Trying To Stretch Your Food Dollar Until Next Payday?
March 16, 2009 – 10:57 amIf you’re like most people, you get about halfway through payday and start to panic. How am I going to get supper on the table for the rest of the week? The cupboards are bare and my wallet is almost empty. Now what?
Finding inexpensive recipes is a trick that all frugal homemakers must learn, but when money is especially tight, you need to find recipes that are incredibly cheap. And, like all matters of managing a home, preparation is the key to success. You don’t want to wait until you need to fix an inexpensive meal to start looking for recipes and ideas. Gather those recipes now, before you’re in a pinch.
Starting with the basics of meal planning, you want to have a protein, carbohydrate, a fruit or vegetable, and calcium. Just think about the food pyramid to get ideas about what you family needs nutritionally speaking. Then give some thought to filling these nutritional needs with the most economical food items that you possibly can.
Some of the cheapest, and most nutrient-rich proteins are beans, peas, and legumes. If you haven’t been cooking with beans, you haven’t been doing your budget any favors. Go out and buy yourself a couple bags of dry beans, peas, and lentils, and give them a try. You’ll be serving your family a delicious and nutritious meal for pennies per serving.
Potatoes are another nutrient-rich food that offers versatility and budget-friendly meals. Mixing up a big pot of Potato Soup will not only save your food budget for another day, but will truly satisfy your hungry family. A baked potato with a simple diced tomato and black bean sauce is another simple, inexpensive, and filling meal.
When looking at vegetables, consider root vegetables first. Often much less expensive than their counterparts, root vegetables, like sweet potatoes, rutabaga, turnips, beets, and parsnips, are a great source of vitamins as well as being a very dense, and therefore, filling vegetable. Create a main dish by mixing a variety of root vegetables, roasting them in canola oil, and serving them with crusty bread.
Sometimes, when your budget demands it, you’ll need to be extra creative in your meal planning. By focusing on simple, nutrient-rich foods, you can make meals that will be inexpensive and healthy. They may be a little out of the ordinary, but these times call for extraordinary measures. And, who knows, you may find a whole new way to cook that pleases both you and your family, as well as your pocketbook!