sometimes we have blue corn tortillas with guacamole

 

Dinner

--broiled hamburgers or turkey burgers with whole wheat buns, side of salad

--fish/chicken, salad and sweet potatoes (topped with cottage cheese or yogurt)

--meatloaf or turkey loaf

 

Snacks: cheese, yogurt, sliced fruit (we also don't always do a whole piece per person), fat-free dip and veggies, hummus and pita chips or veggies, low-fat frozen yogurt, toast w/ low-sugar jelly or real fruit spread, mini-bagels w/ neufchatel cheese

 

**We moved from eating a more natural diet to eating a low-fat, low-carb diet since my DH is trying to lose weight. I think we are still doing pretty good (and I've also lost a few pounds). ;) We also buy meat from a local meat shop...I just spent $200 on beef, but it should last us several months. For chicken/fish, I stock up on frozen bags at Aldi. I only cook what we will eat...if there are two extra fillets or an extra chicken breast, I save it for the next time.

[dovrar]

Not a big family but...... we cut down on meat by making a lot of: stir fries, risottos, paellas, tagines with couscous, fried rice, pasta with sauce.... We usually use whole-grain starches, which compensates for the lower meat protein.

 

Laura

 

 

 

We love stir fries and pastas too. With the pasta sauce I usually make the sauce with half of the meat called for and then puree some zucchini and carrots in the food processor to add some more texture to the sauce. If we have leftover sweet potatoes I sometimes put half of a small sweet potato to replace some of the tomato paste. This version has much more fiber and filling power. ; )

[Laura Corin]

We love stir fries and pastas too. With the pasta sauce I usually make the sauce with half of the meat called for and then puree some zucchini and carrots in the food processor to add some more texture to the sauce. If we have leftover sweet potatoes I sometimes put half of a small sweet potato to replace some of the tomato paste. This version has much more fiber and filling power. ; )

 

 

We often have pasta sauces with no meat at all. With whole grain pasta and a little cheese, it makes a great meal.

 

Laura

[dovrar]

We often have pasta sauces with no meat at all. With whole grain pasta and a little cheese, it makes a great meal.

 

Laura

 

 

I've found that pumpkin puree in a pasta sauce has the kids asking if I put cheese in it. Go figure.

[dovrar]

We often have pasta sauces with no meat at all. With whole grain pasta and a little cheese, it makes a great meal.

 

Laura

 

 

Hmmm, no meat at all and a few of us have issues with our blood sugar getting too high, even with high protein pasta.

[Laura Corin]

Hmmm, no meat at all and a few of us have issues with our blood sugar getting too high, even with high protein pasta.

 

I don't know anything about blood sugar, so forgive me if this makes no sense, but would low-sugar/high fibre vegs work better? I was thinking about celery, broccoli, spinach, mushrooms.. Celery and mushrooms are pretty cheap here.

 

Laura

[dovrar]

THanks!

Is the plain yogurt sweet or kind of sour?

 

 

 

The plain yogurt tastes a bit like sour cream.

[ILiveInFlipFlops]

I love it! I am going to stalk the next truck I see! Seriously. Great idea!

 

 

You can also look in your area to see if you can find a produce auction house. We have a friend whose husband buys produce to resell at a stand, and he says the markup is crazy.