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  1. #1
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    Nutrition...feeding a family +5

    So I have tried this past month to set myself a very specific budget for food shopping for my family as a test. None of this includes my daycare. I plan to go to school full time in Sept 2015 and need to make some lifestyle adjustments prior to then. One being food budget. Currently I give myself $250 a week for food. I'll only have about $1300 a month come school time for food and gas so think this is a realistic budget based on what I will be able to afford. Prior to starting this budget this March, my grocery bill was upwards of $1600-$2000 a month. All organic and all fresh and minimally processed.

    I'm looking for any tips and advice on how to eat healthy on a budget. I buy very little processed foods...for example....tinned tomatoes, beans, pasta sauce, tinned fish. Tinned stuff is really for those quick week night fixes. Also they can be pricey because I want the best possible product so generally organic and/or with the fewest ingredients listed. I didn't buy organic meat or fish this month which pains me lol but I understand that I need to make some adjustments if it means putting food on the table with the money I have.

    What a struggle it has been for us to eat on this tight budget. I have been price matching with flyers, have checkout51, pcplus points, coupon as much as I can while not buying things I wouldn't normally purchase just because they are the cheapest option. There are a few items that I can't compromise on. My son is a veggie so there are a number of meat replacements I buy which aren't to expensive but still eat up a chunk of the monthly budget. I also make all of my kids school snacks which work out to be quite a bit more expensive but there is no way I am going to revert back to the prepackaged junk. I am so proud of my kids for going with this new school menu so I don't want to undo that. The initial cost of ingredients to make the granola bars is close to $70 but then some of those ingredients last me a few months, while others only last a month. They are only allowed one a day for school so it's not like they munch through them crazy quick. A Jar of raw honey @$9.99 lasts 6 weeks, jar of coconut butter lasts 8 weeks and costs $19.99....you get the idea. I buy my organic grains in bulk so they last me in general 4-6 months but I share them with daycare so I imagine when that is done they will last longer but then I run the risk of spoilage so I'm going to try and find someone to go halves. It is incredibly cheap.

    I am trying to grocery shop by the flyers and based on what fresh produce is on sale but again it is difficult to do this and eat healthy at the same time. I've grown veg the last couple of years but only tomatoes and zucchini so I think this year I am going to try my hand at a bigger patch and a few more varieties of veg. This would supplement my shopping bill.

    Any other suggestions???...... .pair an empty fridge with my hungry, growing, hormonal 12 year old daughter yesterday and it's a recipe for disaster as she outright asked me to buy wagon wheels and bear paws again Not a chance!

  2. #2
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    I pick and choose what I buy organic - if it has to be peeled then I don't buy organic, like oranges and bananas.

    Another thought I have is do you really NEED granola bars, or things that have very expensive ingredients? Perhaps there is something else you can make that is just as healthy but much less expensive. Like maybe pumpkin muffins that you make in bulk and freeze.

    I also try to buy little processed food and things with few ingredients. I totally understand where you are coming from with balancing the desire to eat healthy and being able to afford the food at the same time.

    I am also planning on gardening much more this summer. My husband is putting in new raised garden boxes in our back yard and I am going to grow us much a possible - onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. You could also buy fresh produce this spring/fall/summer while they are in season and freeze or can them to keep for the winter.

    Maybe a few sacrifices while you are in school, with plans to resume when you are back working again, will have to happen.

    Costco also has good prices on some items, like coconut oil is way cheaper there than anywhere else. Almond butter is also way cheaper there too.

    I also make an meal plan for lunch and dinner every week, and only buy what is needed for that week. I have found it makes a big difference in how much we spend in a month.

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  4. #3
    Expansive... Artsand crafts's Avatar
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    You can also skip buying some organic produce based on the Dirty dozen and clean 15 list (http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eati...n-produce-list). We also eat home made organic meals, but take into consideration this list and also buy non-organic watermelon, bananas, cantaloupe, pineapple and other fruits that are peeled off. One of my major expenses is meats since I do not have any organic farms close by and we need to buy them from a upscale organic supermarket, but we do not eat that much meat either. I compensate their cost by eating some days fulfilling vegetarian meals or seafood. Costco has frozen shrimp and fish with not additives, too.

  5. #4
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AmandaKDT View Post
    I pick and choose what I buy organic - if it has to be peeled then I don't buy organic, like oranges and bananas.

    Another thought I have is do you really NEED granola bars, or things that have very expensive ingredients? Perhaps there is something else you can make that is just as healthy but much less expensive. Like maybe pumpkin muffins that you make in bulk and freeze.

    I also try to buy little processed food and things with few ingredients. I totally understand where you are coming from with balancing the desire to eat healthy and being able to afford the food at the same time.

    I am also planning on gardening much more this summer. My husband is putting in new raised garden boxes in our back yard and I am going to grow us much a possible - onions, carrots, tomatoes, zucchini, etc. You could also buy fresh produce this spring/fall/summer while they are in season and freeze or can them to keep for the winter.

    Maybe a few sacrifices while you are in school, with plans to resume when you are back working again, will have to happen.

    Costco also has good prices on some items, like coconut oil is way cheaper there than anywhere else. Almond butter is also way cheaper there too.

    I also make an meal plan for lunch and dinner every week, and only buy what is needed for that week. I have found it makes a big difference in how much we spend in a month.
    Baked goods need to be gluten free or made with complex ancient grains so don't work out to be much cheaper than the granola bars. I do make muffins as one of their daily snacks with kamut, oats and quinoa flour. still pricey though. I'm going to try and buy the flours etc bulk to make it cheaper. My kids are 11 and 13 so need something that is also filling so it's not like 1 muffin and a banana is going to cut it.

    We are meat free more and more as my son is vegetarian. We eat fish once a week, wild, but no more as then it isn't so good for you. I buy the shrimp from Costco in the freezer section...nothing beats them

    I have had copies of the dirty dozen before so perhaps I should actually start being strict about it....great advice. I want abf minimum for my meat but maybe I will buy it in bulk for a case discount at the farm I buy from and then just use 2-3 meats per week to save some money. A fave meal of ours is chickpea and spinach curry...delish! I also cook and freeze rice in portions so the bulk purchase there is helpful.

  6. #5
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    is there a reason for buying organic. I would also not do some homemade stuff if it cost me alot. I can feed 6 people (4 older kids) and all my daycare kids for wayyyyy under 200 dollars a week. I cook every single day.

    first, prepackaged food isn't bad for you if your choosing the right stuff.
    coupons and price matching does make a huge deal
    also not going to the store every day is huge too
    and buying in bulk too

  7. #6
    Expansive... Artsand crafts's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by bright sparks View Post
    chickpea and spinach curry...delish!
    That sounds delicious! Do you mind to share. One of dck and my family vegetarian favorites is sunflower zucchini pie. My assistant could not believe there was not sausage on it . I can give you the recipe if you want.

  8. #7
    Expansive... Artsand crafts's Avatar
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    I forgot, I also buy several frozen organic veggies that I will end of cooking and it is cheaper.

  9. #8
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by momofnerds View Post
    is there a reason for buying organic. I would also not do some homemade stuff if it cost me alot. I can feed 6 people (4 older kids) and all my daycare kids for wayyyyy under 200 dollars a week. I cook every single day.

    first, prepackaged food isn't bad for you if your choosing the right stuff.
    coupons and price matching does make a huge deal
    also not going to the store every day is huge too
    and buying in bulk too
    Most prepackaged food is not optimal for you. I appreciate that everyone has their own opinion on organic foods and for some it is not of importance, but for me it is. I do not wish to put pesticides and herbicides in my body and I want to give my kids the best possible start in life from my own perspective and beliefs in nutrition. I also will not eat farmed fish, red meat or processed foods as they are just flat out unhealthy, do the research it is horrifying, bearing in mind though that some will tolerate one thing differently to someone else so it is a personal thing also.

    I'd love it momofnerds if you could back up what you say with examples of good prepackaged foods. I do by some as listed in my original post but they are not everyday foods so not the end of the world if consumed occasionally. Also I'd love to know exactly what you feed your crew for under $200 a week so I can see the error of my grocery shopping trips.

  10. #9
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Artsand crafts View Post
    That sounds delicious! Do you mind to share. One of dck and my family vegetarian favorites is sunflower zucchini pie. My assistant could not believe there was not sausage on it . I can give you the recipe if you want.
    That sounds great thanks...I will pm the recipe for the curry. It is so easy to make you will laugh. It takes less than 20 minutes and keeps for up to a week in the fridge. I know there are so many major health benefits to being meat free, but as a meat eater myself, I personally love that it keeps in the fridge for so darn long lol Makes cooking for my veggie son so much easier with a quick reheat on the stove or in the oven

  11. #10
    Euphoric ! bright sparks's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by AmandaKDT View Post

    Another thought I have is do you really NEED granola bars, or things that have very expensive ingredients? Perhaps there is something else you can make that is just as healthy but much less expensive. Like maybe pumpkin muffins that you make in bulk and freeze.
    Sorry the quoting was wrong so reposted.....

    I try to keep my daughter as gluten free as possible without being to hard on her. I want her to eat healthy but be allowed to have some treats. That's why on a regular basis I find it even more important to feed her healthy stuff. Any chance you can give me some suggestions on school treats? I know muffins are generally cheap to make but I don't want to load my kids with baked goods on a daily basis that are filled with gluten

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