Feeding Your Family Nutritiously When Money is Tight
Dear Reader: This is a long article full of hopefully useful information. I have broken it into smaller sections so you can read at your leisure. I thought of making this shorter, but a few young adults who proofread this encouraged me to keep the length and all the detail, as they thought it was especially relevant to their age group who is having a hard time being able to live in this economy. Single parents: I have included a special section for you toward the end of this article.
I can understand the fear of not being able to feed your family. When I was a child my parents suddenly lost their income with five kids to feed and care for. We received food stamps (thankfully), salvation army clothes, and gifts from the church for Christmas. One of my strongest memories is how my parents (mainly my mom), fed us with so little money. My mom put a lot of thought and effort into not only making sure we had food to eat, but that it was nutritious food. When I went away to college and studied nutrition, I realized that she had done such a great job feeding us healthfully, and often more nutritiously than many other people. This was a feat when the alternative could have been a diet of white bread, pasta, chips, and soda.
My mom only went grocery shopping once a month and used cash from an envelope, as well as coupons to pay for everything. We had an extra full-sized freezer that made the monthly shopping trip possible. The menu was simple and kid-friendly. No extravagant ingredients were used.
My parents were not gardeners and did not know how to grow food or farm, so if you have these skills you may have an easier time feeding your family. My husband who also grew up in a family with little income had a different experience. His parents grew up gardening, so when he was a child his parents had a huge garden and some 4H animals that made a small family farm so they could feed themselves. Like us, they also had an extra freezer, but they would buy half of a cow or a pig for meat all year long. They also canned a lot of the vegetables that they grew in their garden. My husband admits they grew up eating a lot more sugar than we did, whether that is good or bad, no judgment here as that may have been a luxury his parents did not have as children, and made an intentional choice to include “fun” foods. My mom was emphatic about not giving us much sugar as she and my dad both had a mouth full of dental fillings. I have never had a cavity and my siblings barely had cavities. We were not drinking fluoridated water, so I have to assume that the low sugar intake had something to do with not having cavities.
I have outlined how my mom fed us in the hopes that this might give you some ideas for stretching your food dollar. There are a lot of resources online, including the environmental working group (ewg.org) guide at https://www.ewg.org/release/good-food-tight-budget-ewg-s-new-easy-use-guide.
Breakfast:
Three mornings a week:
Hot cereal (oatmeal, cream of wheat, or grits) and canned fruit (bought in #10 cans).
How I would switch this up to nourish a kid: Stir in either peanut butter or dried milk for protein. I would cook it with chopped apples, raisins and cinnamon, and a touch of vanilla. I also would prioritize oats over cream of wheat or grits given the nutritional value. You can also buy whole grains in bulk (or when on sale) and cook and serve them as you would a hot breakfast cereal. Other whole grains include wheat berries, quinoa (actually a seed), bulgur, and farro. Sadly, some gluten-free whole grains such as teff and sorghum are much more expensive than the other options I have listed.
One day/week:
Wholegrain bread with cheese (or cottage cheese) melted on top in the toaster oven. Canned fruit.
I would vary this with tortillas, beans, and cheese for a quesadilla.
One day/week
Wholegrain pancakes or French toast with canned fruit.
For protein, I suggest topping these with peanut butter or having an egg on the side.
One day/week:
Poached egg on wholegrain toast, canned fruit
One day/week:
A cheese omelet with whole grain toast, canned fruit
She tried to get us to drink powdered milk but was too horrible to drink. Trust me, if you are using powdered milk, it works better if you add it to hot cereal or make hot cocoa with it. Sometimes we had orange juice made from frozen cans (she would stock up when it is on sale).
Lunch:
Lunch was always two things:
1. A sandwich with either peanut butter and jelly, or baloney and cheese. Once a week we had tuna salad.
2. A piece of fruit—usually an apple or orange. No chips, no sweets.
After-school snack:
Celery, large carrot, apple, or graham cracker with peanut butter.
Canned fruit with cottage cheese.
Dinner (We had the same meals weekly)
Soup (chicken/rice, split pea or lentil) and with homemade wholegrain bread with butter and cheese. She froze the leftover soup.
Tacos. Frozen vegetables with butter.
Spaghetti with meat sauce. Frozen vegetables. She would make a lot of sauce that she would freeze in leftover glass peanut butter jars.
Homemade burgers or meatloaf. The burgers were cooked in a broiler pan. Frozen vegetables.
Roasted cut-up chicken. Baked potatoes. Frozen vegetables.
On Friday nights we had homemade pizza. We could invite friends over for dinner. Our toppings were spaghetti sauce, cheese, and ground beef. So, although we didn’t have much, this was a dish that could be shared. She made a ton of dough for the crust, and we were allowed to eat as much as we wanted to. The pizza dough was from frozen whole wheat bread dough.
Once a month she made one of these things to change it up:
Steak, baked potatoes, and frozen broccoli.
Spinach Lasagna
Tuna noodle casserole or a King Chicken Casserole (full of mayonnaise and cream soup—perfect for hungry kids).
How I Would Change this for Current Times:
For current American cuisine, I would add beans and tortillas. I would also roast sweet potatoes and squash to add vitamin A (beta carotene) for the immune system. If finances allowed, I would bring in fresh vegetables. I might also swap out the beef for ground turkey. However, in defense of beef, I think myself and my siblings were in need of the zinc and iron from the beef and we only had animal protein 1x per day, sometimes less.
Treats (rare):
Homemade chocolate chip or peanut butter cookies (made with whole wheat flour and extra wheat germ in them for health).
Homemade birthday cake when it was someone’s birthday.
Ice cream once a month when she went shopping. She bought a huge container of ice cream that was less expensive.
Popcorn that we cooked on the stove.
Jello with canned fruit added.
Peanut butter balls made out of peanut butter, dried milk, honey, raisins, and chocolate chips (recipes online).
Once in a while root beer floats in summer.
There are fantastic recipes online for healthy bean-based cakes and brownies that can add some protein, fiber, vitamins, and minerals to the diet.
The Extreme Monthly Shopping Trip:
She went shopping once a month and it was an ordeal that took 3-4 hours. However, the less you shop, the less money you spend. She calculated exactly how much of each ingredient she needed. She kept ice chests in the car, so the refrigerated food didn’t go bad. She went to different stores that were having specials on different foods and stocked up on what was on sale that she regularly used. Because she often cooked the same seven things for dinner each week it made it much easier and cheaper to buy groceries. Everyone ate the same thing and there was no luxury for personal food preferences. In addition, we ate family style where we served ourselves as much or as little, as we wanted. If we had fresh produce it was only when it was in season and at a very inexpensive cost. My mom would talk to the grocery store manager about buying food in bulk such as cases of whole chickens. They always gave her a deal.
Pantry Staples:
Flour (whole wheat and white flour)
Wheat germ (we sprinkled this on cereal, and added it to cookies and yogurt)
Bran that she added to her homemade bread for more fiber (as an undiagnosed celiac this about killed me as a child, please don’t give your kids bran or fiber supplements)
Day-old, whole wheat bread direct from the wholesale bakery (but she made most of our bread homemade)
Graham Crackers
Saltine Crackers
Salt
Baking Powder and Soda
Vanilla
Cinnamon
Sugar, Brown Sugar, Honey, Jelly
Frozen loaves of pre-made bread dough that she used for pizza dough
Yeast for homemade bread
Hot cereals (oats, cream of wheat, grits)
Canned fruit in large #10 cans
Spaghetti noodles
Canned tomato products (for spaghetti sauce)
Premade spice mixes for taco seasoning and spaghetti sauce as well as powdered onion and garlic. Not many other herbs or spices, most likely due to cost.
Bouillon cubes for homemade soups (“Better than Bouillon” is healthier)
Big cans of oil for cooking
Fruits and Veggies:
Big bags of oranges, apples, and pears that we kept in the fridge
Seasonal fresh produce in the summer when it was a good price: melon, strawberries, etc.
Big bags of russet potatoes
Big bags of carrots, celery, and onions (These have a French culinary term of “mirepoix” as they are used as a base with butter for many dishes such as sauces, soups, and stews)
Turnips and cabbage (mainly for soup)
Iceberg lettuce (this is all that was available back then)
Tons of frozen vegetables
Raisins and Dates (we put these in healthier desserts and oatmeal)
Protein
Eggs
Dried milk
Large cartons of yogurt
Bologna (My husband was raised on spam)
Peanut Butter (5-pound jars). Peanut butter offers a lot of nutrition for the price.
Cottage Cheese
Ground Beef
Whole Chickens that she cut up
A few steaks, cut into smaller portions (served once a month)
Dried lentils and split peas (for soup)
Lots of cheese that we would freeze to last all month
Cans of parmesan cheese for spaghetti and pizza night
After Thanksgiving and Christmas, she would pick up a few turkeys on sale
I would add beans to the protein section
Extras
Mayonnaise, mustard
Big jugs of cooking oil (I suggest olive oil)
Powdered Cocoa (we used this for birthday cakes and homemade hot chocolate)
Chocolate chips (for homemade cookies once a month)
Ice cream
Jello that we made with fruit cocktail (this is a good source of collagen protein)
Margarine, Crisco (I recommend butter if you can afford it)
Salt
Canned cream soups for casseroles such as tuna noodles
My husband’s parents saved the bacon grease to cook with. May not be a bad idea (his mom is 94 years old and has no cardiac problems).
Beverages
Large cans of coffee
Lipton ice tea mix
Cans of frozen concentrated orange juice to be reconstituted (we added extra water to cut down on sugar and make it go further)
Large jugs of a popular brand of red wine for the parents (not sure what the modern version of this would be)
I would add hot tea bought in bulk such as chamomile, ginger, and green tea to this.
I would also buy milk on sale and freeze it
What She Didn’t Buy:
Chips
Soda
Sugary foods
Juice drinks, punch, etc.
Other hints to help your food budget:
Be wary of using coupons when it is for junk food that you would not normally consume. This will end up costing you more money instead of saving money.
Processed and convenience foods are often marketed toward children and are always much more expensive per serving and far less nutritious. I recommend making your own kid favorites such as mashed potatoes, mac n’ cheese, oven-baked fries and oven-baked chicken nuggets, etc.
If you have special diets to follow such as celiac, I would order GF flours and pasta online and buy in larger quantities if they are on sale. Barilla is one of the least expensive and tastiest gluten-free pasta. You can keep bags of flour in the fridge once they are opened to last longer. There are huge differences in the cost of different gluten-free flours so make sure to price shop. You can add gluten-free ground flaxseed for more fiber and nutrition to anything you are baking that is gluten-free. Potatoes, oats, quinoa, and rice are some of the least expensive gluten-free “starch” sources.
Buy nuts in bulk and make your own nut butter in a food processor. Store nuts in the freezer so they last longer.
Dairy: You can make your own yogurt in an “instapot “which may be cheaper than buying yogurt. Soft cheese such as ricotta and cottage cheese are cheaper than hard cheese like cheddar per ounce. Grate your own cheese (large amounts in a food processor) to save considerable money. Big warehouse grocery stores may carry cheese at half the price of grocery stores. Cheese and milk can be frozen, right before the expiration date. Stock up when these go on sale. Try to buy the gallon jugs of milk with a lid that untwists. Dump out a little milk before you freeze the jug as it will expand when frozen.
Buy store brand products when possible instead of name brand products. These are often considerably less expensive.
Shop mid-week, and plan your weekly menu based on the food specials at each store. Plan on driving to a few stores to take advantage of the sales.
If you use a set weekly menu as my mother did, then when key ingredients go on sale, stock up.
If eggs go on sale, and you stock up, keep in mind that eggs can stay for about 3 weeks beyond the sell-by date. You can also use all the eggs to make a baked egg dish, Spanish tortilla (eggs, onions, and potatoes), or frittata and slice into servings and freeze the portions individually.
Beans can be cooked and frozen into small portions in small waxed paper bags or small ziplock bags. If you use wax paper bags, put them in a larger container to freeze to protect them. Canned beans are more expensive than your own cooked beans. Having 2-3 beans/lentil meals a week can save considerable money on protein sources.
You can make dessert healthier such as bean-based brownies and cakes and energy balls or peanut butter balls. Recipes are all over the internet. Again, these can be frozen.
When bananas are getting old, freeze them whole. You can slice them into smoothies or make banana bread or banana pancakes.
If the fruit is in season and on sale, buy a lot to freeze. Wash, slice (if appropriate) and lay them on a waxed paper-lined cookie sheet, and freeze them for a day. Then put them into a zip lock bag or wrap small portions in waxed paper and freeze them in a bigger container. Put lemon juice on fruit that will turn brown such as peaches.
If you eat meat, consider buying 1/4 - 1/2 of a cow or pig from local farmers and freeze this meat.
Poultry with the bone in and skin on is less expensive than boneless skinless poultry. In addition, the bones can be used to make homemade broth overnight in a slow cooker. The broth can be frozen in ice cube trays, mason jars, or reused glass food jars.
Certain fish are almost always less expensive than other cuts. Canned tuna and salmon may save you money. Big grocery warehouses may have these canned products for much less than a grocery store.
Reused glass food jars or wide-mouth mason jars may be less expensive than buying a lot of food storage containers. Just be careful to prevent cracking in the freezer, and don’t fill them to the brim, leave space at the top for the food to expand when frozen.
If you buy big bags of apples, oranges, lemons, and limes on sale, you can make your own juice if you think the fruit is going to go bad before you eat it. You can freeze the juice in mason jars or the lemon and lime juice in ice cube trays. If you wrap the mason jar in waxed paper it prevents vitamin C from being oxidized by light. Fruit juice is high in sugar so diluting the juice with extra water is better for your kids.
Consider buying into a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) if it seems to make financial sense for fruits and vegetables. Shop around as there is a big difference in price between farms.
Buy staples in the bulk section.
Ethnic food stores may have some food items cheaper such as rice and beans. Ghee can be bought for less than half the price at Indian food stores and some cheeses cost much less at some ethnic food stores. Soy sauce and other Asian sauces and foods can be bought in bulk for less at Asian food stores.
If you can buy a membership to big warehouse grocery stores this will save money on everything. Meat, poultry, fish, nuts, beans, frozen fruit, and frozen vegetables are much less expensive at these places.
Equipment that may help save money on food
Extra freezer and even an extra refrigerator. You can find these used.
Slow cooker/instapot/pressure cooker (all contained in an instapot). If you cook beans in a pressure cooker (instapot) they are easier to digest as it destroys more of the lectins that can cause gas and bloat. If you cook meat and poultry in a slow-cooker, with liquid, it will be easier to digest.
If you live in a space that doesn’t have a kitchen with a stove and oven, I think you can make amazing meals with a toaster oven, double hot plate, one-quart pan for sauce, noodles, and rice, a wok for many uses, and a 10” frying pan, and a slow cooker (or “instapot” which is more versatile). I call this a “Japanese Kitchen” because when we traveled through Japan and stayed in apartments, this is what we usually had available. My kids loved the food I cooked with just these basics.
Food processor for grating your own cheese, as well as slicing vegetables that you buy on sale to freeze, and a host of other uses.
Blender for making your own smoothies and sauces (These can also be made in a food processor).
A mixer for making your own healthier versions of cookies, bread, and cakes can save money.
Large food dehydrator (not necessary but making your own dried fruit can help it last, especially if you don’t have freezer space).
Juicer (if you buy fruit in bulk and want to make and freeze your own juice).
Cost-Benefit for Nutritive Value
Start looking at the cost per unit of nutrients to see what makes sense financially. Prices at grocery stores change weekly. If you start keeping a weekly list of different grocery stores to compare costs and in about 2-3 weeks you will be a champion at this. On the protein chart below, notice the cost of canned beans compared to ground beef. This chart was made on one random day, looking at a popular online grocery retailer and a grocery store chain. You can do this for many different stores in your area. If you order your food online, you have to account for the cost of shipping.
Cost of protein per 7 grams (about 1 ounce of animal protein or 1 egg):
*Buying chicken with the bone and skin adds a lot of flavor and is cheaper. A whole chicken that you cut up is even less expensive.
Cost of Carbohydrate Rich Foods per 15 Grams of Carbohydrate (one serving):
Calorie and Dollar Cost of Processed Foods:
Summary of Cost of Carbohydrate
Pasta, rice, grits, and oats are the cheapest of grains. Reasonably healthy. Processed grains such as bread, or instant oatmeal with flavoring are more expensive per gram of carbohydrate.
Fresh fruits and vegetables in season cost much less than out of season and likely have more nutrients and more flavor.
Fresh unprocessed vegetables are much cheaper than cut up or prepared for you.
Processed and junk foods (such as chips) are far more expensive and have fewer nutrients per serving.
Frozen fruit/vegetables are cheaper than fresh and just as nutritious.
Canned fruit and vegetables are the cheapest and have the least nutrients but still have nutrients and fiber. Eating canned fruits and vegetables is much better for your health than not eating them.
Organic is more expensive but to some people it is worth spending the money on. Frozen organic is cheaper than fresh organic and sometimes cheaper than fresh conventionally grown. Costco organic frozen fruit is the cheapest that I have seen.
Store brands are cheaper than name brands for frozen and canned.
For Single Working Parents
For single working parents this is what I would do:
Cook only 2-3x weekly. Make triple portions of mac n cheese with frozen vegetables added, make ramen (or noodles in broth) with chicken and vegetables, make a bean and rice meal that can be wrapped in tortillas, or cook a square meal on Sunday in very large portions to last for 4 days such as roasted potatoes, roasted vegetables, and roasted chicken. Think of the slow-cooker as your “wife” who has dinner already made when you arrive home. Throw meat, vegetables, and potatoes in the slow cooker. Look at my recipes at the end of this article and on Sunday make overnight oats and frittata for breakfast to last through the workweek. If your kids can get school breakfast and lunch I would do that. If you don’t qualify then I would have them make lunch with a thermos full of leftovers. The “coolness” factor is important so I would have them play a role in what they want to bring for lunch. Enlist them and find out if they want to buy school lunch or do they want to pack their own lunch.
What Happened to My Parents?
My parents were able to rise out of their poverty situation. They stayed frugal for the rest of their lives. They were both well-educated and had master’s degrees, but this is not a buffer from losing your income. A few years after losing his job, my dad, who was an engineer by training, became a schoolteacher and taught teen boys at a reform school and juvenile hall, and later taught adults in minimal security prisons who were working on their GED. He taught evening classes at a community college a few nights a week to earn extra income.
Around age 50 when the kids finally got old enough, my mom who was a high school French teacher by training (and Fullbright scholar) went back to work as a schoolteacher. First, she taught at night for adults getting their GED, and later was the lead teacher for a high school for pregnant teens.
They retired with excellent schoolteacher retirements and bought their cars and homes outright for cash, and never used credit or had another mortgage. When my two older sisters left the house for college, we lived in a trailer for about four years while my dad saved money to buy another house for cash instead of paying a mortgage. They ended up with a very nice house in a lake community. My dad paid a lot of attention to stocks and bonds and took very good care of his finances after this initial shock. They became comfortable enough, that for years they have made a sizeable monthly donation to organizations that help the less fortunate.
My mom did some clever things that might work for you as well. She got trained as a lifeguard and did volunteer shifts so we could get free swimming lessons and a pool membership as learning to swim was important to her. She also volunteered at a day summer camp for the arts so we could attend for free and we received world-class intensive music, gymnastics and dance lessons with some of the most talented students from all over. Now and then she was able to substitute teach for extra money as long as we were all healthy and no one had to stay home sick. Somehow, she came up with the money for gymnastics, dance, piano lessons, and softball/basketball teams for us. I think these are so important for kids and worth paying for if that means scrimping on food (but not nutrition). The library was a weekly trip with stacks of books that came home, something that I continued with my own kids. Since we had no money for travel, they put an ad in the newspaper (now there are websites for this) to trade homes with someone at the beach (we lived in a small mountain town). We did this every year, maybe twice a year, for a week at a time with the same people who we trusted, and it was a free vacation that was only a three-hour drive for us. We did one epic 6-week summer trip where my dad bought a big used pop-up camper and we drove over most of the Western half of the United States and camped along the way.
I hope their financial recovery story can give you inspiration and hope if times are tough for you right now. Keep in mind that my parents were in their 40s with five kids when they lost everything, and they were able to recover. If your parents and grandparents are still alive, they can likely provide some sage advice for eating frugally and nutritiously. A plant-based diet can save a lot of money, but your kids can suffer from nutrient deficiencies that can affect their mental and physical health if they are not given the right supplements and the right foods. Check in with a dietitian and your pediatrician to protect your family’s health if eating a plant-based diet is your goal.
Summary
This is a scary and sad time for many people right now, and our economy will take a while to recover. If you are worried about feeding your family, please take some time to work through this article. Start keeping price logs so you know a good bargain and can stock up. For kicks, just add up the cost difference in a dozen eggs over a 12-month period of time. Take the time to cook and look for free entertainment, such as picnics and frisbees in the park (or backyard if the parks are closed). Over a year’s time, all the money you save on food will really add up, maybe to the point where you can put aside money in a savings account.
If you need some inspiration for budget-friendly recipes please click HERE.
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. The products or dietary suggestions mentioned in this article are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information in this article is not intended to replace any recommendations or relationship with your physician. Please review references sited at end of article for scientific support of any claims made.