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Daycare Menus, Breakfast, Lunch and Snack Ideas>Cookin From Scratch
Country Kids 09:30 AM 06-17-2011
Is cooking from scratch really that much cheaper? I love to cook from scratch but when we buy all the ingredients for 6 dinners and then things for breakfast, lunch and snacks we are going way over our budget. On top of that we still have to buy non-food items. We have our menu made up, know what we have to buy, and some things can be used for another meal-spices and such but I would say on a average when we are cooking from scratch we are going over budget by $50-$100 dollars. There are 6 of us in the family and we want to eat very healthy for health reasons and just because we know it is best for us but we literally can't afford to.

Does anyone else have this problem or are we doing something wrong? Any advice would be greatly appreciated!
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dEHmom 09:55 AM 06-17-2011
i feel the same way. but if you buy in larger portions, cook in larger portions you're actually saving money in the end.

buying a big case of chickenbreast as an example, you can get for a family of 5 about 4-10 meals (depending if you're using whole breasts or cutting it up for a stirfry or something.

also, when you cook, make enough for leftovers for either lunches or another supper (leftover night). that's what i do.

when i make mashed potatos, i make enough that i can use the left overs for shepards pie or just fry up the left over potatos to have as a side for something else.
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Country Kids 10:02 AM 06-17-2011
I do understand about buying in larger quantities but we literally don't have the money to do that. We have a bulk type store in our area and we have gone back and forth on prices, how much you get and everything but when it comes down to it we have a certain amount per week and seriously can't make an investment to buy by the case. We have tried buying at this store and literally you almost can't get out of there for a reasonable amount. Its just soooooooo frustrating because we want to do this but can't!
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dEHmom 10:13 AM 06-17-2011
we are the same. but honestly, if you have $50 per week, that's $100 for 2 weeks. Buy a case of chicken breast (as an example)regular price 35 on sale for $25 then buy 2 cases! now if you have to eat lots of chicken for the next week or 2 it's easy enough that you can do different things, tacos one night, bbq'd one night, chicken penne caesar another night.

or if you have the option to, go and do 1 large grocery shop basically for the month. buy all the major items, like meats and such. make sure you buy rice, potatoes, etc.

then just buy other things as you need.

we did this, went and spent about 100 on meats and various other items. we used the credit card to do this, but our freezer and cupboards are stocked up. so we can always whip somethign together.
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Meyou 10:16 AM 06-17-2011
A couple of things that help me save on healthy foods are finding a local fruit and veggie place instead of going to the grocery store and only buy meat on a huge sale price and try and buy extra for future weeks even if it's just one package. You might end up eating alot of chicken one week and alot of ham the next but it saves alot.

I coupon too but I feed a family of 5 plus 6 daycare kids for about $100 a week. We eat almost all homemade food and we eat lots of fresh fruits and veggies.
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SilverSabre25 06:47 PM 06-17-2011
Try to make vegetarian meals a couple times a week; this saves a lot of money as meat is expensive.

Buy meat only when it's on sale, and when it is, stock up!

Find ways to use leftovers for other meals--you should be able to stretch a roast chicken for 3 meals, for example (chicken one night, something like stir-fry or tacos the next, and soup from the bones on the third). okay, for 6 of you it might take 2 chickens but still.

Breakfast for dinner is cheap

Work towards building up a good pantry so that you don't have to buy everything each week. When canned beans (for example) are on sale, stock up on them. Same with other shelf-stable goods that you use on a regular basis. Once your pantry is built up, you don't have to buy everything each week.

Evaluate what you're eating for breakfast, snacks, and lunch--avoid the expensive things like cold cereal and lunchmeat.

I cook from scratch almost exclusively for my family of 3 (DH, me, 3 yo DD) and the daycare kids (2-4/day, and one on Saturday), plus I have to buy non-dairy milk and LOTS of gluten-free products (I am gluten-free). We spend about $100/week on average.
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Meyou 02:55 AM 06-18-2011
Another thing I do is give my list of things they can freely snack on each week. It's on the fridge and is usually along the lines of: toast, PB sandwiches, apples, oranges, oatmeal, bananas, crackers, apple sauce and yogurt. If it isn't a meal, don't ask for anything else. I always try to get one or two fun snacks on sale so they don't complain. lol Now I know what's in the cupboards is still going to be there when I need it for something.
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MN Mom 03:36 PM 06-18-2011
What really helped our family is starting a garden and freeze/can in the fall. Between our canning/freezing and the meat we get via the farm...we really don't have a huge grocery bill for a family of 6. If a garden isn't an option, you could try buying veggies and such in bulk via your local farmers market and can/freeze that way
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cyerob 08:09 AM 06-24-2011
Originally Posted by dEHmom:
i feel the same way. but if you buy in larger portions, cook in larger portions you're actually saving money in the end.

buying a big case of chickenbreast as an example, you can get for a family of 5 about 4-10 meals (depending if you're using whole breasts or cutting it up for a stirfry or something.

also, when you cook, make enough for leftovers for either lunches or another supper (leftover night). that's what i do.

when i make mashed potatos, i make enough that i can use the left overs for shepards pie or just fry up the left over potatos to have as a side for something else.
I totally agree with you dEHmom. If you will cook in a larger portion

you might actually save some money. Me also we have the same

problem, but what we do is we buy some ingredients on a wholesale

pack because I think you can save more when you buy the

foods in bigger portions.
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kidkair 03:25 PM 06-24-2011
We save a bunch of money by using dried beans in place of meat. I use black beans (boiled and mashed) mixed with ground beef for everything I use beef with. I use chickpeas for anything I use chicken with and black eyed peas for soups. As far as counting it for food requirements I count the beans as the mixed in veggie and serve another on the side. Also we eat a lot of brown rice (we buy 20lbs bags) because it's really cheap compared to noodles and bread. Also make soups because they are cheap and fill your belly nicely plus many are freezable so you can make them ahead and pull them out for a quick meal. Freeze in one person servings and you can feed just whoever is home that night which gets to be important as the kids get older and are off at friends or extracurricular activities.
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