How to Cook for a Large Family on a Budget
Food costs for a large family may be the number-one expense your family faces every month. Keeping these costs under control and your family fed well may be your number-one priority. In order to accomplish this, you need to think big. Buying in bulk, purchasing larger cuts of meat and adding healthy fillers to every meal will help keep the cost down and appetites satisfied. Does this Spark an idea?
Instructions
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Buy meats in bulk. Chicken quarters can be purchased in 10-pound packages at a very reasonable price when on sale. Purchase more than one package and repackage into family-sized portions at home. The same is true of beef or pork. Purchase roasts, loins or briskets when on sale and divide and refreeze into the serving portions you need.
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Prepare a filler with every meal. Fillers can be pasta, rice, potatoes or beans. By serving inexpensive fillers, the more expensive fresh vegetables and meats will go farther.
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Go vegetarian one night a week. Make cheese pizza, a stir-fry or a pot of beans. Serve with a fresh salad.
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Read unit costs of food at the grocery store. Often the larger box of a food item costs more than the smaller box per ounce. Along the same lines, store brands often cost significantly less than name brands. Check unit prices to compare.
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Read the store sale circulars to discover which products are on sale. Often shopping at two different stores located near each other will generate huge savings on the grocery bill.
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Clip coupons and watch for store coupons for the items that you buy regularly. Purchasing a food item just because you have a coupon may not be wise if your family won't eat it. It just means a waste of food dollars.
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Shop for bakery products early in the day. Yesterday's bread will be marked down. Likewise, shop for meats late in the day. Stores often mark down meat items as they near their "sell by" dates.
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Cook double batches of soups, sauces and stews. Serve one batch for dinner and freeze the second. This will give you homemade convenience foods for those days when you need a meal in a hurry.
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Tips & Warnings
Intentionally cook enough for leftovers. These can be used for brown bag lunches or refrigerator clean-out nights. They can also be frozen and added to soups and stews at a later date.
