I try very hard to cook for my family often. However, our food budget has been slashed, since hubby lost all his student grants and his loans now cover tuition and books only. The grants are all limited, and used up now. Also, rent is not controlled here and has shot up twice in the last 8 months.
So breakfast is almost always eggs and fruit, or plain oatmeal with apple and a little honey in it. Lunch is top Ramen with whatever cheap veggies, usually mushroom and onion, and pb&j and fruit for the munchkin. Dinner staples are bean and rice burritos, spaghetti and fresh salad OR veggie, and bean, pea or veggie soup and bread. We have almost completely removed meat, it is too expensive, particularly since we want to be responsible and buy only free range grain fed, etc. So I get chicken breasts twice a month, and usually make chicken piccatta. We have 2 cans of tuna for emergencies, and thats it.
I have a large jar of capers from last Christmas that should last til next Christmas, and the whole family enjoys lemons, so the piccatta is still going over well.
I'm buying seasonal and local veggies too, so sauted squash is soon going to become the fall veggie dish, perhaps taking a spot instead of bean soup, which we are all tired of.
I find the cost of good seasoning, like fresh basil and thyme for potatoes and veggies, to be well worth it. It makes these simple meals much more satifying.
So breakfast is almost always eggs and fruit, or plain oatmeal with apple and a little honey in it. Lunch is top Ramen with whatever cheap veggies, usually mushroom and onion, and pb&j and fruit for the munchkin. Dinner staples are bean and rice burritos, spaghetti and fresh salad OR veggie, and bean, pea or veggie soup and bread. We have almost completely removed meat, it is too expensive, particularly since we want to be responsible and buy only free range grain fed, etc. So I get chicken breasts twice a month, and usually make chicken piccatta. We have 2 cans of tuna for emergencies, and thats it.
I have a large jar of capers from last Christmas that should last til next Christmas, and the whole family enjoys lemons, so the piccatta is still going over well.
I'm buying seasonal and local veggies too, so sauted squash is soon going to become the fall veggie dish, perhaps taking a spot instead of bean soup, which we are all tired of.
I find the cost of good seasoning, like fresh basil and thyme for potatoes and veggies, to be well worth it. It makes these simple meals much more satifying.
“Eternity is a terrible thought. I mean, where's it going to end?”
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead
― Tom Stoppard, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead