Feeding Your Family on a Budget

All over the world, grocery prices are going up. The increase in the cost of simple staples like bread, cheese, and milk from a few years ago can seem overwhelming, and when you have a family to feed it gets trickier. Before you let the anxiety of feeding your family stress you out, take a few moments to consider what you already have in your cupboards, and what your family likes to eat. You might find you have more meal options than you thought.

There are a few steps and tips to help you make a food budget and stick to it:

The obvious place to start is to make a budget. Gather all the your receipts and credit card statements from the last 3 months, and determine exactly how much you spend on food over the course of a month. That’ll give you a good starting figure. It’s important to have a realistic amount when you start, it’ll help keep you on track. It's also important to try and not compare your spending habits to those of your friends and family, every household is different.

Once you have a figure, withdraw it in cash twice a month or once a week and do your shopping. Using cash to buy groceries goes a very long way in helping you stick to your budget; it eliminates impulse buying and forces you to stay within your budget, when you run out of cash, you have to stop buying! Also, when you limit your trips to the supermarket to once every week, you end up spending less.

Consider what your family eats and find recipes. The quickest way to shave money from your food budget is to do more food prep yourself. Dust off your cook books, explore the internet, and improve your culinary skills. Cooking dinners at home also allows you to add more nutritional value to each meal. If you are short on time, consider doubling or tripling favorite recipes and freezing the extras.

Purchase in bulk. This works well with staple foods like flour, rice, oil, sugar, peanut butter, cereals, potatoes, and canned and frozen vegetables. You’ll always have them on hand, and you’ll get a better price when you buy in bulk.

Cook in bulk. Some recipes freeze very well; soups, tomato sauces, meatballs, and pastas. You’ll save on cooking time and gas, and you’ll always have a ready meal for the days when you’re running late or too tired to cook.

Explore store brands. Especially for staple items like flour, sugar, rice… You’ll find surprisingly good value for your money. Most supermarket chains in Dubai carry their own brands. Try out a few until you find what you like best. You’ll be surprised.

I’ve included a few recipes to get you started:

Fried Rice:

6 cups cooked white rice

6 eggs

1/2 lb left over chicken

1/2 lb left over beef

Vegetables of your choice

Soy Sauce

1/4 cup butter

Mix everything up in a wok, can’t get easier than that! You can make a meal out of your leftovers.

Pasta Sauce:

1 can crushed tomatoes

Chopped onion and green pepper to taste

2 tablespoons vinegar

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 teaspoon sugar

Assorted spices---oregano, Italian seasoning, garlic of some form, fresh black pepper, chili powder--whatever you've got basically

Mix everything in a pot, and simmer for 20 minutes. This recipe freezes very well; you can multiply it and have it ready in your freezer. You can also add meatballs to it, or add it to couscous.

Remember the most important tip is to relax and enjoy cooking. Good luck on your saving and Bon appétit!