simple eating

hschmid · **simple eating**

I have heard that cooking from scratch is cheaper and generally healthier than eating processed convenience foods and have learned that for myself. I however have not been able to make a menu from "from scratch" meals. The meals we eat on a regular basis are 80% from scratch, but i guess i haven't been too observant about the other 20%. How do you keep it simple w/ your menu plan? Oh, and keep your grocery bill down?

Happymom · 05-21-2007, 09:21 AM

I guess it depends on your idea of simple and also your idea of from scratch. We eat alot of what I consider simple type meals, because the kids eat them better. Sandwiches, hot dogs & hamburgers on the grill, sloppy joes, grilled cheese. But I do not make my own breads for these so I don't know if it is considered from scratch or not? I just put a veggie and a fruit with the sandwiches and that is my simple meal.

ember15 · 05-21-2007, 11:02 AM

I have a meal plan, It is a simple meal plan meaning I can use it every week. Sunday is chicken and rice, Mon ethinic cooking (so like tacos or stir fri or something out of the norm), Tuesday is seafood, Wed is breakfast for dinner, Thursday is pasta, friday is pizza and saturday my DH is grilling something or if we do go out its on saturdays. I use convience foods at times and don't have the time for baking bread. Our issue is that if I did we would eat it all. The best thing for us is dinner rolls that you can freeze thus you can pop in just the number you want to eat. I have done my general meal plan for several weeks now and its working out great!

Kim · 05-21-2007, 11:28 AM

I'm lucky if a do a big "from scratch" meal once a week. This is what works for me:

1. Cooking big batches when I do make food. I'll make a huge pasta salad that will last all week, a whole pan of lasagna that will last for a couple meals and several lunches, and do up big batches of baked goods, etc. For me it's a scaled back version of "Once a Month Cooking" that's more like "Once a Week Cooking"

2. Have a list of several recipes that you can make in 15-20 minutes and be sure to have those ingredients on hand all the time.

3. Do meals that are partially convenience, partially made from scratch. For example, jars of pasta sauce are easy to throw together with chicken breasts and noodles within 20 minutes.

Hoping-to-be1 · 05-21-2007, 12:17 PM

SOUPS is my answer to cheap, healthy and ready to eat meals. I make them on Sundays and it lasts a week. I don't freeze them, but some people do.
To me, you can put anything you want in a soup, whatever you have on hand, whatever you want to use up, etc. I don't use canned soups bc of too much sodium. Whenever we buy whole chickens, I just save bones and make a broth. That with veggies, beans, pasta and it's done. Add a salad and you have a meal.

HeatherVNY · 05-21-2007, 12:58 PM

I have to say that I do try to cook from scratch but I do also buy frozen dinners & snacks, only because DH can not cook at all. If I have to do something, he will not be able to make himself anything unless he can throw i t in the microwave or toaster oven.
As for cooking from scratch. I do a crock pot meal 1-2 times a week. we eat alot of chicken in our house, what ever is on sale will be on my table. LOL. Also since we are only 2 adults (and a baby) I buy the family size packages of meats when they are on sale. I then break them up into 2-3 meal portions and freeze them. Also I cook enough so we have dinner for that night and enough left for DH to take to work for lunch the next day. I do make my own rice. I buy a bay of white rice and from there I make my own yellow rice, chicken flavored, beef flavoers of veggie flavored rice instead of buying those flavored boxes of rice.
I do bargin shop. I try to look at all the sales in neighboring grocery stoores and make a plan on what to buy where and stick to it. I buy enough food to last 2-3 weeks. So if I spend $200 that will usually last 2-3 weeks (milk, bread & eggs exception)
I also try to make most of my DD food too. What we eat, I puree and feed to her (she is nearly 1) It is more cost effective then buying baby food, sometimes.

hschmid · 05-21-2007, 02:05 PM

HeatherVNY-
When you make your own rice, do you use a spice packet or spices you have on hand? That sounds like a good way to save money.

HeatherVNY · 05-21-2007, 02:59 PM

Well, I always have either chicken/beef/veggie stock or bullion cubes in the house and I either add 1 cube to 2 cups of rice (2 1/2 cups of water in the rice cooker) or I add 1 can of stock and 1 cup of water to the 2 cups of rice in ghte rice cooker.

As for the broccoli & chese flavored rice. I steam broccoli crowns and cut them into very small pieces. I then shread cherddar cheese (about 6-8 oz per 2 cups of rice) as small as possible I cook the rice in veggie stock and water. When it is done I place the rice into a large mixing/serving bowl/ I then add the cheese and wix it all in until melted. I then toss the small pieces of broccoli into it.

KathrynHannah · 05-22-2007, 10:38 AM

We use a lot of recipes out of the More with Less Cookbook.

The whole first section of the book gives a explanation n the 'whys' of simple eating. The next section covers the 'hows' and then there are the recipes. They are all simple, and inexpensive and best of all easy .. I'm not a great cook but this is a well worn cookbook in our house. When I do use a recipe from here, the ingredients are easy to find and the instructions are easy to follow. Just how I like it.

scruggle · 05-23-2007, 08:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Kim

I'm lucky if a do a big "from scratch" meal once a week. This is what works for me:

1. Cooking big batches when I do make food. I'll make a huge pasta salad that will last all week, a whole pan of lasagna that will last for a couple meals and several lunches, and do up big batches of baked goods, etc. For me it's a scaled back version of "Once a Month Cooking" that's more like "Once a Week Cooking"

2. Have a list of several recipes that you can make in 15-20 minutes and be sure to have those ingredients on hand all the time.

3. Do meals that are partially convenience, partially made from scratch. For example, jars of pasta sauce are easy to throw together with chicken breasts and noodles within 20 minutes.

I noticed that sometimes the "convenience" items are cheaper and better than "from scratch", too. For example, the pasta sauce. We have a new store in town that sells the "dented cans" and they have a large selection of organic foods CHEAP. I bought 4 jars of ORGANIC mushroom and garlic pasta sauce for $1 each!!! Name Brand! They have a whole aisle of nothing but jars of sauce. Combine that with a Kraft recipe from the Food and Family mag and you have a meal! I love the lasagna made from mac and cheese and jarred pasta sauce!