It's a family matter....

MommyKMcCracken

Hey everyone.

I'll try to make this long story short and pray it falls on the right ears in providing a realistic solution. My 12 year old daughter and I have decided to take on this journey together. I am blessed that for the most part she is not too picky an eater but that's also too much of a good thing as food is our go to for boredom stress etc etc....I also have a 2 year old that has been medically diagnosed with autism and the temper tantrums or lengths of out right refusal to eat unless it's typical toddler junk is a struggle. If my husband doesn't have carbs available it's hangry man time and no one wants to deal with that. 😆


I'm going to be completely candid we are a single income family, just enough over the poverty line to not qualify for assistance. I'm struggling to create a meal plan that is functional for our budget and each individuals needs. Any family friendly recipes, make ahead, meal plans, advise, budgeting tips and tricks would be beyond appreciated.

Thank you for your time and attention.

-Helpless but Hopeful Homestead-

spiriteagle99

Soups, stews, casseroles - anything you can put lots of veggies in that everyone will eat. Roast chicken or turkey are good too, and pretty cheap this time of year. Cutting out junk food will save you money. Replace sweets with fresh fruit, which again is cheaper and plentiful in summer.

sollyn23l2

I actually save money eating whole foods. Junk food is more expensive than people realize. It does take a bit more time (you do have to cook, no way around it). I feel for you, caring for a 2 year old with Autism. I know it's difficult. Exposing her to a variety of foods (while not forcing her to eat them) will help in the long run. Let her play with the food... literally. Let her put her hands in it, smell it, experience it without expecting her to eat it. I used to work with children with Autism before going to Gen ed. They usually need a lot of exposure before they'll test putting something in their mouth.

LifeChangz

so, you have much to juggle there - as you work with your daughter, can you work together to sort 'healthful reasons to eat' from non-food reasons - if it is a non-food reason, is it a special reason like a sincerely special birthday or holiday reason? and for other non-food reasons, find a non-food appropriate reason - bored? break out a game or maybe do something together tv breaks or whatever - to help her keep food as nourishment instead of entertainment - comes with practice...

mostly, hang in, be gentle with yourself, some extra tlc 'you' pampering & you time as you're able even if it's a bit of daydreaming... 1 foot in front of the other, and you'll get through all of life...

BeanieBean93

My fiance and I have very different eating habits but we are making an effort to share meals together because it A. helps my eating disorder recovery, B. helps him to eat healthier and meet his goals and C. it's a nice way for us to spend time together after a long day. If we cook, I do the cooking and I'm pretty picky while he will eat almost anything. I tried cooking us two totally different meals each night and it took forever and ended up running our grocery bill well over 2,000$ a month. Instead, I've found that if I can make different components then we can mix as we desire.

Example that you might find works for you and your family -

bagged salad, baked potatoes, baked chicken, baked chicken nuggets, slices of bread. The potatoes and nuggets can go on the same tray and you can put chicken in a casserole dish. Season with something "mild" like salt, pepper, little garlic, little lemon. Then husband can douse his food in what he wants, dig into the bread and your little one can dip nuggets in ketchup.

And you can use those above ingredients for so many different types of cuisine. You can buy in bulk and that should help with the grocery bill.
bagged salad, baked chicken and tortillas = tacos
bagged salad, baked chicken and pita with hummus = Mediterranean night
bagged salad, baked chicken and rice with teriyaki = asian cuisine
coleslaw mix with light dressing, baked chicken and potato with bbq sauce = at home bbq
bagged salad, baked chicken, mozzarella cheese and pepperonis = low carb pizza

Always keep something carb-y for your husband to pick at but honestly, he's also an adult and if he wants to go get a big bag of chips or a thing of pasta, he can.

It sounds like you're a good momma already so don't put too much pressure on yourself. And if that means your 2 year old just eats chicken nuggets and fries, it's okay. Kids can be kids and who knows, your kiddo might grow out of it. They'll see you eating more veggies and other things and maybe they'll catch on too.

kshama2001

MommyKMcCracken wrote: »

Hey everyone.

I'll try to make this long story short and pray it falls on the right ears in providing a realistic solution. My 12 year old daughter and I have decided to take on this journey together. I am blessed that for the most part she is not too picky an eater but that's also too much of a good thing as food is our go to for boredom stress etc etc....I also have a 2 year old that has been medically diagnosed with autism and the temper tantrums or lengths of out right refusal to eat unless it's typical toddler junk is a struggle. If my husband doesn't have carbs available it's hangry man time and no one wants to deal with that. 😆


I'm going to be completely candid we are a single income family, just enough over the poverty line to not qualify for assistance. I'm struggling to create a meal plan that is functional for our budget and each individuals needs. Any family friendly recipes, make ahead, meal plans, advise, budgeting tips and tricks would be beyond appreciated.

Thank you for your time and attention.

-Helpless but Hopeful Homestead-

In that case, you would likely qualify for a local food pantry, if there are any in your area. There were many options in my former town. I used to volunteer to do donation pickups, and became aware of the multitude of resources.