Mom’s Money

Frugal Food Choices Will Save Your Family’s Budget

What would happen to your family’s budget if you had to stock your pantry from scratch?  Let’s just pretend that all the food in your house was gone, stolen by some weird alien creature or something.  Okay, you come home and find everything in the pantry and refrigerator are gone.  How much money would it take to restock your food as it was?  Could you afford that and would you even want to?

The reason I brought this up is because when we create a household budget, the first thing that most of us examine is how much money we spend on groceries.  The food budget is the most flexible item and the easiest to reduce.  We all buy too many prepackaged foods and expensive treats, so if we eliminate even a few, we’re seeing results very quickly.  But, what would happen if we really looked at our grocery bill from another angle?  If you had to fill your pantry from scratch with a very limited amount of money, what could you buy?

We’re not going to look at what we normally eat, we’re going to look at what we COULD eat to save money.  Here are a few examples of food items that cost very little, but yield the nutrition we need, as well as full bellies!

Brown rice – This packs a whole lot of nutrients and fibre, and should be a mainstay in every household.  Do not substitute with white, processed rice, although that’s tasty, too, you won’t get the same nutritional value.

Potatoes – Full of nutrition and fibre, and is also a great “vehicle” for a whole bunch of other food.

Pasta – Choose good, whole grain pastas in a variety of shapes and sizes to create interesting yet frugal meals.

Nuts – Compare the price of nuts to meat and you’ll see how adding nuts, or even relying on them for your protein, will stretch your budget as well as boost your nutrition.  Buy raw nuts, like almonds, and learn how to roast your own for added value.

Dried beans and peas – This is the Mother Lode of frugal nutrition.  Black beans, garbanzo, navy beans, pinto beans, split peas, lentils - you name it, they are another staple in every pantry.  Used as protein or vegetables, the nutritional value is the same.  You can NOT afford to skip this food group.

Eggs – Of course, we can’t forget eggs.  Breakfast, lunch, or dinner, there are enough ways to cook an egg that you can never tire of them.

Onions, Celery, Garlic, salt and pepper – I choose these for flavoring.  You can boil up a pot of bean soup by itself, but onion, garlic, and celery bring the soup to life.  Eating should be enjoyable, not just frugal.  Of course, salt and pepper brings everything together.

Carrots – Another flavor enhancer, but more of a vegetable to round out a meal and to add to rice and pasta casserole dishes.

Greens – We’re talking kale, turnip, and collard.  Relatively inexpensive and packed with vitamins and minerals, and fibre, too.  Kale happens to be my favorite because it doesn’t cook down as much as the others, so you’re left with a nice pot-full.

Well, you get the picture.  If you just started with these few items, you could feed your family for quite some time.  Adding a few things as you go, like bread, milk, peanut butter, and apples, will round out your diet.  Let’s hope aliens never steal all your food, but I hope you reconsider your food choices the next time you go through your food budget.  Give it a try… see if you can create a meal with just the foods listed above.  Have fun!