Meal Stretch

I am often looking for ways to make our budget stretch farther so we can make better do with what we have and save more for the future. So far, my biggest challenge in this area has been food. My primary goal is to serve as many whole and nutritious foods as possible, and as most of you know, they are more expensive! So what to do? I’ve tried making many things from scratch, such as our breads, but with 3 young boys the time it takes and stress created is proving not always worth the money saved. So, to get to the point, here are some of my latest tips to saving grocery money while eating healthy and still getting our fill to eat.

First, I’ve picked a handful of meatless main dishes I can serve a few times a week. More veggies for healthy bodies and less meat for more room in our budget. Here’s a few examples:
Vegetable Enchiladas- Use a regular recipe, just saute’ up some bell pepper, onions, broccoli cauliflower, even potatoes, whatever your family eats, add the sauce, tortillas and cheese. Yum!!!
Taco Salad- I toss up lettuce of choice, black beans, olives, canned corn, broccoli, peas, peppers, whatever. Our dressing-sour cream and salsa or ranch, then a few crunchy chips and we’re usually set!

Soup, Soup, Soup! Any soup really. There are so many that don’t have meat, but are equally filling, often with beans or rice or just a thicker base. Tip: chowders or “cream” soups don’t always have to have lots of cream or milk (which can also be spendier), just remove a portion of your already cooked soup and puree in the blender. Add back into the soup and viola!!! P.s. to make your own broth the 3 keys to good flavor are onions, celery and carrots…a little salt goes a long way too.

Black Bean Quesadillas-black beans, maybe some cooked onion and pepper, cheese, tortillas and your favorite toppings.


I have quite a few others if someone is particularly curious…just ask!

Second, I’ve realized that there are many other countries that eat well (healthy and enough) while using very basic grains and such. So, I’m exploring ethnic staples that really cost very little and add lots of nutrition, variety and can stand on their own two feet. A few I’ve found:

Garbanzo beans- Our dinner tonight is garbanzo’s, red peppers, onions, broccoli, and spices saute’d and in a pita shell. Topped with sour cream or plain yogurt!I am also a great fan of hummus. There are so many different recipes, it easy to find one you like.

Corn meal (also known as polenta)- after it is cooked, much like rice, (except with constant stirring) it can be served alone with a savory sauce, grilled vegetables, baked apples for a sweeter treat, or it can even be made into little cakes and lightly fried for a tasty snack.


Third, I’m trying to use certain affordable vegetables (even some veggies can break the budget) to fill in the gaps and make certain meat dishes go farther. A few such veggies that do the trick seem to be potatoes, broccoli, green peppers and cauliflower. The potatoes and cauliflower work great because their taste is fairly neutral, and broccoli is very nutritious if your family likes it!!!

Well that’s it for me. I’m certainly no authority on the topic, so I’d love to hear your ideas and tips as well!!!