Most Cost Efficient Meals/Snacks...Yucky Medical Bill :(
Ok long story short I just got off the phone with the insurance company and have an ER visit bill for over $3,000 (why do I have insurance again:confused:). So I'm thinking of ways to cut back on costs a bit for the next few months while I take care of this bill.
Currently I'm spending about $150-$200 week for 6 dcks and my 2 kids and husband. I know I can do better than this. What are your most cost effective and as healthy as possible meals/snacks for the dcks. I do crock pot a little but not as much as I could. Any cost cutting suggestions?? |
I have a ton of suggestions for you! Would you be willing to pm me your #? I can give you a ring during naptime.
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I need some ideas to!!!
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Do you like to clip coupons? You can go to several places online and clip coupons printing them right on your computer, a great place that helps you with all the "deals" is krazycouponlady.com, she teaches you how and she writes out the deals and how to do each one.
This is just one way, there's a lot more. I feed 6 daycare kids plus my family of 4 on $80 - $100 per week, with some times going to $125 but that's maybe once a month - month and a half. I'm sure others on here will have some great ideas too. |
Originally Posted by tenderhearts: |
Sun do you make home made bread?
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1. Coupons are great, especially when combined with a store sale.
2. Cook/bake from scratch. Always cheaper. 3. Think outside the box. Want roasted red peppers for your homemade pizza? Or croutons for your salad? Instead of buying pre-packaged, make them yourself. (croutons and bread crumbs are super easy and cheap using heels of bread or stale bread). 4. Go to www.hillbillyhousewife.com for all sorts of money saving tips. They also have a whole week's worth of meals for $45 and $70. Recipes, tips, etc. 5. When you go to the grocery store, always check the "manager's specials" on meat, bread, produce. As long as you use/freeze them right away, they are still good. Last month, out of necessity, I fed my family of four (myself, dh and 2 teen boys) and 3 full time dc kids for around $200 for the month. All of dc meals/snacks were healthy, and most of my family's were healthy. |
Originally Posted by marniewon: |
Mains
grilled cheese Cheese quesadilla (when we have tacos for dinner that way I'm not wasting refried beans) corn dog bites- I cut a turkey dog into 3 pieces cut croissanst in half and roll them so a package of croissants ( .99 for off brand) makes 16 mini corndog bites. I do the same with pizza except I don't cut them in half, little tom. sauce, sprinkle cheese and roll. Or Pizza sub same but on a hoagie roll Spaghetti, I make enough to have left overs the next day for lunch. Tuna casserole(same make enough for dinner so there is left overs the next day) Box mac & cheese(I only use half of the cheese stuff in the box) crm mush. soup peas/carrots tuna top with a little shredded cheese pour a little milk so it's not too dry theres more some ideas |
With the coupon thing that others mentioned you can pick and choose. If you don't want to do coupon deals on processed food, then don't do the deal. You can save a load of money on cleaning, laundry, hygenic supplies, and kitchen supplies like ziploc bags and tin foil, which can really add up.
I don't buy certain foods with coupons or when there are deals. Although, I do when the deal is on stuff like ketsup, mustard, ect... You can also make your own cleaning supplies, but I think I read somewhere that you already do. |
I have a zillion recipes, pm me if you'd like them!
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Originally Posted by nannyde: I'm definitely going to check out hillbillyhousewive.com and I also need to learn how to make homemade tortillas. We do so much with tortillas during the week for lunch and snacks so if I could make those from scratch the could save me a bit too. |
It sounds like you need to limit portions. It isn't "starving" a child to have one correct potion. It will help them in the long run know what correct portion sizes are. Look at your budget: do you know what you need to spend per child per snack? I spend .25-.40. So if I want to serve an expensive fruit or veggie I will serve it with saltines or a super cheap grain. Give lots of water. You eat a lot more if you are not hydrated. You can make a batch of plain muffins for about nothing, pair it with whatever .99lb fruit your grocery offers that week.
Also- put the word out. I always make it clear that I'm not too proud. If you have extra fruit or veggies you think might go to waste bring em on over! I get gobs of apples in fall, bumper squash crops, tomatoes when mom gets tired of canning, and once 50lbs of spaghetti from a family that aparently hates pasta (they would get it in their Angel boxes) Lol! |
Originally Posted by jessrlee: For lunch today they went through a whole large tub of organic yogurt and a large bag of frozen organic corn and that was in addition to a large cantaloupe and whole wheat pasta with ground turkey veggie sauce. They are just all big, big eaters. They have water bottles available to them all day so I know they are drinking some H2O but could probably drink more. I think I'm just going to start making more and more heavy/whole wheat muffins/breads/tortillas to pair with other things to keep those little bellies full! |
What are the ages of your daycare kids? Yours definetley seem eat way more than mine. A large tub of yogurt here lasts at least 2 weeks, and I do give seconds.
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Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: Personally, I just don't think 2nds and 3rd are necessary. If I have some food left over, I gladly let who ever asks have them, but I do NOT cook anything with the intention of having enough for 2nds or 3rds. School lunches don't give out seconds and the kids don't get anything until snack after school so I don't feel like I am doing anything out of the ordinary. I think you would save a ton if you cut portions down to only what is required |
Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: If you're not on a food program, you can still follow their guidelines for # of servings and serving sizes. For a 3-5 year old child, their lunch today should have looked like: 6 oz fluid milk 1/2 cup corn OR 1/2 cup vege sauce on their pasta 1/2 cup cantaloupe 1/4 cup pasta 1.5 ounces of turkey in their sauce OR 6 oz yogurt The previous poster was correct that when these kids get to school, their school lunch will follow the same USDA guidelines (age adjusted). No seconds or third servings on school lunches. There's really no reason that a child should eat to that excess. And remember that a snack is a snack - not a meal. There are great guidelines from the USDA for snack servings and portions too. Just my very most humble opinion. |
Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: You can pack a LOT of nutrients in a slice of home made bread. I even puree sunflower ;) seeds and pop them into the mix. Parmesean cheese goes wonderfully with sunflower seed puree.... sounds gross but they gobble it up. You can get their bellies full with some delicious bread and a glass of milk for snack. Sneak in some veggies and cheese and they won't even know it's healthy. |
serve them only the portion for their age. Children need to learn portion control.
There is a site out there somewhere that says what each age gets for servings. I was just on it yesterday. Make your meals up for the week from the adds in the paper and buy only those items. I know my gorcery store in town I go to their website and they have recipes for items that are on sale. Coupons sometime are also for the items on sale and shop on double coupon day. |
I don't know about overeating - my dck's and own kids eat A LOT of food (we could go through what Sunflower mentioned as a lunch in one meal too), but they are all very active children, at a very healthy weight. I serve seconds and thirds of snacks and meals all the time, but ONLY if they eat ALL of their firsts, including veggies and anything else I give them.
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here is a site I get on my fb. http://moneysavingmom.com/2010/02/ho...k-cooking.html
http://moneysavingmom.com/31-days-to...-budget-series |
Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: |
Originally Posted by tenderhearts: |
Originally Posted by Pammie: So based on the serving portions you posted... They each receive 1/2 c of milk that is refilled if they drink it (so at most they receive 8 oz) 32oz bag of corn - < 1/2 c each 32oz tub of yogurt - < 1/2 c each 1 canteloupe - 8 small servings (they each received 3 small peices) 8oz of pasta - made about 4 cups cooked and we had plenty of leftovers 26oz of veggie pasta sauce - same we had plenty of leftovers (and this is the pasta sauce with mushrooms so I don't count it as their veggie serving although I know I can) 1lb ground turkey was included in the pasta. On Sundays we cook the whole container of pasta with the whole jar of sauce and then the turkey. Our family eats it Sunday night, dcks eat Monday and then we have it again Monday night as a family. So there is no way dcks are going over 1/4 - 1/2 each. So based on your numbers and what I served I think my servings were pretty close to accurate on all counts. With the exception of maybe an extra serving of veggies. |
Originally Posted by My Daycare: |
One thing I do that helps curb how much they are eating at lunch is to offer a protein at breakfast. This is actually coming down the pipe for food program requirements (in the next few months) so I started this in the Fall to get used to it early and make sure I could rotate enough options that we wouldn't get bored with it AND not just have eggs as the protein.
I also cut out morning snack this Fall and my afternoon snacks are again proteins and then a fruit/veggie or grain. I hardly use snack crackers but do keep some on hand for hectic days when snack doesn't get ready in the afternoon. I buy things on sale that we use in our menu rotation to save money over the weeks. Most importantly I use a menu rotation so I can make meals ahead which saves time and money. I also make lunch which ends up our dinner than night as well (most nights) since my own kids are at school they don't even notice. The other thing that I do when I need to reduce the food budget is to go back down to only the things required by the food program. For example, I typically serve 3 or 4 fruits/veggies at a meal and if I need to reduce costs I go back down to the 2 required. |
Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: |
I have no idea what proper servings are!!!! Sorry I cannot answer.
I would assume those on the food programs would know what the proper servings and amounts are, but that is mainly for cost purposes IMO. That's to limit how much you are feeding so your profit goes up (so the govn't can tax you on more of your income, and reduce the amount paid out in food grants or w/e IMO!!!) I've always been and always will be, eat till you are full within reason of course. If someone is being a piggy well then we need to stop that. But we also get enough water in daily, that we don't have the thirst and fill it with food. Some days the kids eat a whole apple each, some days they eat 2 bites. I was taught children know when they are hungry and how much they need to eat. I don't allow them to fill up on garbage though, so many that's the difference. |
Originally Posted by SunflowerMama: Originally Posted by Candyland: SunflowerMama, I think the easiest way for you to save money would be to stick to the food program a bit more strictly and not double up on anything. 3-5 year olds need a total of 1/2 cup of veggies and fruit not 1/2 cup of corn plus mushrooms in a veggie sauce plus cantaloupe. Cut back to what they need and let their parents feed them extra for dinner. |
hahaha Candyland i just noticed you said "didn't" and not "did" I think my day has been much too long.
But I still go by what I said |
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