How to Cook Hearty Meals on a Budget
Providing hearty, nutritious meals on a budget can be a challenge for any parent to meet, whether times are difficult or easy. Food prices can fluctuate, which makes it difficult for the family cook to know how much to allocate for food. No matter what the season, you want to give your family well-cooked meals which will satisfy their hunger.
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Instructions
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Determine what your monthly food budget will be. Set this money aside as one of the first bills you pay for the month. Give your food budget a high priority, and resist the temptation to give it less importance than your utility payments, for instance. Maintain a consistent food budget from one month to the next, unless food prices rise dramatically.
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Look through the weekly supermarket sales mailers you receive. Some of the specials listed will truly be a good bargain. Read the language carefully.
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Look for store brand items, such as dry beans, uncooked rice, soups, milk, spices, yogurt, flour, sugar or snacks. The quality of the food is often just as high as the name brand. Stock up on these items, as they usually are priced significantly lower than the name brands.
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Make up weekly menus of meals and desserts your family enjoys eating. You will base your weekly, bi-weekly or monthly shopping trips on these menus, and you will reduce the possibility of making impulse purchases. Before you visit the grocery store, go through your cabinets, pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Make note of what you are low on and what you have run out of. Give higher priority to food staples, such as milk, bread, eggs, vegetables and fruits.
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Use the inexpensive,store brand items you bought to make larger meals for your family. For instance, if you bought a bag of pinto beans, cook them and make bean tostadas or Mexican pizza, using corn tortillas or flour tortillas. Add nutritional value by including garnishes such as lettuce, tomato, onion, avocado and grated cheese. Make Spanish rice to go along with the tostadas or Mexican pizza.
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If you routinely have desserts, look for traditional recipes for Apple Crisp and fruit cobblers. Use cake mixes instead of buying a cake from the bakery section of your store. Again, you will save considerably. Read the sides of the cake mix boxes and see if you find recipes your family might enjoy.
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Tips & Warnings
Make sure your family likes the store brand items you buy. When buying meats such as chicken, compare prices of whole chicken cut into parts and frozen chicken breasts. Look at the unit price and weight of the packages.
Don't go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You will be too tempted to go over budget and buy items that aren't on your list.
