As the new year approaches, it is time to evaluate how successful I have been in following all of my own frugal convictions. When it comes to the kitchen, I must admit to a few non frugal errors.
I have neglected to prepare meals on time. By not having meals on the table when the family gets hungry, I have invited the opportunity for the less patient members of my family to order a pizza or perhaps Chinese. I cant’ tell you how many times I have pulled myself away from my writing to prepare dinner only to be told that a delivery person was on the way.
Therefore, my first resolution is to prepare meals earlier in the day. In fact, it wouldn’t be bad to start planning meals the day before and perhaps setting the crock pot first thing in the morning.
My second food resolution is to do more baking from scratch. It’s not really my fault that I haven’t been doing it as my oven had been broken for two years, but now that it’s fixed, I can make breakfast bars, muffins, and other easy to carry items for my kids to take with them to homeschool classes.
My third food resolution for 2010 is to find more ways to cook pasta. While spaghetti is my favorite food (and very economical) my family is sick to death of it. I need to find a few recipes to making my favorite frugal meal more interesting.
My fourth and final frugal food resolution is to fill my food pantry and chest freezer. My failure to keep my pantry full results in too many trips to the grocery store and we all know that the more trips you make to the grocery store, the more money you waste on those little impulse purchases.
~Andrea Hermitt writes for parenting (specifically teens), the home blog, and also the frugal blog, and homeschooling at families.com.
Frugal Food: Lentil And Rice Casserole for the Crockpot