I can't believe how much they eat! - Page 2

[Jyotsna]

I have two 10 year olds and one 14 year old (boy).  It is alarming how quickly they go through foods.  My son gets so hungry and wants to sit and eat the cheese and crackers, then the apples, maybe some left over pasta and more...all one after the other.  This is in between meals, and especially after dinner.  My girls can gobble up fruit and pasta's fast.  We eat basmati brown rice every night or every other night.  It is expensive to do this, but I buy a large 20# bag from WF's and this last a while.  In otherwords, when I make rice, I use ample quanities and I am not afraid to over do it, because I know one if not all of my kids will eat it...period.  No waste. 

I was shocked reading the list Knitting in the Shade!  10 lbs of apples?  8 lbs of banana's?  What is the cost of your monthly grocery bill? 

We drink at least 2 1/2 to 3 gallons of milk a week.  I don't drink much of it myself.  I use it in hot chocolates, to top it off, the kids each drink 2 1/2 cups of milk per day (in a cup), I cook with it, and

I resort to dry milk once the fluid milk is gone, or sometimes mix it with the left over milk if one of the kids hasn't drank it while I wasn't looking.

We eat alot of almonds, pecans and cashews, as well as alot of beans (red, chickpea, large lima, black, ect) and I like to soak beans for two days (draining the water and adding clear water) because the beans sprout, and then we use them in soups.  I'm not good at making refried beans, so we buy those in vegetarian style, in cans.

My girls LOVE LOVE LOVE pasta.  It is hard to find healthy, multi grain pasta, but when I find them, I buy alot of it.  We are not very much into alternative grains, but we do try them.

Our favorites with the veggies are raw carrots (whenever hunger strikes), eggplant casserole, potato gratin, yellow squash, acorn squash, sweet potatoes (any way I can make them, but especially baked with butter and a little maple syrup.  We like mac and cheese, homestyle, and I probably make mixed veggie soup with corn bread or rustic bread the most.

All three are avid eaters and yet they are the healthiest eaters all of my friends know.  We eat alot of peanut butter (we buy the largest size) and with it plenty of apricot, blueberry or strawberry preserves.  I have made alot of our preserves, so I know they are getting good stuff when they eat it.

I am worried my budget issues will become epic in giganatic nature.  I still think that if I make the food, we spend less money, and I like eating our food, not someone elses.  As for eating when not home, we try not to do that, but I try to stave off hunger by keeping pb crackers, juice boxes, oatmeal cookies and boxed milk in the van.  I hand these things out very carefully, so that everyone has just a small snack, which keeps us from having to stop at Taco Bell.  It's $10 for our family to eat a very small meal there, and I can't afford to do that then cook at home too, because my kids will be hungry...period.

[HappyMommy2]

Originally Posted by jgale 

...  I mainly shop at Whole Foods because it is convenient and high quality and I don't feel that I need to read labels like a maniac to make sure we're not getting garbage in our food. 

....  I work full time and don't really feel like I want to spend my free time driving to different grocery stores for sales/coupons, but dang!  Anyone have any suggestions for cutting grocery bills without making a full time job out of it?

Try Trader Joe's instead of WF.  They are WAY cheaper, and you still don't have to read the labels as much as the grocery store. 

I never used to even look at prices, but circumstances have changed for us drastically.  Here is what I do.

Know your prices, and watch for them.  For example, I will only buy milk for under $2.50 which means cumby's or BJ's.  Tortillas and salsa I will only buy at BJ's.  Nuts and snack foods come from TJ's.  I used to buy only Starbucks coffee.  But now, I get New England Coffee Company coffee, which is $6.  However, every 4 months it goes on sale for $2.50 ... so I buy about 20 packages of it to get me through to the next sale.

Watch for Manager's specials on meats.  (morning shopping)  These are meats that you need to cook or freeze tonight, but they are super cheap.

Each store has several clearance sections. In the produce clearance section, i will buy carrots or onions, bring them home, and dice them up.  Then, I throw them into the freezer and they are ready for easy quick meals without prepping the veggies!  Apples are fine from these sections too, especially when the kids eat 3 each day!  Sometimes cereal is cheap because the box is crunched in on one corner, but the bag inside isn't affected at all!  I found organic mac n cheese super cheap in the freezer clearance section.  The bakery clearance has bread you can use for stuffing or french toast casserole.

Know which things to get at certain places.  There are threads on here about what is cheaper at TJ's.  For example, granola bars are way cheaper there and so I don't buy them anywhere else now.

Each Thursday, we get 3 flyers from the local grocery stores.  I do not go to all three, I pick one grocery store that has the best deals on things we need or things we should stock up on due to great prices that week.  Buy lots of non-perishables when they are on sale.

Buy a deep freeze.  We have wanted an awesome upright for a couple years, but my hubby found a large scratch-n-dent chest freezer for $150 last month.  This allows you to stock up on meat and bread when on sale.  Every saturday one store has quality bread for $1 ... I stock up!

I actually keep 3 grocery lists on the fridge: TJ's, BJ's, and Grocery.  I put the item on the list where it is the cheapest.  About once a month I go to TJ/BJ.  When I go to any store, I bring all lists, so that if I need something and can't wait for a different store run in the next 4-7 days, I can pick it up at whatever store I am heading to. 

Try to go 1-3 more days without going to the store.  This helps empty out the pantry and freezer and gets everyone more comfortable getting creative, and not just eating the freshest/easiest thing all the time.  Sometimes, I will send DH to the convenience store JUST for milk.  That will get us through another day or so, until I can get to the store.  If I go shopping, I will spend lots of money stocking up on things that are on sale. There are threads on here about pantry eating, making casseroles and soups from whatever ingredients you have on hand.  Personally I would rather read MDC than grocery shop!!  :-)

Find your "staples" that you always want to have on hand.  If I have cheese and milk, I can always make something and don't feel deprived.  Quesadillas, grilled cheese with tomato soup, noodles, casserole, my all-important morning coffee with milk, etc.  Since I only go to BJ's once a month, I buy a ton of cheese there.  It is so much cheaper and will last over a month in the fridge.

 

[VisionaryMom]

Originally Posted by 2xy 

Does the locally-owned shop have a comparable number of employees, provide a comparable amount of customer service, give back to the community, etc? Do the owners have to provide their employees with health insurance? How much do they spend on overhead in comparison? All of that stuff makes a huge difference in the prices of their goods. Not to mention having to maintain equipment and Safe Serve certification for the people the deli/cafe areas.

All of the mom-and-pop natural food stores in my area are tiny little shops with packaged foods and frozen foods, but hardly any fresh foods. Usually there are only a couple of people working there. YMMV.

It's actually a co-op, so I know there are differences in how it's run. They do provide full benefits, even to part-time employees. (That's one of the reasons we really like to shop there.) They also have lots of free seminars for the community about nutrition and cooking. They have a wonderful selection of fresh foods from local farmers - moreso that WF has for us. I don't know of a good comparison, so I don't know if this store is the norm or not. They're the size of a regular grocery store, though. On the side, they have a restaurant with all organic foods and many vegetarian & vegan options, which we've found is a wonderful way to have the kids try something (it's a buffet) to see if they'll like it before we make it at home.

When we lived in Cincinnati, we bought pretty much everything at Findlay Market, which is a (mostly) open-air market with local butchers, cheeses, etc. TBH, I'm not sure if there even is a WF in Cincy, though I'm sure there has to be in the northern suburbs. In Atlanta, we shopped at WF some and a couple of local stores, but I was in grad school then and really couldn't afford those places except for the very occasional treat.

[HollyBearsMom]

Another thought is that if you can designate 1 day a month to cooking you can save a lot of money buying in bulk and then cooking foods your kids can reheat themselves or that you can easily pull out for a quick dinner. This will save you money and will mean you have good food on hand at all times.

A deep freezer and a vacu-sealer system make it super efficient but good wrapping and well organized regular freezer can do the same.

I usually roast 1-2 chickens on Sunday. Whole chickens are on sale often but I also watch for good prices around key holidays here in the US.  ie: turkey/turkey breasts this time of year along with beef roasts.  Ham at Easter, corn beef at St Patrick's Day etc. When on sale I stock up

Then depending on what the best bargain is I buy that in bulk and plan one Sunday a month to make double and triple batches of food.  A vacu-sealer is great when you buy in bulk.  I prefer to get the majority of my meat from the local butcher but sometimes the sales at other stores are too good to pass up. I break down those huge packages of ground beef, sausage, pork chops etc into more manageable sizes.  Same with bulk cheese and bulk veggies. Things you can typically find in my freezer:

• 1-2 whole chickens
• a couple packages of ground beef
• some other kinds of meat-pork chops, stew beef, venison
• 2-3 ball of homemade pizza dough
• vacu-sealed packets of sliced and shredded cheese
• Lots of  veggies from the summer-corn, green beans, cut up zucchini/summer squash, etc
• assorted fruit from the summer.  Great for smoothies
• stacks of homemade wholewheat/flax seed pancakes and waffles.  Easy to take out a few and reheat (my own L'Eggos, LOL)
• beef/bean, chicken/bean and veggie burritos.  I vacu-seal in packages of 2 or 4. Great snack after school or easy dinner with a rice and veggies on the side
• meat and veggie lasagnas. I vacu-seal them in servings of 4-6. I also throw in a couple single servings too. My sons like a big piece of lasagna on cold winters days when he gets home from school or before hockey
• some kind of soup or stew.  Again, I freeze them in meal ready portions
• I save up my chicken carcass in the freezer and make stock about every 2-3 months
• 2-3 loaves homemade garlic bread-just reheat and serve
• preformed balls of homemade oatmeal/flax/chocolate chip cookie dough.  Just take out what you need and bake for a quick homemade treat

As a working mom this investment of my time and resources pays us back in so many ways.  Keeps cost low and we pretty much always have good, healthy food on table.

[Usually Curious]

Ummm, if it takes so much deli meat then why not switch to tuna or chicken salad? I cannot justify spending $12-$20 on lunch meat when a batch of tuna will cost $2-$4, yk?

Sometimes your family just has to learn that things are different and you just can't eat like you used to.

I shudder to think how so many will cope when food prices really shoot through the roof next year.

And by the way, I used to argue that we 'needed' more meat, but have found that we all feel better and healthier since I cut way back. With the exception of my 19yo athlete we eat very little meat. Our solution for him is grilled chicken breasts or burgers that he augments our meals with if he feels the need.

As for the OP - you work 12-24 hour shifts and still feed your family? Kudos to you, lady! Shopping at one store to streamline totally makes sense. Shopping at WF sounds awesome! I wish I was able to do so. Maybe you just need to shift some $ to your grocery budget and not worry anymore!

[Knittin' in the Shade]

I was shocked reading the list Knitting in the Shade!  10 lbs of apples?  8 lbs of banana's?  What is the cost of your monthly grocery bill?

It fluctuates; up until recently (when the younger two started eating a ton more) it was about $650/month.  Now, it fluctuates between $850-1100, depending on if I'm stocking up on something that month or not.  Last month, it was actually a bit more, because I bought a TON of apples at a local farm for dirt cheap, and canned applesauce with them.  I know in another few years, when the boys are all teenagers, it'll probably be close to $1500 a month.  (That's more than my mortgage!!)  But, we've gotta eat, so what can you do, lol?  We don't eat junk, it's all whole, healthy foods - I'd much rather spend a bit more for produce than buy empty filler stuff, yk?

[Chicky2]

Originally Posted by Usually Curious 

I shudder to think how so many will cope when food prices really shoot through the roof next year.

Can you tell me why you said that?  I'm sure there's something I'm missing, but why is it going to shoot up next year?  (not that I doubt you in the least!)

I just had a massive realization about our grocery budget this past weekend.  I went back thru the last 2 month's receipts and realized we are spending around $1200/month right now.  We have 5 adult-sized appetites in the house (mine is actually the smallest adult appetite), and a 4 yo who is apparently learning from her siblings, lol.  She is INHALING food.  All of them are.  We garden, preserve, raise our own meats, forage for berries and nuts, and take advantage of my mom's dh trapping feral pigs in the winters.  My neighbor has recently stopped giving us free goat's milk because it's breeding time, and I am feeling that pain!  Thankfully I froze probably 20 gallons of milk in the last few months, and that will last a bit.  We were gifted an entire deer a friend got this past weekend, and we were SO thankful for that meat!  I had just told my dh that we were down to our last rabbit and a bit of fish the kids caught, and 1 chicken.  That's not enough!  To top it off, my inconsiderate neighbor came in our house last weekend w/my dh and when dh turned around the neighbor actually had a fork in our pork roast and had eaten an entire meal's worth of meat in just a couple of seconds!  WHO DOES THAT?  How rude!  I was planning on 3 meals out of that roast (as a seasoning, mostly), and it broke my heart that I even had to buy grocery store meat!

I have been making loads of enchiladas, burritos, and lasagnes to fill one of our freezers.  After making 4 huge pans of beef/black bean/sweet potato enchiladas I realized that was only 2 meals!  Same w/lasagne roll ups.  Good grief.  But they have to eat.

One of the best things I've come up with recently is to make 2 big pots of soup a week.  I serve a big bowl of soup before each meal, and it helps ALOT.  Esp. because I use bone stock for the soups, so good protein there!

Basically saying I am in the same place and it's hurting!

Looking forward to pig butchering because it just costs us the gas to drive an hour and a half to butcher, and packaging supplies (foodsaver bags mostly).  I reuse any I can, too, but only if they had veggies, fruits, or cooked meats inside--never raw meat.  We'll be able to fill 2 freezers this year if the trapping goes well.

[Thystle]

Here is a question... do you allow "free ranging" where everyone can eat anything they want at anytime or do you "budget" out the foods and snacks and meals?

My other thoughts:

1.) Whole Foods did not EARN the nickname of "Whole Paycheck" for nothing.

2.) Bigger + more people = more food consumed. Period.

3.) Lunch meat is way over priced by the pound. It's a conveinence food.

4.) One gallon of milk a week for that many people is considered good by most families.

5.) Fruit (unless the cheapest local apples/bananas) almost ALWAYS cost more. Add in buying them at Whole Foods jacks up the price. Allowing free for all eating of said jacked up fruit equals even more.

You basically have two choices:

1.) Allow less food + change where you buy your food + change what kind of food.

2.) Budget more grocery money.

Good luck!!!   

[Juvysen]

Just had a thought that if you have some staples that you can buy on amazon, it's possible to buy a subscription to some items and have them shipped at regular intervals at somewhat reduced price.  Just a thought.

I'm in a similar position

oh, another thing - a group of us in this area have been ordering from frontier - I think you need to order $200 worth to get free shipping?  Something like that... the prices are lower because we're considered a co-op, i think.

[CarrieMF]

 

Ummm, if it takes so much deli meat then why not switch to tuna or chicken salad? I cannot justify spending $12-$20 on lunch meat when a batch of tuna will cost $2-$4, yk?

Are you talking canned tuna/chicken or doing it from scratch?  I ask because here a package of deli meat is approx $7. It will last a week.  A can of tuna is just under $1 but only lasts 1 1/2 kids(I have 3).  They love it & I know my kids would  like to eat it at school. However Fish is a banned food at school due to food allergies so they can't take it.

[Thystle]

COSTCO has a bunch of organics and "luxury" foods. Sams Club is still behind them in numbers of items offered but have started getting more.

That might help to add a once a month trip there too!

[HappyMommy2]

Instead of lunch meat, you can make a roast.  We have a meat slicer that we bought in better times, and it is so handy! But you can still slice thinly with a knive too. 

Those large pork loins are often on sale very very cheap or BOGO.  (not the tiny tenderloin, the regular pork loin.)  This makes excellent sandwiches when sliced thin.  Healthier and cheaper than lunchmeat. 

Also - a large ham that you cook yourself is $2 or $3 per pound this time of year.  Compared to $7 for ham lunchmeat, it is a huge savings!

Even beef roasts are great finds when on sale, and cheaper than deli roast beef.

[jgale]

Thanks for all the replies/thoughts.  It's interesting to hear how other people cope, and also nice to know I'm not alone.

We have a Trader Joe's and a Whole Foods just a few blocks from each other.  When I shop, I often go from one to the other.  I find the produce at Trader Joe's terrible usually--packaged in styrofoam and plastic and usually not very fresh.  I like the frozen veggies there and the chicken sausage, but there's not much else that I buy there. 

In our area (Philadelphia) the prices at Trader Joe's fluctuate a lot (as does their stock--sometimes I go there specifically for something and they don't have it--annoying).  Quite often, the prices are comparable and in general I find the produce at WF to be much higher quality and the meat at WF is cheaper because you can get cheaper cuts. 

I have basically stopped going to our local farmer's market because it is SO crazy expensive.  It makes me sad, because I love putting money directly in a farmer's hand, but I can't afford it.

I don't buy everything organic--in general I buy organic dairy and meat and I try to buy the produce on the USDA Dirty Dozen list organic.  When I've gone to regular supermarkets (Giant, Superfresh, etc) the organic selection of produce is usually very small and sad looking and often there isn't any organic meat at all.

My kids are 7, 4 and 2 and I'm expecting another in May.

I really appreciate the discussions of strategic shopping and cooking.

Thanks.

J

[nanette0269]

Hmmm....how about purchasing bulk meat?  I just ordered a half of a buffalo for $3.95/lb + $1/lb S&H.  This includes ALL cuts.  Much cheaper, and its grass-fed, which I am adamant about.  I dont like grain-fed beef at all....I just simply cannot fathom feeding the industry that is ruining the US' health!

I've also purchased bulk beef, lamb and pork....all antibiotic/hormone free + grass-fed.  Every experience has been an education and so much cheaper!  I must say that a dedicated freezer in the garage is necessary, but that paid for itself after just a buffalo purchase.

I do try to make it to the farmers market, but thats rare for more than once/month...just bad scheduling.  You may want to try a CSA for veggies.  

All of our milk and eggs are organic.  

Everything else, I take "the grocery game" approach....and it has saved considerably.

We average $100-125/week if you annualize the costs (includes the bulk purchases).

[A&A]

I'm impressed you actually get a gallon of milk to last a week.  I can't do that with my 2 kids.

[Usually Curious]

Originally Posted by CarrieMF 

 

Ummm, if it takes so much deli meat then why not switch to tuna or chicken salad? I cannot justify spending $12-$20 on lunch meat when a batch of tuna will cost $2-$4, yk?

Are you talking canned tuna/chicken or doing it from scratch?  I ask because here a package of deli meat is approx $7. It will last a week.  A can of tuna is just under $1 but only lasts 1 1/2 kids(I have 3).  They love it & I know my kids would  like to eat it at school. However Fish is a banned food at school due to food allergies so they can't take it.

Wow! Can't take tuna? I guess they're peanut free, too?

When I make tuna I add two boiled eggs per can of tuna, pickles, celery, sometimes onion. It makes 4 sandwiches. Tuna - $.60; Eggs - $.20; Veggies - $.50; mayo/mustard - $.20. I've spent $1.50 for 4 sandwiches worth of filling. You're organic? Even doubling the cost for tuna ingredients is still a quarter of the price of deli meat.

There's no comparison.

As far as chicken salad, IDK, I don't make it that often, but when I do I use leftover roasted chicken. Sometimes I chop up the leftover chicken and add chopped celery, apple and craisins and serve in lettuce leaves. That's yummy and practically free.
 

[2xy]

I understand the need to be frugal, and my family does like tuna (fresh and canned), but I'm wary of eating it frequently or as a staple. There's a reason that pregnant women are advised to limit their consumption of tuna, and young children shouldn't eat tons of it, either.

[Amys1st]

First of all, great thread!

If you're working 12 hr shifts, I dont know if you would be interested in the feed the freezer thread I started literally years ago that always keeps going and going and going....I think on your home time, you want to spend time with your family. At least if I was holding down a FT job outside of parenting, I would not be too crazy about cooking on the off time.

I agree, I live in the Chicagoland area, and my DH started calling WF whole paycheck years ago. There is one a few towns over. I used to shop there more because my parents lived near there and I had a baby/tot at the time and was a SAHM (still am) so we visited them a lot. Also, my mom would go with me or I could leave the baby with her and run over there. Since I am not in that area much, I dont get there.

In my area, I have found better options for produce such as a local service- Timber Creek Farms in Yorkville IL and Irv and Shelly's Fresh Picks who now has a west suburban delivery spot. They both focus on organics, one has more of a local variety than the other but both great services and deliver. I do produce and delivery.  We also buy a side of beef annually plus a whole pig. One in the fall and one in the winter. It averages about $1300 for the year, add in our groceries we are at $600 a month. That feeds two adults and two younger children- ages 5 and 8. When I first had a family, we were spending about $300 a month on groceries. Now, as the kids are growing and as stated, before your eyes, so is their appetites. I tried this year to keep the groceries under $550. We eat very well, cook from scratch, make home made stock, soups, use up etc.

I menu plan, but I think as the kids get older, they bring lunches to school, dh takes leftovers, it add up to more $$. There are a few meals we make to stretch out grocery visits and thanks to the pantry challenges here someone started years ago, wow I have learned how to clean out, make last etc. I also have a deep freezer to stock out meat, plus I have a large walk in pantry in our basement. One wall is shelved canned items, snacks etc and the other side is the storage area. So I can take advantage of buying in bulk when things are on sale.