How To Feed A Large Family Healthy Food On A Budget

Feeding a large family definitely takes some creativity. Picky kids and doubled portions as the norm are hard enough to manage. Add in the fact that fresh produce and other healthier foods are far more expensive than their less healthy counterparts and it can get a bit discouraging.

Here are some hacks I’m using to feed my family of 7 healthy foods on a budget.

Frozen Fruits and Vegetables

Fruits and vegetables that are frozen have been picked at the perfect time in their growing cycle and flash frozen. No added sugars like many canned fruits have! Still just as healthy, but not as costly as fresh produce. Plus, they stay quite nicely in the freezer for much longer than their fresh counterparts.

How do we use them though? I use these for smoothies of all kinds. I like to thaw them a bit and add as a topping on breakfast foods like pancakes and waffles or even to add to pancakes for sheet pan pancakes. I’ve also found that my kiddos love to eat many of the fruits right from the bag still frozen. They say its a great little treat! We often steam the vegetables and add to meals, but they are perfect for adding to any sort of crockpot, pan or skillet meal as well.

Shop Price Markdowns on Meat

I often go to my local Kroger-family store on Sunday mornings before church. Sure, it makes for an early morning. But you really can’t beat the benefit. I’ve learned the cycle for my store is to mark down the meat early Sunday morning. The most common markdowns are 30% off managers special, 50% off expiring soon, and B1G1 FREE. As long as the expiration date hasn’t yet passed, I don’t mind what the date is because I take the meat home and either freeze it or prep it right after church. I have scored some pretty major savings doing this.

This one will take a little trial and error to be sure, but if you have a local moms group on Facebook or in person, you can always ask if someone already knows when the stores near you mark down their meat. Otherwise, try going for your weekly or “forgotten” items at different times of the week or day to figure out when the markdowns occur. If you find someone who is feeling helpful in the meat department, they will sometimes share this information as well.

Make It Streeeeeetch

You can add items into your meals to make them stretch without making them less healthy. Adding in quinoa, beans, or extra frozen vegetables will help stretch the meat without compromising the overall healthfulness of the meal. Did you know black beans can be rinsed and chopped with your ground beef in taco meat and the kids hardly notice? That’s coming from a family of kids who see a bean and run screaming like its a terrifyingly large spider!

Use Your Freezer

Whenever you have leftovers that are on their last days, put them in a labeled Ziploc freezer bag and pop that in the freezer. You can even label them with the amount of food inside. For example, if there is enough for only a few of your family members write “Lunch” on the bag so you remember it is a smaller portion. These are so helpful on days that don’t go as planned, or when you just didn’t have time to write up a meal plan for the day. Plus, it saves your food from going bad and getting tossed, which keeps your money out of the trash as well!

Cook From Scratch

This one can sound scary, but I promise its a lot easier than it sounds! Once you find a recipe you like for your from-scratch item, you can make it in bulk and freeze. My family loves pizza, so I make a sourdough pizza crust and keep several of them in our deep freezer. Personally, I do not like to cook. The less time I can spend in the kitchen, the better! So if I can cook from scratch, so can you!

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