Wanting more whole foods on a budget...where to begin?

[PineFarmMom]

I recently jumped into the grocery game. In a short period of time, I realized that following that I wound up with more junk food than I had ever allowed in my home. I'm trying to re-evaluate all of our food choices, finances, etc. If/when you began changing your family's eating, how did you start? I've started purchasing organic cereals, make my own granola for snacks, popcorn, make whole-wheat bread, buy more fruit and veggies, yogurt. What foods do you do for breakfast, lunch, dinner that are healthy and economical? What are unhealthy things you traded for other healthy choices? What are the typical things you keep in your home to eat? I have a 13yo and a 10yo who seem to need to eat more these days than ever before. I'd love some ideas.

 

Thanks,

Teresa

[Jennifer in MI]

I only have a second, but one of the biggest budget cutting things I'd recommend is to get rid of breakfast cereal. We eat eggs, oatmeal and toast every morning for breakfast. It's SUPER cheap.

 

Lunch is usually leftover dinner. If not, it's tuna sandwiches, tortillas with a choice of toppings (cheese, beans, salsa, etc), or some sort of soup.

 

Dinners are as cheap as I can make them. Taco salad (when you make the meat, cut it with brown rice - tastes the same!), homemade pizza (with choice of healthy toppings - spinach, peppers, onions, etc), homemade lasagne (vegetarian), etc.

 

Snacks around here are simple also - fresh fruit, veggies, nuts, sunflower seeds, and popcorn. Occasionally I'll make cookies, but it rare!!!

 

Okay - I really gotta' go!!!

[Sue G in PA]

I've noticed much the same thing. When I began extreme coupon clipping, my kids threw a party b/c we ended up w/ major junk food...pop tarts, granola bars, cereals we never bought before...all b/c I got it for pennies on the dollar b/c of the coupons/sales/etc. I agree to cut cereal if you are on a budget. Around here, my 7yo would starve to death if we cut cereal, but I'm going to try it for a week once our current stash is gone. I'm curious to read more suggestions b/c we are in the same boat!

[Jen in PA]

Oatmeal and toast with natural pb are popular breakfasts around here, as are homemade muffins. I try to make at least 2 types of muffin each week, usually pumpkin, zucchini, corn, and banana. I do buy cereal for the kids because it is an easy snack for the car (they like it dry), but I have a price limit of $1.50 per box and buy no more than one box per week. I make big batches of pancakes on weekends, and they are great with apple slices, banana slices, or even chocolate chips thrown in. They freeze well and it takes just a minute to reheat them in the microwave.

 

The kids like grilled cheese for lunch, which I make using the toaster oven and no butter -- I just run the sandwiches through on the toast cycle once on each side. They eat plenty of fruits and veggies as snacks and side dishes. We can get local cheese for a really good price, so I offer that and crackers as a snack most days. I keep hard-boiled eggs in the fridge for snacking and to dice over salads. The kids also like tuna sandwiches and homemade alphabet soup.

 

I always have the big tubs of nonfat plain yogurt on hand. We stir in our own fresh or dried fruit and sprinkle with cinnamon.This has even replaced ice cream for my evening treat after the kids are in bed!

 

I try to clip coupons for some of the store-bought treats that they like, but I only pick them up if I can get them for nearly free. While it's warm we are enjoying lots of smoothies made with milk and frozen bananas. In the cooler months I bake lots of cookies and oat bars.

[PineFarmMom]

Those are good suggestions. I like the muffins idea. I hadn't thought of that. My kids would love that! I have made some whole wheat pancakes they like...I just need to make a bigger batch.

 

Also, I have noticed that when I plunge into the whole coupon thing too heavily and purchase the junk, at least one of my dc has a definite behavior change due to the sugar/white flour/processed things that go into them. It's just not worth the $$ to have that!!

 

T

[Faith]

You sound like me. We did the coupon thing and saved so much money but had junk food running out the cabinets onto the floor. I made a swift switch to whole foods and natural eating and wow, what a difference. It cost more but so worth it.

 

I keep no boxed cereal, no processed junk here. No white sugar, no white flour, etc. We eat eggs, bacon, whole wheat homemade bread. Cheese slices, whole wheat homemade crackers, homemade soups. We make homemade pizza from scratch, granola, we have nuts, seeds, natural peanut butter, whole wheat rice, whole wheat pasta. Beef, chicken, and lots of beans. No canned stuff except the canned tomatoes and sauces which are Muir Glen. We make out own spaghetti sauce. We buy raw milk or non homogenized milk. Real butter, cage free eggs.

 

If you haven't read it, read Real Food, what to eat and why by Nina Planck. http://www.ninaplanck.com/index.php?page=real_food_book

It's a great help. Nourishing Traditions is a great read also. Good luck.

 

Ignore this post.. it's more WHAT to eat rather than HOW to do it cheaply. Sorry, I didn't read the original post very well today. lol

[jmgconner]

We use grocery game too, and it can be difficult to pass up those boxes of cookies on sale for $0.19. But, take advantage of all the yogurt and frozen fruit/veggie coupons. Generally, the veggie coupons are for those small bags of microwavable veggies, but we still get them because they are so cheap and easy. The frozen fruit is great for smoothies. We stock up whenever we get those coupons/sales. Another good one is whole wheat pasta and spaghetti sauce - at our store, WW pasta was $0.19/box!

[laylamcb]

Here are a few thoughts:

 

* The organic produce in my grocery store is much more expensive than the regular, but at the local farmer's market, it's cheaper. Check there if you have one.

 

* Second the oatmeal recommendation--so good for you, so cheap. The kids add PB, raisins, wheat germ, granola--even mango!

 

* We eat lots of yogurt, too, and it can really add up fast! So I buy a large container of plain or vanilla, which is cheaper. Then I'll open just one flavored carton and mix it with some vanilla to stretch it to serve 3 (me and the kids). No one's the wiser, and actually the yogurt's less sweet, which tastes better.

 

* I make banana-nut-chocolate chip muffins that use no oil but do have applesauce, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, oats, whole wheat flour.... Add a scoop of natural PB and YUMMMMMM. If you want the recipe, let me know!

 

* Salad is a component of EVERY dinner, if not THE dinner. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, I must admit that I LOVE salad. But my DH, who doesn't love salad, has come to realize that he's going to eat it, either as a side or as the main dish, nearly every night. It's such a great way to get your veggies in. And you can empty your refrigerator right into your salad: in addition to the fresh and raw veggies, toss in leftover beans, rice, pasta, hummus, fruit, nuts, cooked veggies, pork loin, etc. I make a dressing of just Dijon mustard, fresh garlic, balsamic vinegar, olive oil, and sometimes some sour cream or hummus to thicken it.

 

* Those bales (as DH describes them) of spinach from Costco are really great and CHEAP. Love smoothies? Toss in a handful or more of spinach (I'm totally serious. You can't taste it. Your smoothie will be green, though. Use opaque cups for the squeamish. ;)) You can wilt spinach in less than 5 minutes in a frying pan with Pam and a touch of olive oil and sprinkle with salt and pepper (or Old Bay or Mrs. Dash) to taste. You can mix it in with your other salad greens and eat in raw. It's great in soup and in pasta. You can use it as a bed for your meat. I could go on all day singing the praises of fresh spinach.

 

* Finally, if you've got any yard, start a garden. The easiest things we've found to grow have been tomatoes, summer squash, and zucchini. The nice thing is that all of those can be eaten raw in salad or cooked (slice up the squash and zukes and throw them in with that wilted spinach! We have SO MUCH squash, actually, that I even throw the little ones into the smoothies. I'm sick that way.). They're all also great for soups. The coolest thing is that often kids LOVE to garden. I do NOT love to garden. So the garden is dd's, supervised by Daddy. A bonding activity!

 

That's all that comes to mind immediately. If I think of anything else, I'll post again!

[Jenny in Florida]

What foods do you do for breakfast, lunch, dinner that are healthy and economical? What are unhealthy things you traded for other healthy choices? What are the typical things you keep in your home to eat? I have a 13yo and a 10yo who seem to need to eat more these days than ever before. I'd love some ideas.

 

Well, keep in mind that we're vegetarian/vegan for ethical, rather that solely health, reasons. So, I'm not quite as pure as I perhaps should be when it comes to whole foods. However, we do try to steer that way, since I believe my kids should get the most nutrition possible out of what they eat.

 

Our most common breakfast foods are oatmeal (cheap AND healthy), smoothies, home-made baked goods (muffins or bisquits), pancakes or waffles and (hold onto your hat) frozen potato patties.

 

We never really had to worry about trading in anything, because we've eaten more or less this way since my older on was a toddler. One thing that has changed, though, is that I've gradually moved toward making more and more things from scratch to save money. For example, when my daughter was little, we used to buy frozen waffles from the health food store. Since she ate only one per day, it didn't seem like an unreasonable expense. As she got older and started eating more, though, and then my son came along and every now and then either my husband or I might want a waffle, too, the price was more of a problem. So, I bought an inexpensive waffle maker and experimented until I found a recipe that works reliably. We can eat waffles till they're coming out of our ears for the same price as a single box of the frozen ones.

 

Ditto with most baked goods. And the home-baked stuff tastes better, too.

 

We also switched from those little packages of instant oatmeal to buying the real stuff from the bulk department at the grocery or health food store. I cook it with a bit of soy milk and a couple of tablespoons of toasted wheat germ. Yummy, inexpensive and a great nutritional start to the day.

 

Lunches around here are extremely casual and usually pretty light. My daughter is away most of the year, and my son enjoys doing his own thing. It's not usually stunningly healthy, but I figure he has a certain amount of wiggle room in his diet. Today, it was curry-flavored couscous (I buy the boxes of his preferred brand when they are on sale and divide them in half for him.) with some applesauce on the side. That's pretty typical. Yesterday, I think he had some french fries (I keep bags of the inexpensive frozen ones around for him) plus a Z-bar and a glass of soy milk. He also loves pasta. So, when I make that for dinner, I make extra and put several lunch-sized servings in the 'fridge for him to microwave later.

 

He pretty much always has access to chips and crackers, calcium-fortified orange juice, vanilla and chocolate soy milk, protein bars, raisins, applesauce, fresh fruit and veggies, plus the afore-mentioned leftover pasta and french fries. He also really loves frozen vegetable samosas, but those are more expensive, so he gets them only every two or three weeks.

 

We have a fairly small repetoire of dinners that we make a lot, because they reliably feed most of us. I tend toward what I refer to as "modular meals," things that are made up of several components that can be combined in different ways to various people's taste. I also like meals that can be put together with a minimum of specialty ingredients and/or things that require special handling or have to be bought and used within a small window of time. Some of our frequent meals are:

 

- Pasta with tomato sauce. I have a big batch of sauce in the crockpot today. When I bring my son home from dance, I'll boil the pasta and toast the garlic bread, and we'll be sitting down to eat within 15 minutes. I'll also replenish my son's supply of leftovers in the 'fridge.

 

- Make-your-own pizza or calzone. It's a good way to use up some more of that left-over pasta sauce. I make a batch of dough, and everyone assembles their own dinner.

 

- Italian subs. Yet another application for leftover tomato sauce. I sautee red and green peppers and sweet onions, toss in some chunks of left-over baked potato (or french fries, when necessary) and serve on sub rolls with lots of tomato sauce. It's our version of a sandwich we used to buy at a pizza place in New Jersey.

 

- Baked potatoes with various toppings and sides. Last night, I did them "twice baked," stuffing them with satueed onions, grated carrots and diced celery and topping my husband's with cheddar cheese. We had fresh corn on the cob and some canteloupe on the side. Other nights, I might do plain baked potatoes or vary the sides (glazed baby carrots, onion fritters, etc.)

 

- Black-bean burritos. Every few weeks, I cook a big batch of dried black beans and freeze them in meal-sized servings. When I make this meal, I just defrost a bag of beans and season them with sauteed onions and some jarred salsa. For my husband, I assemble the burrito with black beans, rice, cheddar cheese and corn niblets, then grill it until it's nicely browned. He usually tops it with more salsa and some sour cream. I do mine without the cheese or sour cream. The kids usually prefer to eat some of the components separately.

 

- Nachos. The same basic ingredients as the burritos, but with a bag of tortilla chips instead of the wrapper.

 

- Curried lentils or chickpeas. Again, I keep bags of pre-cooked chickpeas in the freezer so I can pull these together quickly. The usually get served with basmati rice, papadum and onion chutney. Sometimes, I make veggie samosas from scratch. Other times, I get lazy and buy the frozen ones or make my own version of onion badia, instead.

 

- Sloppy lentils. It's basically sloppy joes made with seasoned lentils. I serve it over toasted buns and usually make mashed sweet potatoes on the side.

 

- Eggless rolls. This is a relatively new addition, and we're still tweaking it. I make the wrappers (which isn't nearly as hard as it sounds), but you could buy them if you're not worried about avoiding eggs. I stuff them with a combination of cabbage, bean sprouts, grated carrot, diced celery and chopped cashews (for the protein). I also make my own sweet-and-sour sauce for dipping and serve with rice.

 

Those are the most common ones. What you'll notice is that most of them require pretty mainstream, inexpensive ingredients. We use a lot of canned tomatoes (paste, diced and crushed), flour, potatoes, carrots, celery, lentils, chickpeas, black beans, onions, garlic, rice, frozen veggies, etc. Yet we manage a decent amount of variety.

[laylamcb]

What a GREAT list, Jenny! I'm totally stealing some of these ideas from ya. ;) I just tried to rep you, but evidently I've been promiscuous today. Catch you next time!

[Jenny in Florida]

Aw shucks. I'm blushing.

 

Glad to be of help!

[Laura Corin]

Increasing whole grains/pulses is one relatively cheap way of increasing whole foods in your diet. I use whole grain bulgur wheat to make salads; cook red, green or puy lentils with cumin and coriander to make dahl; make soups of pearl barley, dried peas and lentils, flavoured with a little bacon and onion; and add grains (pearl barley/chick peas/lentils) to casseroles and stews to reduce the amount of meat and thicken without flour.

 

Best wishes

 

Laura

[Jennifer3141]

And try making your own yoghurt and/or cheeses. It leads to discovering other passions in cooking. My kids now pass store-bought string cheese in the aisle and get grossed out. I don't know what that stuff is, but it isn't mozzarella! lol

 

Now bread is just something we bake everyday.

 

We don't do bananas in or house but rhubarb or zucchini bread is a great way to start the day. Pumpkins will be ready here soon. Yum!

 

Jen

[Mom-ninja.]

This is why I don't do the grocery game with coupons.

 

However, I have found that I can find organic/natural items at some bargain stores like Big Lots. I've found organic cereal there for $1.50 a box.

 

Also, check out Amazon. They have a good selection and it's free shipping for over $25. You just have to buy it in bulk but it's usually a good deal.

 

I have found things at BJ's warehouse for less. For example organic butter at my local grocery store is $5.99/lb. At BJ's they have organic butter for $7.99 for 3/lbs.

 

I print coupons. You can go to Organic Valley website and find printable coupons. So do a search online for coupons.

 

As for produce if you can't afford all organic then just buy the "Dirty Dozen" produce items organic. Pretty much all stone fruit, apples, grapes, berries are best organic. Yet, bananas, melons, kiwis, mango (most tropical fruits), and corn are ok when not organic.

 

Gotta run! Kids are in the fridge....

[PineFarmMom]

And try making your own yoghurt and/or cheeses. It leads to discovering other passions in cooking. My kids now pass store-bought string cheese in the aisle and get grossed out. I don't know what that stuff is, but it isn't mozzarella! lol

 

 

Jen

 

How did you find recipes to make cheese and yogurt? We'd enjoy that. If you have any links or recipes, I'd appreciate them. Great ideas!

 

Teresa

[PineFarmMom]

Here are a few thoughts:

 

 

* I make banana-nut-chocolate chip muffins that use no oil but do have applesauce, wheat germ, flaxseed meal, oats, whole wheat flour.... Add a scoop of natural PB and YUMMMMMM. If you want the recipe, let me know!

 

 

 

I'd love the recipe for those. I really appreciate it.

 

Thanks, everyone, for all of the great ideas!! I think I need to just print this whole thread!!

 

Teresa

[Jennifer3141]

How did you find recipes to make cheese and yogurt? We'd enjoy that. If you have any links or recipes, I'd appreciate them. Great ideas!

 

Teresa

 

I have a group of friends and we make cheese and bread together as frequently as possible.

 

I get all our stuff from www.cheesemaking.com

 

A group of us are going to take a cheese course from her next spring. :)

 

Jen

[Alison in KY]

Leila, I want your muffin recipe please. Is it with fresh milled wheat?

 

Alison in KY

[Snickerdoodle]

I have a group of friends and we make cheese and bread together as frequently as possible.

 

 

 

I want to be your friend!!!!

[Amy in NH]

I recently jumped into the grocery game. In a short period of time, I realized that following that I wound up with more junk food than I had ever allowed in my home.

 

I tried the grocery game for about two weeks and then quit. We already stockpile when things are on sale and use coupons too, but we don't buy the junk they had on their list. We are even picky about which yogurt we buy as most have HFCS, so we couldn't even take advantage of the "healthy foods" on their list.

 

I shop the sale flyers and stockpile when things I normally buy/use are on sale. If it is less expensive through food co-op, I buy it by the case.

[Tabrett]

How do you fix your oatmeal? I can't get my kids to eat regular oatmeal. I cook it with milk and dried fruit, but they still don't like it. I tolerate it. My 1 year old eats it, no problem. But my 3 and 4 year old will just not eat and wait till lunch if I fix it.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

It tastes bland, thick and kind of congealed compared to pre-sweetened.

[Spy Car]

IMO the best thing you can do is a whole grains, beans, and vegetables to almost every meal.

 

Brown rice is an especially good whole grain. Oatmeal, while better than many alternatives, is not really a whole grain.

 

If you make whole grains, beans, and vegetables the backbone of meals, you can then add small amounts of other items such as fish, meat, fruit, nuts, dairy, and other items in moderation.

 

Grains and beans are very economical, and relying on them for a substantial part of the diet naturally cuts costs and improves nutrition. Veggies are not always "cheap" but they are vital to good health.

 

Almost anything you can purchase with a coupon is likely low in nutrition, and getting unhealthful food at a discount is an example of "false economy, because in the long run you pay for it with your health.

 

Bill (who fears he's on the edge of "rant-mode" :D)

[Mom-ninja.]

How do you fix your oatmeal? I can't get my kids to eat regular oatmeal. I cook it with milk and dried fruit, but they still don't like it. I tolerate it. My 1 year old eats it, no problem. But my 3 and 4 year old will just not eat and wait till lunch if I fix it.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

It tastes bland, thick and kind of congealed compared to pre-sweetened.

 

Try cooking it less. Also, my kids love raw oatmeal. Yes, in the States it is considered weird but in Germany (where I'm from) it's a normal staple for kids. Use your imagination in coming up with combos. My kids like raw oatmeal with cold chocolate milk over it.

[Jennifer3141]

I want to be your friend!!!!

 

You got it but one of these friends flies across Lake Michigan to do it. Actually, I'm picking up the kids and going to Wisconsin for a week so we can learn hard cheeses together.

 

Just move up here with me and we'll cook up a locavore storm. :)

 

Jen

[Spy Car]

Try cooking it less. Also, my kids love raw oatmeal. Yes, in the States it is considered weird but in Germany (where I'm from) it's a normal staple for kids. Use your imagination in coming up with combos. My kids like raw oatmeal with cold chocolate milk over it.

 

We do it Swiss style quite often, RAW but soaked in milk (in the fridge) overnight, then adding nuts and fruit.

 

Bill

[Jenny in Florida]

How do you fix your oatmeal? I can't get my kids to eat regular oatmeal. I cook it with milk and dried fruit, but they still don't like it. I tolerate it. My 1 year old eats it, no problem. But my 3 and 4 year old will just not eat and wait till lunch if I fix it.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

It tastes bland, thick and kind of congealed compared to pre-sweetened.

 

I don't know if it'll be much help, because I'm not sure my two remember ever eating it any other way. However, I cook my oatmeal with soy milk, a couple of tablespoons of toasted wheat germ and a tablespoon of organic sugar per serving. They also like to top it with a couple of tablespoons of maple syrup.

[Jane in NC]

First I'll note that I agree with other posters who question the real value of couponing for food items.

 

One thing that I wanted to mention that I did not see in other posts is to consider visiting nearby farms to make some quantity purchases. Last fall I bought a bushel of sweet potatoes for $9 from my favorite farmer. The box lived on the stairs in my garage and the contents lasted many months. We ate baked sweets as part of dinner, enjoyed sweet potato muffins for breakfast, etc.

 

I have also purchased peaches and roma tomatoes in quantity, making jam with the former, sauce with the latter and dehydrating both.

 

Jane

[Jennifer3141]

First I'll note that I agree with other posters who question the real value of couponing for food items.

 

One thing that I wanted to mention that I did not see in other posts is to consider visiting nearby farms to make some quantity purchases. Last fall I bought a bushel of sweet potatoes for $9 from my favorite farmer. The box lived on the stairs in my garage and the contents lasted many months. We ate baked sweets as part of dinner, enjoyed sweet potato muffins for breakfast, etc.

 

I have also purchased peaches and roma tomatoes in quantity, making jam with the former, sauce with the latter and dehydrating both.

 

Jane

 

ITA!

 

We made 30 pints of sauce with $9 worth of tomatoes. A lot of what we added was extras from our CSA. Plus, we had to throw our own tomatoes into the mix just so it felt more like "ours." We've got sauce for the year for about $15.

 

I'd love to buy peaches in bulk to can them but I have't found a variety that is easy enough to can yet.

 

Jen

[amyable]

How do you fix your oatmeal? I can't get my kids to eat regular oatmeal. I cook it with milk and dried fruit, but they still don't like it. I tolerate it. My 1 year old eats it, no problem. But my 3 and 4 year old will just not eat and wait till lunch if I fix it.

 

What am I doing wrong?

 

It tastes bland, thick and kind of congealed compared to pre-sweetened.

 

Here is a link with how to make your own "packet oatmeal" - read the comments too for other ideas. We use a big tupperware with a scoop instead of baggies, and I don't use coffeemate (allergies - we use a powdered rice milk). I do blend some of the oatmeal - I find it does get thick if I don't add enough water that way, though. The dash of salt in each serving is essential for taste, IMHO. :D

[Tabrett]

Here is a link with how to make your own "packet oatmeal" - read the comments too for other ideas. We use a big tupperware with a scoop instead of baggies, and I don't use coffeemate (allergies - we use a powdered rice milk). I do blend some of the oatmeal - I find it does get thick if I don't add enough water that way, though. The dash of salt in each serving is essential for taste, IMHO. :D

 

Could your trying linking it again. There isn't a link.

 

Thanks

[...................]

It was:

 

Too much having to go on an exact day, every week

Way too much junk food

Not as good as my own sales

 

I could go on.

 

Anyway, Here are a few tips:

 

Rather than buy organic meat, just eat a lot less of it and replace with beans. If you buy a pressure cooker, a good one is a big expensive (usually around 75-100.00) but it will be worth it's weight in gold, in the time it saves you. Pressure cooker food is much, much tastier than crockpot food, plus you don't have to plan in advance. I hate crock pot food.

 

 

Beans are your friend. beans are your friend. beans are your friend.

 

Onions are your friend. Garlic is your friend. Tomatoes are your friend.

 

I would personally never be able to afford organic meat. YOu mentioned you are on a budget, but everyone's budget is different. If you can do it, good for you.

 

I do stock up on sales at grocery stores on no-sugar cereals like COrn Flakes and Cheerios. Albertsons had their brand corn flakes and cheerios for ONE dollar! That was an amazing boon to the budget!!!

 

Limit milk consumption. Especially if your family is also having yogurt and cheeses, limit milk. In my family each child gets a tiny little ceramic pitcher of it for their oatmeal, plus one cup in the morning and one at bedtime. That's more than their serving size, and doens't includ the milk they are getting in their cheese and oatmeal anyway.

 

Lunches are tought, but you can also find a place that sells whole wheat bread cheap, like Big Lots and stock up. You can make grilled cheese, peanut butter N Jelly, and other fairly nutritious meals using your 1.45 whole wheat bread.

 

We also signed up for Angel Food Ministries and we are very excited, to pick up our box in a few weeks. You can half your food costs using this ministry, and have more variety than if you only use sale items. But you won't be eating organic meat. However, if you just eat meat only 3 or 4 times per week, it probably won't bother you as much to eat regular meats.

 

Watch the circulars.

 

Cage Free eggs-0 these are realively healthy, humane and a fantastic source of protein. We have one egg dinner and a few egg lunches every week. We go through about 3 dozen eggs per week but still that's not much money- only about 6.00 for 4-5 meals. Not bad!

 

I would personally isstead of going all the way, try to do certain things. I've tried going all the way and it failed b/c of my budget.

 

But here is what I have been able to very strongly stick to, while staying under my 500.00/mo food budget (in an expensive area)

 

1. Limit sugar- This is a no brainer but it's a big help!

2. Buy whole wheat bread only. This way even if my kids have white pasta, I know they are getting tons of whole grains in their bread.

3. Use Oatmeal, even if you have to put in honey and raisins to make kids eat it.

4. Eat beans 2-3 times per week.

5. eat a lot of rice and patatoes (especially sweet potatoes.) Avoid pasta. It's expensive and not very nutritious.

 

I never could make the granola thing work for us. For one, cereal uses a TON of milk. My family will use 1/2 gallon of milk in one sitting while eating cereal!! For another thing, it required too much prep work, and the ingredients can get pricey if you're not careful. So I have better success eating:

 

1. Whole wheat bread and eggs

2. Oatmeal

3. Cereal that I got on sale (not sugary ones. I try to stay under 5 grams of sugar) My kids love plain corn flakes, rice crispies with bananas, etc.

 

Also for fruit try your local fruit stand, and set a budget and get creative. Soups are also your friend. You can make home made soups with the bruised veggie bags that many fruit stands sell for 1.00 and use that healthy broth and some rice and add some meat or beans and have a delicious lunch or light dinner.

 

You can take eggplant and bread it and fry it (yes frying isn't healthy but we're talking sauteeing, not deep frying)...you can take the inexpensive fish cuts on sale and turn them into patties and sautee them, along with your leftover veggies.

 

Bananas are also your friend!

 

And I do buy canned green beans and frozen veggies on sale- and stock up on 3 months worth like you did in the grocery game. Just keep an eye out for those sales and make a trip when they are really low. Frozen veggies are inexpensive and very healthy. You can use them in any way, and they keep well.

[annabanana1992]

I am so grateful for this thread! Everywhere I read about saving money mentions the old coupon angle - but it's all junk we don't eat. Thank you for helping me figure out how to save money in keeping with how we eat!