WHEN I HAD TO FIGURE OUT how to stretch the FOOD BUDGET and make a bigger meal out of almost nothing,
it came down to this....with a growing family, a nice meal can be stretched by using a filler such as:
1) bread
2) pasta
3) rice
4) potatoes
Very affordable side kick to stretch a meal and make it even larger. Pick one filler to go along with meat, fruit, and vegetables. With these fillers comes lots of options. I learned a while back that vegetables are very affordable also a great filler. Have a couple different vegetable dishes to serve up with a meal.
I usually always had meat to build around. Vegetables added. A little fruit and ALWAYS a filler. A beverage. Desserts as well.
Egg dishes go a long ways. So do potato meals. I'd fix large amounts of rice and the kids would eat left over rice by making a rice cereal out of it. A little sugar. A little milk. It was tasty and very filling. Bedtime snacks many a night was cereal.
My dear 'ole Dad didn't think a meal was a meal without BREAD and BUTTER. Bread at every meal. TOAST for breakfast. Sliced bread with butter at Lunch and Supper. He grew up in a large German family where sometimes all he had for a lunch was a piece of bread. If Mom didn't have bread on the table, he'd growl.
After I married, it didn't take long to copy this trend when they came to visit. ABSOLUTELY NO celery. Bread a must. When they visited, if I didn't have bread on the table, my Dad would ask, "Where's the bread?" I'd let my folks get away with this.
Though it is our HOME, I'd try to honor my folks because I respected them. When I'm at other people's HOMES, I respect them by eating what they serve and don't ask where's the beef, etc.?
I'd let my folks get away with this.
Also, when staying with others, I don't go out to eat before the others are up from sleep or because I don't like what they have fixed for a meal. RUDE to say the least.
When pinching pennies, I'd substitute ground beef with ground turkey. We seldom ate out, but would have the help of a frozen pizza or pizza bits. The kids loved these. Sandwiches and soup. Seldom TV Dinners.
I always tried to have balanced meals with all the food groups. I confess as EMPTY NESTERS, we eat out more than ever. When at HOME, we have lots of salads. I started collecting Salad recipes to help this old woman make BUNCHES of lunches being salads. Adding interest with nuts and fruit to combo salads.
S T R E T C H i n g the budget still is an ART FORM that takes practice. What say you?
Sometimes it isn't what you serve your loved ones, but how you serve it. WITH LOTS OF LOVE and charm.
Google if you don't know who the Delany Sisters were. The Delany Sisters would fix milkshakes for their evening meal. Both Ladies lived well into their 100s. Hummmmm. Milkshakes!
Making HOME a priority,
d
