- Feb 5, 2002
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One mom gets real about her money-saving strategies that work for big families and singles alike.
We’re a six-person family, but our budget lines up with about an average family of four. It helps that four of those family members are in elementary school or preschool, but still — budget food shopping is just my jam, as nerdy as that sounds! What’s not to love about feeding your family tons of fresh food without raiding the college fund? Here’s how I do it:
Buy store brand everything. I really do mean everything. Cheese, milk, frozen vegetables (more on these in a minute), rice, canned beans, etc. When you make Black Bean Enchilada Casserole, no one will ever detect the difference between the store-brand beans and a brand from a zippy TV commercial.
Have a few dinner staples on hand to pair with sale items. I’m not a big meal planner, but it’s safe to say that I’ll want an easy dinner or two for the week. I usually get inexpensive frozen cauliflower for roasting, and this time of year you can’t beat warm Broccoli & Cheese Soup so I’ll grab a big bag of the frozen green stuff too. Then I look for sales to fill the gaps: Wild-caught fish fillets are often marked down, plus I always hit up the bakery to see what their freshly baked rolls and bread look like. Something is usually marked down and it’ll be perfect for dipping in soup.
Continued below.
www.foodnetwork.com
We’re a six-person family, but our budget lines up with about an average family of four. It helps that four of those family members are in elementary school or preschool, but still — budget food shopping is just my jam, as nerdy as that sounds! What’s not to love about feeding your family tons of fresh food without raiding the college fund? Here’s how I do it:
Buy store brand everything. I really do mean everything. Cheese, milk, frozen vegetables (more on these in a minute), rice, canned beans, etc. When you make Black Bean Enchilada Casserole, no one will ever detect the difference between the store-brand beans and a brand from a zippy TV commercial.
Have a few dinner staples on hand to pair with sale items. I’m not a big meal planner, but it’s safe to say that I’ll want an easy dinner or two for the week. I usually get inexpensive frozen cauliflower for roasting, and this time of year you can’t beat warm Broccoli & Cheese Soup so I’ll grab a big bag of the frozen green stuff too. Then I look for sales to fill the gaps: Wild-caught fish fillets are often marked down, plus I always hit up the bakery to see what their freshly baked rolls and bread look like. Something is usually marked down and it’ll be perfect for dipping in soup.
Continued below.
How I Shop and Cook for a Big Family Without Going Broke
One mom gets real about her money-saving strategies that work for big families and singles alike.
www.foodnetwork.com
