I just can't get our food bill down...

[PrincessPerky]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

fat comes in many forms, you can find an expert saying you MUST use whole milk, and you can find one saying 1% is fine...

generally speaking, if you are worried about fat in a childs development, look at the whole diet, do they eat cheese? yogurt? icecream? meat? fish? butter in/on other foods? chances are your kid gets plenty. oil to cook in...the fat in junk food is not useful generally speaking..don't count it, replace it..or at least some of it.

[mom-from-missouri]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

see http://answers.yahoo.com/question/in...9182140AA92ZT4 for one.
"children under two years of age need fat in there diets for healthy brain development, if you feed them low fat products it can cause slow or incomplete brain development"

"Bridget Swinney, author of “Healthy Food for Healthy Kids” (Meadowbrook Press) and “Eating Expectantly” (Meadowbrook Press).
Swinney says, “There are several nutritional building blocks that are vital for brain growth, but the most important of these is a special fat called omega-3. " (omega-3 is a fat, found in fish and whole milk. since most babies don't eat fish, milk is the next best source. Bear in mind, this is referring to babies, not older toddlers-who are sometimes referred to as babies.)
But, as princess perky said, look at their whole diet. When I worked at wic, we found many moms used marginan, and cheese substitute, ice milk, fat free yogurt. Those don't contain the nesessary omega-3. So, make sure you are getting the real thing.


After after 1 or 2, you can slack off the fat some.
FTYI, the average physician takes about 3-6 credit hours of nutrition classes in college. Those specializing in peds may take 3 classes. A 4 year college trained nutritionist takes about 60 college hours in nutrition, in addition to her other classes. That is why so many hospitals/ doctors now days have a nutritionist on staff. My middle daughter goes in and out of Children's Mercy in Kansas City very often due to a colon problem. Every time I ask one of her doctors a diet/nutrition question about her, they call in the hospital nutritionist to talk to me. One of the dr's even told me--"ask her, not me--I took 1 class in nutrition 35 years ago."

[LuxLiving]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...



Yeah - does this mean I can call all you peeps Fatheads? }ducking now!{



Just couldn't resist! Of course I'm kidding...can't you see I'm winking???

Nuu-uhhhh, I don't have my fingers crossed behind my back. Really I don't!

[cschin4]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I only like whole milk. And, my kids drink it. DH likes skim milk but I think it is disgusting. If I am going to drink milk, I prefer the real thing!

[scrava]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I hate milk, bleck.
In all forms. Except chocolate. I love me some chocolate milk!

[Amorphous02]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

http://flash.savingadvice.com/2006/09/

Please read this blog.

[yummy64]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I just went to Cairo.com. Seems to be a site about travelling to Egypt. A couple of people in this thread mentioned it is a place to find savings. Did I type it in wrong?

Thanks!

[Aligas]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

as a single person and an accountant when I am living in America my bill is $24 a month.

1. I look for the most economically depressed area and looks for a dents make cents grocery store.

2. When I get gas I get some condiments make some recipes out of them.

[emmiedahl]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I spend about $75 a week for groceries for an eight person household. Here's how I do it:

1. One bean/legume based dinner per week and one egg or cheese dinner. I also do one pasta based meal. We only eat red meat on Sundays.
2. Eat only in season. It worked for our ancestors.
3. On the odd occasion that I have an extra piece of meat, I make a big pot of soup with it.
4. Figure out what staples are dirt cheap in your area and eat primarily those. Here, I can get pasta for .50/lb at the dollar store, rice for .25/lb at an ethnic market. Guess which two grains make up the bulk of our meals.
5. Avoid anything in a box or plastic bag. Good for the budget and the waistline. On the rare occasion that I'm not pregnant, I run about a size 6 without putting too much effort into it.
6. Buy loss leaders and only loss leaders. Buy a lot, enough to last you until the next time they are a loss leader. I buy cases of $1 jars of pasta and $1 boxes of cereal at Albertsons and leave without looking in any other aisle.
7. Do not go back to the store, no matter what. You will stop forgetting as often if you subconsciously know this is your only chance.
8. Be careful with beverages. I get coffee free-have a stepson who works at Starbucks. We only buy soda when it is obscenely cheap and drink tea or water otherwise.
9. It usually isn't meals that kill a grocery budget, it's snacks. So watch the snacks. Buy a huge bag of apples or oranges and let those be the snacks. Make homemade muffins, homemade cookies, homemade bread, etc to fill everyone's carb cravings.

hth!

[syracusa]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I can find great deals for meat at the local buther that processes game meat. It's fresher than anything I can get at the store and generally cheeper.

Local butcher store??? I would love to find this kind of endangered species wonder around here. Last time I heard of an actual "local butcher store" I was in Europe. How can I find one in my area (Atlanta/Sandy Springs)?...
Is there still such a thing in the US???
Now, that's good news...

[emmiedahl]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

I have found butcher shops in every town in which I have lived. Look in your yellow pages under Meats or Butchers, or just ask around.

[tinapbeana]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

Local butcher store??? I would love to find this kind of endangered species wonder around here. Last time I heard of an actual "local butcher store" I was in Europe. How can I find one in my area (Atlanta/Sandy Springs)?... Is there still such a thing in the US??? Now, that's good news...

syracusa: i thought you were near atlanta but wasn't sure. i went to emory and lived in atlanta for about 5 years.

i'm not sure about a butcher in your exact area, but i do know that you might want to try the dekalb county farmer's market if you haven't been. it's HUGE, with an emmense selection of fresh fruits, produce, and meat. there's also a very wide selection of international foods there. i've even bought a durian there, which is a definite rarity in the US (and pretty foul, BTW!)

their address is 3000 E. Ponce De Leon Avenue / Decatur, GA 30030, which i know isn't really near sandy springs, but I would highly recommend you make a trip out there one weekend to see what you think. it couldv ery easily be worth going once or twice a month depending on what you buy.

[LuxLiving]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

Yes, Syracusa there are still a few around. I live near a major metro area and we have one in that town and another in a small town near by. They are out there...consult your area phone books or call your local librarian's reference desk and see if there are any in the surrounding towns - most major libraries carry phone books for other areas of the state.

[syracusa]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

Yes, Syracusa there are still a few around. I live near a major metro area and we have one in that town and another in a small town near by. They are out there...consult your area phone books or call your local librarian's reference desk and see if there are any in the surrounding towns - most major libraries carry phone books for other areas of the state.

Thanks a lot, that's really good news. I will definitely look it up.

[cicy33]

Re: I just can't get our food bill down...

It is so hard for me to say exactly how much we spend. I shop primarily with coupons, do a lot of stockpiling, like right now I have over 20 bags of the .04 oz mashed instant that cost me .19 a bag, so for the nights when it is just us sooooo easy and they are really good. I would say I never spend more than $150 a month ever and that is only if I go on a spree with no coupons. I feed us during the week and four additional kids on friday night, saturday and sunday. We do occasionally eat steak but usually only if it is just us and I try to find them on a great sale. I cannot imagine spending $200 a month every month. Sometimes if I spend alot it is because I am using coupons that are about to expire. I bought over 30 cans of v8 today for .15 per can (the small ones). I hate beans so that is never any option for me, thought my dh loves them, YUK! I rarely if ever buy generic cuz I really feel there is a difference and with coupons I don't usually have to.