How Can My Family Eat Healthy On A Small Food Budget
Posted: Monday, December 22, 2008
by Abigail Richards
Eating healthy is not an easy thing to do in America. Every corner has a fast food place to stop. However, most families do not battle the fast food world when it comes to feeding their family.
Most families fall short at the grocery store. With the economy and the stress of keeping your family fed, it is not always easy to buy healthy at the grocery store. Lets face it, organic vegetables are not cheap and healthy fish cost twice as much as hamburger most times.
Plan Meals Around the Food Pyramid
I know this sounds silly, but many families just don't do this step. Eating healthy is all about portion control and eating from all of the food groups. It is the sides of vegetables and fruits that offer the healthy feeling to a meal. All of the food groups should be represented at every meal.
Starting with Meat Group
The protein group was always thought of as the meat group when I grew up. The great news is that meat does not even have to be served to still meet this food group requirement. There are several alternatives in the healthy department that costs less. One is eggs and milk. My family plans a breakfast meal every week to take advantage of this money saving tip. Milk is the same way. It can be substituted as a protein. Children should have three glasses of milk a day.
Another great substitute is beans. You can cook chili, red beans and rice, pinto bean soup, etc. Remember as a kid always eating beans? There is your reason. Beans are cheap and healthy. I will spare you the disgusting song my kids sing about beans being good for the heart.
Hamburger or beef is not bad once or twice a week. Chicken can also make some great meals. Casseroles are great for making your money go farther because you do not have to use the amount of meat the recipe calls for, but instead use less. The great thing is your family will never know when it is buried in a casserole or soup.
Fruits and Vegetables
Here is the deal with organic. If you are cooking it, organic really doesn't matter. So those Organic green beans are really no better then the others. Another tip is to buy in season. Load up on apples, oranges and have fruit as one of your sides at dinnertime. Imagine the time you save on cooking by just offering a fruit.
Carrots are also a good vegetable to have around at all times. They make great healthy snacks and a great side as well. Cabbage is another popular vegetable. Remember all those stuffed cabbage dinners as a kid? Again, your parents knew what they were doing. Stuff it with a rice and bean mixture. I also buy bananas because they are cheap and high in potassium. If they start to go bad, make some muffins or pudding for a treat.
The Sugar/Fat Group
This is where your family can save the majority of its money. Have you seen how much soda, ice cream and chips cost now? Cut out on the sodas-enjoy tea or flavored water instead. I buy the bottle water packets for my kids. They have sugar free and the kids like mixing them on their own. Kids also will be more apt to drink tap water especially out of a cool cup. Worth the extra money to save in the long run.
Avoid chips, opt for yogurt or baked potatoes. I even make a bake potato soup with a side salad as a cheap meal during the week.
Finally, model good eating habits for your family and kids. Only buy healthy foods. Let the kids help you budget and choose from the food groups. I once read about a woman turning her refrigerator shelves into each food group so the kids knew where to take snacks from each day.
Teach them young about money and eating healthy. It is possible to eat healthy if you are broke. Show them how to budget the money and prepare/plan meals at the same time. If you have any suggestions or meals that your family does, please leave them in the comments. We can make it through this economy crunch together!
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Top-level comments on this article: (2 total)Anigail great article yet I fand many poor and fast aprpoaching have horific diets based on abiliity to buy. Sometimes the junk food fills a stomach longer then healthy at 1/3 the cost. Like Chhicken Pot pies at .55 cents that are saturated in perservatives and sosium. Yet good job.
Abigail I enjoyed your article. I do not think of organic when I think healthy because they cost so much. You covered the basics when you mentioned following the food groups. I think your ideas are gread.
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