Feeding a busy family of seven including a husband and four hungry boys was often expensive. After complaining to my Grandmother one Saturday about how I worried my kids ate too much fast food and we spent to much at nicer restaurants, she said, "you just need to start doing things the old fashioned way". To which I curtly responded "sorry I don't have all day to sit at home and prepare dinner, unlike you I have a fulltime job and I have twice as many children as you did". She insisted it is ALWAYS cheaper and healthier to cook at home than eat out. Healthier maybe but for a busy family on the go could it be more cost effective? I could not get past the vision of the McDonalds $1 Menu flashing in my head, what could possibly be cheaper? What about the $5 Hot N Ready pizza's at Little Caesars Pizza? I mean these are staples in the diet of my children? Then I sat down and did the math. My two oldest sons are 19 and 16 both eat 3-4 double cheeseburgers or chicken sandwiches each trip to McDonalds and they each eat an ENTIRE pizza from Little Caesars. That is $10 just for the two of them each trip and the other five of us still have to eat we spent near $30 each trip for "fast food" and a sit down restaurant its more like $60-$70. Is it possible to create good home cooked dinners for a family of seven quickly and economically? You bet you can and even have restaurant quality meals at home!
Six Tips to get you started making cheap and easy family meals
When you first embark on "home cooking" you will probably have nothing in your cabinets, you will lack the basic on hand items that are staples of creating meals at home.. You may not even know where to start with meals planning so here are a few tips to get your started
1.) It is not necessary to buy name brand on most products! Especially when it comes to things like butter, vegetable oil, flour, baking soda, sugar, salt, milk and eggs. The store brands will save you money and I promise the only difference you will see is in how much money you spend.
2.) Use the internet, there are numerous depositories of FREE recipes online, although it has been my experience that the FREE ones aren't always the best ones, amateurs leave out steps sometimes unintentionally that can make all the difference in the world try inexpensive e-cook books. Links to two of my favorites are included later on below.
3.) Check food packages for recipes, many items have recipes on the package that are quick and easy for families on the go. (Soup Cans are a great place to start!
4.) Find a good place to start with meal planning. Probably the very best source for realistic simple recipes I have come across is the Devotional Cafe! I have boys that aren't neccesarily adventurous eaters but every recipe I have ever tried from the Devotional Cafe! has been a hit. BBQ Skillet Dinner and Cheeseburger Casserole are two of their favorites. Check the site I believe you can still get the ebook at no cost.
The absolute best and largest collection of electronic cookbooks I have found is at Artful Cooking! a lot of work has gone into the collection and presentation of these ebooks easy to follow and great food you can find a recipe for anything you can imagine at this one place, its fantastic!
5.) Once your confident you can pull a few meals together its time to plan. Planning what you will prepare for each meal in a week, ahead of time is the key to saving $$$
6.) Make only ONE trip to the grocery each week. This might take some time to perfect but I in fact have it down to visting the grocery just three times a month. This helps you avoid the "Walmart Effect" you go to buy a loaf of bread and end up spending $50 (haven't we all fell victim that at one time or another?)
Finally, trimming back your families meal budget and preparing healthier meals cooked at home doesn't mean giving up quality nor does it mean you have to slave away in the kitchen for hours on end. With just a little research and some recipe help you can be on your way to extra money and a healthier family!
No comments:
Post a Comment