whoisjohngalt
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 14:12:07 GMT -5
Posts: 9,140
|
Post by whoisjohngalt on Dec 18, 2013 18:40:18 GMT -5
Well, if it was just me it would be easier, but it seems that each person in my family has their own different taste. Also, my kids are still trying out things, so I can plan and plan and plan, but... Like last week I made lasagna for the first time. They love pasta, they love cheese, so for sure I thought they would like it. They HATE IT. So, I had to come up with 2 more alternatives dinners.Say what? Do I understand you made each kid a separate dinner. LGW was a finicky eater. The deal was that she had what we were having or she had a peanut butter sandwich. I'm not running a restaurant here. I don't remember having a choice when we had dinner. I ate what was made. Unless I really, really didn't like it but that rarely happened and it was usually only one of the three items served. "two" bc lasagna was suppose to last for two nights, so I had to give them something else. No, I made them the same thing - I actually just heated it meatballs from the night before. No way in HELL am I going to force a kid to eat something he doesn't like. They gave it a good try, chewed and swallowed - that's all I would ask.
|
|
milee
Senior Associate
Joined: Jan 17, 2012 13:20:00 GMT -5
Posts: 12,344
|
Post by milee on Dec 18, 2013 18:53:04 GMT -5
Of course I have had to endure some strange creations; he will try to throw random vegetables in anything, like carrots, peas and green beans in pasta sauce, just no. Not sure about peas or green beans, but carrots are actually wonderful in pasta sauce. Not chunks of carrots - shredded or pureed ones - really add a nice flavor and sweetness to the sauce. Your son may know what he's doing.
|
|
dcmetrocrab
Familiar Member
Joined: Dec 19, 2010 19:50:51 GMT -5
Posts: 527
|
Post by dcmetrocrab on Dec 18, 2013 22:18:37 GMT -5
It doesn't sound like there is much to cut from since you don't buy much junk food. How about growing some of the stuff, like tomatoes, herbs, etc? Is that a possibility? Personally, I wouldn't worry about how much you are spending on food as long as you can afford it. There is nothing wrong with spending a little more to eat better IMO. I agree with ^^. There are SO many factors involved, lifestyle, number of kids, age, type of eaters, who cooks, what people like to eat, cost of living, work stress, etc etc that throwing out an average may not mean much. You are the best judge of what you think you can cut back on. Do you guys routinely throw food out? Any items you know you are paying extra for the convenience? etc etc. My random number is going to be $600 for two dual income workers in a mid to high COLA. This includes eating out. There I said it. A family of 4 will range from $500 to $1000/month. These are DH and my numbers coincidentally, but it looks like it's in alignment with this thread so far too. Our groceries per month are $200, eating out $400. Groceries does not include sundries or alcohol. Food is our hobby, so we eat out 2-3 times a week to check out new restaurants, shop groceries at WF and local farmer's markets. We are not gung ho organic. We brown bag for lunch. We rarely eat meat at home, nearly 95% of the time veggies. Meat is for when we eat out. We don't drink milk or buy juice or soft drinks or eat cereal. When we eat out less, we spend more on groceries and vice versa, it all averages out to $600/month but our "budget" is 200/400. We live in a HCOLA, both work, DH does all the cooking and is an excellent pantry chef where he doesn't cook with recipes nor does he meal plan. He cooks everything from scratch, including things like salad dressing. He looks in the kitchen and makes something based on what we have at hand. We also don't shop with a grocery list, we buy loss leaders or things on sale and make stuff around that. We are not picky eaters, we love leftovers. We eat very well. We have lived on much less before and can cut back easily by changing up where we go. Our grocery budget used to be $120 back when we shopped mainly at Asian markets. I foresee much less eating out if/when kids come along.
|
|
whoisjohngalt
Junior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 14:12:07 GMT -5
Posts: 9,140
|
Post by whoisjohngalt on Dec 18, 2013 22:33:22 GMT -5
It doesn't sound like there is much to cut from since you don't buy much junk food. How about growing some of the stuff, like tomatoes, herbs, etc? Is that a possibility? Personally, I wouldn't worry about how much you are spending on food as long as you can afford it. There is nothing wrong with spending a little more to eat better IMO. I agree with ^^. There are SO many factors involved, lifestyle, number of kids, age, type of eaters, who cooks, what people like to eat, cost of living, work stress, etc etc that throwing out an average may not mean much. You are the best judge of what you think you can cut back on. Do you guys routinely throw food out? Any items you know you are paying extra for the convenience? etc etc.My random number is going to be $600 for two dual income workers in a mid to high COLA. This includes eating out. There I said it. A family of 4 will range from $500 to $1000/month. These are DH and my numbers coincidentally, but it looks like it's in alignment with this thread so far too. Our groceries per month are $200, eating out $400. Groceries does not include sundries or alcohol. Food is our hobby, so we eat out 2-3 times a week to check out new restaurants, shop groceries at WF and local farmer's markets. We are not gung ho organic. We brown bag for lunch. We rarely eat meat at home, nearly 95% of the time veggies. Meat is for when we eat out. We don't drink milk or buy juice or soft drinks or eat cereal. When we eat out less, we spend more on groceries and vice versa, it all averages out to $600/month but our "budget" is 200/400. We live in a HCOLA, both work, DH does all the cooking and is an excellent pantry chef where he doesn't cook with recipes nor does he meal plan. He cooks everything from scratch, including things like salad dressing. He looks in the kitchen and makes something based on what we have at hand. We also don't shop with a grocery list, we buy loss leaders or things on sale and make stuff around that. We are not picky eaters, we love leftovers. We eat very well. We have lived on much less before and can cut back easily by changing up where we go. Our grocery budget used to be $120 back when we shopped mainly at Asian markets. I foresee much less eating out if/when kids come along. yes, I do think I throw away stuff. But 99% of the time we don't buy things for convenience That's what makes me stop and go "ummm" - we used to spend $300-$450 on food before kids. I can not believe 3 little kids are eating over $500 worth of food a month!!!!! I need to find out where it's all going.... ETA: yes, when we lived in MD, I shopped for produce at the Asian store. But I don't think our local grocery store here are that much more expensive.
|
|
steph08
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 3, 2011 13:06:01 GMT -5
Posts: 5,504
|
Post by steph08 on Dec 19, 2013 8:26:10 GMT -5
Say what? Do I understand you made each kid a separate dinner. LGW was a finicky eater. The deal was that she had what we were having or she had a peanut butter sandwich. I'm not running a restaurant here. I don't remember having a choice when we had dinner. I ate what was made. Unless I really, really didn't like it but that rarely happened and it was usually only one of the three items served. "two" bc lasagna was suppose to last for two nights, so I had to give them something else. No, I made them the same thing - I actually just heated it meatballs from the night before. No way in HELL am I going to force a kid to eat something he doesn't like. They gave it a good try, chewed and swallowed - that's all I would ask. Did you use ricotta cheese? I hate ricotta cheese, so maybe your kids do too! DH and I make lasagna with mozzarella instead. Just an idea.
|
|
Deleted
Joined: Oct 7, 2024 23:45:28 GMT -5
Posts: 0
|
Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2013 8:48:27 GMT -5
I love allrecipes.com.
They have a function where you can enter what ingredients you have and it will find recipes with those ingredients. It really helps coming up with new ideas for the same ingredients.
|
|
Chocolate Lover
Distinguished Associate
Joined: Dec 17, 2010 15:54:19 GMT -5
Posts: 23,200
|
Post by Chocolate Lover on Dec 19, 2013 12:55:58 GMT -5
"two" bc lasagna was suppose to last for two nights, so I had to give them something else. No, I made them the same thing - I actually just heated it meatballs from the night before. No way in HELL am I going to force a kid to eat something he doesn't like. They gave it a good try, chewed and swallowed - that's all I would ask. Did you use ricotta cheese? I hate ricotta cheese, so maybe your kids do too! DH and I make lasagna with mozzarella instead. Just an idea. Or use cottage cheese instead. My oldest, who loves anchovies, won't eat ricotta but is fine with cottage cheese in it. Go figure.
|
|
sarcasticgirl
Junior Associate
Joined: Jan 4, 2011 14:39:51 GMT -5
Posts: 5,155
Location: Chicago
|
Post by sarcasticgirl on Dec 19, 2013 13:20:28 GMT -5
Did you use ricotta cheese? I hate ricotta cheese, so maybe your kids do too! DH and I make lasagna with mozzarella instead. Just an idea. Or use cottage cheese instead. My oldest, who loves anchovies, won't eat ricotta but is fine with cottage cheese in it. Go figure. or goat cheese... yyyuuummmmm
|
|
|
Post by The Walk of the Penguin Mich on Dec 19, 2013 13:24:58 GMT -5
Hmmmm.....think I'll make lasagne for dinner tonight!
Thanks for the idea.
|
|
shanendoah
Senior Associate
Joined: Dec 18, 2010 19:44:48 GMT -5
Posts: 10,096
Mini-Profile Name Color: 0c3563
|
Post by shanendoah on Dec 19, 2013 13:31:03 GMT -5
We cheat. C loves to cook and try new recipes. Pop Tart is still quite limited in her pallet (we're slowly changing that). She has to try what he makes. Often, he has her try the sauce or whatever it is before he serves. If she likes it, she gets it. If she doesn't, she gets chicken nuggets.
Yes, they are processed, but they take 30 seconds/nugget in the microwave to heat up. It lets C still be experimental with his cooking without feeling guilty if Pop Tart doesn't like the food. She doesn't have to eat something she doesn't like, and she doesn't go to bed hungry. She has gotten nuggets the last two nights because C made a paprikash(sp?) on Tuesday night that she didn't like, and we had the leftovers of that last night.
So far this year, our combined grocery/eating out budget has been about $850-900/month for 3 adults, 1 child, and two smallish dogs. However, I don't think that can compare to other people's numbers very well because I don't separate out my CostCo receipts, which just go straight to the grocery budget. So I know that number includes some clothes, cleaning supplies and other household items.
|
|