Kids eat healthier when they’re involved with food preparation. Via Shutterstock.
A friend of mine, newly single and the mother of three young children, spends nearly $1,000 a month on groceries and prepared food to feed her family. Part of the problem: she hates to cook, she gets home right before dinner needs to be ready, and she skips leftovers. She asked me how she could reduce her grocery bill by several hundred dollars a month.
I brainstormed 13 ideas to help her save money on groceries.
She shared the particulars of her dilemma:
My time is limited on weekdays. I try to cook and have leftovers available, but I have not been good about this. We wind up with a lot of deli sandwiches, cereal, canned pasta, chicken nuggets and hot dogs when I get home from work and it’s too late to cook a real meal. I also use a lot of meat when I cook. I realize we probably eat an unhealthy amount of meat, along with too many expensive, processed foods.
My grocery bill is out of line for the four of us; it’s almost $1,000 a month, which is a lot, considering that one of the kids is under a year old. I want to feed my family cheap, healthy foods. I feel stupid, but I honestly don’t know how. I ‘m not a good cook and don’t enjoy it, which doesn’t help the situation.
One son has a soy intolerance, so using soy-based “meat” products isn’t possible. I have a dairy allergy. We do eat a ton of fruit, but veggies are my problem; I don’t know what to buy or how to use them. I dislike most cooked veggies because they seem mushy. I’m fine with stir fry dishes or fajitas; I throw all the veggies in at the very end so they get hot, but stay crispy. I prefer raw vegetables to cooked any day. So, too much overpriced processed food, too much meat, not enough veggies. Any suggestions?”
I brainstormed 13 ideas to help her save money on groceries.
- Get the kids involved: even the youngest ones can wash produce and put food away.
- Buy as much whole produce as possible, instead of cut up and packaged in snack sizes. Generally, the more labor and packaging involved in the final food product, the more expensive it is.
- Plan changes one meal at a time; avoiding waste is cheap and healthy for the family and the environment. Start with including a salad bar at every dinner meal, with the kids choosing some of the ingredients.
- Cheap, yet still-healthy cuts of meat and chicken usually have the bone in (chicken thighs and legs) or need marinating and long, slow cooking (eye round, brisket, flank steak). Beefretail.org offers a weekly chart for cost comparisons; even looking at these wholesale prices, the differences are startling.
- Instead of boiling vegetables, steam or roast them. Keep the flavor and nutrition and lose the mushy texture.
- Don’t toss your old recipes: fix them with cheap, healthy ingredients. If the kids love Sloppy Joes, use white meat ground turkey or chicken instead of beef, mixed in half and half. Toss in finely chopped vegetables (use the food processor to chop a large batch, bag and freeze, or go even cheaper and save scraps from a dinner salad bar).
- You can hide cheap, healthy grains and beans the same way you hide vegetables in your main dishes (black beans in chili, lentils in meatloaf). Cans and packages of beans and grains can be found for as little as $1 to $2. Chicken, turkey and beef, even on sale, is more likely in the $3 to $6 per pound range. Just switching out two meat meals a week for two grain or bean-based meals can save my friend up to $15 per week on her grocery bill for protein.
- It’s OK to use some prepared foods. A roast chicken from the deli can be fast, cheap and healthy when paired with homemade sides or a salad.
- Kids and dip seem to go together, but instead of creamy, fat-based dips, how about hummus, pesto or a Greek yogurt-based ranch dip for healthy eating?
- Think beyond pasta, rice and potatoes when it comes to side dishes. How about couscous and quinoa?
- Instead of cole slaw, try shredded broccoli slaw, mixed in with a green salad, used as a crunchy topping on burgers or sandwiches.
- Cook food that looks familiar, but use cheap, healthy ingredients, such as these black bean quinoa sliders.
- Look outside the grocery store for money saving sources of cheap, healthy eating. Latin groceries often carry a much wider range of beans in bulk bins.
The three most important things my friend needs to know?
- The changes should be slow and steady in addition to cheap and healthy. Drastic diet overhauls usually don’t work, especially with kids.
- Consistency in their eating habits, whether the kids are at home or at school, at a relative’s home or in daycare.
- Make sure other caregivers know the plan. It’s hard to get a healthy act together, only to have it sabotaged by a well-meaning grandparent or babysitter.
Welcome to Bargain Babe! I’m Mara, and I’m so glad you’re here. I am an obsessive bargain hunter and penny pincher, and I am determined to live a full life without EVER paying full price.
Roasted vegetables are quick and easy! Broccoli, asparagus (a particular favorite and even my 3 year old can help make it — each stalk gets snapped three times — no knives needed!), baby potatoes. Toss them with a little olive oil and a sprinkle of Montreal Steak seasoning. Roast at 350 while you are making your protein. This is our cheap and easy way to bulk up meals for our family of 10!
Just because it comes in a box doesn’t mean it is expensive or bad — packaged couscous is tasty, quick, inexpensive and easy. I go with the generic Parmesan flavored. Everyone, especially our little ones, love it.
Thanks, Sarah. I hope my friend can get this kind of thing done, managing three kids. I just have this picture of the kids tossing vegetables at each other, more so than what will end up in the pots on the stove!
@Sarah H Thanks for sharing your recipe! Sounds very easy and tasty. I bet I could get my 2yo involved. She’s super interested in everything going on in the kitchen and I’m struggling to find tasks that she can safely do (other than deorganize various shelves). I also like coucous because it is so much faster than rice and quinoa!
Cleaning and chopping most of your vegetables when you get home from the store and storing them in separate containers will save time during the week. Pureeing celery, onions and carrots will stretch meat balls and tomato sauces and be undetectable. Slowly reducing the mount of meat in blended meals (stir-fry, chili, soup and stews) will be less painful than a drastic cutback.
Invest in a slow cooker (or find one on freecycle). You put in the ingredients and everything is ready when you come home. It can be used for everything from chili and soup to slow cooking meats like a chuck roast or brisket. There are a ton of free recipes on the internet. Newer slow cookers have more features for temperature and ones with removable inserts are easier to clean.
I love my slow cooker, Myke! My friend has this aversion to mushy veggies. I have suggested doing her meats in the crockpot and the veggies separate, though.
@Myke Great tips! But I’ve come to expect that from you. 🙂 My Mom always washes lettuce when she gets home with the groceries, then it’s easy to prepare a salad during the week. I should do the same.
I use my slow cooker ALL the time. It’s so easy, plus I like taking care of dinner in the morning when I am fresh and have lots of energy. Then all day, the house smells delicious.
Hi Myke. That reduction of meat is the biggest thing in my friend’s budget, I think. She hates mushy veggies, but the pureed ones would hardly be noticeable. And speaking of additions, has anyone else used grains and beans to stretch meat meals? I’ve done it with good results. And by using them, I mean mixed in with the meat, not as a side dish.
A few thoughts – where does she shop? If there’s an Aldi nearby it has the best prices. If she shops at Walmart she can ad match & save time & money.
My best money buster is a spending diary. It takes some discipline initially but it helps you see where you’re wasting money.
How much of the budget goes to drinks, snacks & breakfast cereals? find the most expensive things you’re spending on & look for cheaper alternatives – do this one thing at a time & slowly over time your bill will go down. Try cheaper brands, keep going cheaper until you find the cheapest brand your family will eat.
Watch portion sizes. We waste a lot of food by eating too much or taking out too much then tossing it. Use up leftovers.
Shop with a list & stick to it. If you have to shop with your kids, allow them each to choose one item that’s already on the list (what kind of cereal within a set price limit, what kind of fruit, ect) If they want something else, remind them of their choice & stay firm on one choice each.
Buy larger containers & break them down – instead of snack size buy family size then package into snack size.
There is nothing wrong with eating mostly raw vegetables. If that’s what your family likes best serve them raw daily – you only need to serve one or two sides with a little protein(meat or beans) & bread is not needed for every meal. It is harder with growing children, they do need more carbs for energy that mom will need.
Roast all your veggies, you can make them crisp & flavorful – just toss in a little extra-virgin olive oil, a little salt & pepper & roast – google for roasting times for what kind of veggie you’rr cooking. Roasting is the best method if you hate mushy foods.
Watch for condiment waste – use smaller amounts of ketchup, dressing, ect.
Chicken is my favorite cheap meat – roast a whole chicken & serve three meals from it (meal #1: serve legs, thighs & wings #2: debone & serve 1/2 the leftover in chicken spaghetti or a similar chicken casserole, #3: make chicken quesedillas or tacos & a bonus # 4 – cook the deboned carcass to make chicken soup)
Chicken is also my favorite fast food – roast boneless skinless breast or thighs on the weekend (or bone in breasts to save money) Roast a lot so you can freeze some for fast suppers during the week. Cut into strips to serve in a wrap, serve as finger foods with raw veggies & fruit, make a quick stir-fry, ……
Breakfast is another easy fast supper we love – egg casseroles, quiche, scrambled or even boiled eggs can replace meat in a meal.
Hi Jen, and thanks for your detailed response.
I don’t know if she has an Aldi; I have one nearby, and I do love the store for certain things, mainly the fresh produce. She’s not a slow cooker fan when it comes to cooking veggies in it. Breakfast cereal is what she spends too much on, for sure. You know kids; they want the name brands they see on TV! I suggested she try to fool them by keeping the empty name-brand boxes and pouring in generic cereal into them.
Your reminder about portion sizes is a good one. Smaller plates for the kids is a great idea, because they might actually waste less food if they had less of it to deal with.
*Cook on the weekends
For example, if I have a BBQ on Sunday I make sure extra meat and veggies are grilled for the upcoming week. Or I cook extra ground meat, spaghetti noodles and large pans of lasagne or macaroni and cheese to freeze. Its easier for me to pull a meal out of the freezer and microwave on weeknights.
*Serve fruit or raw veggies
Fruit, veggies or a bag of salad are served on the side. Canned fruit is welcome in my home when melon is out of season and everyone is tired of apples and bananas etc. Salads are also meals in my home. Southwest chicken salad with deli chicken (bought roasted), corn, beans etc is an example of a dinner salad.
*Make your own sandwiches
Offer fresh veggies like lettuce, tomato and cucumber as sandwich toppings. Then additional toppings can be offered depending on dietary restrictions. Switching up the bread type and doing hot and cold sandwiches give you more options. Meatball sandwiches one day and avocado, hummus and turkey another day for instance.
*Cook with friends/family
Invite that friend or relative who enjoys cooking to cook with you. You have wine, chat and get meals prepped ahead of time. Trade a task with a friend or relative who likes to cook. You shop or whatever and they fix some meals for your freezer.
This is what works for my single mom household. Hope you find ways to get that grocery bill down.
Hi Mia. Thanks for the help. My friend can sure use it. I love your idea of cooking with friends. She has no immediate family in the area she lives in, but lots of friends. What a great idea. Everyone contributes an ingredient or two, cook up a ton of food and share the results. It’s a funny thing: in times of real trouble, like when someone is sick or someone has passed away, people cook and bring food. But why should we wait for such times? Can a neighborhood cooking co-op concept work in these days of instant and fast food?
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