Feeding family of 4, help!

$5 little caesars pizza

Soups and Stews

Check your area of the country for a food or produce co-op. I'm involved with one called Bountiful Baskets (in the rocky mountain and west coast states) and for 16.50 we get lots of great fresh produce. This last week I got:

Fruit:
Pineapple
3 bell peppers
7 bananas
1 small watermelon
1 cantaloupe
1 bag granny smith apples
3 tomatoes

Veggies:
1 head leaf lettuce
4 artichokes
3 yellow squash
1 bag green beans
3 white onions

I know I forgot something. Oh, I actually got 10 artichokes since I volunteered and the folks I worked iwth that didn't like them gave me theirs. That happens a lot. Check it out, I rarely ever buy produce from the market anymore. Oh, and for an extra 10 bucks, you can buy fully organic (if you're into that).

Oh, and get those Debbie Myer Green bags. The will stretch your dollar simply by keeping your food fresher for WAY longer than without. I've had broccoli in the refrigerator for 3 weeks that still looks like it was fresh picked.

Rice, beans, frozen vegetables, eggs, Stir fries are cheap, and you don't necessarily have to add meat. You could even add chick peas to it. Meat is expensive for us, so we try to work our way around it. Limit your family to what they absolutely need to eat and never make extras. And another thing, you don't have to eat what you make them. Sometimes I'll make chicken and veggies and mashed potatoes, but I won't eat the potatoes. It's extremely hard to buy fresh produce on a budget. Shop for sales and only buy what's cheap. We go a discount store sometimes for healthy snacks. Pre-packaged food is supposed to not be good for you, but I've lost 10 pounds eating it at least 4 times a week. Add me and I'll give you some super cheap recipes. Hope this helps.

My parents fed 5 boys: 4 of us were in high school sports at the same time !

Every dinner was a helping of meat (cow, chicken, or pig), carbs (potatoes, rice, or noodles), and a vegetable. We never had to worry about food spoiling... it wasn't around long enough. Basically any food that you have to cut and prepare yourself is cheaper. Oatmeal is 10X cheaper than cereal. And you don't need expensive cuts of meat: it all falls off the bone if put in a crock pot long enough.

And Dad had a nice garden. We had to eat 4 cataloupes a day just to keep them from spoiling ! Gallons of strawberries every week, asparagus needed cut each night, green beans till you were sick of them... you'd be surprised what you can grow in a nice garden if you're motivated (he had to be). Thanks Dad!

I like grilled tuna melts. I just mix the tuna with a bit of mayo (light if you prefer it), put the tuna on some bread, top it with shredded cheddar and a couple pickle slices and then cook it just like a grilled cheese. It usually comes out to about 380 calories, but I a full pouch on one sandwich. You could always use less tuna to spread it out more.

Take the time to plan your weekly menu around what's on sale at the grocery stores, and find a framer's market. I have 4 major stores within a couple of miles and they all send out their flyers in the mail and start their ads on the same day. So I go through the ads and make meals based on first of all the vegetables that are on sale, then shop them all with a strict list. If green peppers are cheap we'll have pepper and egg sandwiches one night, stuffed peppers later in the week, and I'll make chili or soup towards the end of the week if there are peppers left in the fridge. Also use your freezer to take advantage of sales - stock up on chicken breasts (if you eat meat) when they are really cheap and freeze them. It's great to be able to "shop your freezer". Also bake or grill a bunch of meat at the same time to save time later. This also keeps you from making bad choices because you have something pre-made and don't have to stop at McDonald's or order pizza. You can add it to soup, salads, casseroles, etc. Also, making things from scratch saves a ton of money, and most importantly you control the fat and sodium that is in your food. A pita "pizza" with tons of roasted veggies and a sprinkle of cheese will be delicious, nutritious and inexpensive.

Instead of expensive and high calorie commercial cereals, eggs, etc. make a big batch of oatmeal one day and then you can use it the rest of the week. Add cut up fruit instead of sugar to sweeten it.

I started saving about $35/week on my grocery bill when I became vegetarian 3 years ago. My husband eats what he wants at restaurants and sometimes will buy himself a roasted chicken, steak, etc. at the grocery store, but otherwise he eats what I make at home which is vegetarian. I started out by doing Meatless Monday then added another day, and pretty soon we were not eating meat four or five nights a week. After about a year I stopped eating meat altogether. At first he grumbled a little, but after a while he said I didn't need to cook meat for him anymore. I know it's not for everyone, but there are lots of people out there who are "flexitarian" and eat vegetarian regularly, but also eat meat when they feel like it. It can be a very healthy and economical lifestyle, if you like to eat a variety of vegetables. Check out the book "The Meat Free Monday Cookbook" by Mary McCartney - daughter of Paul from the Beattles. Great recipes!!

Making small changes helps you stick with them over time and your family may not even notice if you do it gradually...