How to Make Eating at Home Fun

Eating at home saves money. That is just a fact. I took my kids out to lunch at a family friendly restaurant for a treat, and with tip we spend half of our weekly food bill that feeds not only the kids and I but also my husband. Since we don’t often eat out, I had forgotten how much it really costs to eat out these days. Still, the kids love to do it. In fact, eight times out of ten that would normally be their choice. Well, it was that way, before I started getting more purposeful about making … Continue reading →

Why We Started Gardening for Food

After many years of talking about it, we are actually going to put in a food garden. This is a big step for us. I’m originally from Queens, NY, and my husband is from Joisey (new Jersey). There isn’t a lot of gardening going on there (although New Jersey is the self-proclaimed garden state). It is time, though, with food prices going higher, and our desire to eat organic produce, we can’t put it off any longer. The initial investment of putting in a garden should pay off for our family for years. We are going to start out small … Continue reading →

Homemade Snacks Save Money

My family and I were in Target the other day to pick up a couple of essentials. We wandered in through the snack aisle, and the kids started asking about getting prepackaged granola bars to use as school snacks. I glanced at the prices and got sticker shock. It seems that the prices have gone up and the number and size of these prepackaged granola bars have gone down. In another life, I might have grumbled over the price but still put a couple of packages in the cart. In this life, I asked the kids which kind of granola … Continue reading →

Keep the Boring Out of Pantry Cooking

Pantry cooking, or cooking with ingredients that you already have on hand instead of making a trip to the store, is a great way to save money and lower your grocery budget. Buying food when it is on sale and stockpiling inexpensive food to use later means that you’ll never have to pay full price for any food item. Do this on a regular basis, and you can easily cut your food bill in half without coupons. With coupons, you can save even more. The only drawback that I see to pantry cooking is that sometimes it can get a … Continue reading →

Finding Time to Cook

When life gets busy, cooking at home is usually one of the first things to go. It is tough to find the time to cook, when there is work, school, kids activities, etc., isn’t it? Eating out becomes the normal thing to do. Unfortunately, eating out can be both expensive and unhealthy, especially if it is continued over time. Because of these two facts, effort must be made to do most of the cooking at home. So where do we find the time to cook? Track the Time Commitment Eating out can actually take more time than you think, unless … Continue reading →

Cooking from the Pantry: Chicken Stock, Crockpot Oatmeal and More

I try to review the items in my pantry on a weekly basis. It helps me save money by using up what I have before it expires or goes bad. By cooking from the pantry, using items that were purchased on sale, on in some cases gotten for free, I can reduce my food bill. Paying less for groceries is one of my big goals this year. My list of items to be used up included some frozen strawberries that were starting to get a little frosty, and a couple of ripe bananas. I still have a stock of inexpensive … Continue reading →

Eliminating Food Waste: Leftovers for Lunch

Winter is a great time for converting your leftovers for lunch. While a cold sandwich or a salad might be fine for the summer, winter’s temperatures often bring appreciation for a warm and heartier meal. Plus, when you have leftovers for lunch, you are eliminating food waste. Eliminating food waste means eliminating the cost of additional food, as well. Many people turn their noses up at leftovers. It is okay. I used to be one of them. One way to solve this is to freeze any leftovers you have and then bring them back out on another day. Of course … Continue reading →

Meal Planning When You are Busy

When you have three children, you cook when you can. That is why, although it is early Sunday morning, I am about to do some cooking in the kitchen to feed our bellies, and to feed our freezer. While I understand that some people don’t understand getting up early, for a natural morning person, this is the time that I get the most accomplished. It is a nice peaceful time for serving my family and soaking in all of our blessings. The house is quiet with few interruptions, and my energy level is high. It is good to take advantage … Continue reading →

Eliminate Food Waste: Chocolate Waffles and Pancake Mix

I’m making it a goal to check my fridge and pantry at the end of each week for ingredients that need to be used soon. This way, I can eliminate the food waste. Sometimes even this effort isn’t enough. For example, I pulled out some chicken that had a sell by date of a few days into the future, however, it had already gone bad. I won’t be shopping for chicken in that store again. I bought it at the beginning of the week. Today’s hunt through the pantry yielded a carton of buttermilk and some organic cocoa powder, so … Continue reading →

Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2

Are you throwing away valuable nutrients that could not only keep you healthy but could reduce your food bill? Most of us do. Eliminate food waste and reap the rewards of a lower grocery bill! Yesterday’s blog post covered typical items that we throw away, such as broccoli stems, and how you can take advantage of these common discards to eliminate some of your food waste. If you missed the post, click on the title, Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2, to read it. Today, in Eliminate Food Waste: You Can Eat These Part 2, I’ll expand … Continue reading →