Simple Foods

One thing about watching Wartime Farm again is I get encouraged to stretch and simplify meals.  As it stands, we are eating more and more like depression era farmers than modern Americans.  With 6 people to feed 3 meals a day the grocery bill can get quite high.  Two years ago, I was spending around $300 per week on groceries and supplies. Now, I do all I can to keep it under $150...and that is HARD.  

One thing I am trying to avoid is supplementing with pasta.  Yes, we are eating more of it (we have an italian dish once a week and about twice a month I make homemade macaroni and cheese) but I don't want to have it much more than two times per week.  Potatoes are too pricey, neither is rice.  There's also homemade spatzel, and biscuits.  A bag of frozen cauliflower works as a good "starch" dish, too.  

I stretch meat as far as I possibly can, learning to buy and cook cheaper cuts.  I, myself am eating a smaller portion of meat and supplementing that protein loss with eggs.

I'm reconsidering the use of beans and rice for a meal.  At least one vegetarian meal per week wouldn't hurt anyone.  I can make my own soft taco shells and voila!

Being a vintage enthusiast, I have several vintage cookbooks which tout economy.  There are some great ideas in them, but, unfortunately, what was cheap meat back then is more expensive today, like veal.  Veal was cheap meat from needless culled calves.  Now, it's a delicacy.  With Paleo and more natural diets becoming more and more popular, I can't even get chicken feet for free anymore.  

I am also hindered by the sensitive eyes and tastebuds.  I am not a fan of casseroles (and neither is the rest of my family for that matter).  At least half of my children are not fans of soup (I'm working on that one).  Pot pies, while hubby and I love them, the children are not thrilled.  

We have success with meat and gravies with a side of biscuits or potatoes and a veg.  My kids will eat anything in "hotdog" form, so I'd like to get a sausage stuffer and make my own sausages.

A watermelon is fairly inexpensive this time of year and makes a great, refreshing side dish for at least two meals.

I've also noticed that deep frying anything makes it more filling.  I use peanut oil, which is hard to come by around here, but it is soooo good and so easily reusable!  One gallon lasts me half a year.

Picking off the land and making from scratch also stretches a food budget.  Drinking more water instead of juice, tea, coffee or milk helps, too.  (I don't limit my children's milk, though).

Baked goods or air popped popcorn for snacks go a lot farther than prepackaged snacks.  Plus, you can sneak fruits and/or vegetables into a lot of baked goods.

I daresay a homemade apple pie has more nutritional value than a Poptart!

I look forward to a time where grocery shopping is almost needless.

How do you make a meal stretch and save on groceries?