*Feed Your Family $10 A Day Challenge*(AT HOME)

[neatokimmo]

Do any of you make waffles from scratch? Do you have a favorite recipe? I thought about making a bunch and sticking them in the freezer.

I found a $12 Cinderella Waffle Maker at Ross last week

 

[samanthacatangel]

Do any of you make waffles from scratch? Do you have a favorite recipe? I thought about making a bunch and sticking them in the freezer.

I found a $12 Cinderella Waffle Maker at Ross last week

I do! This is my 4DD's fav - we have a Pooh/Tigger waffle maker, and I make a bunch every 2 weeks and freeze. She eats one every morning, no syrup. (She isn't a "dipping" kind of kid)

http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Whole-Grain-Waffles/Detail.aspx

They are super healthy and really yummy, even DH loves them.


Samantha

 

[dawn1967]

I make everything homemade. I get 10lbs flour for for 2.00 a bag in whole wheat and 1.59 for bleached. So i make waffles for everyone every other morning and homemade bread and jelly i get jelly from smuckers for like .99 a large jar. With milk this is very filling for the kids and hubby. For lunches it's very simple Tuna .50 or less a can with mayo relish and green onions for 4 it's usually under 1.50. Dinner is always chicken or turkey i get 1lb of ground turkey breast for 1.08 and on sale for .88 chicken i only buy at .69 lb I found after taking a nutrition class at the local community college that buying fresh veggies and fruit isn't always as healthy as frozen. Fresh fruits and veggies loose vit content after 48 hrs most on the grocery shelf are over a week old. frozen is usually frozen same day it was picked. So frozen at times is better. Unless you go to the local farmer's market your not always getting the healthy diet you think you are.

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

We have a similar program here that we do participate in. Our school had to fight for a grant to get it, but they did. My understanding is that we have so many children in our school district who receive free and reduced lunches, they are concerned that these children won't receive addequate nutrition during the summer break. So that's why they offer free breakfast and lunch.

WE qualify for reduced lunches as well, so I certainly don't mind taking part in the "free summer lunch" program. Last year the school was nearly begging people to participate and come get the free lunches. If they didn't have enough interest we'd lose the grant for our area.

Adults eat for $2.60, so we do this a few times a week. (although that is a fairly expensive lunch for me! I can eat much cheaper than that at home!)

~B

 

[dawn1967]

We have this lunch program here for a few years my kids love it. We go to lunch and then spend time playing in the school park which is also the city park and have fun we are a 1 income family and anything to do with the kids for free is great. I usually send the kids in to eat i have a quick 15 min to myself and then they play after this also gives them a chance to see friends or make new friends since where we live they are the only kids on the block. This is a winwin for everyone.

 

[TNKBELL]

I make everything homemade. I get 10lbs flour for for 2.00 a bag in whole wheat and 1.59 for bleached. So i make waffles for everyone every other morning and homemade bread and jelly i get jelly from smuckers for like .99 a large jar. With milk this is very filling for the kids and hubby. For lunches it's very simple Tuna .50 or less a can with mayo relish and green onions for 4 it's usually under 1.50. Dinner is always chicken or turkey i get 1lb of ground turkey breast for 1.08 and on sale for .88 chicken i only buy at .69 lb I found after taking a nutrition class at the local community college that buying fresh veggies and fruit isn't always as healthy as frozen. Fresh fruits and veggies loose vit content after 48 hrs most on the grocery shelf are over a week old. frozen is usually frozen same day it was picked. So frozen at times is better. Unless you go to the local farmer's market your not always getting the healthy diet you think you are.

That's reassuring, I use mostly frozen because it's easier to control portion size and I don't have to worry about trying to use it before it goes bad.
Where do you buy your flour?

 

[TNKBELL]

We have a similar program here that we do participate in. Our school had to fight for a grant to get it, but they did. My understanding is that we have so many children in our school district who receive free and reduced lunches, they are concerned that these children won't receive addequate nutrition during the summer break. So that's why they offer free breakfast and lunch.

WE qualify for reduced lunches as well, so I certainly don't mind taking part in the "free summer lunch" program. Last year the school was nearly begging people to participate and come get the free lunches. If they didn't have enough interest we'd lose the grant for our area.

Adults eat for $2.60, so we do this a few times a week. (although that is a fairly expensive lunch for me! I can eat much cheaper than that at home!)

~B

Sometimes I stop by MCd's and grab a snack wrap for my lunch. Here it is $3.00 for adults. I guess if you figure in the cost of gas , I'm probably not saving very much $. We qualify for the WIC program which we don't participate in, but we do a couple of free lunches during the summer per week.
It's the same way here, they have been doing a lot of press with the lunch program to encourage people to attend because they get reimbursement for each child that participates and that creates more revenue for the local school system, according to the articles I have read.

 

[dawn1967]

We get most of our pantry items of flour and sugar and baking powder at our Local Food 4 Less but Winco we get the rest of our baking stuff such as yeast and cocoa it just depends this is the time of year to stock up on flour and just put in your refrigerator. When i see it really cheap i buy it and just refrigerate it. I have learned if i can buy it frozen or packaged i can make it cheaper. Only thing i buy prepackage is my pasta we eat alot of that but i been told i make great egg noodles.
Also the food program here is great the more they feed the bigger the grant and more money for kids at school.

 

[Swimnoid]

Now that's a great idea. How long would it keep frozen in the cooler in a hot car on the road to Disney? Please tell me it would be OK after 15 hours or so.

I had a 2 quart pitcher in a big cooler filled with other frozen or cold food. It was just beginning to thaw after 10 hours. I didnt pack any extra ice or anything with it. If I had it would have stayed more frozen longer.

 

[dawn1967]

I like that! I love trying new stuff, and hearing about what everyone else fixes.

My family hated brown rice to begin with, but we started using it half and half with hamburg, and seasoning (cumin, garlic, tumeric) in burritos, and tacos. It broke them in gently!

I started doing the half and half thing with my family on the brown rice now they don't even realize they are eating it. The kids had white rice at there grandma's i'm sure it was instant also and they said it tasted funny lol

 

[disneymom3]

dawn--first off I wanted to say welcome to the DIS boards. Looks like you are new.

I use brown rice too. My family never even noticed a difference! I did though--do you guys find you have to cook it longer than white?

Kids had cereal for breakfast and went to Grandma and Grandpa's for the day where they fed them so much stuff they weren't even hungry for dinner! (DH and I went out to lunch though so that did not help our budget for the day. Good time with some friends though.)

Went to the store today to use the good coupons. B1G1 free meatballs (can't make them for less than that!) free grapes, B1G1 free half gallon of milk, and Quaker products 9 for $12. Bought a LOT of cereal/granola bars for $1.34 a box. No way I can make granola for that cheap either. The honey alone costs me a dollar for the amount I need.

 

[punkin]

We had leftover chinese for most of the day today and I supplemented with some cereal.

I made the cheapest meal known to man for tomorrow: Stewed cabbage w/hot dogs and tomato sauce. $3. We will have it for lunch tomorrow.

I guess, I only spent about $2 for the entire day today, but I spent $60 including tip on chinese food yesterday. That's coming out of our eating out budget (which is about $100 for the month).

 

[faindrops27]

Ok, I will post
Today I skipped breakfast i know no good but I did
3 kids had cereal, and milk, maybe 2.00

Lunch, for me and three children 3 honey turkey sandwiches, 1 pb&j 3.00
Husband had a salad1.50

Snacks, strawberries from the garden, there were like 25 small ripe berries, and a half bag of honey wheat pretzels 1.25

Dinner, chicken drums grilled, frozen green beans, and lipton rice 4.00

11.75 total. I cannot believe I fed my family of 5 a days worth of food for under 12.00. I want to thank everyone for thier tips, and help here. You all have encouraged me to cut corners, and by golly it is working!! Now, hopefully I can keep it up!

 

[mommiepoppins]

today
B- life cereal=70 cents
milk 60 cents
=130

L and dinner combine
summer squash 275
grated cheese 25 cents
spray butter 5 cents
potatoes 1$
butter 25 cents
hot dog and bun 75 cents
hamburgers 4$
cheese 25 cents
ketchup 40 cents
drink water=0
icecram cone 1$
ice cream 387 dh bought it
= 12.84
snack
more squash=0
more grated cheese 25 cents
juicy juice 1$
popcorn 25 cents
oatmeal 25 cents
=175

total for today 15.89
way over buget

we will make up for it during the week.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

But I never see coupons for fruit or veggies, and our are EXPENSIVE.

I think my biggest hurdle is that cherries used to be .99 per pound when I was a kid 20 years ago, and $2.99 on sale seems to be highway robbery, even though I know prices for everyone have increased. In Florida, you'd think they'd be giving away citrus, but even at the orchards, it's still somewhat pricey and the grocery stores are even worse!

This is how I *justify* spending $2.99 on a pound of fruit.

16oz bags of chips are usually 2 for $6. So I could buy 16oz of potato chips for $2.99 and not bat an eye. So would I rather spend the $2.99 on the pound of chips or the pound of fruit?

 

[bellebuzzandpooh]

I haven't taken time yet to figure cost per day, but we keep a very low food budget. Here are a few little ideas for quick easy meals.

Boca Burgers! They are less than $2 for a box of 4. We load them up with green leaf lettuce, tomato, pickles, and regular burger toppings and have pretzels and carrot sticks on the side. It's a super quick easy meal that actually has nutritional value, and is as fast as going through the drive through. (We do these on tee ball nights sometimes.)

"Egg McMuffins" Fried egg seasoned with Lawry's seasoning salt, slice of American cheese, and a whole wheat english muffin. Serve with fresh fruit on the side and Yum-o! (Once in a blue moon I'll add a slice of ham or bacon to the sandwich.)

Hashbrowns and eggs. Buy a bag of off brand hashbrowns and "fry" them (non stick skillet with about 1 tsp of oil) until they're crispy. Meanwhile scramble eggs. (we usually do about 9 or 10 for our family of 4 eaters.) We serve the scrambled eggs on top of the hashbrowns and the kids like ketchup on top while dh likes salsa on top. Serve with fresh fruit (apple wedges, canteloupe, orange slices, or whatever is in season.) And sometimes we do whole wheat toast on the side with homemade fruit jelly.

Potato Skillet. I got this idea from Silver Dollar City, an amusement park in Missouri but it's super easy and inexpensive to make at home! Take several thinly sliced potatoes (about 6 or so for our family) and "fry" them (again in a nonstick skillet with about 1 tsp of olive oil). We sometimes add thinly sliced sweet potatoes as well. Buy a bag of frozen seasoned vegetable mix with okra and pour it in while the potatoes are frying. (Around $1.67 a bag.) Add lots of garlic and black pepper, and I use a house blend seasoning from a restaurant as well. Fry until everything is cooked through and you have some crispy potatoes. (those are the best ones, right?) My kids like ketchup on top of this too. This will make enough to feed all of us dinner, and have plenty of leftovers for the next day. That's a lot of meals for less than $2.00 total!

~B

 

[TNKBELL]

Ok, today for breakfast we had Mickey waffles .50 and juice .50
For lunch we had ground beef with Bque sauce on whole wheat buns 2.10
Dh and I had leftover chicken,pasta and veggies from last night 1.50
For snacks apples, oranges, peanut butter cups(SSHHH!) 1.85
I honestly don't know what is for dinner....Hmmmm, usually Sundays are leftover days and it seems like we do more snacking than meal eating. Maybe omelets 1.25 and nachos for a snack 1.30 and milk to drink 1.25.
So our total is 10.25 oops...darn those peanut butter cups!!!

 

[mommiepoppins]

I started to make my food list for next friday and I really did not have a giant list like normal! I really like this thread it helps me to plan $.

school will be over next week and I have lesss snacks to buy. also less bread ( my kids bring lunch) I think I might be able to shave my food bill for the end of June and the month of July.
I say July only due to I like to stock pile in Aug. I stock pile so I can take off for the month of Dec , so I can use that money towards Christmas dinner . It seems to work well. It is a balanceing act. ( The darn ice cream man is driving by the house right now ) (he is not good for my budget ) ok back to crunching numbers.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

Went grocery shopping today. Spent $48, saved $33. I am also buying for just me and that will last me 2 weeks.

Found stir-fry veggies for 50 cents. I'm going to make stir fry for dinner using the veggies and shrimp I have in the freezer. I'll be making a sauce with ingredients that I already have.

Also talked myself out of buying Lunchables (a treat) and bought turkey and cheese squares to use for lunch (already have the crackers). Using coupons I was able to buy Butoni tortellini and pesto sauce for $1.50 each too. Those will go in the freezer until a later date.

Didn't buy a lot of stuff I didn't need. Bought fruit (using my above logic). The killer were the snacks for my upcomming Disney World trip. But I figured that the $3 pop-tarts and 3/$5 bags of goldfish and 3/$5 of Countrytime Lemon-Aid to go were a better deal then the food court prices.

 

[WatchinCaptKangaroo]

If we stop feeding the trolls our food budgets will go down!!!!!!!!