How does one feed the family decent food without breaking the bank?!?!

[PeacefulChaos]

I know food comes up here a lot... and I'm sure this has been talked about somewhere, at some point, but today I'm just sort of feeling it lol.

How does one feed the family decent food without breaking the bank??!!

 

I go grocery shopping once a week.  I usually spend around $140-150.  I don't buy organic.  I buy regular, store brand whole milk - 2 gallons/wk.  I have cut back on meat a bit, and we buy one of the big bags of frozen chicken breasts and I probably only get one of those every other week, occasionally i can stretch it one week more, but not often.  I buy red meat for 1-2 meals/week, whether it's thin sirloin steak for stir fry or ground beef for tacos or whatever.  When the meat is something that doesn't 'stand alone' (in spaghetti or a casserole or pasta or stir fry) I skimp and use less than I do if it does stand alone (tacos, etc).

I don't buy boxed meals or freezer meals.  I buy DH yogurt about every other week (Activia brand).  I get the kids snacks, usually yogurt or pudding or jello; applesauce; granola bars; crackers; etc.  I buy canned goods like beans and diced tomatoes.  I buy pasta, store brand, for $1/box.  I sometimes buy the kids juice to have as a treat at lunch, but I only buy the 100% juice which costs $4-5 for a container.  :glare:  I don't buy a lot of cheese, but we usually have shredded cheese and sour cream on hand.  I buy eggs only occasionally - when I need them for something, and then the rest usually expire in my fridge. 

I buy chicken broth, ice cream, stuff for the kids to eat for breakfast: cereal (usually 3-4 boxes/week including DH's cereal), sometimes biscuits, sometimes pop tarts or toaster strudel or pancakes.  Sometimes we eat hot dogs but not a lot - maybe 1-2x/month.  I buy the cheapest lunchmeat I can find (Hillshire farm salami because it seems to last longer, around $3) about once every 3-4 weeks. 

I don't buy a ton of fresh fruit or vegetables.  Sometimes I buy pico de gallo, I often get bell peppers and bananas.  I buy lunch for DH - 4 tostino's pizzas at $1.36/each per week.  The other days he eats a sandwich or something else. 

We buy coffee but not all that often - it lasts forever.  I buy the little single serve things of tea maybe once every 2-3 weeks.

I buy toilet paper, obviously, and paper towels, and the other basic necessities of life.  :P 

 

So I just don't get it.  As it is, the budget is really tight!  And a lot of times when I see people post 'frugal' meals, I don't think they look good, or my family would never.eat.them.  :D  So when I think about trying to switch anything up, there is just no money for it.  Everything that is 'better' for you is more expensive, and I seriously just cannot afford it without cutting out the little luxuries - snacks for the kids and us, primarily.  And no one would go for that - heck, *I* won't go for that.  I don't believe in depriving oneself. 

 

Second, I follow the 100 days of real food page on FB, and she posts all these things she does for her kids lunches - does everything require that much time and effort?  She made her own chicken nuggets, for pity's sake!  My kids don't even get store bought chicken nuggets because I wouldn't ever remember (or have the time with school and all) to warm up the oven and actually have them ready for them at lunch time!  :lol:  I have no desire to spend 8 hours on the weekend getting stuff together for the upcoming week. 

 

So if I actually want us to eat more 'healthy' foods, do I have to suck it up and do one of those things?  Do I have to spend a fortune or give up stuff?  Do I have to spend hours in the kitchen?

Overall sometimes I really feel like the healthy food kick is for people with a lot more money than me and more time on their hands, too... :glare:

[Mom in High Heels]

Oh, I'm listening!  Since we moved back to the States, I'm having serious sticker shock on food!  Holy moly it's expensive.  We LOVE red bell peppers and in Germany (on the economy), I could get 3 for ,79 Euro cents (about $1.03), but here they're $1.52 EACH.  Good grief!  We were going through 4-6 a week over there, as we snacked on them all the time, but now I don't know what to do.  We almost never eat red meat (I don't eat it ever), and we do completely meatless at least once or twice a week.  We do like seafood, which can be expensive, but not that much, especially when we eat Talapia or monkfish.  

[Gentlemommy]

Well, I think it depends on where you live, what you consider healthy, and how much time you are willing to invest. If you live in a low cost of living area, and are willing to bake bread, grind wheat, can, ect. you'd be able to spend less and eat healthy. If you live in a higher cost of living area, buy organic snack/packaged food, and want or need convinience, well, you'll pay for it.

For us, I can feed us 75% organically (IF I make everything) for about $150-$160 per week. Our meals are simple, easy, and fairly healthy. For example, this is what we ate today-

Breakfast- (organic) scrambled eggs for myself and two (organic), Greek yogurt for the biggest dd, since she hates scrambled eggs

Snack-cauliflower with dressing

Lunch-salad (organic) spring greens, (organic) carrots, tomatoes, sunflower seeds, black olives, and avocado with (all natural) ceaser dressing

Snack-(organic) granola bar

Dinner-homemade (i.e. no cans lol) cream of chicken and (organic) brown rice soup, with sweet potato chunks, left over roasted cauliflower, and onions.

Dessert-(organic) chocolate ice cream

 

To drink they are allowed organic whole milk or water.

 

I do go to Costco, you can't beat their prices for organic greens, and other produce. I stopped shopping once a week, and now go twice or three times and only buy what we will eat for just a couple days. Because I'm not buying large quantities, we aren't wasting food if plans change, or if we don't end up making what I thought. I can also get more variety in our diets-I'll only buy 3-4 plums, 3-4 apples, 1/2 pound of grapes one day, and then a couple days later I get 3-4 bananas, 3-4 peaches, and a quart of berries. Same with vegetables.

 

Maybe posting what you all normally eat and what you like would help us come up with ideas?

[Amira]

I focus on in-season vegetables and work from there. In every place I've lived I've been able to find reasonably priced vegetables, either at a dedicated produce market or an ethnic grocery. I get grains and beans in bulk and mostly skip the meat or just use it as a condiment. And then I make everything myself. No convenience foods, no boxes, almost no cans (just coconut milk and tomato paste). The only beverage I buy is milk.

 

I think it either takes a lot of time or a lot of money to feed a family well. Or living in a town with cheap food, but that's not always an option.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

We are exploring the wonders of cabbage. :/ Groceries have really jumped again here. It's the fourth major jump in just a few years without anybody's income also jumping. Not good.

[NicAnn]

I cook from scratch, mostly organic, meat and grain light. I say dinner takes 30 minutes each day, breakfast takes 15, and lunch 15. We are strictly gluten free, so Take that into account as well.

I would recommend cutting out most of your processed food. Eventually you'll feel fuller from eating the healthier stuff. Instead of cold cereal, go for oatmeal (hot or cold), have an apple instead of fruit snacks, nut medley instead of crackers. It seems like a bigger expense, but that stuff fills you up for longer.

 

Our budget is around 300-400 a month.

 

Here's a sample of our monthly list-

Shopping at Costco is a huge money saver. I bought two packs (4 jars each) of organic crushed tomatoes. That gives me enough for 8 meals right there. Costco- 12 cans organic black beans, 2 bags gf crackers, 2 tubs hummus, 1 bag organic kale, 2 flats organic apples, 6 lbs bananas, 1 box organic raisins, 1 box oatmeal (4lbs I think and will last more than a month), 3 lbs organic frozen blueberries, 1 jar chocolate almonds or similar snack, 1 bag organic frozen corn, 1 jar natural peanut butter, 2 loaves gf bread, 1 jar organic jam, 2 organic while chickens, 2 bags quinoa or quinoa rice blend, organic tortilla chips, bag pintos.

 

Then at other stores I buy 3 dz eggs, dairy free milk, regular milk, and a few other things I can't think of.

 

Those are the things I buy monthly, without fail.

 

Each month I make for the freezer: 3 batches of soup, 3 batches of pasta sauce, 2 trays baked oatmeal, 2 trays frittata, 3 dz cookies or snack, 4 lbs of beans, 2 lbs grain (quinoa usually), and 2 trays of granola bars.

[KRG]

Groceries are so expensive!  Our grocery bill runs around $800/month and I do not buy organic. I should say that all household/grocery items are included in that $800.   I do buy lots of fresh produce and I do buy the occasional junk food.  We eat meat and I cook from scratch.  I buy very few convenience foods. I shop at walmart and have them price match. I save anywhere from a few dollars to $30+ on grocery trips.  I know people hate walmart but right now it is the cheapest place in town to buy groceries. I can go to other grocery stores and I will spend almost the same and bring home only half of what I could purchase at walmart.  There are 4 of us--dh and myself, a teenage boy and a 3 year old boy that some days I'm sure eats as much as his brother!

 

[6packofun]

For us, less variety, but food I feel GOOD about feeding my family is the way to go.  We don't do much organic at all.

 

I try something new 1-2x per month to see if we can add a meal idea to our rotation.  I just can't have a gazillion choices here, people!  LOL  We eat a lot of chicken and have about a half dozen ways to make it that we cycle through.  Same with red meat and fish.  I seriously eat the same 6 or so meals for lunch every week, week in and week out unless something cheap catches my fancy.  hehe  I like doing something regular on certain days of the week like "fish on Friday, salad on Saturday, and soup on Sunday!"  If I make a different *kind* of salad, whoa, watch out, it's getting adventurous!  LOL

 

I set aside some money every 2 weeks or once a month to stock up on something that goes on sale like roast or something else we might not have very often and then we can "indulge" throughout the next few months.  Pretty basic ideas here, sorry!

[Carrie12345]

In a lot of cases, time *is money. I can buy a whole chicken for less than boneless breasts. I can buy an organic, free-range chicken for less than flash-frozen, portioned breasts. I decide which to do based on time and budget.

 

We used to waste a ridiculous amount of food here, usually b/c there'd be a portion of x, two portions of y, and a little bit of z hanging out in the fridge. With 7 people to feed, it never seemed worth saving. Then I got annoyed with myself and decided to keep lots and lots of tortillas and plenty of cheese on hand. Now we do random wraps once a week or so, lol.

(I want to make my own tortillas, but found that doing so by hand was a real pain in the rear. Maybe I'll get a tortilla press one of these days.)

 

I do spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The kids do help. Otherwise, I'm paying for some"one" else to do it for me at some point in the "farm"-to-table process.

[6packofun]

 

Each month I make for the freezer: 3 batches of soup, 3 batches of pasta sauce, 2 trays baked oatmeal, 2 trays frittata, 3 dz cookies or snack, 4 lbs of beans, 2 lbs grain (quinoa usually), and 2 trays of granola bars.

 

Do you make the oatmeal thick or in bars?  Do you portion it out for reheating or what?  Sounds good!

[PeacefulChaos]

 

Maybe posting what you all normally eat and what you like would help us come up with ideas?

 

Breakfast:

Kids - cereal  on MWFS, sometimes other days, too.  On the 2-3 days/week that they don't have cereal, it's usually pop tarts or toaster strudel or pancakes (in the toaster oven - the eggo kind :lol: )  They don't really like anything else, and sometimes they are still hungry after eating something like yogurt and a granola bar, for example (which I try to get them to eat for breakfast sometimes, just for a change!)... and then they eat a bowl of cereal, too.  :rolleyes:

Me - nothing. I am never hungry in the mornings (on rare occasions that I am, it's because it's one of my running days) and I don't really care for breakfast foods to speak of.

 

Lunch:

Kids - pb&j, cheese quesadilla with a whole wheat tortilla, a sandwich wrap, a homemade 'lunchable' with some goldfish or wheat thins, cheese cubes, a slice or two of deli meat, and fruit. That's their usual fare (one of those, obviously). We don't have a 'set' thing for lunch most days, the kids just get what they want. Occasionally Astro wants ramen, and we do usually have some of that on hand, too. After lunch they also get a 'dessert' which is usually either pudding, fruit, fruit snacks, peanuts, yogurt, or a granola bar. Occasionally we have other things - jello instead of pudding, or crackers, etc. They get a small amount of whatever it is - I keep everything to a small serving size.

Me - whatever I can find. Sometimes it's leftovers. Sometimes it's a salad, if I have the stuff I like to make a salad with (lettuce, black beans, salsa). Occasionally it's a plain pb sandwich. Sometimes I'll make myself some pasta with some dressing on it ('pasta salad' type stuff). Just whatever I can scrounge up in the kitchen. On really bad days where I have NOTHING, it's chips or chips with some dip.

 

Dinner:

Whatever. I make pretty balanced dinners. Always veggies, almost always a meat, etc. Not too much carbs or starchy stuff unless there is pasta involved, and I try not to make that more than 1-2x/week.   I do go meatless about once a week, usually, but DH is NOT a fan.  ;)  He likes his meat!  (He also wishes I would cook fried food... :lol: :lol: :lol: .... not happenin')  Here's my pinterest board of things I've made, good and bad lol... Let's see, this last week for dinner... honey garlic chicken Friday (I always do crock pot meals when I'm working, because I won't be there to cook), Cheeseburger soup on Saturday, tacos Sunday, Superbowl chili (meatless) tonight (crock pot again!), cajun chicken fettucine   (slightly modified) tomorrow, chicken spaghetti (our super unhealthy of the week, IMO) Wednesday, and hot dogs/hot links thursday (has to be something DH can make, because I'll be sleeping after my LASIK Thursday afternoon!  :D ).  And this week we are eating cheap - I kept the bill around $130.

[Jean in Newcastle]

Oh, I'm listening!  Since we moved back to the States, I'm having serious sticker shock on food!  Holy moly it's expensive.  We LOVE red bell peppers and in Germany (on the economy), I could get 3 for ,79 Euro cents (about $1.03), but here they're $1.52 EACH.  Good grief!  We were going through 4-6 a week over there, as we snacked on them all the time, but now I don't know what to do.  We almost never eat red meat (I don't eat it ever), and we do completely meatless at least once or twice a week.  We do like seafood, which can be expensive, but not that much, especially when we eat Talapia or monkfish.  

Heels, you moved to a very expensive place!  I know that compared to other people in other parts of the country, I spend a whole lot more for food and well, anything, really.  You can save some by buying seafood at Asian markets but it doesn't come in the pretty packages we are used to (and can come next to the tray of duck heads)!   

[MomtoCandJ]

Does anyone in your family hunt and/ or fish or is willing to hunt and/ or fish? We get the bulk of our meat during deer season. We supplement with fish and we forge some (mainly mushrooms and berries)

[Parrothead]

One thing that will help a bit is getting rid of the frozen pizza. Add stuff to dinner the night before and save some for your dh's lunch.  Yogurt isn't what it is cracked up to be.  It has just as much sugar as a chocolate bar. Check the label.  You'd be better off using that money to buy more fruit.

 

Start small.  Change one thing at a time.  Otherwise change can be overwhelming. 

[GSOchristie]

We eat a lot of beans for lunch, bean burritos, tostados, veggie chili, black beans with cilantro lime rice, as some examples, or egg based dishes, boiled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs.  I serve a fruit and a veggie with whatever the main dish is for lunch.  I buy chicken, beef and pork when it is deeply on sale (usually the day before the grocery store changes their ad), and store it in my big freezer.  I got 10 pounds of ground beef last week for $1.49 a pound.   I make my own bread, but I don't know if that is actually cheaper, it is certainly healthier.  I shop almost exclusively at Aldi, whatever veggies they have on sale are the ones I use that week.  I buy a lot of fruit in the summer, like 50 pints of blueberries when they went on sale for $0.69, and freeze it for use during the winter.  My kids eat cheese and fruit for morning snack, and fresh veggies and yogurt for an afternoon snack.  I can buy 8 ounces of cheese at Aldi for $1.79.  I cut it into 8 one ounce portions for snack sticks. I make a huge batch of granola bars at the beginning of the week that I can grab if we are going to be out during a meal time. My kids like banana chocolate chip muffins or yogurt parfaits for breakfast with frozen fruit and homemade granola.  We can easily eat a box of cereal in less than two breakfasts, so I have stopped serving it.  I make my own yogurt in the crockpot, it is super easy and if we are having a busy week, I don't even put fruit it in, I just serve it as vanilla.   Aldi is my best money saving friend!

[PeacefulChaos]

I would recommend cutting out most of your processed food. Eventually you'll feel fuller from eating the healthier stuff. Instead of cold cereal, go for oatmeal (hot or cold), have an apple instead of fruit snacks, nut medley instead of crackers. It seems like a bigger expense, but that stuff fills you up for longer.

 

Our budget is around 300-400 a month.

 

Here's a sample of our monthly list-

Shopping at Costco is a huge money saver. I bought two packs (4 jars each) of organic crushed tomatoes. That gives me enough for 8 meals right there. Costco- 12 cans organic black beans, 2 bags gf crackers, 2 tubs hummus, 1 bag organic kale, 2 flats organic apples, 6 lbs bananas, 1 box organic raisins, 1 box oatmeal (4lbs I think and will last more than a month), 3 lbs organic frozen blueberries, 1 jar chocolate almonds or similar snack, 1 bag organic frozen corn, 1 jar natural peanut butter, 2 loaves gf bread, 1 jar organic jam, 2 organic while chickens, 2 bags quinoa or quinoa rice blend, organic tortilla chips, bag pintos.

 

Then at other stores I buy 3 dz eggs, dairy free milk, regular milk, and a few other things I can't think of.

 

Those are the things I buy monthly, without fail.

 

Each month I make for the freezer: 3 batches of soup, 3 batches of pasta sauce, 2 trays baked oatmeal, 2 trays frittata, 3 dz cookies or snack, 4 lbs of beans, 2 lbs grain (quinoa usually), and 2 trays of granola bars.

 

The kids hate oatmeal.  And everything else breakfast related, unless it's equally expensive or worse for them.  Or involves me getting up and getting them breakfast.  :D

We don't have a Costco - there is one in the city about an hour from us, but we don't go up there on a regular basis.  We've looked at memberships and stuff before, but honestly it would just go to waste, because we either won't get up there OR we won't have the $$ at the time to drop on groceries there. 

I do all my shopping at one store - I don't like going multiple places.  We have a farm stand in town and I don't know how their pricing is comparatively (I've bought stuff there before), but they rarely have anything I'll use.  I usually just go for corn or peppers or tomatoes, but even then I usually only hit it up a handful of times per year.  Other than that, it's one grocery store and WalMart - I shop at WalMart (though I do like the grocery store).

 

I tried making homemade granola bars once and it seemed like a lot of effort and they weren't all that awesome... I have more recipes for them on pinterest but it's just so many things to buy that I don't have on hand.

Groceries are so expensive!  Our grocery bill runs around $800/month and I do not buy organic. I should say that all household/grocery items are included in that $800.   I do buy lots of fresh produce and I do buy the occasional junk food.  We eat meat and I cook from scratch.  I buy very few convenience foods. I shop at walmart and have them price match. I save anywhere from a few dollars to $30+ on grocery trips.  I know people hate walmart but right now it is the cheapest place in town to buy groceries. I can go to other grocery stores and I will spend almost the same and bring home only half of what I could purchase at walmart.  There are 4 of us--dh and myself, a teenage boy and a 3 year old boy that some days I'm sure eats as much as his brother!

 

 

I feel ya on the WM thing - it's all we've got. 

 

For us, less variety, but food I feel GOOD about feeding my family is the way to go.  We don't do much organic at all.

 

I try something new 1-2x per month to see if we can add a meal idea to our rotation.  I just can't have a gazillion choices here, people!  LOL  We eat a lot of chicken and have about a half dozen ways to make it that we cycle through.  Same with red meat and fish.  I seriously eat the same 6 or so meals for lunch every week, week in and week out unless something cheap catches my fancy.  hehe  I like doing something regular on certain days of the week like "fish on Friday, salad on Saturday, and soup on Sunday!"  If I make a different *kind* of salad, whoa, watch out, it's getting adventurous!  LOL

 

I set aside some money every 2 weeks or once a month to stock up on something that goes on sale like roast or something else we might not have very often and then we can "indulge" throughout the next few months.  Pretty basic ideas here, sorry!

Oh, see I can't handle eating the same thing repeatedly.  We aren't having stir fry at all this week because I have about 5-6 good stir fry recipes, and I've made one per week for the last few weeks and now I'm not in the mood for any of them.  :D  Variety is key around here, for me at least... :D

[PeacefulChaos]

Meant to add on my last reply that we don't have a big freezer to put stuff in - just a regular little one on the fridge.  It's full just with what we get already.

 

Does anyone in your family hunt and/ or fish or is willing to hunt and/ or fish? We get the bulk of our meat during deer season. We supplement with fish and we forge some (mainly mushrooms and berries)

I don't like deer or fish. 

I'm so difficult lol...

 

One thing that will help a bit is getting rid of the frozen pizza. Add stuff to dinner the night before and save some for your dh's lunch.  Yogurt isn't what it is cracked up to be.  It has just as much sugar as a chocolate bar. Check the label.  You'd be better off using that money to buy more fruit.

 

Start small.  Change one thing at a time.  Otherwise change can be overwhelming. 

Ok, I'm going to sound like I'm just making tons of excuses - I SWEAR I'm not trying to!!!  :lol:  But DH won't eat leftovers.  He doesn't like stuff reheated.  :lol:  And he just likes yogurt - he doesn't eat it because he thinks it's healthy or anything - he just likes it. 

If he didn't have anything to eat at home he would just eat lunch at work, which would cost him $3-4 at the cafe there.  So I'm cool with the ~$5/wk spent on pizzas and $6/every other week on yogurt.  :)

 

We eat a lot of beans for lunch, bean burritos, tostados, veggie chili, black beans with cilantro lime rice, as some examples, or egg based dishes, boiled eggs, egg salad, deviled eggs.  I serve a fruit and a veggie with whatever the main dish is for lunch.  I buy chicken, beef and pork when it is deeply on sale (usually the day before the grocery store changes their ad), and store it in my big freezer.  I got 10 pounds of ground beef last week for $1.49 a pound.   I make my own bread, but I don't know if that is actually cheaper, it is certainly healthier.  I shop almost exclusively at Aldi, whatever veggies they have on sale are the ones I use that week.  I buy a lot of fruit in the summer, like 50 pints of blueberries when they went on sale for $0.69, and freeze it for use during the winter.  My kids eat cheese and fruit for morning snack, and fresh veggies and yogurt for an afternoon snack.  I can buy 8 ounces of cheese at Aldi for $1.79.  I cut it into 8 one ounce portions for snack sticks. I make a huge batch of granola bars at the beginning of the week that I can grab if we are going to be out during a meal time. My kids like banana chocolate chip muffins or yogurt parfaits for breakfast with frozen fruit and homemade granola.  We can easily eat a box of cereal in less than two breakfasts, so I have stopped serving it.  I make my own yogurt in the crockpot, it is super easy and if we are having a busy week, I don't even put fruit it in, I just serve it as vanilla.   Aldi is my best money saving friend!

We don't have Aldi, either - there was one for a short time where I used to live (growing up) but it was even gone there by the time we'd been there a couple years.  I always thought it was a really low quality grocery store... maybe it changed since then?  Because everyone on here seems to LOVE it!  :)

[mamaraby]

We spend about what you do for our family of 5. I budget around $180/week, but that's all-inclusive. Often times it's under that ($140-150), but if I have to buy razor blades for dh or dog/cat food or litter than we're easily at $180. I don't buy organics, I don't make my own bread that often, I don't grind my own wheat, and we don't shop at Costco or anything like that. I used to shop at multiple stores and try to play the get the best deal game, but it go to be too much so now we shop at one store because they have a big selection including generics. I also shop once a week because I save money and waste less food. Before making my menu, I look at what we didn't get to the previous week for whatever reason, and then re-plan those meals. I also shop our pantry to see what I already have on hand.

 

We buy a few treats/convenience items, but not a crazy amount - some frozen fruit bars, instant oatmeal the kids can make on their own from Oat Revolution, etc. Mostly, we eat really simple meals with a handful of ingredients. We focus on the things that fill you up (whole grains, potatoes, beans, etc) and don't overeat protein. We consider ourselves flexitarians so we eat mostly vegetarian/vegan. If we do have meat it's either outside of the house or it's a small amount not the main focus of the dish - mainly some ground beef because whole chickens are expensive as are roasts and any of the so-called "cheap cuts of meat." I don't know how people get more than one meal from a chicken. My kids alone will eat most of one and I did not find stock to be all that protein sparing nor useful in our home.

 

I've mentioned this before and folks start bringing up objections so let me just stop that by saying this is what we do to keep food costs down. It works for us. That's how we do it. If that doesn't interest you or you have other prescriptive ideas about health and diet then it may not work for you. That doesn't change the fact that it does for us.

 

But really, the key to this or any plan is to follow it closely. It requires buy-in from family members who will agree to not sabotage your efforts. I have a spreadsheet that I print out each week with the breakfast, lunch, dinner, and snack for each day. If anyone wants to know what we're eating they can read the menu. If they want to help, they know what the plan is. But mostly, it comes down to me keeping an eye on my time so I get meals started in time to eat. If that requires setting a reminder or an alarm then I do that. Getting my kids involved helps quite a bit as well.

 

Really, though, there's only so much anyone can cut from the food budget so be gentle on yourself. It's math, not magic.

[GSOchristie]

I would say Aldi is comparable in quality to Food Lion here, better than Walmart, not as good as Harris Teeter or Whole Foods.  It was hard for me to spend under $130 a week without Aldi, so I think your budget may be right on.  Food cost have gone up so much in the last three years! 

[PeacefulChaos]

For real on the food costs, like several of  you have mentioned. 

It would be nice for income to go up, too, to accomodate... but not so much.  :glare:  :lol:

[NicAnn]

Do you make the oatmeal thick or in bars? Do you portion it out for reheating or what? Sounds good!

I put it in a 13x9 pan, so it comes out like brownie thickness. Then I cut it, but freeze it in the pan. At the beginning of the week I pull it out and put it in the fridge. Last 3-5 days.

[NicAnn]

Op-try this for oatmeal. In a mason jar or parfait jar, layer dry oats, banana, pb, jam, repeat. Then pour milk over the top and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It is delicious! Also consider "carrot cake" oatmeal or similar. http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/21/holiday-breakfast-in-a-jiffy-carrot-cake-oatmeal/.

 

You could also try freezer cooking a few times a month and make all the confidence food. It's easy once you do it a few times.

 

Good luck!

[TammyinTN]

The only way I can afford to feel our family really good meals are Costco.  I buy as much whole food as I can and make everything from scratch. 

[GSOchristie]

Op-try this for oatmeal. In a mason jar or parfait jar, layer dry oats, banana, pb, jam, repeat. Then pour milk over the top and let it sit in the fridge overnight. It is delicious! Also consider "carrot cake" oatmeal or similar. http://ohsheglows.com/2010/12/21/holiday-breakfast-in-a-jiffy-carrot-cake-oatmeal/.

 

You could also try freezer cooking a few times a month and make all the confidence food. It's easy once you do it a few times.

 

Good luck!

 

Yum, carrot cake oatmeal!  I'm going to have to try that, my kids love oatmeal.

[Coco_Clark]

Food prices range so greatly depending on where in the country you live that it's hard to judge how "reasonable" 150 dollars a week is.  I don't think you are doing bad by any means!  Food is expensive.  Feeding a family on a budget is hard!  

 

I spend about 100 dollars a week on food to feed our family of 5 and 5 or 6 church potlucks a month (we are potluck people). I don't count toiletries in my 100 dollars a week, it looks like you do, which drives mine down quite a but. But we also drink expensive local milk, local grass fed beef, and (mostly) local produce which obviously drives it up. These are the thinks I do that make the biggest difference for us:

 

I go grocery shopping monthly, with quick produce and dairy only trips in between.  This cuts way, way, way down on impulse buys.  We use whats in the pantry.

 

BUY MEAT IN BULK, AND USE ALL THE PARTS

I purchase our beef in bulk, an entire cow at a time, which we then split with another or two other families.  It is a huge investment, but it means we have cheap high quality beef and it saves over the long-run.  I make sure to keep all the parts, including beef bones for broth.  I recently "splurged" and bought 30# of chicken breasts in bulk from Zaycon.  But in the past I've gone even cheaper  by not buying breasts at all but instead buying entire fryers when they are at their lowest price and freezing.  Each fryer is 2-3 meals because the leftovers can be used for sandwich meat or shredded for chicken tacos or ect, and the bones and teeny tiny bits can be boiled to make chicken broth.   

 

DID I SAY BULK

Again, bulk is key.  Giant bags of rice are your friend.  Oatmeal, pasta, it can all be bought bulk.  Packaging really drives up price, and if you have a store with a bulk section where you can can avoid packaging costs completely, even better.  We buy our dried beans, many of our grains, our spices, nuts, and dried fruit all out of the bulk section.  

 

MAKE YOUR OWN

Making my own sandwich bread caused fits around here.  But I make my own rolls, french loaves, ect.  They cost pennies.  We have tiny little Tupperware and I make my own pudding and yogurt and separate them out.  I can my own applesauce, tomato sauce, jam, diced tomato, juice, and pickles.  I make my own granola bars and trail mixes.  I make my own pancake and cake and brownies and cinnamon rolls without a box mix. Some of those things are time consuming, some of them you would be shocked at how easy it is.  

 

WE AVOID SNACK FOODS 

Pre-made snacks are hugely expensive and don't fill your belly.  We buy 1 box of crackers and 1 box of cereal each month. When they are gone, they are gone   Because we eat healthy filling meals, even my toddlers don't feel the need to snack in between them.  (We do tend to eat 4 meals a day).  

 

 

I think the big take-away that I've found is that while it seems counter-intuitive buying more expensive, healthier food, actually saves on your food budget in the end.  Eggs might be more expensive than poptarts (I actually have no idea if they are or arent) but they fill your stomach, and are nutritious.  You don't feel the need to eat again.  If I give my kids cereal for breakfast they are hungry in an hour and have to eat again.  That cereal money got me nothing.  I basically threw it away.  If they eat some homemade banana bread and a glass of milk they aren't hungry again until lunch.  

 

And yes, unfortunately, cooking is cheaper than prepared food.  The more you cook, the more you save.  That's just fact.  I would encourage you to take baby steps.  What are 3 things you can make instead of buy this month?  Just three.  Then next month (or the month after) add three more.  It took me a long time to build up to yogurt!  I started with pizza and pudding (my husband loved those individual serving ones!).  

[Prairie~Phlox]

I have just skimmed everything here. I keep ours low because I garden, can, freeze & dehydrate whatever I can, we don't buy a lot of snacky stuff, no cereal except for dh. I make homemade granola & oatmeal for breakfast, or pancakes, scrambled eggs, homemade waffles. Homemade yogurt, homemade fruit rolls ups, popcorn, stuff like that for a snack, I will buy graham crackers, but that's about all. I make muffins, quick breads for snacks as well. Lunches are usually some type of homemade soup in the winter and sandwiches in the summer or leftovers, eggs salad, some lunch meat, when I can get it cheap, pb&j. Dinners, I will buy a whole chicken and cook it up for a meal, then debone it for one more meal, same with a whole ham. I do buy chicken breasts sometimes Pork loins, I buy & slice into a few meals. Beef, we get from my parents because they are beef farmers, so it's cheaper that way for us. I spent about $450/mo. on food, toiletries, cat stuff. I used to spend about $300, but as the kids have gotten older and prices have gone up, that's about the best I can do right now. Some times it is more.

[xixstar]

Breakfast:

cereal

pop tarts or toaster strudel or pancakes

yogurt - is this plain or flavored?, individual sized? or a bulk tub?

granola bar

 

Lunch:

Kids - pb&j, cheese quesadilla with a whole wheat tortilla, a sandwich wrap - this would be fine for us, we skip bread a lot but don't have to

goldfish

wheat thins

cheese cubes - do you chop or buy cubed?

a slice or two of deli meat - I can only do this in limited amounts and at a good price

fruit.

pudding, fruit, fruit snacks, peanuts, yogurt, or a granola bar. - individual snack portions or homemade?

jello instead of pudding, or crackers, etc.

chips or chips with some dip.

 

Dinner:

Okay, those items pulled out of what you eat would break the bank in our budget to still be able to afford healthier options. For me it is time or convenience but also learning to simplify things as well to keep things in line. If I keep things simple, I don't have to spend too much time either - but also take 1 afternoon on a weekend once a month to prep things like homemade lara bars or granola or something else is nice, when I find the time.

 

So breakfast is usually eggs or oatmeal - cereal cost too much and everyone was still hungry later. Or it's a smoothie.

 

Other meals and snacks will have a theme for the week depending on what I got a sale on or just what I bought - in bulk is cheaper for me so I we will be eating similar snacks and lunches for a couple weeks in a row instead of buying 10 different things to have variety. This is only difficult for me because I like more variety, but everyone else is happy.

 

So lunch is usually fruit (fresh or canned) and veggies (chopped carrots, celery, pickles, cucumbers, peas, whatever) and some protein source: deli meat slices, cheese slice, maybe a sandwich with meat or peanut butter, plain yogurt with a dab of jelly and granola, hummus.

 

Snacks are fruit and maybe some crackers if we have them, majority of the time we do not, and usually nuts or cheese. Maybe a smoothie.

 

Dinners are well rounded.

 

But that really does keep things pretty simple and much more affordable. I will typically buy 1 treat item for the week, so that could be granola bars or crackers or something like that.  We also stock up on dried fruits and make our own stuff too. But those are handy little snacks to have too. I encourage filling up at mealtimes and just 'tiding over' at snacks.

 

We rarely buy juice and it's limited to 1 tiny glass a day, along with milk was just 1 tiny glass a day (though we just stopped buying milk a few weeks ago and see no reason to start again). Otherwise it is water or maybe some herbal teas if I've made some. Unless I make kombucha and then I keep juice on hand to mix kombucha and juice 1/2 for a glass a day there.

[Luckymama]

I only buy meat (chicken, pork, beef) on sale. I will buy a LOT of a particular type, like 20lb of boneless chicken breast when it's $1.69/lb. There are weeks I spend serious money on meat, and weeks when I don't buy any.

 

I only buy in-season fresh fruits and vegetables, with the exception of bananas, carrots, organic lettuce, and the like. That means we only eat peaches from mid-July to early September, strawberries in early and mid-summer, and broccoli in the spring and fall. Out of season produce is purchased frozen.

 

I do make almost everything we eat, with the exception of whole wheat sandwich bread and some cold cereals. I make tortillas (Carrie, it's not that hard! Get a tortilla press for the corn type and learn to live with funky-shaped flour tortillas :lol:), baguettes, English muffins, white sauces for cream soups, etc.

 

We buy "junk" (chips, soda, candy) for parties and special occasions.

[MomtoCandJ]

Have you tried ground venison?? To me it taste like ground beef but then again I'm used to eating it. We have also mixed ground venison and ground beef, people who have not had venison can not tell the difference.

[texasmama]

 

I shop at a salvage grocery store for pennies on the dollar.  I get organic yogurt for $3 a CASE.  (12 yogurts)  I bought a 25 pound bag of organic jasmine rice there recently for $12.50.  Google for one in your area.  There are two within driving distance of my house.

 

I order from Bountiful Baskets co-op.  They have organic or conventional choices.  I have been very pleased with the quality and the value.  They have drop off locations all over the U.S.

 

I order toiletries/paper goods from Amazon.com if they are cheap.  I watch the sales at CVS/Kroger and buy paper goods on sale.

 

We eat gluten free, mostly organic as far as the dirty dozen produce items, and we eat well.   We don't eat organic meats but mostly eat chicken, which I can find cheaply.  We have access to farm fresh eggs for $3 a dozen from a neighbor. 

Sorry about the quote box.  Don't know what the deal is there!

 

[texasmama]

spam reported

[Mrs Mungo]

To answer the main question in your OP? I think to eat healthy (or healthier), then one will *either* spend more *or* spend more time in the kitchen. I cooked three meals a day when my kids were little. They can now make basics on their own, but I still cook breakfast quite frequently. I think it's wise to do that in order to instill good eating habits in my kids. Now, our eating habits aren't *perfect* and we actually eat a lot of high calorie/fat items because my kids are really skinny and need it, but that's what is healthy for them. You will notice an abundance of produce, my kids eat a lot of fruits and veggies.

 

Here's my menu for this week. 

 

Breakfasts:

Croissants, fried egg, avocado slices

Breakfast burritos with sausage, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, eggs, cheese and avocado (I make a bunch at once and freeze them without avocado for dh; he takes them to work for breakfast)

Pancakes, bananas, sausage

Granola (I make this), full fat yogurt

French toast, full fat yogurt, strawberries

Steel cut oats (oatmeal made from steel cut oats or old fashioned oats and/or baked oatmeal tastes nothing like instant oatmeal, just as an aside) with blueberries

Eggs in a basket, bacon

 

Lunches:

BLTs, carrots and celery with peanut butter

pizza roll ups (one of my kids makes these-we use premade pizza dough, roll it out, add pizza  toppings, roll it like a jelly roll, slice it into 12 pieces, put the pieces in a muffin cup and bake them) with pineapple (we have pineapple a couple of times a week here)

Grilled cheese sandwiches, tomato soup (from a can, yes) and honeydew melon

quesadillas with black beans and rice

baked potatoes

 

Dinners:

Southwestern salad (I added avocado) and grilled lime garlic chicken (we made extra chicken as part of tonight's dinner, it's Boy Scout night, we're busy)

chicken wraps-naan, veggies, hummus and leftover chicken from last night

cheese enchiladas with rice and beans

pot roast with potatoes and carrots (I just sear the roast, then stick everything in the crockpot)

dirty rice with smoked sausage (this is super easy)

BBQ chicken sandwiches (another super easy crockpot meal) with green beans

 

Our snacks include things like: cheese, veggies (carrots, celery, cucumbers, avocados), fruit (apples, pears, plums, tangerines), cottage cheese, hummus, nut butters, nuts-a mix of carbs, protein and fat help keep kids feeling full longer. 

 

[Chris in VA]

I find snack foods and cereals really add up. If you could substitute even a third less for those, I bet you'd see some savings.

That said, for my area, what you spend isn't that far out.

[PinkyandtheBrains.]

I save money by cooking from scratch, and shopping at the least expensive store, and growing some of my own produce.

[ScoutTN]

There are lots of good ideas here. I don't have lots of answers because I really struggle to balance food quality, budget/money, and time/labor. It is constant work - not a static thing, for sure! 

 

A few things that we have found most helpful in the last couple of years are:

 

* Our garden. Just growing our greens over the winter months saves us lots. We love salad! A small, inexpensive coldframe goes a long way! Seeds are cheap and greens require little work. We also have an affordable CSA, so we get enough of some things to freeze. We u-pick fruit in season and freeze. Planting blackberries and raspberries this fall in our yard!

* We rarely eat snacks (I read French Kids Eat Everything.) and do not buy any prepared snack foods.

* We stretch meats with legumes and whole grains. 

* We eat soup (homemade stock is so easy and good for you!) and leftovers. 

* We buy very few processed foods. 

 

 

I can't buy in bulk because I don't have freezer or pantry space to. We do have Costco, but I don't shop there often. I don't have time to shop at several store weekly I go to the local farmer's market and Walmart weekly. Trader Joes and Kroger twice a month. Whole Foods (with only a limited amont of cash and no debit card in my purse!) once a month. 

 

 

[mamaraby]

 

Okay, those items pulled out of what you eat would break the bank in our budget to still be able to afford healthier options. For me it is time or convenience but also learning to simplify things as well to keep things in line. If I keep things simple, I don't have to spend too much time either - but also take 1 afternoon on a weekend once a month to prep things like homemade lara bars or granola or something else is nice, when I find the time.

 

So breakfast is usually eggs or oatmeal - cereal cost too much and everyone was still hungry later. Or it's a smoothie.

 

Other meals and snacks will have a theme for the week depending on what I got a sale on or just what I bought - in bulk is cheaper for me so I we will be eating similar snacks and lunches for a couple weeks in a row instead of buying 10 different things to have variety. This is only difficult for me because I like more variety, but everyone else is happy.

 

So lunch is usually fruit (fresh or canned) and veggies (chopped carrots, celery, pickles, cucumbers, peas, whatever) and some protein source: deli meat slices, cheese slice, maybe a sandwich with meat or peanut butter, plain yogurt with a dab of jelly and granola, hummus.

 

Snacks are fruit and maybe some crackers if we have them, majority of the time we do not, and usually nuts or cheese. Maybe a smoothie.

 

Dinners are well rounded.

 

But that really does keep things pretty simple and much more affordable. I will typically buy 1 treat item for the week, so that could be granola bars or crackers or something like that.  We also stock up on dried fruits and make our own stuff too. But those are handy little snacks to have too. I encourage filling up at mealtimes and just 'tiding over' at snacks.

 

We rarely buy juice and it's limited to 1 tiny glass a day, along with milk was just 1 tiny glass a day (though we just stopped buying milk a few weeks ago and see no reason to start again). Otherwise it is water or maybe some herbal teas if I've made some. Unless I make kombucha and then I keep juice on hand to mix kombucha and juice 1/2 for a glass a day there.

 

I agree with a lot of what she's said.  I looked through your Pinterest board - the thing that stuck out at me was a lot of packaged seasoning mixes, cream cheese, etc.  None of those are all that expensive per se, but once you start adding up a week's worth that can get a bit pricey.  I usually make my own seasoning mixes or try to substitute similar herbs/spices for the envelopes.  We eat similar meals to the quoted above minus the eggs because a couple of mine experience GI upset when they eat them.  We do buy milk, but it's soymilk.  That might be the one organic I buy.  I limit the kids to one glass a meal - after that it's water.  We also almost never buy juice.

 

So around here:

 

Breakfast -

• Oatmeal like the carrot cake one listed above or a similar apple pie one, or just plain oatmeal for me with sliced banana and frozen blueberries with a little cinnamon.
• I also make breakfast burritos with curried scrambled tofu plus whatever veg I have on hand (zucchini, peppers, spinach, kale, onion, etc) and a little salsa and 1T of vegan cheese (because my dh can't have most dairy).  I make a couple of trays worth of burritos at once and then freeze them. These are super simple to heat up wrapped in a paper towel in the microwave.
• My kids will have Oat Revolution because they can make it easily on their own or a whole wheat bagel ($0.99 for 4 from a local company) plus a little peanut butter (the natural kind) and some reduced sugar jam.  On rare occasions they have cereal, but the it's the kind I can get in the bags and it lasts for awhile.

 

Lunches - (if not leftovers)

• Homemade bean burgers, falafel, bean burritos (ww tortillas, salsa, plus whatever veg is in the fridge), peanut butter and banana bagels with veggie strips, hummus wraps, etc.  I buy a bag or two of chips (they have to be under $2.50 each) to last the week and to add some interest to lunch.
• English muffin pizzas are also easy to make and cheap.  We have ours with spaghetti sauce, vegan pepperoni (or turkey if my ds is feeling amenable), veggies, and banana peppers.  I find the cheese unnecessary, but a little bit of cheese for the taste would be plenty.  You could make a bunch up ahead of time and reheat them when it's time to eat.
• Chicken of the sea (chickpeas with a little bit of mayo, celery seeds, umeboshi vinegar, and pepper) as a wrap or a sandwich was a fast favorite.
• Big salads with veggies, pickles, unsalted sunflower seeds, a tablespoon of craisins, a tablespoon of nuts, some beans, etc.

 

Dinner - I aim for five to ten-ish ingredients or so.  I make exceptions for the spices and herbs I have on hand and try to keep a wide variety which I buy through my Frontier buying club once a quarter.

• Rice bowls are a big hit here and can be made in a variety of flavor profiles.  Basically some rice on the bottom topped by a reasonable serving for protein, and then filled out with quick-boiled greens and sautéed veggies.  You could make it asian flavored, tex-mex, thai, etc.
• Bean stews on top of polenta, rice, quinoa, baked risotto, etc.
• A baked potato bar is high on my kids' list.  In the summer I microwave them, but in the winter I bake them in the oven (and roast some root veggies for another meal at the same time).  We have bean chili, steamed broccoli, salsa, a red pepper sauce, cottage cheese for the girls, etc.  My older two will usually eat two potatoes each.  They'll also choose a baked potato for lunch if we have them on hand.
• Tempeh for taco filling.  Nachos are too expensive unit cost wise so we go for whole wheat tortillas in the soft taco size.  These are also cheaper unit cost wise for me than the hard shells.
• Homemade pizza (crust is easy and super cheap) on a baking stone in a 450-475 degree oven.  My favorite crust recipe is from "Flour, Water, Salt."
• Breakfast - usually waffles or pancakes, vegan sausage (our only fake meat), and home fries.

 

Snacks - Granola bars (I buy mine and go with whatever's cheapest unit cost wise), string cheese for those who eat cheese, roasted chickpeas, hummus and crackers, fruit.  I also limit snacks to one a day which helps cut down on boredom eating and encourages the little ones to eat during meal time.

 

Basically, as I spent less money on meat/cheese/eggs I bought more produce which means we eat a lot of fiber.  More fiber means fuller bellies.  We go through a lot of produce each week which is also why I only shop once a week.

[Mergath]

We avoid processed food and use all our leftovers. That right there saves a small fortune. I make quite a bit from scratch, and spend a good deal of time in the kitchen. It's healthier though, and tastes far better than the processed food from the store, so well worth it.

[FriedClams]

One of my money saving keys - menu plan, menu plan, menu plan...

 

I don't love to menu plan, but when I do, WOW our budget goes a whole lot further. I find if I take a few minutes a week to look at or schedule, look in the freezer/pantry and then make a quick plan it tightens the budget and we don't do the last minute out-to-eat runs anywhere near as often.

 

Also, cash only. That really, really, really makes me the budget really seriously.

 

I freeze individual servings of meals in SUPER cheap Tupperware-ish containers for "FF", Freezer Food. They're essentially homemade TV dinners for when DH is home alone, or he takes them for lunch, or the kids eat them wen I don't feel Ike cooking.

 

Use what you have, and minimize waste. "Best Of" night for all the junk in the fridge... Soup from the junk... Menu plan better... Salad night.... Smoothies.... Muffins from fruit that isn't prime... Bake with milk that is less than ideal. I'm not talking gross or unhealthy - but use it like your granny would!

 

Kow what works for you. I tried the whole "cook for a month" thing a few times before I realized: we hate casseroles, and remembering to pull a casserole from the freezer takes as much effort as remembering to pull meat for tacos. More so. It was a fail. BIG fail. So now I stick with my strengths.

 

And sometimes, the kids eat stuff they don't love. Not every day is a favorite. My kids would eat Lucky Charms every day, but that's what birthdays are for. ;-) My kids have learned to like eggs more. Sure - pancakes are their preference, but sometimes you get what you get.

[redsquirrel]

I spend less that lots of folks on groceries. I don't buy all organic but we do eat healthy food. I know its not a popular option, but the only difference I can see (and we do have frozen pizza once a week for lunch) is that we don't eat meat. Given what it costs, I can't imagine if I had to work that into the budget.

 

So, you might want to consider giving up meat a couple times a week, for all meals and see if that gives you some breathing room. Of course, it only saves money if you replace it with something you actually like. Spending more to eat something you don't really like isn't going to help. And we don't eat weird meat substitutes either. Those cost a fortune. We do have tofu at least one dinner a week,but we like it. This week it is a Tofu red curry with coconut milk on rice.

 

And I buy unsweetened yogurt and add in my own fruit. 32 oz of yogurt for 3$ isn't bad. I buy big bags of frozen blueberries or chopped mangos and we use that in yogurt and to sweeten oatmeal etc.

 

And have you ever made oatmeal with cocoa and sliced strawberries? Even an oatmeal hater might like that for dinner or breakfast.

 

Edited to add:

 

I reread your OP and I see you aren't just asking for ways to save $$ on a grocery bill, but the choice between cost and time.

 

Everything costs something. Your choice is money or time. It's like what my mom used to say, "everywhere is within walking distance if you have the time."

 

Some things I make and some things I spend. Those are my choices. I make hummus. I (usually) buy yogurt. I make refried beans. I buy tofu and seitan. I make bread,I buy bagels. I do own a huge chest freezer so I can get given a 5lb zucchini and make a bazzilion muffins and freeze them. I can make a couple pounds of hummus at a time on a Saturday and freeze that as well. I make a couple pounds of rice every month and freeze it in 2 cup portions. I make the pasta sauce sometimes and buy it others. I make pizza for Saturday night (I own a bread machine so it is easy) but once a week we have frozen pizza for lunch. It costs 2.99 and it is worth it to me.

And when it is 100 degrees out I don't make much because the house is too hot to cook.

 

I don't do once a month cooking or anything like that. I just make staples that I know we will eat and use.

 

And sometimes you compromise: I buy the healthiest packaged food for DH to take to work that I can find and he doesn't spend $$ at work at the cafes. I am not willing to make a lunch he will forget every single day nor is he willing to make it himself. It is his job and his money so fair enough. I should add that we aren't scrimping to live within the food budget so this solution works for us. YMMV

 

[NicAnn]

I'd like to know how to buy in bulk when you have no place to store bulk supplies, or indeed, the cash to buy bulk :)

 

COL impacts greatly. For our family of 5 I spend around $230/week on groceries.

 

I make all our meals from scratch and we eat meat only once or twice a week. That's just how much food costs here. If I was buying processed foods/lots of meat/treats/sodas it would be closer to the $350 - 400 mark.

 

I have no idea how I could cut down without us eating rice and lentils seven days a week.

We store our food everywhere. The flats of cans get put under beds, if needed. We put things in boxes and stack them.

We also buy in bulk slowly at first. So maybe you can't afford bulk everything, but can you afford the 4 lb box of oatmeal this month, for $7... Then next month add in bulk beans, or whatever. Eventually all your stuff will be bulk and will just need replacing every so often.

[Prairie~Phlox]

We store stuff everywhere too, under our bed and also I added shelves in closets that had wasted space above the lowest shelf there was plenty of room to add another shelf.

[elfgivas]

lots of good answers here.  i want to encourage you about cooking from scratch.  the first time i do anything it takes a while.  the next time its a bit faster.  and then faster.

 

let's take your home-made chicken nuggets idea.  from start to finish, here's what it looks like at our house.

 

1.  put carrots in water and boil

2. wash and chop broccoli.  put in a bowl beside the microwave

3.  wash two potatoes well, because i'm not going to peel them.  slice them lengthwise.  then cut each slice into a rectangular prism.  spray a cookie sheet with olive oil.  put fries on cookie sheet.  spray with olive oil.  add salt to them.  set them on counter beside the stove.

4.  preheat oven.

5.  grab a baggie.  into it dump flour, spices, whatever you want to coat nuggets with.

6.  take two raw chicken breasts.  cut them into narrow slices.  cut them into bite size pieces.  toss a few of them into the baggie.  seal and shake.  put on second cookie sheet sprayed with olive oil.  continue until all nuggets are coated.  add more flour, etc, as needed. 

7.  put chicken nuggets and fries in the oven.  its 20 minutes to dinner.

8. put prep stuff in dishwasher, clean counters, set table, get dinner music going. 

9.  with three minutes to go, put broccoli in microwave. 

 

that's it, that's all.  elapsed time will be somewhere around 40 minutes, start to finish.  if young children help, elapsed time will be around 55 minutes.  if older children help, elapsed time can go to 30 minutes, including cooking time.  ie.  prep time is only 10-20 minutes.  (we simply won't say how long it took the first time i did it ;)

 

some of our most precious times are in the kitchen.  i wouldn't trade it for the world.

the bonus is that its cheaper and healthier, too.

 

:drool5:

ann

[LostSurprise]

The truth is it takes effort, and time, and an adaptation by the family. None of us are going to show you how to do a better job at what you're already doing. It sounds like you're doing that just fine. We each have our own idea of how much we're willing to do. 

 

But if you're willing to experiment with other proteins (beans, dairy, nuts, eggs). If you're willing to try new things (soup, ethnic recipes like Mexican or stir fry which depend on less expensive items). If you're willing to make some things ahead of time (pancakes, waffles, granola, oatmeal bars, muffins) that the kids can pull out and make for breakfast. If you're willing to buy some things in bulk or whole (particularly meat...a whole chicken is very cheap), make a meal schedule, and stick to a grocery list, it can be cheaper. 

 

Perhaps some meal schedules would help. There used to be a thread where people listed their monthly meal plans. I found it very helpful. In general I try to do a few days a week with meat. At least one of those days makes meat for another day or two (for instance a roasted chicken becomes chicken pot pie or chicken noodle soup or enchiladas). The rest of the week is filled with alternative proteins (eggs, beans, cheese). I try out newer recipes on the weekends. 

 

A few weeks of meals: 

 

BBQ ribs and salad

tomato soup & ham/pesto sandwiches (uses ham from last week)

homemade spaghetti (no meat) with salad

homemade breaded fried fish with steamed broccoli

homemade pizza (super cheap)

chili con quesedilla  for lunch/pork chops for dinner

german apple pancake for lunch/ chicken stir fry for dinner (1st chicken meal)

 

chicken satay with broccoli (2nd chicken meal)

homemade chicken noodle soup & grill cheese (finishes up the chicken)

baked potato bar & baked beans & and any leftovers people care to eat

bacon/egg sandwiches

homemade pizza

cowboy beans for lunch/ roast chicken with fixins for dinner (1st chicken use)

pancakes & scrambled eggs for lunch/ stir fried shrimp with lemons and almonds

 

tacos (1st hamburger meal)

crockpot tamale pie (uses rest of hamburger)

lasagna (make one freeze one)

chicken pot pie (2nd chicken use)

homemade pizza

pasta salad for lunch (finishing up the chicken)/ fish tacos for dinner

waffles with homemade egg custard for lunch/ baked carbonara for dinner

 

I did not mention every side or vegetable. Assume they're there. One of my goals last year was to have soup at least once a week. I need the practice making it. This year I want to try to slip beans in somehow at least once a week. The kids (or dh or me) aren't going to like every single recipe. Keep trying. 

[QueenCat]

One suggestion on the juice.... buy it in the frozen concentrate form and make it in a pitcher. It's about $1.50.... 100% juice too!

[AMJ]

Each month I make for the freezer: 3 batches of soup, 3 batches of pasta sauce, 2 trays baked oatmeal, 2 trays frittata, 3 dz cookies or snack, 4 lbs of beans, 2 lbs grain (quinoa usually), and 2 trays of granola bars.

Would you be willing to share instructions for cooking, freezing, and reheating baked oatmeal and frittatas, please?

[idnib]

Let's see...some snippets....

 

 And a lot of times when I see people post 'frugal' meals, I don't think they look good, or my family would never.eat.them.  :D

 

I don't believe in depriving oneself. 

 

<snip>

 

So if I actually want us to eat more 'healthy' foods, do I have to suck it up and do one of those things?  Do I have to spend a fortune or give up stuff?  Do I have to spend hours in the kitchen?

Overall sometimes I really feel like the healthy food kick is for people with a lot more money than me and more time on their hands, too... :glare:

 

The kids hate oatmeal.  And everything else breakfast related, unless it's equally expensive or worse for them.  Or involves me getting up and getting them breakfast.   :D

 

<snip>

 

I do all my shopping at one store - I don't like going multiple places. 

 

<snip>

 

We have a farm stand in town and I don't know how their pricing is comparatively (I've bought stuff there before), but they rarely have anything I'll use. 

 

<snip>

 

Oh, see I can't handle eating the same thing repeatedly. 

 

<snip>

 

I don't like deer or fish. 

I'm so difficult lol...

 

<snip>

 

But DH won't eat leftovers.  He doesn't like stuff reheated.   :lol:

 

<snip>

 

If he didn't have anything to eat at home he would just eat lunch at work, which would cost him $3-4 at the cafe there.  So I'm cool with the ~$5/wk spent on pizzas and $6/every other week on yogurt.   :)

 

 

 

I was going to write a big long post of food/shopping ideas but you saved me the effort by outlining the things you need to consider changing in your mind, not on the plate....

 

I hope I don't sound like a meanie (I'm not, really!) but IMO you don't really need recipes and meal ideas. You need to rethink how you and your family approach food and understanding financial trade-offs. 

 

Please also consider how your children, the oldest of whom is 9, have so much say-so in what they will and won't eat when it's really affecting the family budget. 

[AK_Mom4]

That's a tricky one, OP. if I was going to cut your grocery budget and stay within your other guidelines, I would probably start by cutting the milk and the boxed cereal. Buy a bag of the cheaper generic cereal and just one quart of milk for cereal and cooking only. Kids drink water or maybe juice made from frozen concentrate. That should cut close to $25 from your weekly grocery budget.

 

If you like to bake, you could probably replace the cereal with muffins - easy to make from scratch or a cheap mix. That would probably cut a few dollars more.

[NicAnn]

Would you be willing to share instructions for cooking, freezing, and reheating baked oatmeal and frittatas, please?

Yes of course. I just bake the oatmeal using a similar recipe to this-http://www.food.com/recipe/amish-baked-oatmeal-117211. I bake it in a glass 13x9 pan, cut it into large squares after it cools (but still in the pan), cover it with a lid or foil and freeze. Then on Sunday night i put it into the fridge to defrost. We reheat individual servings in the oven for a few minutes, or microwave if we had one.

 

The frittata is the same. I make an egg, broccoli, kale, and sometimes sausage frittata. Bake it in an oiled glass pan, or foil pan, then freeze it after it's cooled. To reheat, let it defrost in the fridge for a few hours and then bake in the oven. The consistency with be slightly different since it's frozen, but not too noticeable.

Hope that helps!

[chepyl]

Plant a small garden, make it a part of school. We don't grow everything we need, but we grow enough to have good veggies with dinner and some snacks.

 

I would cut the processed snack foods. We buy Nutragrain bars and granola bars as snacks when we are running out and in a hurry. Our snacks are fruit, carrots, cherry tomatoes and cucumbers we pick from the garden, and popcorn. Fruit is tasty and so much cheaper than other snacks. I did buy some animal crackers, wheat thins and cheez-its this week. The kids divided them into snack bags with one serving in each baggie. $6 and I have snack bags for most of the month.

 

I make my own granola when I want a sweet snack. You can make it cheap. We make homemade cookies a lot. At Christmas Walmart put most of the baking chips (nestle, ghiradelli, and hershey) on sale for $1 a bag! I spent about $30 on various flavors. It takes 10 minutes to mix up some batter. We bake a 12-16 and put the rest in the fridge. That keeps us in fresh cookies for 3-4 days.

 

Cook whole chickens. We buy frozen breasts weekly, but I also do a whole chicken almost every week. We eat it for dinner, I make broth, and the leftovers are turned into some kind of soup the next day.

 

Cheap lunches: grilled cheese, PBJ, and boxed mac and cheese.

 

We spend and average of $120 a week on groceries (including toilet paper, paper towels, shampoo, etc; but excluding diapers).

 

I have recently started doubling meals. I made a chicken enchilada casserole last week. I doubled it and put the extra in the freezer. We will eat it in a couple of weeks. I plan to do the same with lasagna this week. I have also made a bunch of pizza crusts and froze them - 5 minutes to top and 15 to bake - cheap and easy.

 

*I do agree with a previous poster, you have to change your ideas about food and try some new things. Ground turkey and cabbage is something I never would have tried, but DH made it and it is delicious! You never know until you try. My kids must try every new meal we make. They usually like it :)

[LucyStoner]

Traditionally food is what most people spent their whole day securing in some way or another. Food is going to be one of the top 1-3 largest expenditures for most families, especially if they are eating a nutritionally sound diet. Frankly I think some people exaggerate how little they spend on groceries. When someone says they are buying grass fed beef and all/mostly organics for a budget that averages to $2-3 total per person per day, I have to scratch my head unless they are omitting the costs of food grown themselves or not tabulating up some costs.

 

Before anyone tells me to cook from scratch, garden, trade, buy in bulk, buy from farmers, haggle at farmer's markets, shop sales, upick, home preserve, shop in season, serve smaller portions of meats etc, I have been doing that all for 7+ years (and some of it much longer). I am frugal and we get a lot of value for our grocery dollars. Still my grocery data doesn't generate anything close to $2-3 per day per person because we eat our fruits and veggies and are omnivores living in a city/no yard environment. Even buying bruised apples 10-30 cents a pound doesn't drop us into that territory.

 

There is no shame in spending a statistically probable amount on food.

 

ETA- because I left my lunch at home, I fed myself a PBJ (I keep the fixings on hand in the car because they are my son's favorite) and by 2:30pm I was ridiculously hungry. I don't use the word starving lightly, having actually been hungry at times as a child but I was freakishly hungry for having eaten that many calories so recently. I am seriously reconsidering it as a lunch item for my kids. Even with WW natural bread and pb, it went nowhere.