Here are some tips on reducing the food budget:
1. Throw out the women's magazines, or e-zines for that matter. These function to create appetites for foods that we don't necessarily need. Did you know that what we consider "everyday" fare would have been considered "gourmet" not too many years ago? The words "chutney" and "caper" were not even in normal kitchen language when I was young.2. Remember, "healthy" isn't necessarily synonymous with "expensive". Some of the healthiest diets in the world are the most basic.
3. Buy the cheapest ingredients and then use your creative juices. Fill your pantry with the basics instead of box mixes that are full of things you don't need and cost a pretty penny.
- Potatoes—better for you with the skins on. If you have a large family, buying the large, baking kind will save you from having to peal as much (and from throwing away a part of the potato). Red potatoes are sometimes better because they don't have to be pealed at all, leaving you with less work and more nutrition. We like to cut the potatoes up, skin and all, and make cottage fries—yummy and cheap!
- Carrots and celery—These are both some of the cheapest fresh vegetables, but oh so versatile! They flavor almost anything and can be eaten both raw and cooked. They also are bountiful in health benefits—even cancer-fighting.
- Cook soups in the winter!—Soup is some of the most soul-satisfying food around, and it is economical in many ways. You can even add whatever leftovers you have in the fridge. A bowl of soup and homemade quick bread will keep one full and satisfied for quite a while.
- Beans—dried and canned. Another versatile food that is looked down upon, but it is one of the staples of the world. Full of beneficial fiber, protein (although not complete) and vitamins, most of us have yet to explore the possibilities of this wonderful food. For years my children raved about our "beans and rice" dish. I simply cooked up a pan of brown rice, opened up and warmed a few cans of kidney beans, added a little butter, and we had a gastronomical masterpiece! This is daughter no. 7's favorite dish to this day!
- Popcorn—the cheap snack. I can buy a 50# bag of popcorn kernels at Sam's Club for $17! All you have to have is an air-popper and an imagination to create happy memories. One of our favorites is to add melted butter and nutritional yeast—which we call "special spices". Yeast adds a "cheesy" flavor, as well as numerous vitamin compounds, including the "B's". We also enjoy making caramel corn when we feel especially "munchy". We use our turkey roaster to make larger amounts.
- Graham crackers—the cheap and healthy "cookie". My eldest son wouldn't be alive without them! You can get the store-brand for about $1.50 a box. You can serve these with peanut butter, homemade icing, or just milk for dunking! Even babies learning to feed themselves can snack on these.
- Brown sugar—there are two types, the first is packaged with the molasses in tact, the second is processed into white sugar and then sprayed with molasses. The first is of course the healthiest. Brown sugar is better for you than the so-called "raw, organic" expensive types. The molasses contains the ingredients that help your body to process the sugar—making it into more of a food than a "chemical".
- "I like to eat, apples and bananas!" so the song goes. Apples and bananas are some of the cheapest and best fruit buys. For a simple desert, we dip our apple slices in honey—"Taste and see that the Lord is good".
- Water—the best beverage. Sodas and juices are sometimes a nice treat, but are not needful. They add both calories and sugars—and some argue that, unless freshly squeezed, fruit juice that we buy in the stores has little health benefit. On the other hand, we rarely intake the amount of water we need daily. If your water tastes nasty, try a few drips of lemon juice and ice, or a few slices of lime (try slicing and freezing the limes on trays, then transferring them to Ziplocs to be used later).
These are just some foundational ideas
to make a "dent" in the grocery budget.
elcome! My name is Sherry and I am a devoted Christian wife and mother to 15 homeschooled children. 
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Great list! I'm going to pass this particular post to others! Good stuff!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this list! I agree with the more simple choices!
ReplyDeleteDo you make your own bread for sandwiches? I have a bread machine, but can't quite get the right texture, so we eat it with dinner and it's yummy...but I would like to stop buying bread for sandwiches! Do you have any suggestions?
Jennifer :-)
How do you know if your brown sugar is the good kind?
ReplyDeleteJennifer--Making enough bread for sandwiches for all of us is impractical for us right now, although I do make bread from scratch to eat along with meals.
ReplyDeleteI have modified the recipe from the Better Homes and Gardens cookbook for ww bread. If you bake your own, you might need to let it "set up" before you try and slice it.
I once begged my husband for one of those bread machines, back when they first came out. He bought me one, and I only made one loaf before I took it back!
In my humble experience, using one of those machines means a lot of work for a little return. I have found that, as long as I have a "baking center" in my kitchen where I have my bread bowl, floor, rolling pin, etc. handy, I can make 4 loaves in less time than it takes the machine to make 1, and with less cleanup (the trick is in being able to knead the bread in the same bowl as you mix it).
I have a habit of starting the dinner cooking, then mixing up the bread, then letting it rise the first time while I continue with dinner (there are ways you can speed this process up--just takes practice), shape the loaves, continue with dinner and bake them after they have risen the second time. With practice I can have everything done at the same time, with loaves left over for other meals (or for sandwiches, etc.). I make 6 loaves at a time this way--and my kids rave over them!
Also, if you want to use straight ww flour, but you don't want a dense loaf, try using pastry ww flour--they call it the "white whole-wheat flour".
Lydia,
ReplyDeleteThe brand in my area that is the "good" kind is C&H. If you don't have this brand, you might have to do a little research--I would think that if a company was that innovative, they would announce it on their package!
I learned about brown sugar, etc. from a book called "The Supermarket Handbook", which teaches how to make better choices at a regular supermarket, verses always shoveling out the bucks at the health food store. It's really old, so I don't know if it is still in print, but I learned a lot from it.
This was great information.
ReplyDeleteEnjoyed visiting your blog!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Kids tend to like the simpler stuff, anyway. I'm thinking of getting an air popper, now!
ReplyDeleteThanks for this great and informative article! I am trying to compile a "back to the basics" grocery list for my large family and your tips are very helpful... I'll check back with this blog often now that I know it exists. :-)
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post. I am from Brazil and we eat so much healthier than the average north American. In Brazil we eat rice and beans, fresh vegetables and fruit every day.
ReplyDeletehere is the US I stay out of the middle aisles in the grocery store. I shop on the outside aisles. Boxed cereal is just ONE junk food we don't consume at all in my house.
I love it when you post these! Interesting bit of wisdom about the magazines. You are so right! I get funny looks when some people find out we actually EAT beans and rice, or oatmeal, or vegetables!
ReplyDeleteThank you for being a lovely mentor to many of us. I am expecting sweet baby #10 this fall, and your blog is one of 2 I like- It's truly Christ-centered, not a bunch of junk.
Like your blog a lot. I live in a place where all meals are prepared from scratch-no cans, no packet mixes and indeed, in our house, not even a microwave. Traditionally, it's a three-course job each time but dessert is often one or two pieces of fruit. We eat a very varied diet which includes pulses, fish, plenty of veggies, rice, pasta, etc. A few months ago I made an experiment and managed a whole month of meals without repeating anything!
ReplyDeleteI didn't know that about brown sugar. I thought all brown sugar in the store was the refined sugar w/ molasses added. Gee, I can do that cheaper at home!
ReplyDeleteSwitching to C&H. :)
Thank you so much for the info on the brown sugar!
ReplyDeleteThis is pretty much how I feed our family of 11! Do you use alot of eggs? hard-boiled eggs are a staple here!
ReplyDelete