|
Feature Articles: Budget
Spend Your Food Dollars WiselyTammy Roberts, MS, RD, LD,
|
|
You can hardly keep the pantry stocked and the refrigerator seems empty. It may seem difficult to afford to feed a family on a budget but it can be done with planning and perseverance. Here are your some survival tips for feeding your family:
- Utilize store ads to plan weekly menus- This
helps to get the best value. If chicken breasts are on sale,
you could plan on having grilled chicken, chicken enchiladas
and a chicken with pasta dish during the week. You might
even want to purchase an extra package to put in the
freezer. (Chicken can be stored 10 months in the freezer.)
Planning weekly menus helps to assure you get a good variety
of foods. Be sure to include the children in this process.
They are more likely to eat what they have helped plan.
- Shop only once per week- You should only have to
shop once per week if you make the grocery list from the
planned menu. When you have to make several trips to the
store, it’s hard not to pick up extras and that hurts the
food budget. Often, those extras aren’t always the
healthiest choices.
- Go meatless- You can save food dollars by using a
vegetable or dairy source of protein a couple of nights per
week. Beans are a great source of protein and fiber. One cup
of pinto beans packs 14 grams of protein and 15 grams of
fiber. (Bowes and Church’s Food Values of Portions Commonly
Used, Jean A. T. Pennington) Beans are also convenient. You
can cook them in a crock pot while you are at work. Your
kids won’t eat them? Try making bean burritos. Another great
but inexpensive option is quiche. There are many recipes
with a variety of options for add-ins. And don’t forget the
cheese pizza. Very few youth or adults would balk at having
pizza for dinner.
- Pack your own snacks- Packaging costs money and food companies pass that cost to the consumer. Make your own snack mix and then put it in individual plastic bags. It may seem expensive to buy the ingredients but what you make will cost a fraction of the small package you have to purchase at the convenience store. Many fruits are great grab and go snacks. Raisins, bananas, apples and oranges are all easy to take and run. Carry your water bottle with you. It adds up when you pay in excess of a dollar every time you have to go to a convenience store to buy water.
Involve the children in your quest to stretch your food dollars. You may be able to plan a family trip to the movies with the money you’ve saved.
Last update: Monday, August 28, 2006
 |
Site Administrator: |
|
|
|
