How To Feed A Big Family On A Budget
I remember finding out I was having my third little boy. We had been so excited to be pregnant again and just assumed it would be a girl. I mean statistics had to be on our side after two boys... right?My husband was out of town traveling for work and I couldn't wait for him to get back to hear the results of the ultrasound. I asked the ultrasound tech to write it on a piece of paper for me so I could FaceTime Joel and find out together.He was so excited when I called him. He couldn't wait to hear what I was about to tell him.I slowly opened the envelope, giving myself two full seconds before I could look at the paper. When I looked down, I couldn't believe what I was reading.BOY.Don't get me wrong. I would have been happy for a boy or a girl, I just couldn't believe it. I was so convinced the little baby growing inside of my belly was a boy. It hadn't even occurred to us that we could be having a boy. We even had a girl name picked out!I started to think maybe they were wrong. Maybe her little arm or foot was between her legs....Well, a few months later, I was greeted with one of the most beautiful little boys. They were right! It's funny to think back on because I can't imagine my little family any other way than it is now. I absolutely love having all boys! I love the chaos, the sword fighting, and even their wiggly nature.There is one thing, however, that everyone warned me about. It was always at the front of their minds when I told them I had three boys...
THEY'RE GOING TO EAT YOU OUT OF HOUSE AND HOME...
It was always in my mind, but they ease you into it first. When they were little, they were just little scavengers. They would see Joel and I eating, then sneak over to pick things off our plates. Then they started asking for snacks. Then they wanted seconds on meals...I've watched our grocery budget slowly get higher... and higher... and higher...Here's the deal. There's no way my kids were going to start eating less, so I knew I needed to do something. If I didn't, I was going to end up with three kids in high school and a grocery bill the size of my house payment!After enough complaining, my friends started telling me their tricks and tips for feeding their big families!
How To Feed A Big Family On A Budget
Meal plan.
Meal planning has been all the rage for years... but have you ever jumped on the bandwagon? I didn't until I started seeing our groceries fly off the pantry shelves, freezer, and fridge. Now, I'm seeing just how necessary it is.Necessary or not, meal planning can be HARD!If you don't do it right, it becomes a bigger pain in the a*$ than the grocery bill itself! This is why you need to start small. Write down a list of meals for the week. Then do your best to keep with it.I typically write ours on our fridge. Then the kids and hubby can look at it in the morning and see if it sounds good. Most of the time they start switching meals around, but it still works! The main goal behind meal planning is to use what you have at home instead of going to the store for last minute little trips. I don't know about you but those last minute trips get us every time!
------START MEAL PLANNING BY MAKING ALMOND CHICKEN CURRY ------
Buy in bulk.
Take a look around the house for a week or so and make a list of things you go through quickly. This might be paper goods, meat, bread, milk, etc. Then start buying those items in bulk at the beginning of the month.Now, rule number one when buying in bulk is to stick with things you KNOW you go through fast. Otherwise, you'll become a mild hoarder and have an endless trove of mustard and cheese instead of what you really need.We get most of our bulk items from Costco. It tends to be cheaper than anywhere else and the quality is great. You can also price check to other stores like Walmart and see which ones are cheaper.
Make freezer meals.
One of my favorite tricks in our house it to make a double batch for dinner. I make one for the day of and another portion to throw in a tin foil pan to keep for later. You're already going through the work of making one so why not throw in a few more ingredients to make more.These are amazing for busy school nights or end of the paycheck nights! It helps make your groceries last and takes some of the extra work out of it.
-----START PREPARING FREEZER MEALS AND MAKE PAV BHAJI-----
Prepare your own individual school snacks.
There was a brief time in my kid's life where I completely got rid of snacks. I was over this routine of spending hours in the kitchen making dinner and then being greeted with kids who weren't hungry.Over. It.Then I went "overboard mom" and got rid of all the snacks in the house. I decided it was better for the kids not to have them and eat all of their meals. The problem was we started sports and school. Snacks became a necessity once again.The problem with kid's snacks are they're freaking expensive! They make us believe pre-portioned snacks are worth the extra cost. Nope. We started buying snacks in bulk and them splitting them up into little snack bags ourselves. Way cheaper!
Shop online when you can.
I'm not sure if your kids are like mine, but the second they walk into a grocery store the "I want's" and the "Can't I have's" start up! They don't stop until they decide to give up the demands for the whining.All of this went away when I discovered online grocery! More and more grocery stores are offering the ability to order your groceries online and either pick up in front of the store or have them deliver it to you.Watch out for the hidden prices and fees. Some places offer it for free and others charge a pretty hefty price. Walmart grocery online pick up is free, but they charge for delivery. Costco offers a free delivery service through Insta-cart which is heavenly!Look around and see what your local grocery stores offer.
Get organized.
As you buy in bulk, you can start to lose track of what you have. Do your best to keep your freezer, fridge, and pantry organized. You can develop a system so you know where to look as well as clean it out often.I like to keep a freezer list. If you have a deep freezer like we do, it's hard to know what's at the very bottom. Keep an up to date list to help you figure out the best meal plan.
DON'T SHOP HUNGRY.
Last, but not least... This is the most important rule of all. Do not ever go grocery shopping on an empty stomach. You'll end up coming home with french bread, cinnamon toast crunch, donuts, and ice cream.While it might be nice the night you get home, shopping hungry always ends badly. Eat a big meal, make your meal plan, and then go shopping. This way you stick to your budget and your bank will thank you!