What do you spend on food for a week?

[petitesphinx]

We are a family of 7; 3 adults and 4 children. Animals are around 130 ish; chickens, turkeys, ducks, geese, dogs, cats, pigs, horses, sheep, goats, ferret, lizards.

So when dinner time comes a calling--our wallets seem to come a screaming. I have been experimenting with calendars, menu, having a set meal for each day of the week and the easiest way to organize our meals has been to follow this calendar from Simplify Supper .

I've been using the calendar for 2 weeks and it's easier to have a set menu so the family knows what we're eating and I'm not searching through the pantry trying to find something to feed the family.

So far, we spend at least $250 at our trips to WalMart for 2 weeks of groceries, soaps, toilet paper...etc. I'd like to cut this down, but we're not buying candies, cookies, sodas, clothes....this is just food. We spend $72.00 a month on baby food alone, $25.00 on diapers, $12.00 on a jumbo pack of wet wipes.

I'm trying to learn how to "farm" and grow a garden, make my soaps, cheeses...etc. But finding someone to teach me has been difficult.

On the animal food. Wheeewwww! I had no idea they were so expensive. We go through a bag of feed for each between one and 1.5 weeks. They are $9.00 -$20.00 each, so we're buying about $450.00 in animal feed as well. I am hoping the chickens will begin laying heavy, so that will help cushion the blow there with eggs. I hope family likes eggs, cause we will be living off them...hehe

Good luck trying to lower those expenses, I think all of America is having money troubles.....

 

[MissPrissy]

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He had been drinking goat milk early - like 6 months. I got my own goats and we drank raw milk. We added raw cow milk this summer. So raw cow milk at 2.

 

[MissPrissy]

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Please don't take this wrong .... Why are you buying baby food?

Steamed veggies and a stick blender will save you that $72.00. They make tiny baggies and freezer cups if you need to make batches.

Other than the baby cereal for starter I haven't bought baby food more than a few times for keeping on hand in the diaper bag incase of emergency - like hungry baby needs food and I am away from home and need something ASAP.

Baby food is nothing more than unseasoned unsalted vegetable mush often fortified with an extra vitamin/mineral combination. If your baby has a good diet you don't need more supplements.

Any vegetable you cook for dinner can be pureed for baby. Same for fruits. For older babies trying meats it is just as simple.

Come to Virginia. I'll teach you lots of stuff about making cheese and canning and and and .. you choose.

 

[wishin4chicken]

I was thinking about this thread last night. My kids were babies 30+ years ago and I always just pureed for them most of what we were having for dinner that night. Worked great and saved tons of money on baby food.

On the amount we spend on grocieries...it amazes me that when things are "tight" I do a great job of planning meals and keep our expenses really low. I use meat as a "flavoring" not the main entre in our meals. When things are more flush, I'm lazy. I spend alot more on groceries and meat becomes a much larger portion of our meals. Nuitritionally, I think we eat much better when things are tight around here.

Just a few weeks ago, a friend gave me 25 (yes, 25) cases of various sizes of canning jars. I can hardly wait until next summer and am busy planning the garden we'll plant in the spring.

Michele.

 

[Judymae]

I made all my baby food too. Just mashed up whatever we were eating. All three of mine did great!! Made it easier when we went out to eat too. I would just give them stuff off of my plate.

I went and paid for one week of angel food ministries yesterday. We are gonna try that out and if it works I'll buy a months worth next time.

 

[SandraMort]

I just went shopping for 8 days of food for 2 adults and 3 children and spent about $140, though I had 8 for batteries, 4 for seltzer and 2 for cold cereal that I could have skipped. It will be BORING for the next week and low on produce and protein, which are the most expensive parts, but it was the best I could do.

Dinners for this week:

- Homemade waffles with extra eggs to boost protein,
powdered milk to cut costs and half ww flour and half
white flour (we had cheap white to use up in the closet
before I could justify buying good flour)

- Rice and beans (cooked from dry), cheese (purchased on
sale in a block), frozen veggies (on sale in a bag, more
expensive than a giant bag, but no car to get to a better
store until it's out of the shop) (TWICE)

- Pasta (store brand) and cheese (TWICE)

- Lentil soup (dry lentils, veggies) and leftovers (TWICE)

- White beans / white vegetarian chili with rice and cheese

- Pancakes (from a mix, overpriced but I needed a quick
meal) and eggs (on sale for 1.50/dozen, and not as
tasty as real eggs, but I won't have until Spring)

Breakfasts/Lunches tend to be interchangable about here:

- Peanut butter sandwiches on homemade bread (must bake this evening)

- Potato and egg salad

- Apples and pb

- Cold cereal and milk

- Oatmeal (cooked, not instant) and milk

- Homemade quick bread... maybe for lunch today, muffins sound good.

- Tuna salad (just for me, the rest of the family is vegetarian)

- Roasted chick pea "nuts"

I have some more food stuff planned but that's all I can think of offhand. Idle thoughts:

- Chicken soup with leg meat from the freezer and homemade stock from the freezer and veggies (just me)

- Scovy breast in something

- Scovy leg/thighs in something

We're on a very tight budget for the next couple of months. The tuition is killing us at the new school!!! So I'm looking for ideas, too.

WHERE can I get cheap powdered milk?

 

[SandraMort]

OHHH. And before I go back, we do EC and use cloth diapers, so those aren't on the list. And I exclusively nurse, so no formula expenses, either. And I consider baby food to be the world's biggest scam... well... maybe soda is

 

[cajunlizz]

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I will say one thing , I have never shopped by the week . I usually shop for 2 weeks or more . THE more you enter the supermarkets , the more you will spend . YOU see this and that may or may not be on sale and it goes into your shopping cart . EVER hear how people that went into a market for milk and bread , walked out spending $100 bill ? thats why .
So , with that being said , With the price of food that has basically doubled ? GOOD LUCK

 

[SandraMort]

As for NOW, I've been munching on roasted chick peas. They taste so awful (they overcooked) that I don't have much appetite. I also had a lot of coffee, some with powdered milk and some with recycled cereal milk. LOL! Can I call that a nearly free meal?

 

[SandraMort]

Veggies are SO expensive. My family will eat 1-2 bags per meal and I *HATE* to limit how many vegetables the kids can eat, so if I only have 1 bag, dh and I often don't get. *sigh* Hoping to get my car back SOON so I can get to a better supermarket.

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