This is the second post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!
Have you noticed that the price of groceries keeps climbing? About a year ago, I started keeping a spreadsheet on my computer of how much I spend on groceries, personal care items, household items, etc. That grocery category keeps ticking up. Yikes!
One of the biggest culprits of grocery budget sky-rocketing is the cost of meat. Before kids, I honestly didn't think twice about Sean and I devouring an entire pound of ground beef between the two of us in one meal. Not anymore! Now, I look for ways to cut our costs as much as possible without losing the benefits of having meat in our diet.
Since having the kids, we've adopted a version of a meal "theme night." Or,
"theme nights," rather.
As I sit down every week and work through the sale ads, I keep in mind three types of meals that I want to include in my menu plan:
- Breakfast for Dinner
- Meatless Meal
- Pasta Dish
By including each of these types of meals every week, we've been able to reduce our grocery budget. Let's break them down a bit so that you can get an idea of what I cook...keeping in mind that what we cook changes based on what's on sale.
1. Breakfast for Dinner: This is a personal favorite of mine, so it wasn't hard to incorporate. Sean, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of breakfast items. I think he is learning to adapt though. On breakfast night, I typically whip up pancakes, french toast, or waffles, and serve them with a side of my Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. The majority of this meal is made from bread and eggs. That's cheap, folks. Really cheap.
What's more, I've figured out how to stretch one pound of bacon to feed all six of us for three different "Breakfast for Dinner" meals:
Meal 1: Cook the entire package of bacon on the stove or in the oven. The kids each get one piece, Sean gets 2-3, and I eat one. I like bacon but don't love it so I choose to stop after one and save it for another meal. Then I freeze the leftover cooked bacon.
Meal 2: Take 1/2 of the leftover frozen cooked bacon (which at this point is about 1/3 of a package) and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. A little bacon adds a huge flavor punch to the scramble!
Meal 3: Take the last of the leftover frozen cooked bacon and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. It honestly tastes like there is a lot more bacon in the eggs than what I throw in there.
At the same time, making sure that the family gets enough protein is really important to me. Because of that, I've started making pancakes and waffles with cottage cheese blended into them. Cottage cheese is almost always on sale (plus, you can't even taste it this way!) Between the high-protein pancakes/waffles and the eggs, the family is still getting a pretty good dose of protein!
2. Meatless Meal: I started making these last summer when we were in a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA). I'd end up with these bags of vegetables that I wasn't sure what to do with. To use them all up, I started putting the veggies in everything, often using them in place of the meat in a dish. I couldn't stand the thought of them going bad before we had a chance to eat them!
In the process, I discovered that meat really isn't a necessity for a great meal! Some of our favorite meals have become Baked Eggplant Parmesean, Summer Spaghetti, and
Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Skillet. We really don't even miss the meat because there is so much flavor from the veggies, spices, and herbs that lace each dish.
A lot of people think that veggies are expensive. The truth is that veggies on sale are cheaper per pound than meat when it is on sale. Don't believe me? Take a look at your sale ads this week. You'll save money by buying more fresh, frozen, and canned veggies!
3. Pasta Dish: Pasta is insanely cheap. If you watch for sales, you can easily pick up a pound of pasta for $1.00 or less. This week, a local grocery store had pasta for $0.88 per pound! That's the base for a whole meal! Even if you add in 1/2 pound of ground beef, or a couple chopped chicken breasts, you are still ahead of the game. If you are worried about the nutrition (or lack thereof) in white enriched pasta, spring for the whole wheat version (there are some really good, non-cardboard-y options out there these days!) and only add an extra $1 or so to your meal total.
Also, spices and herbs are your best friends when it comes to taking an "okay" dish to a "great" dish. Don't be afraid to throw some in the skillet!
The truth of the matter is this: Our eating habits DID change when kids entered the picture. And yes, we DO miss some of the splurge items and getting to eat out (goodness, I totally miss the eating out part!), but that doesn't mean that we aren't eating well.
Your budget doesn't have to influence the taste of your food.
Feel free to adopt that as your mantra as well!
I realized while writing this that maybe I should post some of the quick, easy, and cheap meals that our family eats for dinner. Would that be of interest to anyone?
Don't forget to pin this post for reference! 
This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.
This is the second post in my Meal Tip Series. Many people asked how we do meals at our house, so I'm writing my way through some of the strategies we use to keep costs low while feeding a big family! If you missed the prior posts, click HERE to catch up!
Have you noticed that the price of groceries keeps climbing? About a year ago, I started keeping a spreadsheet on my computer of how much I spend on groceries, personal care items, household items, etc. That grocery category keeps ticking up. Yikes!
One of the biggest culprits of grocery budget sky-rocketing is the cost of meat. Before kids, I honestly didn't think twice about Sean and I devouring an entire pound of ground beef between the two of us in one meal. Not anymore! Now, I look for ways to cut our costs as much as possible without losing the benefits of having meat in our diet.
Since having the kids, we've adopted a version of a meal "theme night." Or,
"theme nights," rather.
As I sit down every week and work through the sale ads, I keep in mind three types of meals that I want to include in my menu plan:
- Breakfast for Dinner
- Meatless Meal
- Pasta Dish
By including each of these types of meals every week, we've been able to reduce our grocery budget. Let's break them down a bit so that you can get an idea of what I cook...keeping in mind that what we cook changes based on what's on sale.
1. Breakfast for Dinner: This is a personal favorite of mine, so it wasn't hard to incorporate. Sean, on the other hand, is not a huge fan of breakfast items. I think he is learning to adapt though. On breakfast night, I typically whip up pancakes, french toast, or waffles, and serve them with a side of my Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. The majority of this meal is made from bread and eggs. That's cheap, folks. Really cheap.
What's more, I've figured out how to stretch one pound of bacon to feed all six of us for three different "Breakfast for Dinner" meals:
Meal 1: Cook the entire package of bacon on the stove or in the oven. The kids each get one piece, Sean gets 2-3, and I eat one. I like bacon but don't love it so I choose to stop after one and save it for another meal. Then I freeze the leftover cooked bacon.
Meal 2: Take 1/2 of the leftover frozen cooked bacon (which at this point is about 1/3 of a package) and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. A little bacon adds a huge flavor punch to the scramble!
Meal 3: Take the last of the leftover frozen cooked bacon and cut it into small pieces. Mix into the Bacon, Cheese, and Veggie Scramble. It honestly tastes like there is a lot more bacon in the eggs than what I throw in there.
At the same time, making sure that the family gets enough protein is really important to me. Because of that, I've started making pancakes and waffles with cottage cheese blended into them. Cottage cheese is almost always on sale (plus, you can't even taste it this way!) Between the high-protein pancakes/waffles and the eggs, the family is still getting a pretty good dose of protein!
2. Meatless Meal: I started making these last summer when we were in a Community Supported Agriculture Program (CSA). I'd end up with these bags of vegetables that I wasn't sure what to do with. To use them all up, I started putting the veggies in everything, often using them in place of the meat in a dish. I couldn't stand the thought of them going bad before we had a chance to eat them!
In the process, I discovered that meat really isn't a necessity for a great meal! Some of our favorite meals have become Baked Eggplant Parmesean, Summer Spaghetti, and
Mediterranean Spaghetti Squash Skillet. We really don't even miss the meat because there is so much flavor from the veggies, spices, and herbs that lace each dish.
A lot of people think that veggies are expensive. The truth is that veggies on sale are cheaper per pound than meat when it is on sale. Don't believe me? Take a look at your sale ads this week. You'll save money by buying more fresh, frozen, and canned veggies!
3. Pasta Dish: Pasta is insanely cheap. If you watch for sales, you can easily pick up a pound of pasta for $1.00 or less. This week, a local grocery store had pasta for $0.88 per pound! That's the base for a whole meal! Even if you add in 1/2 pound of ground beef, or a couple chopped chicken breasts, you are still ahead of the game. If you are worried about the nutrition (or lack thereof) in white enriched pasta, spring for the whole wheat version (there are some really good, non-cardboard-y options out there these days!) and only add an extra $1 or so to your meal total.
Also, spices and herbs are your best friends when it comes to taking an "okay" dish to a "great" dish. Don't be afraid to throw some in the skillet!
The truth of the matter is this: Our eating habits DID change when kids entered the picture. And yes, we DO miss some of the splurge items and getting to eat out (goodness, I totally miss the eating out part!), but that doesn't mean that we aren't eating well.
Your budget doesn't have to influence the taste of your food.
Feel free to adopt that as your mantra as well!
I realized while writing this that maybe I should post some of the quick, easy, and cheap meals that our family eats for dinner. Would that be of interest to anyone?
Don't forget to pin this post for reference!
This post may contain affiliate links. For more info, please see my disclaimer page.
