HELP ME!!! I spend nearly $900... - Page 4

[Drummer's Wife]

so many good idea! We spend more per month than the OP on food but we also have 6 people in our family. I have been trying to figure out ways to cut the cost just a bit and still eat well.

Thanks for all the suggestions and recipes. :

[justmama]

by the way, automatic coffee pots are like god's gift to us. I'm not religious but seriously. Someone loves us and wants us to be happy and coffee pots that turn themselves on at a programmed time before you wake so there's fresh coffee in the pot when you stumble bleary-eyed to your kitchen is a sign of that! Just sayin'.



my eyes do NOT open until that first sip and my children know that I step into their doorway and call to them to wake them and then disappear for 2 minutes to get coffee and do NOT speak to me until I return.

[Emmeline II]

Originally Posted by lovebeingamomma

The reason we eat out so often is because I'm a SAHM, and DH works from home, so that means preparing 28 meals a week (we eat about 4 times a day), and that's HARD with chasing after 2 kids! So that explains the nights out. So how do I do this? I want to stop wasting so much money!

You don't have to be Martha Stewart or Rachel Ray to feed your family. I didn't know how to cook when I got married either.

We rarely eat out (even the "cheap" places) and I'm a SAHM with two children and dh and I both go to school (I go online).

One of our freezer meals is to get a ham then make red beans and rice out of have of it and freeze it in baggies.

Fish is another good quick meal. I batter fillets in egg, flour, salt, flour and Parmesan cheese and pan fry them in olive oil and a little butter and steam some veggies (I have a double boiler type steamer).

I make a creamy sausage pasta with 1lb of sausage, 24oz of spagetti sauce, 1lb of penne pasta, and 2cups of sour cream, salt and pepper. Cook the pasta and sausage then mix it all together and heat through.

I do sausage and potatoes. Usually a big batch with a bag of red potatoes, a couple of large onions, 4 red, yellow, and/or orange peppers, olive oil, salt and pepper. I chop it all fairly small stir it all together and cook it at about 450 (covered) until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are caramelized a bit. I forgot that I precook the chopped potatoes in two batches in the microwave for 8min each.

My BBQ potatoes are 3-4 chicken breasts boiled, shredded and mixed with BBQ sauce, then served over baked potatoes with cilantro, sour cream, red onions and cheese.

I also broil drumsticks in the oven with seasoning salt and serve them with BBQ sauce and veggies.

Saving Dinner is a good cook book for things like this.

I usually make scrambled eggs with cheese for breakfast or cereal, fruit smoothies for lunch (with frozen fruit, 100% juice, yogurt, flax seed, wheat germ, kale ice cubes and bananas), and cook for dinner. The Saving Dinner book says not to "prepare" sides, instead use steamed veggies or fresh, pretty much. Fix it and Forget it is a crockpot recipe book.

I also make a list by category a la Saving Dinner and write down the prices as I shop.

[holidaymama]

I think one thing that helps us is to budget everything. I go to Starbucks at least twice a week, but it's out of "my" money (hubby and I each get fun money for the month). We also divide out a section for going out to eat. And finally we have $500/month for groceries...although it usually ends up being more like 600 when it's said and done. My husband tutors for extra cash, so whatever he gets from that is our money to go out to eat or for extra groceries.

Hubby and I both work as well with two little ones, so I understand the feeling of not wanting to cook, but you have to make a decision to do it.

If not, and if it's not really hurting your budget, maybe things in your house are fine.

I choose to cut back in other areas to keep my Starbucks!

[rhiandmoi]

Originally Posted by Emmeline II

The Saving Dinner book says not to "prepare" sides, instead use steamed veggies or fresh, pretty much.

Seriously this is like the single best time and money saving thing you can learn. I do not make side "dishes" during the week. Simple sides are your BFF. Plain rice, plain steamed veggies with or without butter or cheese, pasta tossed with butter and Parmesan. If you eat rice, IMO it is completely worth it to get a rice cooker. They have some that have little baskets that sit on top of the rice cooker to use the rice steam to cook veggies too.

[lovebeingamomma]

ok my chicken will be done in about 1/2 hour (we eat at weird times I know)...and I threw some rice in the water (which is now some really yummy smelling stock)...I hope that wasn't crazy and it will cook so I can just strain & eat the rice as a side. However if it doesn't, whatever I'll just strain it anyways and use the stock later. I've never cooked rice outside my rice cooker but I think boiling is the normal way?

should I put any salt & pepper on the chicken or in the stock?

[lovebeingamomma]

that's weird it says I posted at 12:14 when it was really 2:14...

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I've never tried that with the rice in the crockpot, but I'd think that it wouldn't cook quickly, because the crock pot is lower than average stovetop heat. Defintiely let us know if it works though! That would be awesome

[Violet2]

Yes you can do rice in a crockpot. The timing of it I'm not sure of.

But I have slow cooker recipes that utilize rice. So it can be done.

Just keep an eye on it so it has enough liquid.

V

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Zach'smom

Check out your local grocery stores for organic food. Whole foods is really expensive. I buy lots of organic food at our local Meijer. They even have their organic house brand and it goes on sale a lot!!! They also have a nice selection of organic produce that goes on sale. Bags of carrots and celery for $1 and so on.

Cut back on eating out. All that cheap Cracker Barrel food isn't all that great for you anyways. Maybe choose one night a week to eat out. At our house Saturday we either eat out or get take-out. The rest of the week I cook.

Stock up on healthy snacks and ingredients for quick simple meals. Every meal doesn't have to be a major ordeal. Dinner can be pasta with sauce and some fresh veg and fruit.

Fast yummy pizza- Make pita pizza. Buy your favorite pita bread and top it with sauce, cheese and your favorite toppings. Toss it in the oven for about 10 minutes and viola dinner is served. Tasty and healthy!

Totally agree. I think on some parts of the country, Meijer is Fred Meyers, though, isn't it? If so, then I second their organic section.. I often find organic canned stuff on clearance there..

[Pinoikoi]

Originally Posted by Violet2

Yes you can do rice in a crockpot. The timing of it I'm not sure of.

But I have slow cooker recipes that utilize rice. So it can be done.

Just keep an eye on it so it has enough liquid.

V

I've made rice pudding in the crockpot, but even then the timing varies..

[SeekingJoy]

Yes, add salt and pepper! You can cook rice in a crockpot. I know I allow more time, although I am not sure how much.

This thread is making me realize how much of my cooking I do intuitively. How long? How much? I don't know.

[lovebeingamomma]

: Totally worked!

Didn't time it exactly, I just kept checking it, it took about 45mins - and hour and it was done. I took the chicken out, and instant soup! I had put carrots in also, so just some celery would make it the perfect chicken rice soup. So we had our chicken, carrots & rice side. Than I added some chicken to the stock and put it in the fridge for a soup side. Than I took chunks of white meat, shredded it, added mayo, and I'l have chicken salad sandwiches tomorrow!

Thank you!!! $8 chicken and I got 3 meals out of it!

[SeekingJoy]

Fantastic! BTW - the soup will also freeze well.

[Delicateflower]

Originally Posted by lovebeingamomma

I may actually print this whole thread it's so helpful!

I love the idea of cutting up onion (and for me pepper also), and freezing a bunch...I know you can't freeze broccoli because it will lose it's taste, are their any other things I definitely shouldn't freeze?

I find frozen pepper loses its texture. You're supposed to be able to do carrots, too, but you blanch them first. Peas and corn are better frozen than fresh.

[alison_in_oh]

Originally Posted by Pinoikoi

I think on some parts of the country, Meijer is Fred Meyers, though, isn't it?

No, those are different chains. Meijer originated in and still remains in Michigan. Fred Meyer originated in Oregon, has since been bought by Kroger, and is mostly in the Northwest.

[Poddi]

I didn't read all the replies, but I have to say I totally understand the SAHM and eating out thing. I love to have a break and not cook. We try to limit eating out to once a week, and DH would cook something simple or BBQ one night a week, so that's two nights off for me. If we make something special together it might feel like more fun than eating out.

Sometimes it's not the need to eat out, it's the need to get out of the house and do something different. You can try to replace eating out with going out to somewhere cheap or free instead. Like going to the library, go to the park to have a walk, go watch the stars. We bought some passes to the community pool, going swimming is fun and good for your body. DH and I frequently go out for a walk at night after putting the kids to bed. Fresh air and exercise and couple bonding time really lift the mood. I'm sure there are many other ways to get out of the house and do something for cheap or free as well. When my DS2 is a little more mature I plan to take them with us to do some volunteer work as well.

If your budget is not tight, I wouldn't cut out the eating out, just reduce it to a more reasonable amount.

[KaraBoo]

My husband also works from home and recently I said NO MORE making so many meals per day for us all. I'm only cooking dinner and occasionally a special lunch.

Everyone gets their own b'fast. Cereal, oatmeal and just fruit for me.

For lunch now, we eat lots of sandwiches, wraps, leftovers, salads, soups from the freezer...you get the idea. No need to COOK all those meals every single day. That way, you won't get tired of cooking and will eat out less.

[mommy2naomi]

Ummm well I guess we're in the same club... I should preface this with my family likes to eat. My DH and my 3 year old DD love to eat, and eat they do.

We participate in a weekly veggie box and a monthly meat CSA. The box is small and its $18, the meat is $84. When I go to the grocery store, I buy organic dairy but not fruits and veggies. Typically I spent $40-50 weekly on fruits and veggies, plus fish (we eat it weekly). Then a monthly trip to TJ's, which is $80. So alone on groceries we spend over $500...

We eat out once a week for dinner and eat out for lunch almost daily, so that's another $100 a week. Which brings us to a grand total of $900 a month. Yikes I guess we have a problem. I knew I should have never read this thread. My DH is going to make this face when I bring this up in the morning.

[freespirited]

Yes, I do understand the need to eat out! I am also always in the kitchen, but because I have a gluten-free diet, it seems like I have to cook more, and more elaborately too, and I get burned out! No sandwiches for me because gluten-free bread is awful, so everyday I make rice and/or pasta, I make salads and cook beans from scratch and specially prepared meats. I try to vary our meals so I've always got my nose in a cookbook. Frankly, eating out means so much to me, but then again, being gluten-free, it's kinda the same places and the same dishes over and over. Sigh.

Anyway, dh and I agreed that we won't eat out unless we get the discount coupons from www.restaurant.com. We put in our zip code and several of our fave restaurants participate. You do have to spend $35 total but that is very easy to do when eating out, and then you get your discount too so it ends up closer to $20 total. I refuse to pay full price to eat out! Also allow yourself maybe one night out a week, or even better, lunch out a week since that will be cheaper. That night, toss something frozen in for dinner so you give yourself one full day of no cooking per week. Also, enlist your dh to cook! Mine does breakfast both days off and often lunch too and I get to sit on my butt and get served. I'm sure he can cook eggs and sausage and toast at least?

Cook healthy muffins once in awhile, and you'll have instant breakfast, no bowls, messes, cooking. I cook up a batch and we eat breakfast for 3 days.

Farmer's market in the spring/summer! We save like 50% on produce shopping there. Most stuff is organic or spray-free, which is good enough for me. I like organic too but I have given up on organic chicken, too $$. I buy grass-fed ground beef only, not steaks which are also $$. I buy Tillamook cheese which is very good quality though not organic. I don't buy organic grain products except bulk rice. Some produce is low on the pesticides list like broccoli, bananas, cauliflower so unless those are on sale in the organic section, I buy conventional. I do always buy organic celery, apples and bell peppers. I peel tomatoes and potatoes anyway and they are way too $$ to buy organic. If your spending is causing you hardship, I would start by eliminating some of your organic choices. Also, I hate to say this, but I shop at Walmart ONLY for canned goods. They have Muir Glen tomatoes for $1 a can and my local store has them for $2 a can. BIG difference! I shop at like 3-4 different stores to take advantage of each of their best deals / loss leader specials. If its non-perishable, I just stock up so I only need to go there once a month.

Skip meats, have one meat meal a day or even go vegetarian 2-3 times a week. Eggs can replace meat. We had an omelette and rice and asparagus for lunch yesterday. No one complained. Dinner was lentil salad with goat cheese and a kale salad. Meatless and good. A bit of work yes, but I love how much more nutritious food is when you prepare it yourself and make a goal to include veggies with each meal.

One thing I need to do that's been advised here is to cook enough for leftovers the next day. Dh tends to eat up whatever is left from the start so that is not always so easy for me but if I plan better I should be able to pull this off. I know that when we do have leftovers, it is a wonderful feeling to have a home cooked meal with little effort, so this is an area I want to focus on. It's probably money-saving as well.