My DH eats everything!

[budgetmom]

I have been trying to cut costs down on our food some and in my efforts I discovered something-my DH is a pig! I knew this before, but I never really calulated the cost of all of it. I am currently making 8-10 serving meals for a family of 4, two are small children. If we have any leftovers, it's only enough to put in his lunch for the next day. DH is no where close to being over weight. I think his leg is just hollow, LOL. Does anybody have any good hearty recipes for meals to feed an army that won't break the budget?!

[tinapbeana]

budgetmom, i know the feeling! actually, DH & i are both pigs and apparently eat like starving mad-people. my best recommendation in general is soup (it's a dieting trick!): studies show that people who eat a bowl of soup as an appetizer consume less food and calories over the course of the entire meal than those that don't eat soup. basically, the liquid volume in food makes you feel full. so, maybe a bowl of soup for DH along with dinner? and, just me pearsonally, i always feel fuller when i eat beans... (yes, i already know what everyone is thinking!)

along those lines, i think fall/winter are great soup times anyways, so maybe they could be meals unto themselves more often. my cheapest soup is made from 1 lb white beans, 1 diced potato, 1 diced onion, 2 chopped carrots, and 1 lb diced ham. whole pot costs a couple bucks, depending on how much you pay for the ham. buy a box of jiffy cornbread mix for $0.33 and make cornbread fritters, and you have a cheap tasty extra filling meal.

[Broken Arrow]

Wow. So, there's someone else out there that eats more than me?

Now that I am learning to cook for myself, I have learned that basically starchy foods is my friend. Pasta in particular. Rice too. Filling and cheap to boot.

[PrincessPerky]

complex carbs stay longer..as does some protien or fat. takes longer to break down.. keeping more in use less stored or speedburned.

we as a family of 5 eat more than most ...dramatically more. my 11 month old eats more than most 2 year olds...course the average 2 year old eats nothing! (lest you think we are fat, all are under weight or average weight)) Anyway.....

I have found oatmeal keeps the kids full longer than most cold cereals....
plain yogurt with fruit lasts longer than store bought mixed..not entirely sure why.

whole wheat bread, pasta, and brown rice loasts longer than white.

plain salad on the other hand is practically a waste of time unless I serve whole wheat rolls with it.

wheat germ will help any meal 'stay' longer.

By stay I mean the time beytween hunger calls, simple sugars are burned fast so your body uses them up then asks for more....complex carbs, and protien take longer..so does real fat...which is why one tends to eat a billion of those diet cookies..no real fat to make you feel full.

Also vegetables 'slow down' the speed of eating..giving the stumach a chance to say it is full.

Junk food AKA 'empty calories' is just that, empty..practically as soon as the bag of cookies or chips is empty high metabolism folk start hunting for more..the only reason for delay would be guilt!

Unfortunatly brown is more expensive.....

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by PrincessPerky

I have found oatmeal keeps the kids full longer than most cold cereals.... plain yogurt with fruit lasts longer than store bought mixed..not entirely sure why.

bet you the store bought fruit yogurt has sugar added in some way, shape, or form as opposed to the naturally occuring sugar in the yogurt & fruit itself.

[budgetmom]

I seem to be doing ok on what to buy, it sounds like. I bought plain yougurt last time I went to the store and I've been mixing all the leftover baby food that DD won't eat anymore (she's really liking the solids!) in to it. Oatmeal is a favorite for us and I add all kinds of things into it like fruit, honey, brown sugar... you get the idea (oh, but not all of them at the same time! I think I would have to hang them by their toes until their sugar high was over if I did something like that, LOL). I just pulled a loaf of oatmeal bread out of the oven to have for breakfast tomorrow with yougurt as a matter of fact...

We do eat some brown rice, but we have white more often, it's cheaper, but you already know that. We never get brown pasta unless it's a fabulous deal, but we really don't eat a lot of pasta dishes. I really don't like Italian food that much (although DH LOVES it). I make it as a special treat for him on occasion, but cooking like that just seems so expensive to me. I don't know of many other pasta dishes that aren't Italian. I would love to hear some if anybody has some.

We eat veggies on a regular basis. Not a lot raw (DH calls it rabbit food, meaning he can't get full off of it) but sometimes we do. I do feed my DS raw veggies for snacks. I still have to cook them for DD.

Beans and lentils are always in my pantry (dried) and I usually cook the whole bag (1 lb.) in a meal. Still, there is usually not a lot left over.

DH must have an extrordinarily high metabolism to be consuming so much food! He told me the other day that he was told he had high colesterol several years ago when he was still in the military. (So nice of him to finally let ME know...) He's obviously not conserned about it, but I am. I can't help but think that eating all of this food is just contributing to his unchecked colesterol. Plus, it just costs so much!

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by budgetmom

I don't know of many other pasta dishes that aren't Italian. I would love to hear some if anybody has some.

chinese: you can make a tasty 'lo mein' using spaghetti noodles

Originally Posted by budgetmom

Beans and lentils are always in my pantry (dried) and I usually cook the whole bag (1 lb.) in a meal. Still, there is usually not a lot left over.

beans are usually cheap, especially if you buy in bulk. maybe double beans?

Originally Posted by budgetmom

must have an extrordinarily high metabolism to be consuming so much food! He told me the other day that he was told he had high colesterol several years ago when he was still in the military. (So nice of him to finally let ME know...) He's obviously not conserned about it, but I am. I can't help but think that eating all of this food is just contributing to his unchecked colesterol. Plus, it just costs so much!

if you're concerned, scan local ads & newspapers for free cholesterol screenings in your area.

[JanH]

This area has a lot of Cajun influence so everything is over rice. I have gotten used to chili over brown rice, spaghetti, beans, vegetables, cheese, everything over rice. It is really filling and you have a lot of energy. Don't use the spices, but love the rice.

[JanH]

Originally Posted by tinapbeana

along those lines, i think fall/winter are great soup times anyways, so maybe they could be meals unto themselves more often. my cheapest soup is made from 1 lb white beans, 1 diced potato, 1 diced onion, 2 chopped carrots, and 1 lb diced ham. whole pot costs a couple bucks, depending on how much you pay for the ham. buy a box of jiffy cornbread mix for $0.33 and make cornbread fritters, and you have a cheap tasty extra filling meal.

I never learned how to make soup. I'm gonna try this one since it is getting cooler. well--relatively speaking--cooler for our climate.

[PRICEPLUS]

Soups are neat. You can put all sorts of leftovers and goodies in there. My grabndmother uedd to make mystery soups. They can be very filling. I add a beaten egg into the soup to thicken it up when cooking Lotsa pasta and beans really fill you up and you can stretch soup by adding more veggies. At least that is what I do. I too eat like a pig!

[JanH]

Okay, that sinks it. Now I'm hungry! Gonna go see what's for dinner.

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by JanH

I never learned how to make soup. I'm gonna try this one since it is getting cooler. well--relatively speaking--cooler for our climate.

don't feel bad, jan, i never learned how to make soup either... the white bean 'recipe' is what i came up with when i started camping and needed something that wouldn't require me to haul a bunch of cans up a mountain!

for me, soup is any liquid with some amount of solids making their way around. take 1 liquid (water, chicken/beef/vegetable broth, or tomato paste thinned with water) and add 3-6 more items from wherever you stash your goodies. simmer till you think it's yummy and chow down!

[budgetmom]

Thanks everyone! I will try the soup, it sounds yummy! I don't know how well it will go over with my DH, though. He's a MEAT and potatos kind of guy. I guess He's just gonna have to learn to accept change.

[Broken Arrow]

I'm a meat and potatos kind of guy too. However, I am trying to find cheap alternatives though. Hot dogs, bologna, and spam are some of the examples. Don't know if he's willing to do that though.

[JanH]

Originally Posted by Broken Arrow

I'm a meat and potatos kind of guy too. However, I am trying to find cheap alternatives though. Hot dogs, bologna, and spam are some of the examples. Don't know if he's willing to do that though.

My MIL tells a story about her one of her early meals as a bride being fried spam......

[JanH]

tina: what kind of spices do you put in your soups?

[tinapbeana]

Originally Posted by JanH

tina: what kind of spices do you put in your soups?

the white bean soup is salt, fresh ground pepper, garlic powder, onoin powder, and italian seasoning blend like you buy at the store.

all recipes say season to taste, which takes for ever for me shaking! best thing i've found is to shake util you think you have enough, then shake 2-3 more times, and that'll about do it

[mountainmist]

Are you certain that your husband eats "TOO MUCH" - or are you basing this upon what you and your sisters and your girlfriends consume at mealtime?

Is your husband physically active? Does he have a desk job or is up and about, all day, burning off huge amounts of calories.

Is he overweight?

If he's not overweight, then how can you possibly accuse him of overeating?

Have you ever been in a restaurant and observed how much food that most men consume at one sitting?

I think you should concentrate on feeding your husband HEALTHY nutritious food, and as much of it as he wants -- he sounds like he's HUNGRY to me, and if you don't figure out something super healthy, your decision that he's "too expensive" to feed will probably drive him to purchasing candy and miscellaneous junk food whenever he's out and about, and not in your sight.

How would you, an ADULT, like it, were your husband to patronizingly decide that YOU were eating "improperly" -- I mean, seriously, I think that you are crossing some serious boundaries here, like in a Control.Freak manner, and that this shouldn't be encouraged, it's not healthy for your marriage, and that it might be alot more positive instead of concentrating on his diet habits, that you might seriously think about getting a part time job in order to afford to feed all the members of your family, instead of obsessing over how to save pennies because the main wage earner has a bigger appetite than you - something most men do have, that's just NORMAL male metabolism, that they generally have a much larger calorie consumption than their female mate.

[mountainmist]

Are you certain that your husband eats "TOO MUCH" - or are you basing this upon what you and your sisters and your girlfriends consume at mealtime?

Is your husband physically active? Does he have a desk job or is up and about, all day, burning off huge amounts of calories.

Is he overweight?

If he's not overweight, then how can you possibly accuse him of overeating?

Have you ever been in a restaurant and observed how much food that most men consume at one sitting?

I think you should concentrate on feeding your husband HEALTHY nutritious food, and as much of it as he wants -- he sounds like he's HUNGRY to me, and if you don't figure out something super healthy, your decision that he's "too expensive" to feed will probably drive him to purchasing candy and miscellaneous junk food whenever he's out and about, and not in your sight.

How would you, an ADULT, like it, were your husband to patronizingly decide that YOU were eating "improperly" -- I mean, seriously, I think that you are crossing some serious boundaries here, like in a Control.Freak manner, and that this shouldn't be encouraged, it's not healthy for your marriage, and that it might be alot more positive instead of concentrating on his diet habits, that you might seriously think about getting a part time job in order to afford to feed all the members of your family, instead of obsessing over how to save pennies because the main wage earner has a bigger appetite than you - something most men do have, that's just NORMAL male metabolism, that they generally have a much larger calorie consumption than their female mate.

[LuxLiving]

Originally Posted by budgetmom

I think his leg is just hollow, LOL. Does anybody have any good hearty recipes for meals to feed an army that won't break the budget?!

Hi budgetmom - Can you make him some red beans and rice? I call mine dirty rice - I don't know if this is the official name for it but it looks dirty but tastes great. I make this by cooking 2 cups rice to 4 cups of water. While this is cooking I brown either a lb. of hamburger or sausage w/some onion. The rice takes 20 minutes covered. Add the meat to the rice and add 3 or 4 cans of red beans. Heat thoroughly. I add some brown gravy mix to this - I add fresh garlic, worcestershire sauce and season salt and maybe a bit of water if it needs it. Serve w/a green salad, bread and butter and some kind of fruit for dessert. The 3 grown guys here all chow down and I get maybe a bowl and they all get a couple of bowls. Sometimes there is a little bit left for lunch the next day.