Healthy Meals on a Tight Budget

Using a question and answer format, let's find out how to cook frugally.

- Is it very difficult to cook cheaply for a family, including the children?

No, the important aspect is how much do you know about buying inexpensively. The less expensive approach to buying food is no longer taught in schools and much of the skill has not been handed down from previous generations. You will need to learn how to buy items that are the best "value", not the cheapest price.

- Are hamburgers and fries a cheap meal?

No, at best you've got two meals, and most likely just slightly more than one meal. Also, you've added a good deal of fat to the diet.

- What can I substitute for Hamburgers and fries or chips?

A turkey patty along with green beans would be a healthier and cheaper alternative. Also, it would most likely be less expensive. More than one meal could be prepared and that would lower the cost per meal. Chips and fries are not bad as occasional treats.

- My kids are finicky, what do I do?

In these days of child obesity, we will have to show some courage and present healthier choices. It is not popular culture to say it, but a hungry child will eat as children in Africa have shown when they were presented with chips they had never seen before...they ate.

Quite often the "finickyness" comes from being allowed to be finicky.

- Are there good suggestions for parents?

Make the time to cook just a bit. A tuna casserole is a healthy choice. Try to reduce the amount of bread consumed each day.

Use small and healthy versions of their own choices. For example, make your own chicken nuggets out of chicken breasts. Bake some instead of frying them all. Keep at it. Sometimes the child will be willing to join in the experiments.

- How about parents who have little time?

Prepare a roast which will serve several meals. A slow cooker allows you to get it going and do other things and come back later. There is some variety available for the slow cookers. Make batches of healthy items instead of ones or twos.

- Is it best to shop supermarkets or smaller stores?

Look sharply at the values available. Since many things are priced per ounce or per item, it's easier now to make comparisons. Knowing about special sales can involve a child who is assigned the job of searching the newspaper or the internet. If you have space to grow some food, do that with the help of family members. Some children will begin to eat things they would not eat when they grow their own.

- Are there items recommended as "staple" pantry items?

Canned fruits and canned vegetables along with tuna fish are good examples. Keeping a good supply of eggs is also a good thing...it's a quick meal.

- Is there any other advice?

Yes, plan ahead. Shopping for what you see is costly. Make a plan and stick to it and you will lower your food costs.