As grocery prices continue to creep up I think all savvy household managers are looking for ways to stretch their grocery budget. Especially if they have, oh, a teenage male in the house!
In most grocery budgets meat and dairy take up a big chunk of the available funds. Many frugal living articles and books give the advice to use less meat, saying that meat should be a flavoring, or almost a garnish, rather than the bulk of the meal.
So how do you make up the difference in volume? That teenage boy I mentioned (or even my two voracious sprouts-I swear those kids could eat their weight in a day!) isn’t going to be happy with a tiny plate of food.
The answer is easy, if currently unpopular. Starches.
Photo by Larry Miller
Yes, I know, carbohydrates and starches are supposed to be evil. And yes, if you are diabetic, have Celiac or some other type of intolerance you should be extremely careful. But overall carbohydrates are food–just that. You are the one who gets to make choices about what types and how much you consume!In times of financial strain grains and potatoes have always been used as a stretching agent. They are less expensive to purchase, typically easy to grow, and can be stored for long periods easily.The Great Depression gives us many examples of stretching meals using starches.
It was common to extend your meatloaf (or hamloaf), meatballs or “Salisbury Steak” by adding breadcrumbs, rice, or oats.
photo by Kim F
A bowl of soup was made more filling with rice, dumplings or wheat berries inside, or bread, biscuits or cornbread on the plate next to it. You could even add cornmeal to scrambled eggs.
Photo by Lynn Gardener
Casseroles–where the bulk of the dish was a starch such as noodles, rice or potatoes and the meat, cheese and/or vegetables act as flavoring–also were extremely popular in this time period.
Another way to use starches to stretch you meals is just to increasing the serving size available of rice, potatoes, noodles, breads or biscuits at mealtime. This helps folks feel full when less meat and vegetables appear on the plate. It’s also a great trick to use when you have an unexpected extra mouth or two to feed at dinnertime!
Photo by Rik Panginaban
Leftover starches can also be transformed into desserts–things like bread pudding and rice pudding were created as ways to use up day old starches!
I know here at the Frugal Upstate household we always have a starch with every meal. Unlike our Great Depression era grandmothers, I do try to switch it up a bit from the standard white flour noodles & breads or potatoes by including their healthier whole grain cousins. Don’t get me wrong-I still go through plenty of white flour. But I’ve also been branching out–for variety’s sake–into items like quinoa, wheat berries, and barley. Sure-they may cost a little more than their over-processed cousins, but they still cost less than meat!
Have you started using starches to stretch your meals? What are your favorite tricks?
Jenn – Do you have a breakdown on your monthly food costs for your family of four?
I realize that being in a Canadian urban centre my costs will be significantly different from yours of course, but I’m curious about monthly food budgets. I’ve been doing some searches online and I’m finding people claiming to spend under $100/month (US) and others claiming to spend $1000+/month (US) for family of 4 (and often the 4 include infants and toddlers).
You know, I actually don’t. Since I shop for my pantry my monthly shopping list has more to do with restocking my shelves than with what the food we consume that month costs–for example I picked up 16 five pound bags of flour at Aldi’s (since they were $.89 ea!) that cost was incurred this month but the usage will be spread out over several months. Add to that the fact that I keep lousy records (although we are working on changing that) and I cant give you a hard and fast number.
My suspicion, based on the fact that I usually go grocery shopping about every two weeks and spend between $100-$200 is that I spend somewhere around $3-400 a month-to include things like personal care items, papergoods, canning supplies, etc etc etc. That also includes keeping a pretty deep pantry.
I live in a small town in upstate NY. I have a family of 6 to shop for and we spend about $800-$1000 per month on groceries. I try to buy my meat in bulk because it’s cheaper and I have a large freezer in the garage. I can purchase a 1/2 a cow for $800 and it will last us the year. I then only have to purchase chicken and pork products, pantry items, and fresh fruits and vegetables. My kids range in age from 11-4 years old. We use left overs during the week. On Sunday I make a large family dinner. For instance instead of roasting one chicken I will roast two. One is for us to eat for dinner. Then with the left over dinner chicken and the second chicken I will make, chicken sandwiches, two types of chicken soup (which we eat and I freeze), chicken enchiladas, chicken tacos, chicken salad, chicken stir fry and chicken pot pie. So for $12-$14 in chicken and $20 for the cost of the other items I need, I just made 7+ other meals. Times are tough and it seems everyone is finding ways to cut corners and make meals stretch.
I’m thinking of doing a monthly grocery (just food, not cleaning supplies, personal care, etc.) budget breakdown on my blog starting in January. I’d start now but the holiday season tends to skew things I find. We’ve just started using a CSA program for organic produce & eggs and I’ve found a local butcher that does organic, grass-fed, hormone & antibiotic free meats. We’ve just shifted away from packaged/processed foods and I’m still not 100% sure if my food budget has increased or decreased as a result.
I am paying higher prices for the organic foods – so initially I thought I might be spending more but I’m finding that we’re snacking less frequently and eating more moderate portions as a result of the better quality foods. Not sure whether this will continue or if it’s just as we’re adjusting to things. I wish I’d kept a food budget previously so I’d have a better comparison.
Currently the CSA is costing $47/wk (assorted organic veggies/fruits plus 2 dozen eggs) which includes $6 for home delivery. Plus I’ve spent another $80 (approx.) on organic meats for the month. Bringing us to under $300 for 2 (myself and my 17 year old son). We’re eating strictly the CSA items and meats – no grains, packaged foods, etc. (Although I did splurge $15 on a pizza last week).
I spend about $300- $400 a month for my family of five on average ( this includes a tween son and two grown men). I use a food coop for organic produce, $20 a week, I shop at the 99 cents only store (Lots of groceries some less than 99 cents in the Southwestern US areas, no Aldi’s out here !!), Dollar Tree I go to on occasion (lots of dry goods), and I buy in bulk at Cosco on certain items (membership is a X-Mas gift every year from a friend).
Now I work at a group home and complete the shopping for 5 individuals, this includes 2 staff on duty so 7 people per meal, the agency funds $180 a week ($720 a month). I am able to make these funds stretch very far since I watch prices meticulously. My workplace individuals eat very well, mostly organic produce, the same at my home without the food coop. I eat at the group home maybe two to three times a week at the most, I am usually too busy to eat so I always include myself in the meal plan at home.
I use starches carefully in my eating plans at home and at work. I have an insulin dependent diabetic husband and I have assorted dietary needs to be met at work. Whole grain pastas and brown rice are king at home and work. Beans and legumes are featured in many dishes I plan. Carbohydrates are a necessity to energize you, they just need to be in proper portions. I see a nutritionist on a regular basis currently and my goal is really about eating whole foods and trying to avoid eating out frequently. My family ate stuffed zuchinni last Saturday without meat (they thought it was in there though LOL!) It was then recycled as a leftover (ground up) into Jenn’s cabbage roll casserole mixed with rice, again they thought it had meat in it!!! Using up leftovers are a great way to stretch your budget!!
My family of four (2 adults, 1 preteen, 1 kid) spends about $150 a month on groceries. We’re in Washington state. This includes the $30 we spend monthly on a produce co-op, but the co-op supplies all our fruit and most of our veggie needs.
I’ve always used minimal meat and starches to fill out a meal. But you can skip the heavy starches (flour, potatoes) and just double or triple the vegetable content of a soup or casserole. The veggies still cost less than meat, and you stay full longer since it usually takes longer to digest vegetables compared to meat.
Another option for inexpensive meat is to shop a restaurant supply store. Some are open the public. Ours is cheaper than Costco on most items and has no membership fee. We recently bought 6 lbs. of sausage (a 6 month supply for us) for $8. Their beef and pork prices are also less per lb. than everywhere else in town. Baking supplies are out of this world cheap, too.