{thank you for participating in miscellany monday yesterday!!! it was so fun and i enjoyed reading all of the random! if you still haven't entered the wanna clinch a clutch giveaway from charm design, go for it!}
i often feel like a big fat failure when it comes to meal planning, grocery shopping, cooking and anything that has to do with what goes on the kitchen. i clip coupons {it was way more fun when i first started... but after doing it for over a year now, the funness has worn off, but the budget insists...}, only try to buy what's on sale, plan meals around it, and make each grocery trip last for two weeks. our budget is $50/week. the groceries always run out before the bank says we can buy more.
i'd love to buy all organic, shop at whole foods, eat nothing but natural, yadda, yadda, yadda... maybe when we're millionaires...
i have cut back on coupons a bit. i was tired of having a pantry full of preservatives and feeding my family the cheapest, tasteless meals possible. but yet, whenever i try a healthy recipe {or any recipe for that matter} it requires loads of ingredients that end up costing a fortune. so, i resort to chicken {with some sort of marinade}, rice and green beans. needless to say, when hubby watches the food network he drools.
if you've noticed, i don't share many recipes beyond no bake cookies. i manage to ruin recipes in every possible way. it gets to the point where i can't blame every single recipe anymore.
oh yes, and to complicate matters slightly, hunter has a severe egg allergy = he can't eat anything containing eggs, whites or yolks which eliminates most desserts, breads, pastas and more. normally he eats his own dinners sort of eats dinners {he is one finicky fella} but it would be beneficial to feed him what we eat.
i want to be a good steward with what the Lord has given us... i want to make the most of every penny while feeding my family well! what are your meal planning, budgeting, cooking, grocery shopping methods?!? help me. i've got to improve my {lacking} skills. i'll feature the bloggers with the best tips in a kitchen help post next week.
81 {comments}:
We have the same issues here- picky eaters and tiny budget. I try to experiment with something new about once a week, but I have to admit that I fall back on simple whole grain pasta dishes more than I want to. I love Martha Stewart's Everyday Food Mag. b/c the dishes don't require exotic ingredients and are usually easy to throw together. I'll definitely be checking back to see what tips others come up with!
I just signed up for a veg co-op in are area with www.sausserfarms.com and hoping it makes a difference! It was a REALLY good deal for the produce you get. I also just ordered from Angel Foods https://www.angelfoodministries.com/ . This will be our first time.
I hear you on the coupons. I ended up buying things the same way. I try to only use them on things I'd buy anyway now....I"ll let you know on the Angel Food. Search and see if there is one near you!
i TOTALLY understand how you feel. i'm the same way about all the ingredients that go into something great. the other day i went to get everything we needed and it ended up costing almost $40. we could have just went out?!
anyway, ive been lurking on the nest (nest.com) under the whats cooking boards...these ladies tell you everything they are going to have for the week. usually i think its a little fancy...so i dumb it down. but im getting tons of ideas.
i still havent started with coupons. but i really need to just do it!
Carissa,
We shop every two weeks too! I think we all know my coupon fiasco...yet I am getting better I think LOL...
A friend gave me this website www.healthcastle.com which is healthy grocery shopping on a budget! With my health and trying to keep the hubs cholesterol down I try to buy fruits and veggies, low preservatives, etc on a budget....this website really helped me you should so check it out!
One thing I really got from it...For fruits and veggies go seasonal they taste best and are less expensive and plan your meals around the seasonal fruits and veggies....
Also you can buy frozen veggies and fruits and canned without all the salt and some are just as good or better :)
Um listen to me....I sound like I know what I'm talking about and I so don't LOL....I think it is just trial and error for me and the help of websites hahahaha
Thanks for your sweet comment yesterday, made me feel so much better!
How are you feeling?
xoxo
Summer :0)
hmm best advise I can give you is to only have to cook at most 4 times a week. I cook Monday, tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday. Friday, Saturday and sundays are left over nights or whatever is in the freezer, such as pizza, chicken nuggets and so on. So on the days that i do cook, I try to cook enough to make a second meal out of it. Like to night, we will have a roast that has cooked all day. It will definitly make a second meal, maybe even a third. But I used the potatos that were on sale at publix and the carrots that were on sale at bilo and I had the meat in the freezer. Last week we had tacos/chicken fajitas because all of that was on sale for cinco d mayo. Hope that helped.
I am super impressed with your $50/week budget. I sometimtes struggle to stay within my $80 budget and there are just 2 of us. As far as meal planning goes, I don't have much advice, but I will recommend this cookbook: http://www.amazon.com/Cooking-Light-Ingredient-Minute-Cookbook/dp/0848718526/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1273582409&sr=8-1-spell
It's Cooking Light's 5 Ingredient, 15 Minute Cookbook. I love it because it is easy, relatively healthy and you only need 5 ingredients, which is key. I totally know what you mean about wanting to try a new recipe but by the time you've bought all the ingredients you've spent half your budget. Hope this is helpful!
Holy Moly, were you inside my head when you wrote this post?! I struggle with the exact same thing as you do. I don't enjoy cooking, and am not a particularly good cook. And I also find that whenever I do cook a good meal, it requires so many (expensive) ingredients, it's just not worth it! I am curious to see what advice people give you! Because I have no advice...
Keegan was allergic to eggs his first year of life and eventually grew out of it. Hope your little guy does as well. During that time I googled egg substitutes to help with cooking without eggs.
I've tried the coupon game and get into it for a bit and then get bored with it. I admit, we spend more than we should on groceries. One way to buy fresh and save a bit is to find a local farmer's market. we have one here and I can buy twice as much stuff there than I can at the grocery stores and it's a great way to support local farmers.
I'm also a big fan of Rachael Ray. I have a couple of her cookbooks and most recipes from those and from her magazines are pretty simple and use fresh ingredients and nothing too exotic or expensive. She also has a great cookbook just for kids. And they usually do only take 30 minutes! Bonus!
i am the same way girl!! i just did a post yesterday with tons of recipe ideas so you could go with whats on sale...but make some delicious meals! planning ahead always helps....in the chaos and in the budgeting.
http://thebusybudgetingmama.blogspot.com/
i'm pretty hopeless with ornate meals too, and i always feel so bad for ted because his mom is a gourmet cook.
we eat on a small budget too, but i've found that you can make just about any frozen vegetable (including brussel sprouts!) and icky vegetables (i.e. cabbage)really yummy if you stir fry them with a little bit of olive oil and some garlic. and it's healthier than boiling all the nutrients out of them...but i'm no good with coupons. i always forget that i have them until i've driven of with my car full of full priced groceries i bought simply because i knew i had a coupon.
It's really, really difficult. Grocery shopping is not cheap, you're right about that. We budget ourselves, too. And it's so hard to buy GOOD stuff for a less amount because most of the time it's just the opposite. We spend SO much money on food, I feel like. But we try and buy things that we can use for more than one meal so that it/they don't go to waste or go bad before we can use it all. I always make a grocery list, which is simple and narrow it down to only things we really need. I try to make meals that have very few ingredients. But, I completely agree with you. It is a very tricky task!
Carissa does your family like casseroles and soups? Those are easy alternatives that feed your family for a while and are cheaper than making a fancy meal. I totally agree with you on wanting to buy the least preservatives, fresh, organic, but our budget doesn't allow for it either. To make matters worse, we live in an area that only has local grocers or Walmart, so I am limited to what I can use with coupons anyways, since Great Value tends to be cheaper. Do you have an Aldi's close by? I save on a lot of our groceries that way. It's basically all off brand groceries for significantly less than Walmart :)
Hey Carissa! I am a freezing fanatic! I love to make meals and freeze half. We are not too big on left overs, so being able to freeze our meals and make it another night works wonders with our budget. I just despise wasting food!
I'm a terrible coupon clipper! I always clip coupons and end up spending more because "Hey, I've got a coupon for this...I think I'll try it!", or I get up to the register and in the flurry of getting the goods on the counter, I forget to pull out the coupons. Anyways...I also love fresh veggies, but they are expensive and God forbid something throws a kink in the meal plans for the week, then if you don't get to use the veggies when planned-they've gone bad! So, what I looove now is the Steamfresh Veggies you can find in the freezer section. They are 100% pure veggies-no added ingredients (unless you get some with the sauce added on) and they taste so fresh! All you have to do is pop the bag in the microwave and they steam up in 4-5 minutes! I've recently been addicted to "Pictsweet" (that's the brand) garlic green beans. They are ridiculously delicious. Hope this helps!
Heather
My only tip is to shop the outside perimeter of the grocery store. You've got the fruit/veggies, the meat and the fresh baked bread. The inner isles are all the processed and frozen food. I find that if I shop the outside first and fill up my cart with that food, I buy less stuff in the middle isles!
Here's what I would do (and do, do) Look online for recipes with 5 ingredients or less. For example, I recently found this Broccoli bake recipe...2 cups of cooked rice, I can of Cream of Mushroom soup, I cup of sour cream, I bag of cooked (Frozen) Broccoli, s & p, and I put some soy-sauce in it too. And then melt cheese on top. So that's 5 besides the s&p and the soy sauce. It tastes great, I've served it to company and it makes a great base for any vegg. We have about the same budget...and this last for us 3 meals for you it might be 2.
Also I don't know if you have a farmer's market up and running yet but that makes buying fresh easier and cheaper through out the summer and harvest.
oh yeah mix the main ingredients and bake with cheese on top for 20 mins. at 350...(this is why I don't do many recipe posts)
I've found that buying fresh produce is actually a lot cheaper than buying pre-packaged stuff. Also, frozen vegetables are just as good for you and they are really cheap. I also buy a lot of canned beans and diced tomatoes which are healthy and used in a lot of recipes.
Oh i look forward to this post, because I feel the same way! Coupon clipping is THE MOST ANNOYING thing ever. I feel like I spend double the time it takes to actually shop for the food and use no where near enough to justify all the time spent! And most coupons are for packaged food items and not the fresh produce.
lately i've been lacking majorly in the kitchen due to a much lower budget we are running on these days. like you said buying all the ingredients to make a yummy meal is spendy! we kind of live on frozen pizza dinners...sad i know. i will be reading all the comments from your post to hopefully get some good ideas! ;)
welllll....I've got good news and bad news. Bad news? I have no new tips for you. Good news? You aren't alone on the budget and blah recipes! I once tried to make a homemade pizza for Tyson...I started gathering the ingredients and realized it was going to cost a fortune just to make one meal... I've realized that chicken, rice (sometimes I mix it up with potatoes), and broccoli (or asparagus) is our most cost efficient meal. I'll be excited to read what people write!! :)
Hope you have a great day!
Carissa,
I am with you girl! I plan my meals by the week so I know exactly what I need to buy at the store so I don't grab random things that I think I need. I also make a lot of casserole dishes so it lasts for my husbands lunch for the week too:)
I am glad to know there are other moms going through the same thing!
I wish I could blow 400$ at whole foods sometimes....;)
Oh my, girl! I can't wait to go back and read all of these responses. I need the same kind of help and I have been trying a whole lot longer than you! :-) I just don't like to cook. Period. I so admire your budget. How on earth?! I am extremely impressed!
I didn't participate in Misc. Monday because yesterday was the day I promised to spill my guts. And I did. All over the ugly floor. Or I guess the page. Ugh.
Meal planning is my biggest downfall! I cook on a whim, which can be challenging! We are members of a food co-op out of Oregon, which is where I get my organic produce because it's way cheaper than the store, and almost the same price as regular produce (we're talking cents!) otherwise I wouldn't do it. We also raise our own beef, eggs, and used to buy milk from a local dairy until they went out of business. Menu planning is the most helpful thing I've found, if I'd just stick to it. I try to shop once a month, and keep a lot of staples on hand. Canned tomatoes, etc. Also, frozen veggies. Fresh is better, but I don't use them in time before they waste. The areas I try to make not necessarily organic, but hormone free count are in our meats and milks, and as for organic, in our veggies and fruit where skin is consumed (such as potatoes and apples, etc) and then whatever I can get on sale through the co-op. And couponing is a pain in the hiney, but it sure saves...
I also meant to say that I've recently expanded my herb garden (it's all in pots on the deck) and added tomatoes and lettuce. It doesn't get any fresher than that for a salad!
i totally feel you on this! i'm just not creative either. we end up eating a LOT of chicken too. and sandwiches... ;P
You're right - it is SO hard to eat healthy food on a couponing budget. I try to use coupons to the max at drugstores so that I'm getting free toothpaste, soap, etc. That way I have that money free in my budget to shop for food. Shopping at Aldi's really helps get the basics out of the way, and I am able to get really cheap produce there. On the weeks I can't get to Aldi's and have to shop at the local grocery store, I only buy the healthy food that's on sale. So, for instance, today I'll be buying blackberries and broccoli and salad mix - but not cucumbers or carrots because they're too expensive this week.
As far as meal planning goes, I have a big binder where I have a list of the meals we typically eat. (It's on my blog about a month or so ago.) This helps me in the beginning of the week to decide what we're going to eat, and helps to keep me from 5:00 burnout.
Thankfully, I have no allergies to deal with, so I can totally understand how it would be really hard to meal-plan with that in mind.
Wish I had some words of wisdom for you Carissa. Sounds like we struggle with the same issues. Meal planning etc... is not my thing. Wish I was better at it.
yep - we're on a very limited grocery budget too. Add to that my dairy allergies plus a few other random food allergies and reflux disease... that all adds up to mean we've got to be very creative! And sometimes on the days right before pay day we've got to be more creative than ever! haha
Carissa, sometimes I swear we live such parallel lives. Our budget is $50 a week as well...and we HAVE to keep it that way too.
One thing I do (I think I wrote a post on this too, I'll post it down below. The comments people left are good too...) is plan out meals at the start of the week and then ONLY buy the ingredients on my list. I also try to make one big item, like a whole chicken or roast...and fashion several meals off that. Plus, if you shop around, sometimes there are farmer's markets that sell fresh produce for much cheaper than your usual Safeway, etc. It takes more time to buzz around, but it becomes like a game for me ;^) We planted a garden this spring, so we'll see if that helps too.
Also, one last thing (before I end this ridiculously long post) that helps us is Sam's club. We go once a month (for $75) and get most of our protein (i.e. chicken, beef, turkey...etc). I then package them up myself and freeze them. It lasts all month...or more. We've been doing this for a year now and I feel like I'm finally getting it...sometimes! Good luck!
http://schroederfamily-cynthia.blogspot.com/2010/01/food-idea-that-works.html
I'm not very good at meal planning either. And I think I'm too lazy for coupons, but I have found that sometimes homemade can be better and cheaper than the store bought stuff. I make casseroles a lot, mainly because they are a great way to sneak in veggies. Chicken pot pie is one of my go to quick meals. I use frozen veggies, cream of chicken soup, and frozen chicken breast. I cook it all up and throw a premade pie crust on top and stick it in the oven for about 30 minutes. Yummy, quick, and pretty inexpensive too.
Sounds like we're pretty much in the same boat when it comes to meal planning (or lack there of). I did REALLY well last week and used The Pioneer Woman's recipes quite a bit, my family LOVED them!
Oh and I tagged you in a fun little game over on my blog :)
Meal planning comes with time, don't worry! Keep matching coupons with sales! Have you ever used www.southernsavers.com ? Look and see if she has any grocery stores from your area - I think she's from SC. I use her site and we come in well under $50 a week.
For a small family, you could easily raise some vegetables yourself in your backyard. It's easy and yummy and doesn't require much space at all. We do that, too.
I really try to cook healthy things, but you are right, they cost a fortune!
I'm so terribly busy that I'm afraid I am not the best at planning meals.
Also, thanks for featuring me last Monday! It really did help and I definitely got some feedback.
Plus, it was good to see you last night! I forget that we really do know each other. Maybe one day the four of us could get coffee. You know, in all of our spare time :)
We are the same way. We usually just eat chicken, mashed potatoes and some sort of canned veggie. Hubs will switch up the meat but that's about it. Occasionally we pop an already made pizza in the oven..not very helpful sorry pretty lady!
Hmm, well, I don't have very helpful advice for you, as my family eats all organic, (and gluten-free) and we raise our own pork, beef, chicken, eggs, and veggies. But, I would say to try planting a bit of a garden. Seriously, every little bit helps. If you don't have the outside space, then try pots on the porch.
That would at least ease up a bit of your shopping budget if you are able to grow what you can.
Gosh, I'm so terrible at giving advice... Sorry.
~Amanda
I don’t really have a set budget but I do watch so I don’t spend too much! I would recommend you to try getting salad stuff to ad extra nutrients to your chicken...It doesn’t have to be anything fancy, just simple lettuce, tomato and corn with garlic sos or something like that. Many of my meals are inspirited by good food website and they have a budget option. Here is a good tip: if you see a recipe you would like to make but there is too many expensive ingredients then just substitute them with cheaper options or completely remove them :)
Here is the link for cooking on budget:http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/favourites/cheap-eat/
Here is the link for cooking without eggs, so your little one can eat what you guys eat:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/content/recipes/special-diets/egg-free/
I hope I helped:)
Kisses and have a nice day, sweetie:)
BTW: I added your link to my daily read on my blog!
I totally feel your pain! Especially people every where talking about the benefits in organic and grass-fed, etc. as if everyone can afford to eat like that! I can also relate to your chicken, rice and green beans dinner - sounds just like me! My solution to this boring menu is to pull in a new recipe that I've been wanting to try either once a week or twice a month. That way I can still try the things that sound good and be adventurous without breaking the bank. I hope this helps with your cooking woes!
Seriously my mom is the best woman I've ever ever met at clipping coupons, keeping our groceries to a certain budget, and STILL eating well. Do you have a crock pot? You can throw some ribs in there with some cheap bbq sauce. Have breakfasts for dinnertime some days, taco kits are pretty cheap, you just need ground beef or chicken, I wish you could talk to her and get her ideas. Haha. She's so brilliant.
Good luck; I'm so happy you want to be good stewards of the Lord's money.
xoxox
Since you love organic so much, perhaps try growing a garden??? I know it's lots of work and I don't know if you have room in your yard, but that's one thing we plan on trying out very soon. You can then freeze a lot of it or can {not looking forward to that!}.
If you have an aldi near you, that helps us out a lot. It's super cheap and most seems better quality than most groceries.
Other little things we do is buy the heads of lettuce, rather than bags. You get a lot more and it's much cheaper that way. There are other foods you can do this with.
Hey Carissa, I love meal planning! Sounds like I'm in the minority though judging by the previous comments :-) Here are some tips for you (some of which you already know/do):
1. Shop the sales - especially in the meat department. If it's NOT on sale, DON'T buy it that week! Plan your menu around the sales and coupons. There are so many great sale/coupon matching sites out there. My fav. is southernsavers.com.
2. Use e-coupons (cellfire.com, shortcuts.com, and kroger.com). That way, even if you forget your paper coupons, if you remember to use your Kroger Plus card, those coupons will automatically come off at the register. BONUS: you can use BOTH paper AND e-coupons for the same item!
3. Subscribe to cooking magazines. Fresh inspiration for new recipes every month, and often they're spotlighting what's in season. Some of my favs: Healthy Cooking, Simple and Delicious, Everyday Food (MS), Cooking Light, and Vegetarian Times. Also coordinate subscriptions w/ friends, and swap mags.
4. For produce, join a co-op and shop your Farmer's Market or side-of-the-road farm stands. Fresh and cheap!
5. Find a place where you can go in with several people and buy bulk. We save a TON on some baking basics like: wheat berries, honey, vanilla, sucanot, etc. b/c we buy 25 or 50lb. bags and split them. (wish you lived closer - I'd be happy to share!)
6. Use your meat not as your primary ingredient (as in a whole chicken breast per person, but find recipes where you can shred or cube your meat, and it will go SO much further. Also, plan your weekly menu to include ingredients 2 or 3 times. Eg: Jerk Chicken w/ rice one night (cook the whole package of chx. but only eat one large breast (1/2 ea.) the first night, then sliced leftover baked chicken (already seasoned) over a salad, then use the rest for chicken salad sandwiches later in the week.-
7. Read blogs w/ menu plans to get ideas on how others do the above steps while planning their menus!
8. Try to go vegetarian a few nights a week to save meat costs. Have breakfast for dinner: eggs, frittatas, pancakes, waffles, quick breads, yogurt, and sausage, smoothies, all with egg substitute for Hunter. Very quick, easy, and cheap!
9. When you buy or pick (even cheaper) cheap and sweet(in season) fruit, buy a bunch, and chop and freeze it for winter use.
10. Read these links on my blog about the aforementioned subjects:
Recipes - including vegetarian meals that men like (I'm adding more all the time): http://windy-poplars.blogspot.com/p/recipes-from-windy-poplars.html
General Meal Planning - http://windy-poplars.blogspot.com/2010/03/kristins-kitchen.html
Couponing - http://windy-poplars.blogspot.com/2010/03/my-two-cents.html
I also have posted "Kristin's Kitchen" every Monday in the past w/ recipes and menu plans. Gonna start back to that this week! Guess I'll have to do two posts on Mon. so I can still participate in Misc. Monday :-) Sorry for the super long comment!
i remember those lean days . . .
have you seen the "togetherwesave" blog. she finds
the most amazing deals on everything and passed
that along.
or as dave ramsey says, "beans and rice, rice and beans!"
WOW, these are some great tips for the menu planning grocery shopping department. I struggle in this area to. There are 6 in my family (2 adults, 2 teens (who eat like horses) and 2 younger ones). I try and keep to $100-140 a week. Is that too much? And this is just for food, does not include other things like toilet paper, etc. I may clip a coupon every now and then but would really love to learn how to work my coupons with the sales. Are there free sites out there that can help with this?
I try and meal plan but I'm not always successful. I follow the ads and try and buy only what's on sale and coordinate it with things I already have. I really would love to cook more but it's hard with my schedule. Keep your head up...you'll work out a good system for you. Have you thought about a garden?
first off, love your blog! second, living with 3 other roommates, we try and split the groceries...but only between three of us. we try to keep the weekly budget under 100, but typically we go over to 120. luckily none of us have any allergies! now that would be a disaster, we wouldn't be able to have our family meals!
Hmm..sorry can't help you there. My Mom does all the shopping and meal planning. She also does all organic/natural living/eating. My personal, unbiased, opinion is that she does an awesome job at being frugal and health conscious:)
the best thing I ever do to stretch our budget is to cook a bunch of chicken in the crockpot at the beginning of the week. You can add carrots and egg noodles for chicken noodle soup. You can make enchiladas or quesadillas with the chicken, tortillas, cheese, and a small can of tomato sauce (plus some chile powder!). I've also made some awesome chicken salad with light mayo and celery seeds! There are tons of other recipes you can find to use up that one batch of chicken...buying and cooking in bulk makes it easier and cheaper! :) The only concern is that the chicken comes out shredded (or at least falling apart) style, so its not so useful without mixing it into something.
First, my post today totally would work for miscellany mondays... think I should participate next monday :) Also, I love that we are so close in pregnancy! So fun!
As far as meal planning budget goes. We do have a budget for groceries and I have such a hard time planning for it. What I normally do is the first week of the month I go to Sam's club and buy our meat for the month. I get chicken, beef, and pork lions in bulk. I also pick up their big bags of salad, cheese, and any fruit of veggie that looks good. Once I get home I divide the meat into 1 lb. bags and freeze whatever we wont use that week. That week we eat at least 2 salads for dinner and eat salad for lunch. I also use my crockpot and cook up the pork loin. We will use it for bbq pork sandwiches, pork tacos, and topping for salads. The best part is you can freeze the cooked pork for later in the month and use it for sandwiches.
Then I go to the grocery store every other week to get milk, juice, and all the other things I need. I love summertime and our gardent coming in cause then I can use our fresh veggies and herbs to save on the grocery bill. Tomatoes are quite easy to grow and freeze real well for the winter months. Basil is an easy herb to grow and you can grow a few plants of it and make up tons of pesto to use during the winter.
Hope that helps some. I plan on posting an easy pesto recipe one day soon.
I also hate using recipes that call for a ton of ingredients you don't have and won't ever use thus increasing your bill by far for just one meal : ( what a bummer. for a wedding gift we got a cookbook (well actually it's 3 or 4 in one) called the four ingredients cookbook. Here's a link to their website which has info about it and also some free recipes. http://www.fouringredientcookbook.com/default.htm It's easy because every recipe only calls for four ingredients. This way it's super easy and convenient and most likely you either have or can easily get what you need! You should check it out!
I used to clip coupons like a crazy woman, but now I just clip the ones that I NEED, because I would always end up buying well, junk! We are also on a tight grocery budget and have plenty nights of chicken marinated in whatever I have, green beans, and lots of brown rice. Lately I have been trying to be more organic (especially what Madi eats) I only buy organic fruits and veggies that come from the "dirty dozen", just google it, they are the ones that hold all of the yucky fertilizers and pestisides in. I make sure to look at the different sales papers before I go shopping and take a list, otherwise I just come home with a bunch of junk, haha.
I just wish I didn't live in an apt. so we could have a garden!
Oh man! I am NO help on this subject!!! This is definitely my weakest area as a wife and mom. Poor Robert. I get so frustrated with it that I do almost no grocery shopping and cooking. I don't know how we ever have anything to eat. It's terrible! When I have more time, I need to go back and read all of your other comments people left for you. Maybe I can get some help too!
check out my post today...I hope you find it helpful in regards to meal planning :)
p.s. notice the "power 12" list on the side column of my blog, too...the only expensive thing on that list is salmon and there are so many things you can do with salmon if it's your one expensive thing you buy a week! I'm so proud of you for sticking with a budget, Carissa! You'll be so glad you did years down the road...it gets easier, I promise! I've only upped my budget once in the 15 years we've been on it and that was while my son was in high school football and growing by leaps and bounds at the same time :)
i try to make one new thing per week. that way even if it has several new ingredients that i have to go out and buy, they don't break the bank and then i have that spice/powder for the next time i need it. I also have started buying TONS of fruits and veggies, and piling them up at every meal. they are so healthy and it's fun to try new types, and they are surprisingly less expensive than i had thought. my new favorite thing? kale chips. google them, they are AMAZING!
Match your coupons to the sales and be willing to shop at more than one store. Also, when a staple is available and on sale buy it and freeze it. Even milk can be frozen for up to three months.
I LOVE LOVE LOVE this post!!!!!
I'm with you on keeping within the budget. Proud of you for sticking to the budget and making it work :)
Okay so here's what I do.
-Sunday's I drive around to several grocery stores in town and pick up their flyer for the week. I'll look for their sale items (especially at the meats) and find the best deals.
-After I figure out what the major deals are I'll go through my cupboards and freezer and figure out what ingredients I have that might work with what's on sale.
-From there I'll plan my menu for the week.
-We always have breakfast for supper once a week... pancakes, eggs and hashbrowns (I buy a GIGANTIC bag of them once a month...they last forever!). Super cheap meal.
-We love Mexican food at our house so I always have ingredients in the house to make something for that... i.e. Tortillas, taco seasoning (whatever was on sale that week I'll either season my beef or chicken with it), shredded cheese and lettuce. I always buy a couple cans of black beans as well (super cheap) for cheap protein. I either put them into tacos/burritos or make them into bean dip (add cumin, onion, garlic).
-As far as fresh veggies go I always buy what's on sale/in season.
-What has saved me alot of money this past year is shopping at ALDI for most of our groceries. It is super cheap and the food and produce is excellent. Check out if you have one!
- Also, I love to cook a ton of chicken or pork in my crockpot at the beginning of the week and use it throughout the week in different recipes. It's always super shredded and moist. I'll use it on taco salads, in burritos, put it in crescent rolls with cheese for little meat pies, turn it into soups.
-Oh and at the end of the week when it's not quite time to buy groceries again I do a pantry challenge...basically a silly way of saying, "what can I make out of the weird things I have in my cupboard" :) :) we've eaten some weird things but I'd rather do that than be broke!!! :)
-Also, I do alot of baking which saves us money as well. This week I made a batch of 2 dozen pizza rolls which I put in the freezer and we are eating them for lunch this week. So easy and I think it cost me about $5 for lunches this week.
Can't wait to read the other comments...haven't had a chance to yet!!!! LOVE saving money :)
Thanks for such a great post! (sorry so long)
I go to the store every sunday on my way home from church. My husband goes with me and we just knock it out. I buy everything I need for the week, so I plan all of my meals in advance. Good luck!!
I seriously could have written most of this post myself! coupons and the budget of $50 per week and the mundane meals... I am sorry I don't have any pointers, but I definitely will be back to see what everyone says :)
Hope you get some helpful tips!
wait! I just remembered something. Do you have a HEB pantry foods near you? They have a "fresh or free policy" and you can literally get free groceries (fresh) if they leave out expired foods... I am not very skillful at this one, but know several who swear by it, lol!
I am very strict with sticking to a budget.
And it is VERY hard to plan healthy meals for each night of the week on such a small amount of money.
Here are a few things that I do to help though.
-Shop sales at different stores.
Aldi is great for milk, fresh fruits and vegetables, don't know if you have one close or not though.
-Always make 2 small casseroles instead of 1 big one. Freeze one for later. Save it for a night when you have no time to plan for a meal.
-Do breakfast night once a week. Super cheap!
-We also do some type of pasta, italian night. To make it healthier always buy whole wheat noodles, do steamed vegetables(squash, zucchini, onions..) instead of meat, and then salad. Really cheap, especially when you stock up on noodles and sauce with b1g1 deals and coupons.
-Crockpot soup recipes are awesome and freeze really well. Great to pull out on a tight budget week and have with sandwiches.
-Allow yourself a night or two of guilt free unhealthy preprocessed meals. All things in moderation, right?
Just some ideas off the top of my head.
Anyways hope those helped. Enjoyed reading all the other comments too! :)
Hey Carissa! You really need to check out Laura's blog at heavenlyhomemakers.com! She has recently posted a series on healthy eating and how to feed your family well (organically even!) on a very tight budget. She has four boys who EAT... you can imagine what that costs. :) She posts recipes all the time and has a section on healthy dishes with five ingredients or less. Honestly, reading through your post, I kept saying in my head, "Yep, Laura's covered that... and that... and that.." hehe. I hope you are able to find something that works for you and your family!
Hey Carissa!
I REALLY REALLY enjoy the Publix simple meals. They really are simple and in the store they have people in there showing you how to make the meal of the week. All of the recipes are here http://publix.com/aprons/meals/SimpleMeals.do you can search by main ingredient, low fat, etc.
Also, regarding coupons if you do clip, try to wait 2 weeks to use those coupons, that's when those things are actually on sale.
I "try" to cook as often as possible and trial and error and multiple phone calls to my mother (who apparently was born a chef) are the only way to survive. However, my boyfriend's mother gave me the most amazing Christmas present. She made me a recipe scrapbook of family recipes and put pictures of each person in the family by their recipe and a little story. She even wrote things like "Jeff's Favorite" next to them. Try calling Kelly's mom and getting her to tell you some of his favorite things as a child and the recipes! It will be fun!!
I completely messed up Jeff's favorite thing (fried okra).. But it was hand breaded and he appreciated my mushy attempt. I kept trying, and now it's crispy! It just took a few tries :)
Sorry I wrote a novel!
Quickly making another comment, this time to let you know that I tagged you on my blog!
http://www.farmgirlwrites.com/2010/05/tagging.html
~Amanda
I'm kind of in the same boat. I'd love to eat all organic products and try to be super healthy but that's always more expensive. The biggest issue I'm having right now is still having enough food to last for the 2 weeks without going to the store multiple times.
I can't wait to read that post! Funnily enough, we had chicken, green beans and rice tonight...but we had sharp cheddar encrusted chicken, fresh green beans and rice/orzo pilaf!
I think that you could take all of these FABULOUS comments, bind them together and make a book. Seriously. Thank you for asking the question, and thanks to all of your AMAZING followers for such detailed answers.
You'd think people would just go "ditto"...but oh, no, it's a plethora (love that word) of information given to me.
As far as food, health, and budget. I garden. That saves money. I also will take leftover produce from any gardener and can or freeze it. I've tried coupons, but seriously, I end up like a fourth grader trying to do Algebra. I'll stand in Target's aisles fumbling through the coupons...it's quite the site.
We eat a TON of produce. My kids would eat 2-3 apples a day if I let them. Well, Elijah does...we find the remnants sometimes in the corner of the kitchen. I guess I look at it this way...a bag of apples costs about the same as a box of crackers.
Baby steps. Maybe instead of green beans you could cook asparagus? :)
love the blog...as usually.
Rachel
not as usually.... (now you get the target reference)...that should say as USUAL.
i remember as a kid i would love going around the grocery store and pick up all coupons!! but i guess it was overkill because i never use coupons now! haha.
i definitely shop on a major budget.. but i only shop for one person! can't begin to think about shopping for three!! haha. BUT i will tell you my number one greatest cheapest dinner is getting these simply asia noodle dishes that you just heat up.. but i add a ton of whatever veggies i picked up at the store {you can even use canned veggies} its so simple, fast, and cheap!
boo! so sad I missed the first Miscellany Monday! Sorry. I will have to get on the ball next week! And Oh goodness I am in that same rut too, so I really dont think I have any good advice to give on the subject. I do love to cook but I am a horrible meal planner!!
Girl, I feel your pain! Grocery shopping makes me sick to my stomach...it's so expensive. I love nothing more than fresh fruits and veggies and stuff like that but it's just not always in the budget. I did try the couponing too for a little while, and while it seems sometimes you can score some great deals, most of the time it wasn't really stuff that I'd normally buy. I don't know. I have to figure it out at some point. Hopefully sooner rather than later. Most of the time I just buy store brand items when it comes to dairy and dry goods, toiletries etc and then buy fresh fruits and veggies as much as possible.I keep an eye out for coupons that might be useful...but I've stopped focusing so much on them.
Hey Girl. Love your blog. I was just awarded a beautiful blog award and had to pick my favorite blogs to pass it along to and I tagged you! check it out!
right before i am about to go grocery shopping, i try to plan out my meals for the next few days. i try to find recipes that share similar ingredients so if one recipe calls for half an onion, i'll make sure to find another recipe that calls for another half onion so that there is no waste! =)
my husband is actually the coupon clipper in the family and we definitely try to use those when we can but another thing we do is go on biweekly costco runs and STOCK up on things in bulk! we'll even buy meat in BULK and store it in the freezer! we're contemplating buying a separate freezer just for the basement to store frozen meals, meat, and of course ice cream! =P
also, one other thing that we just started doing is growing our own garden!! right now we have green onions and garlic... but we're hoping to plant some more veggies and fruits in the near future! i definitely think that could help save some money as well!
looking forward to seeing your post and everyone's great tips!
Hi! Okay, so here's my advice, not sure if it will help or not!?
I'm not a coupon girl - I get what I can through websites, but don't end up using half of them, because I don't like the coupons offered! :)
HOwever, I have found a website that will load my coupons on my club savings card for the grocery store I go to, then when I scan it, it automatically applies the coupons I loaded online.
Also, I grocery shop online when possible. I know that sounds so posh, but I buy two weeks of groceries at a time (and can sometimes make it stretch for three). You get free delivery when you spend at least $150, so I buy for 2 weeks (and my budget is $75 a week). Don't know if it's an option for you there, but worth checking into!!
For meal planning, I like to try new recipes, and I'm all for easy and simple during the week. Don't let my blog fool you! :)
I go to the library and check out cookbooks that seem great to me (my faves right now are the cooking light best of), flip through on a saturday afternoon and tag the recipes I want to try. I try to pick out ones that ingredients coordinate (you know if it calls for fresh sage, pick 2 or three recipes that all call for fresh sage, etc). Then I plan my grocery list around the recipes. If the recipe's a hit, I'll photocopy the recipe out of the book, or if the book is AMAZING - I'll go purchase it, but that rarely happens. I'm too cheap. My library let's me keep it for three weeks, so I get a good bit of recipes out of it. Since most recipes are intended to feed four to six people, I will make the recipe, and then we'll either have it the next night again (alleviating the cooking every night), or freeze it and have it in a week. We don't mind the leftovers.
Another great and EASY (i mean easy!) website with not crazy ingredients is kraftfoods.com. They have a whole section on the website for healthy living, and I've never messed up a recipe. They have some really great options!
Hope this helps! :)
So ... this post hit close to home!!! Being that I am back in school and the hubby is working Marc and I are on BUDGET. What I have found is that rather than try to strive for all organic ... I shop at our local farmers' market on weekends, at Trader Joes, Safeway, and Whole Foods ... I shop a little here and a little there, and so far it has worked. Another good thing is that I got this tip from Real Simple and that is I try to make recipes that last so we can have left overs and recipes with ingredients that coincide so if I don't have time to make one meal I have ingredients for another. I love how open you are when it comes to writing ... I may not comment all the time but I am reading your blog! Much love! xo
All three of these have been suggested before but I would like to repeat them because they really stretch my budget:
1. Have at least two meatless dinners per week - vegetable soup or beans in the crockpot, baked potato night or a meatless quiche
2. Breakfast for dinner - cheap and good - I always try to serve fruit with it too - the kids love it
3. On Sunday cook up a large roast, a ham or a turkey/chicken - have a nice Sunday dinner then use the remaining for the next 3 or 4 nights for dinner - For example I will make two roast chickens - Sunday we have a nice Sunday dinner with all the sides, Monday we will have chicken pot pie, made with leftovers, Tuesday will be chicken noodle soup [I boil the carcasses for stock] Wednesday is Chicken Tettrazzini in the crockpot and Thursday is Chicken Salad sandwiches with fruit and veggies with dip. A ham I can stretch the whole week - it is one of my favorite things to do and no one is bored because everything tastes so different.
Our budget is $100 per week - we have teenagers [although it has dropped because the boys have moved out :D] but that $100 includes all our groceries including full brown bag lunches for 4 everyday and cleaning/paper towel like stuff.
Good luck to you - i know it is hard especially with allergies [oops sorry about the quiche suggestion but on Breakfast night you don't have to serve eggs - jazz up some awesome oatmeal for him] Take care.
Hey Carissa!
I know you probably don't do awards, but I just gave you the faithful commenter award on my blog. I just enjoy your sweet comments so much... I couldn't resist giving it to you! :)
~ Love,
Lindsay
oh, how I wish I could give you advice/tips. .. unfortunately my hubby does all the cooking [when we cook!]. My advice is to go to your parents or in-laws house to mooch dinner off of them! (just kidding... sort of) ;)
I know exactly what you mean. I have the best of intentions with cooking and cooking healthy. ...it just doesn't seem to be happening. :) I look forward to your tips next week. I know I sure could use them! ;)
oh girl, i have no words of wisdom for you in this department. after 18 years of being married and being a mom for 16 1/2 years i still seem to fail in this area. i too would love to shop at whole foods, go organic but the budget hasn't and still doesn't permit. : (.
on another note, i am heading to charleston this weekend! super excited! going with a few couples from our lifegroup at church. the guys are fishing on sat and the ladies will be touring, shopping and eating. i can't wait!
Oh Carissa ... wish you lived nearby, so we could just sit and chat about this while drinking a cool glass of Iced Mocha (from my kitchen Coffee Shop). :)
I hope you will pop over to my blog and read the What's Cooking posts in the archives. I have been teaching workshops on How to Save Time in the Kitchen and Money at the Grocery Store for over 15 years.
1.5 years ago, I had 12 of my kids living at home (incl. 2 young adult men, and 2 teen boys ... so we had BIG eaters). I did a several month analysis of our food budget and ...
WE FED ALL 14 OF US ON $450 PER MONTH! Yes, that was the average over several months. Now ... I am living with just my 4 youngest kids, and we are hardly spending anything on food. :)
I do NOT use coupons or Costco. Nope.
Tips ...
1. Cook from scratch as much as possible.
2. Shop price per pound.
3. Use a crock pot to save time (a big plus once baby comes)
4. Plan a complete menu, so that you aren't just shopping aimlessly
Oh so many things to share. Maybe I should write a guest post for you on "Mama D. in the Kitchen".
:) :) :)
I'm so impressed by your $50 budget with a little one! That's our budget for just two of us and our four-legged "child", Boone. :)
-The best tip is planning my shopping trips out in advance.
-I use sites like moneysavingmom.com and dealfindingchik.blogspot.com and couponmom.com to find the best deals at the stores I go to. They post deals based on grocery store...moneysavingmom is very organized with this.
-I get my coupons organized before going to the store, and search couponmom's database for coupons if I don't have a coupon for an item.
-We have stopped being picky on things like snack items, and buy what we can get the best deal on.
-I have found that Wal-Mart has great cheaper organic and healthy foods and Kroger often prints out organic coupons (at the register after checking out) when you purchase items from their organic areas.
-I keep my coupon album with coupons for most of our "must have" items in my purse at all times
http://cait-theblessedlife.blogspot.com/2010/01/organizing-coupons-coupon-album.html
-I use coupons for things like shampoo and personal care items that don't have a size limit on them and buy travel size with those coupons usually meaning free deoderant and shampoo
-I buy things that will give me overage...like a coupon toward the rest of my total (ex: razors are $1.97 and you have a $3/1 coupon...free plus $1.03 toward the rest of your total)
-The Dave Ramsey envelope system has been AMAZING for us...cash in envelopes for specific areas of our budget
Oh my...I will stop...I could go on forever! :) I can't wait to read everyone else's ideas! You're not the only one, either...I know we probably all go through budgeting ruts!
I would have loved to enter this! When I was faithful to south beach I had to be pretty creative because I could not eat pasta or rice and eggs started to make me gag. I really loved to buy the frozen Normandy blend veggies and roast them with olive oil and garlic salt or garlic and kosher salt. But recently I have been buying cheaper cuts of meats and experimenting with my crockpot but staying away from the trap of using cream based soups. What a tough thing of an egg allergy!!
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