Buying healthy, wholesome food for an entire family can seem pricey and hard to do. With these Tips for Feeding Your Family Real Food on a Budget, it can be done!
Eating real food is one of the best things you can do for your family. However, it can be a bit on the pricey side and can be frustrating for many to manage on a small budget. Large families do not have to live on frozen pizza and macaroni and cheese. It is possible to feed your family whole foods and still stick to the budget. These Tips for Feeding Your Family Real Food on a Budget include helpful ways you can make that happen.
Tips for Feeding Your Family Real Food on a Budget
Precook your meats. When it comes to a whole or real food diet, something that gets people is the prep time. You can cook your family yummy foods that are good for you, it just takes a little prep. Put your chicken breasts in the Crockpot overnight to help you precook your meats. You can also freeze the meat after you have cooked it. Why am I sharing this tip with you? Precooking helps you to avoid wasting food! I can’t tell you how many times the food I had on hand has gone bad (especially meat) because I forgot to cook it. You’ll find Alea’s, Prep Ahead Meals From Scratch, a great resource for prepping meat in advance. She has all of the best instructions on how to cook meat using various methods like roasting, boiling, grilling, and more.
Utilize government programs. I know not everyone will take advantage of government programs like WIC, but they truly are helpful. WIC offers a food program to moms, infants, and children. By using a program like this, especially if you qualify, you’re able to continue to feed your family whole foods on a budget. It’s also important to recognize that WIC is a government grant and is only available to those that qualify with lower income. Apply to see, and feel no guilt about taking advantage of this assistance.
Head to produce auctions. Veggies and fruits LIVE at the produce auctions. This is where you can literally get a month’s supply of produce for a small price. You will need to pay attention to when the produce auctions are located, though, so you don’t miss out! You may also simply want to check out your local Farmer’s Market. Often times, your local markets will have great prices on produce at the end of the day so they don’t have to haul it back with them.
Don’t overbuy produce. I have failed many times by overbuying my produce when I do a weekly shopping trip. I’m excited about fruits and veggies, so I buy a ton of it and then they go bad easily. If you can swing it, try shopping for your veggies and fruits every couple of days. Buying frozen is also an option if you don’t think you’ll make it to the store that often.
If you do buy extra, make sure you prep and store it properly so it will last longer. You may also want to invest in a Food Saver to help keep it fresh in the freezer for longer.
Don’t be wasteful. One of the major things to remember when you’re trying to feed your family real food is to not be wasteful. Use every morsel and make sure your family knows why you aren’t being wasteful. Food is expensive, so it’s best to not be wasteful. That doesn’t mean you have to make your kids clean their plates, but it does mean you should encourage them to take only what they can eat in one meal, and store the leftovers for future meals.
Making food from scratch is much cheaper. It’s hard to believe that whole foods are cheaper, but they are! Real food gets easier every time you make them from scratch. It’s just getting down the routine of making things yourself. A real food breakfast might look like an omelet with a side of bacon. Dinner might be chicken noodle soup!
Once you get past the whole idea that healthy foods are more expensive than non-healthy foods, it gets easier. While healthy food is a little more expensive, isn’t it worth it to ensure you and your family are healthy? I think so! These tips are just what you need to manage feeding your family real food on a limited budget.
More Tips for Eating Whole Foods on a Budget:
How To Cut Your Grocery Bill While Eating Real Food
How To Reduce Food Waste And Save Money On Groceries
How To Buy Whole Foods On A Limited Budget
Simple Ways To Make Organic Foods Affordable
Depression Era Tips To Stretch You Food Budget
How To Eat Healthy On Food Stamps
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Diane says
Good info! I would like to add one suggestion from growing up poor in the 1950’s. Meals were always delicious because my mom and grandmother made delicious sauces and gravies. We ate really cheap cuts of meat, such as scrapple, and over-ripe fruits and veggies that had been marked down by the grocer. But the sauces and gravies poured over them made the meal quite tasty. They are easy and quick to prepare.