How much should I spend on groceries each month? That question is ALWAYS on my mind. Maybe I obsess about it a little too much... maybe I don't worry about it enough. I don't know. What I do know is that the grocery budget is the first thing I look at when I think we need to cut back our overall spending. There's plenty of wiggle room there. Monthly bills (car payments, mortgage, utilities) can't change like the grocery bill can.
I read a couple of articles recently, one called "How To Eat When You Are Really Broke" and the other called "3 Meals Plus Snacks for $4 a Day". Both are very interesting articles and give some tips on how to cut food costs and still eat nutritiously. There are a couple of things from the articles that I want to point out.
The first article, "How To Eat When You Are Really Broke", states that "the average American family of four spends around $730/month on food". Wow! That's a lot! I have a few questions about that statistic.
1. How old are the kids? Older kids, especially teenagers, eat a lot more than my two year old.
2. Does that include money spent on groceries and eating out?
3. Does that include the cost of non-food items, (i.e., toilet paper, dish soap, toiletries, etc.)?
The second article, "3 Meals Plus Snacks for $4 a Day", was written by a woman who bought food for, my understanding, just herself. So, over a month that would amount to $120 for one person. That still seems fairly impressive. However, I have some problems with this article...
1. Again, does this include the cost of non-food items?
2. She didn't buy any fresh green produce, because it's too expensive. Hmm...
3. She went to multiple stores (grocery, Walgreen's, Dollar Store, Bakery Outlets, etc.) to find all of her grocery items. I have 3 kids and not a lot of time to do that...
4. How would this budget work for a family of 5? I dont' think multiplying by 5 would be accurate.
As I said before, though, both articles have some good tips on how to cut grocery spending. I think I have some pretty good ideas too. So, I've combined all of them here...
1. Look through the weekly sale ad. Plan meals with things that are on sale. Generally, my rule of thumb is that I won't purchase meat over $2/lb and fish over $4/lb. There are some occasions when I will spend more.
2. Buy only what you need. Even if your favorite toothpaste is on sale for 10/$10, do you really NEED to buy 10 tubes of toothpaste?! Spend $1 on one instead of $10.
3. Buy produce that is in season, because it's generally cheaper. Frozen veggies are generally inexpensive.
4. Use coupons! No, I am NOT an extreme couponer... I do have a life! However, I cut out the coupons that come in the free newspaper every Wednesday. It doesn't take that much time.
5. Buy whole items as opposed to individually wrapped. For example, instead of buying a box that contains 8 packages of Goldfish crackers, buy the big box of Goldfish. Buy a big bag of chips instead of the box that contains 24 small bags of chips. Buy a whole onion instead of a bag of chopped onions, a whole head of lettuce instead of the bag of pre-cut lettuce. I think you get the idea!
6. Don't be afraid to try new things even if it's not a name brand! The grocery brand of some items are just as good as the name brand. Check out the nutrition label, though, as some grocery brand items contain a lot more sodium than the name brand. If the nutrition and ingredients are generally the same then why not try out the grocery brand. You'll save!
I suppose I ought to share what my monthly budget on groceries is to prove that my tips are helpful. I have 5 members in my family, I include everything from food and beverages to toiletries to cleaning supplies to diapers in my budget, I shop at Fry's every two weeks, at Costco once/month, and I order Bountiful Baskets every other week for most of my fresh produce. My average spending over the past year is $530 per month. I continue to try to lower that amount. It's sad but true... it's kind of a fun game for me. :)
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
Tuesday, June 14, 2011
Build Your Own Salad
We are always trying to make sure our kids get enough fruits and vegetables throughout the week. While my kids are great at eating fruits, vegetables are a little bit harder to work in. Although, I will say our kids are pretty good eaters.
One evening, I got the great idea to put out a bunch of salad fixings and let the kids "build their own salad". Well, you would have thought it was pancake night in our house! You would be amazed at how many and how quickly pancakes are eaten in our house. The kids ate their dinner in 15 minutes flat! Usually it takes around 30-45 minutes to pick at their food and eventually eat it. This is definitely an idea worth keeping!
So, here's what I do...
I use the biggest cutting board I have and load it up with anything I can find in the fridge that would taste good on a salad. Use your imagination and think outside the box! The result may look something like this:
Then, I let the kids come up and load up their plate with whatever they want and as much as they want. There are a couple of rules, though... They have to pick at least 2 veggies on top of the lettuce and if there is a protein, then they have to take some of that as well.
I had told my good friend, Tracy, about this idea. She makes a taco salad that her son, Zachary, never wanted to eat. So, she followed the "Build Your Own Salad" idea and put all of the ingredients out separated. Then she told Zachary that he can build his own salad like Ethan. Well, that was so exciting for him that he put every ingredient on his plate and ate it up! It's funny... Even the smallest amount of independence given to a kid can give a great result!
Not only is building your own salad great for kids, it's great for adults, too. My sister, Candice, told her friends about the idea as well. Their next playdate with the kids was at lunch time and guess what they had? That's right! Each mom brought a couple of their favorite things to toss into a salad and shared with the group. How fun!
Try it out! Maybe you'll turn your kids into salad lovers, too!
Need some salad ideas? Here are several:
One evening, I got the great idea to put out a bunch of salad fixings and let the kids "build their own salad". Well, you would have thought it was pancake night in our house! You would be amazed at how many and how quickly pancakes are eaten in our house. The kids ate their dinner in 15 minutes flat! Usually it takes around 30-45 minutes to pick at their food and eventually eat it. This is definitely an idea worth keeping!
So, here's what I do...
I use the biggest cutting board I have and load it up with anything I can find in the fridge that would taste good on a salad. Use your imagination and think outside the box! The result may look something like this:
 |
| From Top Left: Honey Dijon, Lite Ranch, Italian Dressing, frozen corn, mini pepperonis, chopped tomatoes, shredded cheese, chopped green chiles, romaine lettuce, sunflower seeds, sliced cucumber, red onion |
I had told my good friend, Tracy, about this idea. She makes a taco salad that her son, Zachary, never wanted to eat. So, she followed the "Build Your Own Salad" idea and put all of the ingredients out separated. Then she told Zachary that he can build his own salad like Ethan. Well, that was so exciting for him that he put every ingredient on his plate and ate it up! It's funny... Even the smallest amount of independence given to a kid can give a great result!
Not only is building your own salad great for kids, it's great for adults, too. My sister, Candice, told her friends about the idea as well. Their next playdate with the kids was at lunch time and guess what they had? That's right! Each mom brought a couple of their favorite things to toss into a salad and shared with the group. How fun!
Try it out! Maybe you'll turn your kids into salad lovers, too!
Need some salad ideas? Here are several:
- lettuce (romaine, spinach, iceberg, spring mix)
- proteins (cubed chicken, chicken nuggets, hard-boiled eggs, lunch meat, bacon, leftover steak, pepperoni, turkey, shrimp)
- veggies & fruit (tomatoes, cucumbers, celery, onion, shredded carrots, sliced mushrooms, avocado, corn, beans, jicama, peppers, mandarin oranges, apples, dried cranberries, raisins)
- other (nuts, seeds, crushed tortilla chips, croutons, goldfish crackers, salsa, bbq sauce)
- shredded, cubed, crumbled cheese
- dressing (offer a variety... try mixing salsa or bbq sauce with Ranch dressing)
Monday, June 6, 2011
Brown Thumb Turns Cucumber Green
I admit it. I have a brown thumb. In fact, it is so brown that I managed to kill a cactus. Seriously. How difficult can it be to keep a cactus alive?! Apparently, difficult enough for me.
Well, I've been bound and determined to turn my thumb green. For the past couple of years, Chad and I have thought it would be cool to have our own vegetable/fruit garden. We would love to be able to grow enough produce to feed our family. Maybe we would have to supplement with produce from the store as well.
Last year I got the kids excited and involved with starting a garden from seeds. I should mention that the orchids are fake. :) We planted cherry and roma tomatoes, jalapenos, green chiles, sunflowers, and cucumbers. They were off to a good start... I watered them daily. Occasionally the kids would water them. And then, oh, about a month into it, the watering came less and less until well, I think you can guess the ending of this story. Why do I always start something and can't follow through to the end?
After about another month, I finally cleaned out the pots and put them back in the garage. Darn! I failed again!
My dream of having a garden is still there. I just need to quit being lazy with it and follow the Nike motto: Just Do It!
During one of my trips to the grocery store I saw some seedlings for sale. This time I'm going to do it right! I bought a 6 pack of Anaheim chile peppers, a 6 pack of pickling cucumbers, and 4 packs of strawberries. I brought them home, transplanted them, watered them, talked to them, etc. :)
I honestly don't remember how long ago I bought those seedlings... Maybe that's something I need to know? However, I have managed to keep them alive!! Not only are they alive, they are producing fruit!! That's right. Infact, there are 23 Anaheim chiles and 2 cucumbers. I managed to keep the strawberry plant alive enough to produce a small handful, but let's face it, strawberries don't grow to well in the desert.
I also decided that I wanted to try growing some plants from the leftover seeds from the last attempt. Even those are doing well! You know what my trick is? I put all the pots under our big mesquite tree to get some shade and they are in the perfect spot to get water from the sprinklers every night. Honestly, why didn't I think of that before?
Just today I picked the very first cucumber, which I didn't even know existed for the longest time. It was growing behind the pot. I had no idea it was there! I researched online to see when cucumbers are ready to be picked. Apparently, you should pick them when they are smaller as opposed to larger as they will lose flavor the bigger they get. I also wondered why the cucumber was yellow. Well, apparently, I didn't pick it soon enough. OK. I can handle that. I still managed to grow a cucumber. And I think that's pretty cool! There's one more growing in the pot and now I know to pick it sooner.
As for the Anaheim's... they are beautiful. As I wrote above, there are 23 chiles! Oh, how I LOVE roasted green chiles. Actually, I need to pick a couple of them because they are starting to turn red. Maybe I should research a little more, but I'm fairly sure I should pick them before they turn colors.
Well, I've been bound and determined to turn my thumb green. For the past couple of years, Chad and I have thought it would be cool to have our own vegetable/fruit garden. We would love to be able to grow enough produce to feed our family. Maybe we would have to supplement with produce from the store as well.
After about another month, I finally cleaned out the pots and put them back in the garage. Darn! I failed again!
My dream of having a garden is still there. I just need to quit being lazy with it and follow the Nike motto: Just Do It!
During one of my trips to the grocery store I saw some seedlings for sale. This time I'm going to do it right! I bought a 6 pack of Anaheim chile peppers, a 6 pack of pickling cucumbers, and 4 packs of strawberries. I brought them home, transplanted them, watered them, talked to them, etc. :)
I honestly don't remember how long ago I bought those seedlings... Maybe that's something I need to know? However, I have managed to keep them alive!! Not only are they alive, they are producing fruit!! That's right. Infact, there are 23 Anaheim chiles and 2 cucumbers. I managed to keep the strawberry plant alive enough to produce a small handful, but let's face it, strawberries don't grow to well in the desert.
I also decided that I wanted to try growing some plants from the leftover seeds from the last attempt. Even those are doing well! You know what my trick is? I put all the pots under our big mesquite tree to get some shade and they are in the perfect spot to get water from the sprinklers every night. Honestly, why didn't I think of that before?
Just today I picked the very first cucumber, which I didn't even know existed for the longest time. It was growing behind the pot. I had no idea it was there! I researched online to see when cucumbers are ready to be picked. Apparently, you should pick them when they are smaller as opposed to larger as they will lose flavor the bigger they get. I also wondered why the cucumber was yellow. Well, apparently, I didn't pick it soon enough. OK. I can handle that. I still managed to grow a cucumber. And I think that's pretty cool! There's one more growing in the pot and now I know to pick it sooner.
As for the Anaheim's... they are beautiful. As I wrote above, there are 23 chiles! Oh, how I LOVE roasted green chiles. Actually, I need to pick a couple of them because they are starting to turn red. Maybe I should research a little more, but I'm fairly sure I should pick them before they turn colors.
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