No, I'm not giving it up. (what reason would I have to wake up in the morning?)
I'm rethinking how to cook for two kids who eat like there's no tomorrow. I can hardly keep up with these kids anymore!!! (I should pause and say that I am EXTREMELY grateful for two healthy kids who have bodies that work and have big non-picky appetites. REALLY.)
But what I WAS doing just isn't working anymore.
Let's start with a few observations:
1. Thank goodness for coupons! I am saving BIG money on cereal using coupons and finding sales. BUT, we still go through BOXES every week. (My kids eat 2-3 bowls a morning...I kid you not.)
2. Oliver now eats a full sandwich and a half for lunch. Every day. That's 3 pieces of bread JUST for him. Plus fruit, chips, yogurt/cottage cheese, and whatever else I can find. Yesterday I had to make 2 eggs for Oliver and Lily EACH because they were still hungry after the other food was gone.
3. Food is not getting cheaper.
So here's some things I've decided:
*I am going to (thanks to advice from a friend) start making breakfast 4 mornings a week. 3 mornings a week the kids can have their cereal and eat to their heart's content--but the other mornings I'll MAKE something--oatmeal (actually, we make this almost every day once it's cold outside), eggs, pancakes, waffles, omelets, etc. Because really--that stuff is pretty cheap compared to cereal.
*I need to start making a loaf of bread (or more!) each week in the bread machine. It's so easy and cheap--and that way, once it's a little less soft (after the first day), I can use it for french toast or something like that.
*Joel and I will be eating meals every other day. That should do the trick. :-)
Do you have any great ideas for how to make food go further? Or how to save MORE money at the store? Please do share...we're always open to ideas!
Christmas celebrations
2 days ago
5 comments:
i'm sending you the best bread machine recipe right now. it lasts for a couple of days and is SO soft because of the high gluten flour. Man-i hope my girls never eat that much! oh-and do you shop at meridian grocer? Another thought...make pancakes and waffles and freeze them. Waffles you can throw in the toaster :o)
Aldis helps. And home-made soup, once it gets colder.
I make my own cereal. We have four kids. They all love it! It's cheap. It's healthy. It's all good!
man... i hope my kids get my appetite, i'll have to feed them once a day, and thats if we don't forget! your kids never eat that much when they're with me... perhaps they just need to hang out with me more.
This is my trick for Carter because he is a big eater too: Sometimes after lunch, he still wants more so I ask him to wait a half hour to "let his tummy settle." Sometimes then he doesn't want anymore to eat later, when I ask. Other times, of course he does want something else.
Oh and I have a great homemade granola bar recipe. I think they are cheaper than store bought but I honestly have not run the numbers on them because we all love them so much. And an easy pizza crust recipe too. I will send them to you if you want, just let me know!
Post a Comment