Ok I'm rewording this. I put through an idea for healthy soups and a way to feed families on a budget. But the request was pulled for violations? So I'm trying again. Maybe I didn't make myself clear.
I am hoping we can help each other out here. I can't be the only one that is stressing about 2 things. 1 the cost of food is out of control. It's not just the gas prices that are going up obviously. But the thing that is stressing me out even more is that if I look at ways to eat cheaper I fall back on fattening foods like pancakes, mac and cheese, more peanut butter, huge pots of spagetti that are heavy on the noodles etc.
Does anyone have other ideas for ways to save money on good healthy food?
Suzi
Have you tried to grow your own garden of fruits and veggies?
Then you can also can a lot of the food for winter time.
You can also keep the pastas, but make them whole wheat pasta... and add veggies like broccili or zuchini.
You could also go to places like costco... and buy chicken breasts in bulk. We do this... and place two or three breast in a zip lock after washing when we get home. before we close the bag, we add some italian dressing... zip the bag and throw it in the freezer.
that way, when you take it out for dinner that night, it marinates all day long in the italian dressing. then just throw them on the grill. quick and easy.
One place I found some tips on this was from author Jonni McCoy. She has two books, Miserly Moms and Miserly Meals. In the first, she goes over a number of ways you can save money, not just in groceries, and offers a few recipes. Miserly Meals is all recipes and even breaks it down to show you the cost per serving. I checked the books out of my local library first before buying, to make sure they were helpful to me. She also has a web site you can check out miserlymoms.com. She has really done the research (although it is a few years old)such things as what is and isn't a good buy at bulk retailers.
I won't lie, I don't love all the recipes in her book, and I haven't tried them all yet, but I've definitely found some helpful ones.
I would echo the other person that recommended gardening, since you enjoy it. Fresh veggies, fruit, and meat are the big ticket items on my grocery list, so gardening helps some with that.
I also watch the grocery ads for the sales on meat and healthier items and plan my meals around that. When there is no meat on sale, there are a couple of places where you can get a whole chicken for 67-79 cents a pound and we can get 2 to three meals out of that. I have heard that the U.S. is the only country where meat is our main dish and veggies/grains are the side. Just by cutting back on meat some where possible you may be able to save.
Ratatouille! Through everything your growing in your garden in a pot with sautued onion and garlic. Add a jar of pasta sauce or make your own. Add water. This can be a topping for brown rice, frittatas which is another cheap dish. I make a lot of egg based dinners. But I dress them up. Like bake them with potatoes and asparagus. You could use other vegetables. Add beans to other dishes giving protein and not relying on the starch.Buy a roaster chicken on sale. bake it them use it to make chicken salad.