Looking to reduce costs!

[5 Little Monkeys]

I also serve fruit 3x a day usually. However, it's paired with other things so it's not overly expensive because their servings are small. I have small eaters though so that helps!! I'm not kidding when I say a large apple or pear feeds all 3-4. An extremely large costco strawberry feeds one, a banana feeds 2, costco sized melons last all week, an avocado does 3-4 kids. I have started giving more veggies at afternoon snack tho instead of fruit for the 3rd time. Carrots, peas, cucumber, peppers and mushrooms are tolerated here. Broccoli is coming along but cauliflower is a no go. Hummus or ranch dressing is now offered.

I serve fruit, cheese, yogurt, applesauce or pudding along with different types of crackers, cereal bars, muffins, bagels, cereal, rice cakes for snacks.

Pancakes, cubed ham roast and a veggie is a big hit here. Super cheap. I'll add meat, veggies, pasta to ranch dressing for a cold pasta. I add all that same food to soup broth as well. Also all the same ingredients topped with spaghetti sauce and cheese make a casserole. Spaghetti sauce mixed with hamburger is a good cheap meal too. Stuffed mushrooms or peppers would be easy and cheap. A cooked chicken cut up in pieces and breaded and cooked make easy chicken nuggets. I make meatloaf in muffin trays and it's a great size for each child with some mashed potatoes and a veggie.

Eggs are a good choice. They love scrambled cheesy eggs with sweet peppers, ham and green onion omelettes or Denver's, fried egg and cheese sandwich. Grilled cheese and soup is cheAp. Sausage is usually fairly cheap too.

Chilies and stews are a great way around here to get lots of veggies in with a little bit of meat and potato. They like garlic toast so I'll add that to it.

They aren't overly fond of muffins anymore but I have a banana oatmeal cookie recipe and zucchini blueberry loaf that they really like.

Speaking of zucchini, it's another cheap and versatile veggie to add in. They really liked a potato acorn squash soup recipe I made too last fall. I also make a cabbage soup with lots of veggies and little hamburger soup that they quite like.

Crockpot oatmeal overnight is a great morning snack too!! Load it up with fruit and you can serve as is!


Cottage cheese is a hit and miss here but is filling

Tacos served in pita pockets was a hit too! Can do veggie, beef or chicken

Quesadillas are a easy way to use up leftovers

Homemade pizza is cheap, especially if you use lots of peppers, onions, mushrooms and just a bit of ham or pepperoni