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

[Rachel]

I didn't get a chance to read through all the comments yet, but here are my thoughts.

 

I think your budget is reasonable unless you live in a really high cost area.  One thing to remember is that there is always someone out there who will eat healthier than you and someone out there that can eat less expensively than you.  You have to do what works for your family.  

 

I have a family of 5, my kids are 5,3,&1, we average $160 per week for groceries (including personal items, dog food, paper goods, & cleaning supplies but not diapers.)  Nutrition is really important to me, we eat about 90% real/unprocessed food and about 50% organic.  I would like both of those to be 100% but that isn't feasible for us right now.  We go out to eat once per week but that is not included in our grocery budget.  My husband eats lunch at work 2-3 times per week, but other than that our budget is for 3 meals per day per person. 

 

I do cook mostly from scratch, but they are simple meals.  Breakfast is 5-10 minutes of prep, lunch is 10-15 minutes of prep, supper is about 30 minutes of prep.  Snacks are almost always fruits or veggies unless I make something from scratch like banana bread, muffins, or cookies.  That happens just a handful of times each month and usually at the request of my kids.

 

The thing I see in your menus is that your breakfasts and snacks tend to not be very filling so (I'm guessing) your kids want more than one serving and that drives up the cost.  I know you said your kids are picky about breakfast, but that it the meal I would focus on improving. We do oatmeal (with applesauce and blueberries) 4 days per week, I'll cook a hot breakfast once per week, the other days we do toast with fruit.  If my kids are still hungry they can have oatmeal (they rarely pick that) or fruit.  If your kids will eat hot breakfast foods like eggs, pancakes, or breakfast burritos, you could teach your 9 & 7 year old to prepare them so that you don't have to. 

 

In a book I read on managing large families, the author suggests serving the same thing every week (i.e. pizza every Monday, spaghetti every Tuesday, etc).  This isn't enough variety for my family, but we did come up with a 2 week menu rotation for Mon.-Fri.  This cuts down on planning time, shopping costs because I can stock up when ingredients are on sale, and it cuts way down on cooking time since I'm more familiar with the recipes.  After 3 or 4 months when we start getting burned out, we revise the menu.  When I suggested this idea to my husband, he groaned because he likes more variety.  However, it has worked really well for us.  I even made up a standard grocery list, so we just check off what we need instead of having to start a grocery list from scratch every week.

 

Along those lines, I'll roast a chicken for supper one night, then use the leftovers for mini-pizzas or chicken salad later in the week.  I used to always use the frozen chicken breasts, but I have found the fresh chicken has a much better flavor.  It was hard getting over having to handle the raw chicken at first, but now it's no big deal.  We'll have chili one night and baked potatoes topped with chili the next.  Anytime I can do the majority of cooking/prep one day but get two meals out of it is a big time saver and makes it easier to cook from scratch.

 

One idea I picked up from a large family blog I read, the writer only allows seconds on sides.  In our family this helps us make sure I can serve the main dish at a second meal, usually lunch.  You said your husband doesn't like things reheated, is that a microwave thing?  Microwaving does cook food differently than the oven, I think it makes food more chewy so I reheat in the oven when possible.

 

Other things that help with our grocery budget are accepting the fresh produce from friends that garden.  We get tons of tomatoes, squash, grapes, and apples that way.  I buy in-season produce, usually from the farmer's market.  It isn't always cheaper than Wal-mart, but it is usually raised by organic methods.  When fruits or vegetables like red peppers are out of season, I either substitute in recipes or use frozen ones.  Bananas are the only thing I buy fresh year round, I love bananas.

 

A lot of people mentioned buying in bulk.  I don't do that because I don't have the space and I tend to forget what I have on hand if it isn't in sight.  If I see ground beef for half the regular cost, I will buy 3 or 4 pounds more than what I need for the week, then freeze the rest. That's the extent of my bulk buying.

 

I live in a fairly small town (8,000) with a small bi-weekly farmer's market, a Kroger, and a Save A Lot.  20 minutes away is a small city.  The prices at Kroger are 25-30% lower in the city, plus there is more selection.  So even though it is more convenient to shop in town, I don't.   Shopping in the city gives me many more shopping options including Wal-mart, Trader Joes, Fresh Market, and Whole Foods.  The farmer's market in the city has more variety & vendors, but overall the produce is a lot more expensive than the small town one.  When I need a lot of non-food items, I shop at Wal-mart, if I need better quality meat, I shop at Whole Foods or Fresh Market.  The bulk of my produce I can't get at the farmer's market comes from Trader Joes.  Due to time, I limit my grocery shopping to two stops, so I just shop wherever I can best meet my needs for the week.  That is what prevents me from cutting our budget down or increasing the amount of real food in our diet.

 

My sister lives in a very rural area, so her shopping options are a tiny grocery store (we have convenience stores around here with more food) and a Wal-mart that's an hour away.  Weather conditions prevent her from getting to Walmart regularly during certain times of year.  She has to depend more on frozen and processed foods than we do.  So just keep in mind that in some areas of the country it's easier to eat better for less expense.

[chepyl]

You could also buy frozen juice concentrate. Sometimes they are quite a bit cheaper than a bottle of juice.

 

But I think the biggest help in your budget will be to cut the precessed snacks in favor of fresh fruit, carrots, celery, etc. A kid will only go hungry for so long before they start to eat what you buy. We used to eat out a lot. My kids stopped asking after the first month of not eating out at all. They stopped asking for the fruit snacks and crackers eventually. They are all happy with a piece of fruit now. I just try to keep a variety in the fridge.

[PeacefulChaos]

OP here again.   :D

I say this gently- you have to do more than plan meals. You have to follow through with the meal prep.  You mentioned that your kids don't get chicken nuggets for lunch because you'd never remember to get them ready in time for lunch. And that you use canned beans because you can't remember to soak the beans in advance. That you don't have time to cook rice.     (I'm not suggesting chicken nuggets for lunch, just pointing out that actual hands on prep for something like that is about 60 seconds.)

I hope this doesn't come across as me taking offense, because I didn't - I just wanted to be sure that it's understood that I do actually make the meals.  I cook dinner at home every night.  We don't even eat out, to speak of, because it's not really part of our budget and because we have very limited choices in our little town, anyway.    Sometimes eating out looks awesome until I remember what we have to choose from.   ;)   I stick to my weekly menu and make sure to make everything - if for some reason we end up not eating one of the meals, I move it to the following week since we've already bought the stuff for it.  The thing is, I'm a very compartmentalized person - I don't think all day about what we're having for dinner.  DH can come home and ask, 'What's for dinner?' and I'm like, Idk, whatever is on the menu!  I just don't care that much to be thinking about it even an hour or two in advance, much less the night before.

I just don't like making lunch because we're in the middle of school then, and if I were to make them lunch it would take me a few minutes when I'd have kids coming and asking me questions about math, or trying to show me what they finished in geography, etc.  It's more practicality on that - I wouldn't say I would LOVE to make them lunch (I'd rather they do it themselves, like they do now) but as it is 12:00 sneaks up on me.  I don't watch the clock closely enough to actually make sure that I have time at 11:45 (or longer, if I have to heat up the oven for something) to go make them lunch.  Kwim?   And DH comes home for lunch at 12, and I like for us to all eat together (well, I don't - I eat lunch after school is over, around 2), plus he then lays Pink down for her nap afterward/before he heads back to work.  It all just works out for us that way.

As far as breakfast, I don't cook it because the kids get up first lol.   :D  Cooking breakfast would require either them waiting for me to get up (they would bug me to death because apparently they are just STARVING in the morning - which is weird to me, I'm not hungry at all) or me getting up early (no thanks).  So I just don't like the idea, unless I'm planning on being up early already.

The majority of what we eat for dinner is either mexican or asian lol.  I only do other stuff because DH asks for it - we never, ever do meals of a meat and 2 sides.  It's too much work, IMO, and too many dirty dishes afterward.   :D

Even though you don't let your kids eat snacks between meals, you seem to buy a lot of food that many consider snack foods. Ice cream, crackers, applesauce, pudding, jello, etc.  If they're eating these foods as part of lunch, you could save some money by choosing less expensive items to add to their lunches, such as apple slices, grapes, etc. 

Oh my goodness... grapes here are like $4/lb.  Insanely expensive.  Astro and Pink LOVE them, so I get them once in awhile when the budget has some room.  (Astro, when he was around 2-3, cried about eating birthday cake at his birthday party because he just wanted to eat grapes!! :lol: )

And I don't buy all those things every week.  I don't know if that's how it came across, but usually we only have applesauce or pudding or yogurt or jello in the fridge - sometimes applesauce and one other thing.  We only have crackers or granola bars.  In the end, the kids usually only have 2-3 things to choose from when it comes to their dessert.

Ice cream, eh, we won't give that up.  I was raised on Schwan's, so ice cream is part of life for me!!   :D

Breakfast can be pretty cheap so this might be an area where you can cut costs. Not only are you buying three boxes of cereal, you're buying milk for it also, and per serving that expense can be drastically cut.  Perhaps a smoothie costs more than a poptart, and maybe it has the same amount of calories, but the quality of those calories is quite different. Fresh or frozen fruit, a few ounces of plain yogurt, and a splash of water or juice and you have a smoothie.   Even adding half a bagel with nut butter would still probably be cheaper than the cereal or poptart option. 

 

Having said all that, the amount you spend on groceries seems quite reasonable for your family size.  But with some planning and effort, you might be able to buy more, better quality food for the same price.  Getting the kids involved is real work, but it pays off. It's amazing what kids will eat if it's put on a skewer. Kids who hate fruit or grilled chicken or meatballs will often gobble them up if presented in a fun way, like on a skewer or with a fun dip. 

Kids who hate eggs often grow to like them if they help make scrambled eggs and toast for the family for a week or two...eventually they try it and realize they like it. 

 

 

I didn't get a chance to read through all the comments yet, but here are my thoughts.

 

I think your budget is reasonable unless you live in a really high cost area.  One thing to remember is that there is always someone out there who will eat healthier than you and someone out there that can eat less expensively than you.  You have to do what works for your family.  

 

I have a family of 5, my kids are 5,3,&1, we average $160 per week for groceries (including personal items, dog food, paper goods, & cleaning supplies but not diapers.)  Nutrition is really important to me, we eat about 90% real/unprocessed food and about 50% organic.  I would like both of those to be 100% but that isn't feasible for us right now.  We go out to eat once per week but that is not included in our grocery budget.  My husband eats lunch at work 2-3 times per week, but other than that our budget is for 3 meals per day per person. 

 

I do cook mostly from scratch, but they are simple meals.  Breakfast is 5-10 minutes of prep, lunch is 10-15 minutes of prep, supper is about 30 minutes of prep.  Snacks are almost always fruits or veggies unless I make something from scratch like banana bread, muffins, or cookies.  That happens just a handful of times each month and usually at the request of my kids.

 

The thing I see in your menus is that your breakfasts and snacks tend to not be very filling so (I'm guessing) your kids want more than one serving and that drives up the cost.  I know you said your kids are picky about breakfast, but that it the meal I would focus on improving. We do oatmeal (with applesauce and blueberries) 4 days per week, I'll cook a hot breakfast once per week, the other days we do toast with fruit.  If my kids are still hungry they can have oatmeal (they rarely pick that) or fruit.  If your kids will eat hot breakfast foods like eggs, pancakes, or breakfast burritos, you could teach your 9 & 7 year old to prepare them so that you don't have to. 

 

In a book I read on managing large families, the author suggests serving the same thing every week (i.e. pizza every Monday, spaghetti every Tuesday, etc).  This isn't enough variety for my family, but we did come up with a 2 week menu rotation for Mon.-Fri.  This cuts down on planning time, shopping costs because I can stock up when ingredients are on sale, and it cuts way down on cooking time since I'm more familiar with the recipes.  After 3 or 4 months when we start getting burned out, we revise the menu.  When I suggested this idea to my husband, he groaned because he likes more variety.  However, it has worked really well for us.  I even made up a standard grocery list, so we just check off what we need instead of having to start a grocery list from scratch every week.

 

Along those lines, I'll roast a chicken for supper one night, then use the leftovers for mini-pizzas or chicken salad later in the week.  I used to always use the frozen chicken breasts, but I have found the fresh chicken has a much better flavor.  It was hard getting over having to handle the raw chicken at first, but now it's no big deal.  We'll have chili one night and baked potatoes topped with chili the next.  Anytime I can do the majority of cooking/prep one day but get two meals out of it is a big time saver and makes it easier to cook from scratch.

Is your fresh chicken reasonably priced?  I don't really care for the frozen, honestly - I've always felt like the fresh was just better - better quality, maybe better for us, etc - but it's like $6 for something like 1.5 lbs.  I can maybe stretch that out to... Idk... 3 meals or so??  But still, the frozen is $11/bag (5 lbs) and it lasts us for 6-8 meals.  I'm afraid if I try to go back to the other stuff, it'll end up costing us an arm and a leg.   :(  Note: chicken is pretty much the only meat we eat.  I don't like sausage, and we have beef maybe 1-2x/week, at most.  I hate hate HATE pork.    So most of our meals involve chicken...

One idea I picked up from a large family blog I read, the writer only allows seconds on sides.  In our family this helps us make sure I can serve the main dish at a second meal, usually lunch.  You said your husband doesn't like things reheated, is that a microwave thing?  Microwaving does cook food differently than the oven, I think it makes food more chewy so I reheat in the oven when possible.

 

Other things that help with our grocery budget are accepting the fresh produce from friends that garden.  We get tons of tomatoes, squash, grapes, and apples that way.  I buy in-season produce, usually from the farmer's market.  It isn't always cheaper than Wal-mart, but it is usually raised by organic methods.  When fruits or vegetables like red peppers are out of season, I either substitute in recipes or use frozen ones.  Bananas are the only thing I buy fresh year round, I love bananas.

 

A lot of people mentioned buying in bulk.  I don't do that because I don't have the space and I tend to forget what I have on hand if it isn't in sight.  If I see ground beef for half the regular cost, I will buy 3 or 4 pounds more than what I need for the week, then freeze the rest. That's the extent of my bulk buying.

 

I live in a fairly small town (8,000) with a small bi-weekly farmer's market, a Kroger, and a Save A Lot.  20 minutes away is a small city.  The prices at Kroger are 25-30% lower in the city, plus there is more selection.  So even though it is more convenient to shop in town, I don't.   Shopping in the city gives me many more shopping options including Wal-mart, Trader Joes, Fresh Market, and Whole Foods.  The farmer's market in the city has more variety & vendors, but overall the produce is a lot more expensive than the small town one.  When I need a lot of non-food items, I shop at Wal-mart, if I need better quality meat, I shop at Whole Foods or Fresh Market.  The bulk of my produce I can't get at the farmer's market comes from Trader Joes.  Due to time, I limit my grocery shopping to two stops, so I just shop wherever I can best meet my needs for the week.  That is what prevents me from cutting our budget down or increasing the amount of real food in our diet.

There is a Kroger like... idk how far from us  ... I don't ever go that way (we live between a large-ish city and a small-ish city, about equidistant between the two... the Kroger is halfway or so to the small-ish city, so maybe 20-30 minutes??)... and some people actually do drive all the way there to go grocery shopping.    I do like Food Lion, which is the only thing we have in town (our Kroger closed, they were terrible anyway), but cost wise they can't compare to WM even with my 'MVP' card.   :(

My sister lives in a very rural area, so her shopping options are a tiny grocery store (we have convenience stores around here with more food) and a Wal-mart that's an hour away.  Weather conditions prevent her from getting to Walmart regularly during certain times of year.  She has to depend more on frozen and processed foods than we do.  So just keep in mind that in some areas of the country it's easier to eat better for less expense.

 

Since reading this thread earlier and thinking about it, I think I may try to lessen what we get for the kids.  Idk.  I can't decide which to cut first, the 'dessert/snack' items or the cereal.  

 

 

[Jane in NC]

 

 

Since reading this thread earlier and thinking about it, I think I may try to lessen what we get for the kids.  Idk.  I can't decide which to cut first, the 'dessert/snack' items or the cereal.  

 

Perhaps the kids can help make their own snacks and breakfast items.  You could incorporate this into your homeschool plans.

 

[Annie G]

I just don't like making lunch because we're in the middle of school then, and if I were to make them lunch it would take me a few minutes when I'd have kids coming and asking me questions about math, or trying to show me what they finished in geography, etc.  It's more practicality on that - I wouldn't say I would LOVE to make them lunch (I'd rather they do it themselves, like they do now) but as it is 12:00 sneaks up on me.  I don't watch the clock closely enough to actually make sure that I have time at 11:45 (or longer, if I have to heat up the oven for something) to go make them lunch.  Kwim?   And DH comes home for lunch at 12, and I like for us to all eat together (well, I don't - I eat lunch after school is over, around 2), plus he then lays Pink down for her nap afterward/before he heads back to work.  It all just works out for us that way.

As far as breakfast, I don't cook it because the kids get up first lol.    :D  Cooking breakfast would require either them waiting for me to get up (they would bug me to death because apparently they are just STARVING in the morning - which is weird to me, I'm not hungry at all) or me getting up early (no thanks).  So I just don't like the idea, unless I'm planning on being up early already.

The majority of what we eat for dinner is either mexican or asian lol.  I only do other stuff because DH asks for it - we never, ever do meals of a meat and 2 sides.  It's too much work, IMO, and too many dirty dishes afterward.    :D

 

 

Well, I have no suggestions then. You don't want to make breakfast or lunch, and dinner is limited because you don't want to make anything that's too much work or makes too much mess.  In that case, I have no idea how you can feed your family decent food on a tight budget.  But if someone has the solution, I'm all ears. 

[ScoutTN]

I buy whole fish - get the best filet knife you can and some small pliers for the pin bones.

 

And make stock from the leftover parts! Whole Foods (a.k.a. Whole Paycheck) will sometimes give me fish heads and bones for free. Toss them in a giant pot with some veggies and you have fabulous fish stock. Shrimp shells are good for stock making too! 

 

Does make the house smell fishy for a day, so I do this when I can have the windows open! And I cook something stron the next day - stir fry or mexican.

[Annie Laurie]

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.

 

 

 

I agree. And I see a lot of people posting about how little they spend who have young kids only, and the number of kids you're feeding and their ages can make a big difference. I have two teenage boys, a husband who runs every day, and 3 additional children. It was easier to spend less when my kids were all little.

[Audrey]

Yeah.  Something has to give for you to save more and that something probably has to be your time.  

 

I never really know what to say in posts like this because I know my situation is not common and so, you can disregard what I do have to say, but...

 

Time is the one thing you probably most afford, and that means you have more affordable options to provide food for your family.  I'm not going to go into what it costs me to feed my family because I grow most of it or dh raises the rest of the most of it.  We buy food in winter and I'm always in sticker shock for weeks because I forgot how much stuff costs.

 

The best money saver is to cook from scratch, but that takes time.  Costs for things are different everywhere, so my advice would be to first, scout the stores, flyers, etc. and notice what are the consistently lower priced items that are proteins, and then, produce.  Produce will likely be lower when it is in season, but for some areas, very little ever seems to be in season.  Just find what is consistently lower.  Then, use your menu planning mojo and focus in on those items as bases for your meals.  It may mean significantly changing what you eat, so try changing things a little at a time, instead of all at once.  To keep it interesting, scour the internet for recipes that use your newfound lower priced items.  I find that trying new recipes helps me out of the "same-old-same-old" slump and makes the cooking more fun for me (and thus, less of a hassle or burden mentally).

 

Personally, I would try to steer clear of relying on starches too much as filler. The idea of a tiny bit of protein then filling the plate with starches, isn't a good model for trying to cook healthier.  It is cheaper.  That's for sure, and if you are truly struggling between paying the heat bill or buying food, then it is probably a very good strategy.  But, that isn't healthy.  If you want healthy, then you want balance.  And, as much variety as your budget and availability allow.

 

Your comment about rice upthread also makes me remember... you might want to look into an inexpensive rice cooker.  There are many on the market.  They are supposed to be foolproof, and those I know who have them, love them.  As to your comment on beans... I forget to soak, too.  You can do a quick soak method wherein you bring water and the beans to a boil, then boil for 5 minutes, cover, shut off the heat and let soak for one hour.  That's faster than overnight, at least.  What I have taken to doing, though, is to make a slow cooker pot of beans once a week, then use those throughout the week in various dishes.  Some beans don't need soaking either -- lentils, small limas, adzuki beans and split peas don't need it, for example.

 

Anyway... I wish you luck.  It's hard trying to feed your family well, no matter what your situation or budget or skill level is.

[Rachel]

I agree. And I see a lot of people posting about how little they spend who have young kids only, and the number of kids you're feeding and their ages can make a big difference. I have two teenage boys, a husband who runs every day, and 3 additional children. It was easier to spend less when my kids were all little.

This is so true, when my 22 year old brother visited, he went through the food I intended to last a week, in 2 days.  I was shocked by how much he could eat and yet be rail thin.

[My3girls]

I comparison shop and use sale papers a lot. I buy in season produce, and we have started our own garden. It's really small so far, just tomatoes and green beens. We plan to add to it next year. I buy the big family sized meat packages then repackage them into smaller portions and freeze. I spend about $200 per week, which includes hygiene and cleaning items, for a family of 5 people and 5 pets. I am not a cook so my meals are really pretty simple... A meat, a starch, and a vegetable. Fruit is for dessert or snack. I sometimes do a casserole type meal like shepherds pie or chicken pot pie. My kids make their own lunch which is usually something like grilled cheese, chef boyardi, or hot pockets with a raw veggie like broccoli or carrots and fruit or yogurt or applesauce or something. We aren't super healthy, but we don't have McDonald's everyday, either.

[Nancy Ann]

Simple healthy meals:

 

Chicken breast with steamed brown rice and vegetable  (we eat this twice a week by changing out the vegetable and one night having BBQ sauce on the meat and another night having Alfredo sauce, we don't use much of the Alfredo sauce, just a bit on the chicken)

 

Steamed vegetables taste so much better than boiled or microwaved.

 

Parmasean cheese on broccolli with butter is very good. I am not afraid to put butter and cheese on vegetables!! 

 

Spaghetti can be very healthy when you dice up in very small chunks so kids won't even notice, yellow onions, green peppers and mushrooms. Chop really fine and fry them in oil a bit, than add the ground beef and than when that's browned add the sauce. 

 

Tacos are cheap and healthy. We add tomatoes, avocado, lettuce, cheese, olives as toppings. I buy the really small corn tortillas and fry them in oil. It costs about $1.50 for a bag of 30 tortillas and that can easily last for 2-3 meals. Just keep in fridge.  

 

Alton Brown did a special on frying with oil and measured and showed how very little oil actually gets on the food and how it's really not that unhealthy to use oil for cooking. 

 

We have about 5 dinners each week that are basically the same and just 2 of the dinners are flexible. 

 

For lunches I usually serve a fresh fruit and sometimes canned fruit with whatever we are having. 

 

For breakfast I do make hot breakfasts most days. We have oatmeal one day and eggs with toast another. I make egg sandwiches and the kids like them . I sort of poach the egg, break the yolk cook them with the lid on, make toast and put a slice of cheese, butter and the egg. Kids really like to eat eggs this way. I don't care much for eggs either but I like the egg sandwich, I have mine open faced and without the cheese, just the egg, butter and toast. I alternate these breakfasts but somedays we do have cereal. Cereal is expensive but we love it so I just try and come up with ways to have other breakfasts most of the time. 

 

Applesauce is cheap, but those other ready made snacks can be expensive. I would only buy them when onsale. If there is a good sale on pop tarts than only buy them than same with the granola bars. 

 

This is where homecooking may come in handy. Making your own snacks.

 

I think when one makes changes it's better to go in SLOW steps. I think changing out the snacks may be hard for everyone at first. Just look at your meals and see if you can simplify them and add in more fresh and healthy ingredients. Start with just dinners and do that for a few weeks or a month, than go to lunches, than breakfast and after several months when you feel you have conquered the meals work on snacks. 

 

If you do research on juice 100% juice is really not that much better than just the other stuff. It still has sugar. I recommend buying whatever is on sale and deal with that later. If you add in more fruits and vegetables to your meals that will be healthy and will do more for your health than the 100% juice. In other words if you get juice on sale for $2 and spend the other $2 on fresh fruit than your family is better off in my opinion.

 

 

 

 

 

[xixstar]

Based on some of your comments about time and some suggested preferences you have - I highly suggest getting a pressure cooker. It you want rice in less than 45 minutes, bingo! If you want to use more dried beans but always forget to soak overnight and cook, bingo! If you're like me and you remember dinner just 1 hours before and the meat is still frozen, bingo!

 

Honestly, the pressure cooker solves my time issues when it comes to cooking. I use it more and less during different parts of the year and also depending on how time-stressed I am. But I love how it opens up more foods that need less time to cook and also more options when I forgot to prep for diner. They can take a little practice to get great results but it's been a worthwhile effort for my family.

[mamaraby]

Personally, I would try to steer clear of relying on starches too much as filler. The idea of a tiny bit of protein then filling the plate with starches, isn't a good model for trying to cook healthier. It is cheaper. That's for sure, and if you are truly struggling between paying the heat bill or buying food, then it is probably a very good strategy. But, that isn't healthy. If you want healthy, then you want balance. And, as much variety as your budget and availability allow.

*sigh* This is the second or third time this kind of comment has come up whenever grocery budgets are brought up in the last few weeks. It's a straw-man. Nutrition, variety, and starch-y foods are not mutually exclusive. Potatoes, rice, quinoa, oats, etc, etc. These are all rather starch heavy, but they also have a great deal of nutrients to go along with their belly filling qualities.

 

Nor does one only have to eat rice and only rice (though there are cultures who the bulk of their calories from rice and are still healthy). Millet and amaranth are also good choices as is polenta, grits, and wild rice. You could pick a grain for each meal and repeat maybe one a week.

 

Then we can move on to starchy vegetables - carrots in a rainbow of colors, more squashes than I can count, celeriac, parsnips, turnips, rutabagas. The roots in particular are in season now.

 

Even white flour has nutrients, they may be added back in via fortification, but they're still there. Lesser quality, sure, but I'll take a decent baguette any day of the week no matter the flour.

 

Kale, collards, mustard greens, swiss chard, cabbage (red and purple) - these are also inexpensive and nutrient powehouses. Most of them have more calcium than milk and are good sources of VitK. Even if you look at absorbable nutrients and compare they still have many other foods beat.

 

Then add in fruit like cantaloupe (usually cheap) and it's a good source of potassium and Vitamin C. Even a green pepper has a hefty dose of C and less sugar than an orange. Speaking of potassium - the evil starchy white potato has 925mg which is roughly double what the superfood salmon has to offer in one serving.

 

So yes, start with a grain as your base or another starchy vegetable. Add in a *reasonable* serving of protein to it and then fill in with a rainbow of vegetables. It's not only cheap (because vegetables are), but it's healthy and nutrient dense. You'll cover your macros, micros, and a wide range of phytonutrients. You'll also easily exceed the paltry RDA for fiber by lunchtime.

 

Notice I said reasonable serving of protein. Yes, most Americans overeat protein. It seems like the only thing most people can focus on, but there is such a thing as too much and it's probably less than most people think. I won't tell you that it has to be only a certain kind of protein. I happen to pick veggie options only because they're less expensive which means I have more money for vegetables. If you have more money than I do, then by all means pick whatever you like.

 

But yes, it is going to take time. Grains in particular will need time and if you want to go with the cheapest option for beans, they need at least some presoaking. You have to plan ahead - set a timer or an alarm and probably change your schedule around a bit to fit everything in. You're either going to pay in time or money. Either you pay more to have someone do some portion of the prep work for you, or pay in your own effort and time. I have not found that you could have it both ways.

[Seasider]

So many great replies, I haven't thoroughly read them all yet. Just wanted to mention a couple of things.

 

Echoing the muffins and suggest you can add a little protein powder to the mix to give them a little staying power.

 

Milk is not a beverage, it is a whole food. Don't treat it like a beverage.

 

Skip the juice. Kids can drink water. If they want something fruity, they should eat the whole fruit. It contains fiber which is good for their digestive systems and helps them feel fuller.

 

Echoing the beans. If you don't like beans as an entree, at least consider using beans as stretchers in other recipes and reduce the amount of meat (ie, chili with more beans than meat, black bean burgers, beans in salad, roasted chickpeas for snacks or in salads).

 

And as for the "won't eat leftovers"? If you want to really affect your grocery budget, that's an attitude that needs to change.

[OrganicAnn]

One thing we do is to search for recipes that fit our family.   We only eat meat about 2 days a week, so that is lots of vegetarian meals.   I don't like 'fake' food like veggie bacon or turkey bacon.   So I want meals that taste good as vegetarian meals.   We have lots of cook books old and new.   I will pull out a cook book and look for what I consider recipes that sound tasty.   I also am looking for easy recipes with not a lot of ingredients.  Then I'll give the list of the names and pg numbers to DH and let him look them over.   If we both think they are worth trying we will add one to the weekly line up.   Some are great and others flops.   We've found some great recipes that way.   It is definitely more difficult to plan a vegetarian meal that one with meat, so it is good to have some good 'go to' recipes.   Plus if you cook from scratch and do it right vegetarian is cheaper and healthier.   

 

My DD is not a big breakfast person, so I'm always trying to come up with things to get some protein into her in the a.m.    But for a change I will make pumpkin muffins this time of year.   It is fun for breakfast and filling.    You can also do that with other fruit/vegetables in quick breads.  Zucchini muffins, carrot cake muffins, etc.  

 

For kids, some times you just have to keep trying to get them to try and eat certain foods.   My DD didn't like oatmeal too much until she had a little maple syrup on it.  

 

Bread only needs flour, water, salt and yeast.  Look up the no kneed bread.  Of course this takes pre-planning and doing things at certain times of the day to make this type of bread, but it is delicious. 

 

You might said that you only want to think of dinner when it is time to start it.   That limits you in what you can do.    One way to change would be to take 15 minutes at breakfast time to work on lunch, dinner or prep for the next day, do the same at lunch time and then do some preprep for the next day at dinner time.   Fitting it in with a meal may make it easier for your to remember.  

 

You have to decide for yourself how much you want to change your own ways and how much saving money matters to you.  

[mamajudy]

As mamaraby said, most Americans actually eat too much protein. Excessive consumption of protein can cause calcium loss.

[Tarreymere]

I think you already answered your question when you said you wouldn't "give up" your "little luxuries" or "deprive" yourself.

 

FWIW, I don't spend "hours in the kitchen" but I bake my own bread, make my own yogurt, make every single treat and snack we eat, heck I even make my own pasta and pizza dough. We don't buy cereal. We drink water we filter ourselves or make tea. We spend less on groceries because we are willing to do this. The kids eat oatmeal because they don't GET a choice to lobby for cereal, etc.

 

It's totally up to you and what you are willing to do. You may choose to live your present choices, but know that you ARE making a choice. It would be great if there was some secret to buying what you like and spending less, but truth is there are just trade-offs. Just like being home with the kids and not bringing in my former income was a trade-off for us, making our own snacks and things is a trade-off  too. What one person can tolerate in a trade-off might make someone else stark raving crazy. You are the only one who knows what you are willing to change and if the potential gain will be worth it to you.

[Coco_Clark]

It won't let me quote for some reason, but you asked me if making bread is easy,... I think it's easy. I think it's even easier using the AMAZING book "artisan bread in 5 minutes a day". A lot of the recipes can be found online, and the book is also available in many libraries.

 

But just because I think it's easy doesnt mean you will. And I suspect from what you've written you wouldn't.

 

Saying this gently and with a lot of love (because I've soo been there) but it sounds like you need to set aside time to meal prep. This should be easy, because you meal plan you are halfway there! Start dinner just a tad bit earlier. Real rice is soo much cheaper, healthier, and YUMMIER than minute rice. It only takes a little while longer. Look at your menu for the next day the night before and get beans soaking, cheaper and YUMMIER than canned beans. Use up those leftover chicken or ham bones, they sit unattended while you do school. There is a lot you can do with very little time but a lot of foresight.

 

Maybe start with lunch, since early waking is difficult for you, and take a real "lunch break" and teach your kids to cook. Call it "life skills" or "nutrition" or whatever will make you give it the attention you give other school subjects. Maybe giving them ownership with help with the pickiness. Applesauce is seasonable right now, and super easy to make. Freezing it means you don't have to learn to can (although that's not hard either).

[LucyStoner]

As mamaraby said, most Americans actually eat too much protein. Excessive consumption of protein can cause calcium loss.

Different people have different nutritional needs. At the same time some people are eating excessive protein, some other people need far more protein than they get. I thought my diet was fine but when I increased my protein per a nutritionist's advice, my energy levels increased dramatically. Some people do well with starchy meal bases, others don't.

[Jean in Newcastle]

You can always re-purpose leftovers so that your family doesn't know that they are leftovers.  I often will serve meat and veggies and then use the leftovers in a fried rice or a noodle stir-fry (yakisoba) or soup.  

[PeacefulChaos]

 

I just don't like making lunch because we're in the middle of school then, and if I were to make them lunch it would take me a few minutes when I'd have kids coming and asking me questions about math, or trying to show me what they finished in geography, etc.  It's more practicality on that - I wouldn't say I would LOVE to make them lunch (I'd rather they do it themselves, like they do now) but as it is 12:00 sneaks up on me.  I don't watch the clock closely enough to actually make sure that I have time at 11:45 (or longer, if I have to heat up the oven for something) to go make them lunch.  Kwim?   And DH comes home for lunch at 12, and I like for us to all eat together (well, I don't - I eat lunch after school is over, around 2), plus he then lays Pink down for her nap afterward/before he heads back to work.  It all just works out for us that way.

As far as breakfast, I don't cook it because the kids get up first lol.    :D  Cooking breakfast would require either them waiting for me to get up (they would bug me to death because apparently they are just STARVING in the morning - which is weird to me, I'm not hungry at all) or me getting up early (no thanks).  So I just don't like the idea, unless I'm planning on being up early already.

The majority of what we eat for dinner is either mexican or asian lol.  I only do other stuff because DH asks for it - we never, ever do meals of a meat and 2 sides.  It's too much work, IMO, and too many dirty dishes afterward.    :D

 

 

Well, I have no suggestions then. You don't want to make breakfast or lunch, and dinner is limited because you don't want to make anything that's too much work or makes too much mess.  In that case, I have no idea how you can feed your family decent food on a tight budget.  But if someone has the solution, I'm all ears. 

 

Sorry!  :lol:

To me, not feeling like I have time to make lunch because of school seems completely reasonable.  I know everyone is different, though.  

As far as breakfast goes, if there are things that either the kids can make themselves (like this mornings fruit, granola, and yogurt) or things I can make in advance, that's fine.  I love muffins, we like banana bread, etc.  It's just expensive to make those things from scratch - that's all I was saying.  :)  Usually if I make muffins, they are out of a box because everything else I can find has a lot of ingredients that I don't keep on hand, meaning I'll have to go buy them - that adds up quickly!  Banana bread is easy-peasy, though, and I do make that as long as the kids don't eat all the bananas first.  I also didn't know I could make scrambled eggs and heat them up in the microwave - I thought they had to be made each day we wanted them.  I'm sure that sounds stupid to some, but for some reason I thought you couldn't put eggs in the microwave... we like hard boiled eggs, too, and I keep meaning to hard boil them.  Yum!

I also think it's funny that other people recommended I make stir fry and such because of the ease and healthiness of it, and you see it as a bad thing.  

Oh, well, like I said, to each their own.  :)

 

So many great replies, I haven't thoroughly read them all yet. Just wanted to mention a couple of things.

 

Echoing the muffins and suggest you can add a little protein powder to the mix to give them a little staying power.

 

Milk is not a beverage, it is a whole food. Don't treat it like a beverage.

 

Skip the juice. Kids can drink water. If they want something fruity, they should eat the whole fruit. It contains fiber which is good for their digestive systems and helps them feel fuller.

 

Echoing the beans. If you don't like beans as an entree, at least consider using beans as stretchers in other recipes and reduce the amount of meat (ie, chili with more beans than meat, black bean burgers, beans in salad, roasted chickpeas for snacks or in salads).

 

And as for the "won't eat leftovers"? If you want to really affect your grocery budget, that's an attitude that needs to change.

Eh... I see what you are saying, and I figure I can control what I eat, and what the kids eat (at home), but it isn't up to me to control what DH eats - he's an adult, and I don't want to seem like I'm henpecking or nagging him.  That's why even when I try to stay away from snacks, I still buy him pretzels and dip or cheez its.  I have friends who actually limit their husbands in how much they can eat, and it is mind boggling to me. I figure that's up to him, not me.  :)

[KathyBC]

I had an early-rising child and we did way more cereal back then. But he got older and was taught how to make eggs - omelettes, fried, scrambled. It got better. :-)

 

 

 

I used to have smoothies every day for breakfast - got out of the habit because of cost.  I was even buying frozen fruit!    I love them, though, and Astro and Pink will drink them.  Link hates all things fruit, so he's difficult.  Well, I say I got out of the habit because of the cost, but also because I saw online when I was looking at how 'healthy' they were ,  that they aren't any better than pop tarts or anything as far as sugar and calories and such goes.  So I gave up.

 

I can't believe smoothies have the same amount of sugar (or type of sugar, at least) as a pop tart. Our recipe is one banana, one cup frozen berries, one cup of milk (or a bit more), 2 teaspoons sugar. Three of us get a glass to go with breakfast.

 

I find rice super easy to make with dinner. It usually takes me at least an hour to chop and cook whatever else we're having. Plus, at least a few nights a week we're not married to the clock - we eat when dinner's ready, not when the hands point to a certain number, kwim?

 

Hey, can I just say how much I liked what you did with your Pinterest? You reviewed what you pinned after trying it - such a good idea!

[lamolina]

spam reported

[PeacefulChaos]

And I'm sure there are many who think I'm super difficult lol... :P  

But I will say that in reading this thread, I am STRONGLY considering switching what we have right now as far as snacks go and not buying the prepackaged stuff.  

We have jars of homemade applesauce from my grandma, but I never feel like portioning it out for the kids in advance, so we never get it eaten.  It tastes amazing though.  (and before you judge me too harshly, let me point out that my grandma did the same thing when she was here - went and bought single serve applesauce for the kids even though HER homemade stuff was in the fridge!  :lol: )

Stuff like that, I can switch.  I'm sure her homemade applesauce isn't super healthy ;) but it's free.  :D

 

I also don't know if I mentioned that we get all homemade canned salsa, jelly, and green beans from them, too.  Is there anything you can do with green beans besides just eat them as a side on their own?  Since I don't do a ton of meat/starch/veggie separate meals, we have a dozen or more jars of green beans left.  We go through jelly and salsa like it's going out of style, though.

 

And as far as other snack type stuff goes, I can take away the less healthy options and replace them with better ones.  That reminds me - Are cheese cubes bad?  (I get a block of cheese and cube it myself, I don't waste money on pre-cubed!)

 

Also, I decided to go back to the other chicken instead of frozen stuff, which I've been considering for awhile anyway.  

 

I want to make the breakfast switch soon, too.  I'll try to get everyone used to the snacks first, and then maybe in a month or so I'll take cereal out of the equation.  

 

Anyway, I just don't want everyone to feel like I'm trying to give a rebuttal to every idea or anything like that - I've actually taken a lot of things and am thinking about them.  I've just found that I tend to reply only to the things that I feel like I can't do for one reason or another, which I'm sure makes it look like I'm totally making as many excuses as possible.

[PeacefulChaos]

I had an early-rising child and we did way more cereal back then. But he got older and was taught how to make eggs - omelettes, fried, scrambled. It got better. :-)

 

 

 

 

I can't believe smoothies have the same amount of sugar (or type of sugar, at least) as a pop tart. Our recipe is one banana, one cup frozen berries, one cup of milk (or a bit more), 2 teaspoons sugar. Three of us get a glass to go with breakfast.

 

I find rice super easy to make with dinner. It usually takes me at least an hour to chop and cook whatever else we're having. Plus, at least a few nights a week we're not married to the clock - we eat when dinner's ready, not when the hands point to a certain number, kwim?

 

Hey, can I just say how much I liked what you did with your Pinterest? You reviewed what you pinned after trying it - such a good idea!

 

Do you find bananas overpower the taste of other stuff in your smoothies?  That's what always turns me off about putting bananas in... I don't like them (but I like banana bread, ;) ) and I used to feel like that's what I tasted over the berries and everything else.  However, I haven't tried a banana in one for years (for that reason) - I actually have a smoothie recipe book that has some real weird ones (like, I have NO idea where I would find any of the ingredients!) and some normal ones - even the weird ones look like they might taste good, though.  I really like smoothies lol...

 

And thanks on the Pinterest board!  I have a separate one that has all the recipes I haven't tried yet... that one is all just stuff that I have.  I figure it can be useful to me even if it isn't to anyone else, especially since I don't really print the recipes off, I just take the iPad to the kitchen and get it from there.   :)

 

ETA:  And FTR, like I said before, we don't eat pop tarts that much either - personally I would maybe eat one if I really wanted some chocolate and we didn't have anything else, but it wouldn't be for breakfast - and that's assuming we even had them.  I only get poptarts or toaster strudel about once a month.  :)

Just wanted to clarify, so people weren't thinking I was excusing pop tarts as breakfast because they supposedly have less calories/fat than smoothies.  :D

[Um_2_4]

I understand about DH, I buy him snacks and stuff he asks for because if I don't he'll buy stuff in the cafe or vending machines. And that would cost more. So I buy the protein bars, chips, nuts etc. But now that winter is here, I'll step up the baking (muffins, snack cakes, quick bread) Summer, nope not gonna bake, sorry LOL. Baking: Find some basic muffin recipe that uses just a few ingredients then just vary the mix ins. That will eliminate the going to buy a few "special" ingredients. 

 

And menu planning and once a month (ok 6 weeks) freezer prep helped BIG time. I am the same way, I would often forget about ____________ (fill in the blank: defrost, boil, soak) till to late and end up scrounging for dinner when DH walked into the door. 

 

Before school started in Aug I prepped about 30 meals. Froze in bags and now I plan from those. Some are crockpot meals, some are just premade stuff for quick lunches and some are for quick dinners. I have only my side by side fridge, so I was limited in space, but it all fit in 2 1/2 shelves of the freezer. 

 

For quick lunches, I made meatballs (serve with marina sauce, veges, cheese cubes), Mini meatloafs (just add sauce and reheat), seasoned taco meat in small serving bags for adding to quesdiallas (you could do that with any filling I think). Now when I bake homemade pizza(usually weekend thing), I bake a couple extra small ones totally and then freeze.

 

I also froze pre cut stuff for stir fries: meat marinaded in seasoning, veges, even sauce pre measured (just double bag it). Kind of like those all in one frozen skillet meals that cost like $5 for 2 servings... but mine were much cheaper and just as fast.

 

I did not do the typical frozen lasagnas/pasta dishes. 1) I don't have room in small freezer and 2) DS9 is gluten free. I just do sauces and then make 2 sets of pasta on serving day.

 

Oh and get 1 (or 2) rice cookers. I super puffy heart mine. Rice doesn't burn and I can cook it at lunch and it has a "stay warm" setting till dinner and it doesn't get dry !! And you can steam veges in some of the models. So 1 for rice and 1 for veges!

 

Next week I want to prep some soups for the crockpot with cooler weather here along with another 6 weeks of meals.

[LucyStoner]

Our smoothies have zero added sugar. While calorie wise it can exceed a pop tart, not all calories are the same. Yogurt, berries, fruit, milk, flaxseed. That is going to nourish you in a way a little processed fake sugar square simply can not. A pop tart has no nutritional value- it's just empty sugars. No protein. No fiber. Minimal vitamin content. No minerals or good fats. I bet my older son could eat 4 pop tarts and still be hungry. He's not hungry after a homemade yogurt based smoothie and a little bowl of oatmeal.

 

I can look at my spinach salad loaded with veggies and a little chopped steak and goat cheese and say that it is less calories for me to eat a candy bar or a pop tart but it is not nourishing my body the same way as the spinach salad.

 

I also find muffins and quick breads to be quite economical. You do need to have the ingredients, but amortized over each batch, it's really quite cheap to make things like muffins and banana bread.

[Um_2_4]

Something like this recipe, but I would use whole wheat pastry flour: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/All-Star-Muffin-Mix

And I would usually double it at least. As is it makes 4 doz muffins.

 

[KathyBC]

I'm sure her homemade applesauce isn't super healthy ;) but it's free.   :D

 

That reminds me - Are cheese cubes bad?  (I get a block of cheese and cube it myself, I don't waste money on pre-cubed!)

 

 

I feel like most of us have been overloaded with less than helpful information. When in doubt, stick with real food. Sure, if you are at risk of heart disease, cutting back on full-fat cheese might (and there's some debate over this) be a good idea. But generally, if it's real food and you're eating it in moderation... it's a better choice, at least IMHO. Same with the applesauce. How can it not be super healthy? Sure it probably has some sugar in it. But it's apples, for heaven's sake. With far less preservatives than at a factory.

 

Anyone, that's my (probably too many) cents. :D

[PeacefulChaos]

Something like this recipe, but I would use whole wheat pastry flour: http://www.tasteofhome.com/Recipes/All-Star-Muffin-Mix

And I would usually double it at least. As is it makes 4 doz muffins.

Those look perfect! Pretty sure I have everything for them already :)

 

Another question or two - let's see - is ranch dip bad? I have a recipe for the regular ranch dip mix that is homemade instead of out of the package - I haven't looked to see what it entails, though. I just know that I really like the ranch dip (made with sour cream) with veggies, and if the homemade one looks like I can conquer it...

Let's see... There was more...

I was just laying in bed trying to get to sleep but I was so excited about the prospect of all this food lol... Those muffins, scrambled eggs made in advance and warmed up either standalone or with a breakfast burrito, smoothies, maybe half a bagel with peanut butter... All those things sound rally good to me (of course, it's the middle of the night, and I'm a night owl, so of course I'm hungry anyway!)

How often would those things last? Like I know no one can say how long they can last before they are all gone lol, but like, would I be able to get by making that stuff once a week? Would I need to freeze anything? (Scrambled eggs or muffins, I mean - primarily muffins).

Oh,and what could maybe balance out breakfast for link when others have a smoothie with, say, a bagel and pb? He would eat the bagel/pb but not drink the smoothie. Any ideas?

 

Then after thinking about the applesauce I remembered that I already have a bunch of single serve little plastic containers that I put yogurt in for the kids (I buy a big tub and split it when I get it) so I can put applesauce in those! And then I remembered that I really like those salads in a jar - I totally forgot about them (had originally bought the single serve plastic containers for the same trip I made salads in the jar for, hence the connection).

The kids and I, especially, love salad. Dh likes it a lot, too, but we went on a salad kick once and that is all we ate for lunch - he got tired of them after that.

What sort of salad do you like that would be mason jar-able?

The kids like Caesar; I like a southwest salad with a little ranch, some salsa, black beans, corn, and a little cheese. I usually use spinach. Do you guys think my southwest one would work in a jar? I seem to remember worrying about how that one would do in a jar, because I didn't know if the beans and corn would be sufficient to keep the spinach and salsa/ ranch separated. That salad... I could live off it. :D

 

I was also thinking about fruit and since our favorite apples (jonagolds) are currently in season, I really need to see if any of our friends can pick some up somewhere... Stores don't sell them and the closest orchards are 1-2 hours away, though I wish we could go pick them ourselves- I love apple picking!!

I also thought maher I could get some celery and cut it in decent size pieces for link to eat with pb, since he doesn't like fruit -he does like that...

 

Anyway, I was so excited thinking bout all that I couldn't sleep lol! And my stupid iPad keeps autocorrecting things after I've typed them, so pardon any weird errors....

 

Omg a mouse just ran across my living room floor. :willy_nilly: Sigh... Stupid old houses!! Guess I'll be hitting tractor supply tomorrow to get some mousetraps! :ack2:

[VaKim]

Don't know if it has been mentioned, but you can also boil eggs and stick them back in the carton, in their shells, for snacking on later. I have done this many times. They will last a couple weeks in the fridge (maybe longer, I've not tried).

 

You can also cook "scrambled eggs" in the microwave. Just stir up the eggs and milk (or don't even use milk if you don't want), put them in a microwavable bowl, then zap them till they are done. Takes something like a minute for two eggs, and naturally a bit longer for more. Yeah, they will come out in one big piece, but you can cut them up and they are just as good. You could also do them one at a time in a small bowl and put them on english muffins or buns for a sandwich with whatever else you like.

 

Oh, and I haven't read all this thread, but if you all like tomato soup, but want to get away from all the nasty ingredients in there and the high price of the organic fancy stuff, you can just take a big bottle or can of tomato juice, add a bit of salt and a bit of sugar ( I never measure - taste to see ) and it will taste exactly like Campbell's tomato soup. Healthier and cheaper.

 

Just thought of something else we do. I cook up a box of macaroni to the "almost done" stage, then drain it and put it in the fridge. Then when we want mac and cheese, we put some in a bowl, add shredded cheddar, a bit of milk, a bit of butter, a bit of salt (pepper too if you like) and microwave it till the cheese is all melted. Stir it all up and it is as good as the fancy way of doing the white sauce but much easier. I do use whole wheat macaroni, but not entirely sure it is much better than regular.

[DawnM]

Here is a $2.99 Kindle book that has all sorts of ideas.

 

http://www.amazon.com/Family-Guide-Groceries-under-ebook/dp/B00703HTGS/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1380106442&sr=8-2&keywords=how+to+feed+a+family+of+4+or+more+for+less+than+%24200+a+month

 

I have used a lot of her ideas.  She makes her own mixes for things like salad dressing, taco seasoning, etc.....

 

But you have to be willing to give up some things.  It doesn't work if you live the same way you have always lived and expect different results.

 

 

[texasmama]

Making a few changes slowly has been less painful for our family.

 

I also make ahead a big batch of French toast or pancakes and just reheat in the morning.  For me, it is breakfast that gets on my nerves.  I am not hungry then, and I need to make the kids something.

 

I also make my own granola sometimes.  This is cheap, filling, healthy, and a little goes a long way.  You can put whatever you like in it.

[La Texican]

The hubby isn't fond of eating leftovers, but I like to cook extra servings for dinner and heat them up in the microwave for me & the kids for lunch while he's at work.

[Scarlett]

Thinking about this thread as I put supper in the crock pot just now. It is super simple, inexpensive and yummy. A whole onion cut in big chunks in bottom of crock pot. A whole chicken, seasoned generously, breast down on top of onions. Cook on low for 6-8 hours. I timed myself...from the time I retrieved the crock pot from my laundry room to the time I was completely finished was 15 min. That included cutting up the onion, rinsing the chicken and cleaning g up my mess completely including bleaching the prep area.

 

It is 10 a.m here. Around 2 or 3 I will put some bread in bread maker. I am going to make some home made Mac and cheese which I have never done before....and Brussels sprouts.

 

At supper time my chicken and bread will be done and all I have to really ' think' about is the Mac and cheese. Brussels sprouts are frozen. I steam/boil them for three minutes, add some butter and serve. If I have time I cut them in half drizzle with olive oil, salt and garlic and roast at 425 for 15 min or so.

[xixstar]

Those look perfect! Pretty sure I have everything for them already :)

 

Another question or two - let's see - is ranch dip bad? I have a recipe for the regular ranch dip mix that is homemade instead of out of the package - I haven't looked to see what it entails, though. I just know that I really like the ranch dip (made with sour cream) with veggies, and if the homemade one looks like I can conquer it...

 

I avoid labeling foods as good/bad - more like good/better/best. :) So making ranch dip with whole foods like sour cream and herbs, yum! Making it with cream and a package of mix with tons of ingredients, less so - but if it means someone will eat a cup of fresh veg, well then, it can still be a win. :)

 

How often would those things last? Like I know no one can say how long they can last before they are all gone lol, but like, would I be able to get by making that stuff once a week? Would I need to freeze anything? (Scrambled eggs or muffins, I mean - primarily muffins).

You could make most of these items once a week or even just once a month. I freeze most items and just thaw or leave out how much can be consumed in 3 days in the summer and 5-6 days in the winter (no central heat/air).  I can make a dozen egg muffins (scrambled eggs with add-ins baked in muffin tins)  and those last almost a week in the fridge, you can freeze them as well. Breakfast burritos freeze well and wrap in foil, straight from freezer to oven/toaster oven, without foil I imagine they do ok in the microwave. Also keep in mind, you don't have to make everything in 1 week, maybe just 1x a month, just when you find time. It makes just as much mess to make 12 muffins as it does to make 24 or more. :)

 

Oh,and what could maybe balance out breakfast for link when others have a smoothie with, say, a bagel and pb? He would eat the bagel/pb but not drink the smoothie. Any ideas?

 

Bagel and pb sounds fine to me - maybe offer plain fruit if you want. I tend to add eggs to our dairy-free fruit smoothies these days so I can skip adding anything else, but some people think that sounds icky, has no flavor to me - oh and you need safe egg source too. :)

 

Then after thinking about the applesauce I remembered that I already have a bunch of single serve little plastic containers that I put yogurt in for the kids (I buy a big tub and split it when I get it) so I can put applesauce in those! And then I remembered that I really like those salads in a jar - I totally forgot about them (had originally bought the single serve plastic containers for the same trip I made salads in the jar for, hence the connection).

 

If that makes it easier, totally do it! I love making salads in a jar for a week when I'm just not going to take the time to throw a salad together at meal times. I'm all about doing whatever makes things easier.

 

Do you guys think my southwest one would work in a jar? I seem to remember worrying about how that one would do in a jar, because I didn't know if the beans and corn would be sufficient to keep the spinach and salsa/ ranch separated. That salad... I could live off it. :D Sure - put the wet stuff on the bottom and the drier stuff next (so bottom to top: dressing/salsa, beans/corn, then shredded cheese (or not), then greens).

 

Omg a mouse just ran across my living room floor. :willy_nilly: Sigh... Stupid old houses!!  - same old house issue here too, only thing I dislike about colder weather rolling in.

 

 

One last thought - another thing I do in fall and winter is make a one batch of soup for the week. It becomes lunch or just a small cup with meals to extend offerings (or on hand for when someone is just soooooo hungry). I love this option so much because of how much it adds to our meals.

 

And another last thought - Ziploc makes these divided-rectangle containers that have a large section, sandwich size, and two smaller sections - well priced on Amazon, especially subscribe and save for another 20% off. I often dream of fill those with lunches for the week and having them ready to go in the fridge. But again, I'm bit on doing the prep in advance because of how much time it gives back during the week - and it never takes as long as I mentally think it will.

 

[Audrey]

*sigh* This is the second or third time this kind of comment has come up whenever grocery budgets are brought up in the last few weeks. It's a straw-man. Nutrition, variety, and starch-y foods are not mutually exclusive. Potatoes, rice, quinoa, oats, etc, etc. These are all rather starch heavy, but they also have a great deal of nutrients to go along with their belly filling qualities.

 

snipped

 

 

I think you've taken my quote out of context and used it as a jumping off point for your pet peeve.  You completely misread what I said.  I said not to rely on starches as filler, i.e. as a substitute for protein or vegetables or fruits. That happens a lot that people use starches as the majority of the meal.  THAT is unhealthy. A body needs proteins, fats and carbs (along with vitamins and minerals).   I very clearly said BALANCE is important, as well as variety. 

 

I understand nutrition very well.  I also understand the seriousness of food, the cost of food and the impact of lack of access to good food on families and individuals.  90% of my life revolves around growing and raising food for other people and advocating for people to have equitable access to good food.  I am not spouting some fad crap or pet peeve, and I don't appreciate that you twisted my comment to make it seem like I am.

[curlgirl]

Do you have a walmart and does it price match? Mine is very lenient and will match almost anything.  For example if the local grocery store has their store brand milk on sale for 2.50 I can buy Walmarts store brand milk for 2.50. My sister in law lives near Chicago and her Walmart is very picky about price match so I am not sure that all are as easy to work with.  I can take three or four store ads and cherry pick all the loss leader prices march into Walmart and do pretty well.  I also like coupons.com for coupons.  I know I need to make more of an effort on breakfast but I shared what happened when I cook early in the morning on a different thread. :)  OP my rule is your hands have to be almost equal height with the stovetop to cook but when your kids get a little older they can make lunch.  Even if it is just warming leftovers if you don't have to do it it helps a lot.  Soon you'll have some cooks to help you.

[snickerplum]

 

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.

 

 

Love this - I buy for 2 weeks at a time right now. We live in a teensy town that does have a grocery store. The prices are decently high and they don't have some of the things we need (children with food allergies), so we drive 30 minutes to a larger store (still no Costco or Sams). Gas is too costly to go more often than that. I enjoy food planning, but I'd love for it not to be such the marathon it seems to be. :)

[Coco_Clark]

Those look perfect! Pretty sure I have everything for them already :)

 

Another question or two - let's see - is ranch dip bad? I have a recipe for the regular ranch dip mix that is homemade instead of out of the package - I haven't looked to see what it entails, though. I just know that I really like the ranch dip (made with sour cream) with veggies, and if the homemade one looks like I can conquer it...

 

Let's see... There was more...

I was just laying in bed trying to get to sleep but I was so excited about the prospect of all this food lol... Those muffins, scrambled eggs made in advance and warmed up either standalone or with a breakfast burrito, smoothies, maybe half a bagel with peanut butter... All those things sound rally good to me (of course, it's the middle of the night, and I'm a night owl, so of course I'm hungry anyway!)

How often would those things last? Like I know no one can say how long they can last before they are all gone lol, but like, would I be able to get by making that stuff once a week? Would I need to freeze anything? (Scrambled eggs or muffins, I mean - primarily muffins).

Oh,and what could maybe balance out breakfast for link when others have a smoothie with, say, a bagel and pb? He would eat the bagel/pb but not drink the smoothie. Any ideas?

 

Then after thinking about the applesauce I remembered that I already have a bunch of single serve little plastic containers that I put yogurt in for the kids (I buy a big tub and split it when I get it) so I can put applesauce in those! And then I remembered that I really like those salads in a jar - I totally forgot about them (had originally bought the single serve plastic containers for the same trip I made salads in the jar for, hence the connection).

The kids and I, especially, love salad. Dh likes it a lot, too, but we went on a salad kick once and that is all we ate for lunch - he got tired of them after that.

What sort of salad do you like that would be mason jar-able?

The kids like Caesar; I like a southwest salad with a little ranch, some salsa, black beans, corn, and a little cheese. I usually use spinach. Do you guys think my southwest one would work in a jar? I seem to remember worrying about how that one would do in a jar, because I didn't know if the beans and corn would be sufficient to keep the spinach and salsa/ ranch separated. That salad... I could live off it. :D

 

I was also thinking about fruit and since our favorite apples (jonagolds) are currently in season, I really need to see if any of our friends can pick some up somewhere... Stores don't sell them and the closest orchards are 1-2 hours away, though I wish we could go pick them ourselves- I love apple picking!!

I also thought maher I could get some celery and cut it in decent size pieces for link to eat with pb, since he doesn't like fruit -he does like that...

 

Anyway, I was so excited thinking bout all that I couldn't sleep lol! And my stupid iPad keeps autocorrecting things after I've typed them, so pardon any weird errors....

 

Omg a mouse just ran across my living room floor. :willy_nilly: Sigh... Stupid old houses!! Guess I'll be hitting tractor supply tomorrow to get some mousetraps! :ack2:

 

Ranch dip is ok on my standards. I make my own "mix" and add it to sour cream (dip) or buttermilk (dressing).

 

Muffins and eggs last a week in the fridge, easy. A month in the freezer. I bet your 9 yr old could make scambled eggs, though. My 6 year old can make toast, bagles, scrambled eggs, or serve himself yogurt or applesauce in the mornings. He's learning how to do oatmeal next. I was a latchkey kid, so I did all my own cooking by 9 or 10 :).

 

I love salad in a jar. Pasta, bean, leaf, any salad. I also do oatmeal in a jar sometimes.

 

From another of your comments...I can't imagine a smoothie has as much sugar as a pop tart. I don't even put sugar in mine. Yogurt, fruit, milk, spinach (can't even taste it). I hate bananas and I think you can't detect them if your other ingredients have a strong flavor (like berries) but I mostly just put bananas in the kids. If you freeze the wnannas first it makes the smoothie very thick like a milkshake.

 

I put green beans in everything, be ause I'm not a fan of them on their own but we grow a ton every summer. Soups, casseroles, pot pie, you name it.

[Χά�ων]

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:

 

I moved out to the boonies to have a massive garden to keep food costs down. I am considering raising meet as well. I gather that is not on your bucket list of things to do, and that is OK.

 

 

I will say that as I have gotten more and more used to cooking from scratched I am amazed at how little time it actually takes. The Sauté Express by Land O Lakes is the funniest thing ever IMO. They would actually take me more time then it does for me to dump butter and seasoning in a pan. The butter is always near the stove and are my beloved seasoning. I would have to walk to the other side of the kitchen to get to my freezer, dig through it and then unwrap the cube, walk back and put it in the skillet. It takes practice and a while to learn the tricks. If you were local, I would invite you over so you can see how I go from nothing to dinner in under 20 minutes most days. Before I always thought cooking from scratch took hours.

 

 

How I have kept my costs down with minimal extra work and time:

 

Buy in bulk. Costco is my friend. I do take veggies from the 5LB bag and put them in smaller ziplock bags when I get home. Same with meat.

 

I cut back on meat. I use veggie based protein. Beans are a big one. I buy bulk dried beans and throw them in the crock pot. Turn on and walk away. Quinoa is cheap, easy to prepare and freezes well. It takes the same time to cook a huge amount as it does a small amount and I just put the extra in the freezer for an easy meal day. If you can find a group that orders bulk food check them out. I spent $15 on 25lbs of mixed beans 5 years ago that we are still eating on. I figure I have another 5 years or so. I use beans to stretch meals.

 

I batch cook. If I can spend a day making cream of chicken soup that I put in jars and freeze it saves me time down the road when I need cream of chicken soup. But it does take a bit of time to do. When I am rushed I have been known to make soups while I am cooking dinner. When dinner is ready it is usually about the time to turn down the burner and let it simmer for a while. But this does add more work when it comes to dishes that night and after dinner I still have to put the soup into jars and put the jars in the freezer.

 

I throw the chicken meat from the cream of chicken soup into the blender with an egg or two and then fry into chicken nuggets. DS loves it. It is a fast future meal.

 

I avoid all wheat products because wheat is cheap and usually in crappy overly processed foods. Spaghetti is made using spaghetti squash. I do not eat bread and really don't miss it. But this is not for everyone. 

[LucyStoner]

It's also perfectly reasonable to buy time with your food choices. We are deluding ourselves if we think that the time spent to cook from scratch has zero cost. There is an opportunity cost. Because of long habit and skill, I can make many things from scratch quickly and thankfully I like it. But bluntly, if cooking from scratch was time consuming or burdensome to the point it cost me time I need to allocate to my kids or myself, I would and do happily buy myself some time with different food choices.

 

Even still, there are shortcuts I take, either often or sometimes and feel no guilt. For example- we go through sandwich bread fast enough that I buy it rather than bother with the extra time and steps needed for a soft, sliceable, kid approved 100% whole grain sandwich loaf.

[texasmama]

For lunch today, I put a couple of pounds of chicken tenders into the crock pot with taco seasoning and cooked on high, then shredded and put on corn tortillas and paired with already cooked broccoli and corn (separate, not together) which was leftover from another meal.  Fast, easy and filling. 

 

For brekkie today, the kids wanted pancakes so I made a double batch and now have extras in the fridge.

 

My most time-consuming cooking endeavor of the day thusfar was homemade guacamole from items which came in my Bountiful Basket.  Younger dd and I love it so I put the extra in the fridge.

 

Made myself a smoothie about 11 am - kale, frozen banana (can't taste it) and frozen blueberries with a  little stevia and some water.  Tasty and healthy.  Fast, too.  Don't care for the blender clean-up, but that is my biggest complaint. 

 

For dinner, we will have some of the chicken left from lunch, and I pulled some clearance black bean tamales out of the freezer for the two kids who love them.  Dh and other kid can eat leftover chicken.  Will cut up some mango (from Bountiful Basket) and apples for sides (also from BB).   The last of the broccoli (from BB) will be served.  If I had a quick and clever cabbage recipe, I would make some of that from a smallish cabbage from out garden.

 

If I get really energetic, I will boil or roast some potatoes (3 pound bag) and put them in the fridge for future meals and probably some eaten with dinner.  I also need to bake some beets.  (BB offering, as well)  I wash them, throw them in the oven at 400 and bake until tender, about an hour.  Then I peel, slice and eat with butter and salt.  Not hard or time-consuming.

 

I made bread in the bread maker last night (from a gluten free mix) so we have fresh bread. 

 

As you can probably tell, my cooking is not terribly well planned.  I cook what we have on hand when I have time and energy to do it (often on the weekends) and toss it in the fridge for future meals.

 

ETA:  I have always admired people who meal plan.  I just never have and probably won't.  I used what I have (fresh, frozen or from the well-stocked pantry), and make up things like that.  I had a pound of ground beef the other day that I wanted to use, so I boiled some gf egg noodles, and made a knock-off beef stroganoff.  It was fast and easy.  The family loved it.  I cook by the seat of my pants.  lol  Maybe this will help the OP with ideas.

[briansmama]

Sorry, replied to wrong thread!

[KungFuPanda]

I didn't see this mentioned, but beans freeze REALLY well. Set aside a morning or afternoon to cook a few kinds of beans (I use black, pinto, and chickpeas the most) then freeze them in meal-sized portions. If your family likes hummus, it freezes well too. The mark-up on hummus is criminal! Homemade tastes better and is considerably healthier. If you cook the beans from dry it's even healthier than homemade with canned garbanzos. You can make them really fast if you have a pressure cooker.

[Χά�ων]

I didn't see this mentioned, but beans freeze REALLY well. Set aside a morning or afternoon to cook a few kinds of beans (I use black, pinto, and chickpeas the most) then freeze them in meal-sized portions. If your family likes hummus, it freezes well too. The mark-up on hummus is criminal! Homemade tastes better and is considerably healthier. If you cook the beans from dry it's even healthier than homemade with canned garbanzos. You can make them really fast if you have a pressure cooker.

Wait, you can freeze hummus?? My son will be thrilled!

[KungFuPanda]

Wait, you can freeze hummus?? My son will be thrilled!

You CAN :-) Just make sure to make it a tad thick because it seems a wee bit thinner when it's thawed. That's my opinion. No actual science went into this opinion, so do your own research.

[emeraldjoy]

BOUNTIFUL BASKETS is truly our lifesaver. truly. 

I am so thankful for it. 

Now we are munching on a box of pomegranates and a box of peaches. The poms are about 2/one dollars and the peaches are less than $1 lb; just to give you an idea. 

I just ordered a case of apples that is going to be less than 70 cents a pound. 

 

[saraha]

We make chocolate smoothies for dessert.  I make it with 2 bananas, 1 1/2 cups of yogurt, ice cubes, milk and Nestle Quick powder.  Yummy

[PeacefulChaos]

Since this popped back up, I thought I'd share what I bought when I went shopping last night (based on ideas here!!)

 

I didn't buy any cereal.  :svengo:  :lol:  I made blueberry (actually it had blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries, since that's what I had in the freezer) crescent puff for breakfast this morning.  I got english muffins for the kids to toast in the morning (we have homemade apple butter and jelly, as well as honey or pb - an array of choices for what they want on it!) and I'll scramble up some eggs tomorrow evening for them to have Monday; Hopefully there will be enough left for breakfast burritos tuesday (there should be!)  Then Tuesday night I'll make the muffins and that should cover Wednesday and Thursday. . :)

So that's breakfast.  

For the snack foods, I got what I usually get with yogurt - a tub of it, and I split it into individual containers (just plain vanilla), a block of cheddar cheese which I cubed half of (will probably end up shredding the rest by the end of the week), a bag of oranges, and some celery.  

I totally forgot to get juice yesterday, even the frozen kind.  It isn't a necessity, but the kids like to have some sometimes... Oh well. They'll survive.  :lol:  

Oh, and I did get the non-frozen chicken breasts - it'll cost me more in the long run, but the cuts are just better (so actually, it probably ISN'T costing me more, all things considered).  I can make 1 package last for the week.

 

In the end I only spent $113, which I don't think had much to do with what I bought as much as just the fact that I didn't need any 'big' stuff this week - laundry detergent, tp, coffee, you know the stuff!  But I'm still really happy with what we ended up with, and don't feel like it's going to take a lot of work for me to make sure the kids have breakfast in the mornings!  

Thanks to you guys!!  :D