A couple of years ago my husband lost his job…just like a lot of other people out there when the stock market went crazy and our economy tanked. I still had my two businesses (in-home salon and daycare) but I knew we had to make changes to our budget. So the first thing I did was slash what we were buying for meals. I am very healthy when it comes to food…but I had to find a cheaper way! I have started a post periodically, sharing my ideas to cut the food budget, save some money, and still feed my family with some healthy and tasty meals. I would love to hear any food budget saving ideas that readers might have so please feel free to share!
This week’s money-saving tip is concurring your sweet tooth! I have somewhat of a little sweet tooth (who doesn’t?) so I make things ahead of time so that I don’t drop by the local ice cream shop or coffee house. Here are a couple things I do at home to help those sweet tooth cravings without hurting the budget.
• I also make scones to leave in the freezer so that when a friend drops by I can bake up a couple different things in about 13 minutes.
• I bake homemade sweet breads and muffins at least twice a week for after school snacks or a fast breakfast. I can freeze bread or muffins for a later time….when I REALLY have no time!
• I use our ice cream machine and make home made ice cream in 20 minutes outside or the frozen deck (in Minnesota) and then freeze the rest for later use.
1. Pre-heat over to 425 degrees.
Tip: You can freeze unbaked scones. When ready to cook – bake frozen and adjust oven temp to 420 degrees and baking time to 15 minutes.
A couple of years ago my husband lost his job…just like a lot of other people out there when the stock market went crazy and our economy tanked. I still had my two businesses (in-home salon and daycare) but I knew we had to make changes to our budget. So the first thing I did was slash what we were buying for meals. I am very healthy when it comes to food…but I had to find a cheaper way!
Many people ask me how I can I made our food budget go down and still have healthy meals to feed my small army! Well, I thought back to our grandparents and how they used to feed 8 kids on a one person’s salary. They used casseroles, frozen veggies, canned fruits, made breads and always seemed to have a few cookies laying around for the occasional sweet tooth. I went back to buying everything with the generic brand name labels and changed our meal plans.
There was only one problem, I am just like every other busy mom who has NO TIME! So I learned how to prepare things ahead of time and freeze them. I thought I could share some of the information that I have learned and I would love to hear if anyone else has ideas to share. I will be starting a series of posts that should help out the average family.
I would love to hear any food budget saving ideas that readers might have so please feel free to share!