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The government will not come
right out and say it. The politicians won’t come out and announce it. The
finance talking heads do not declare it. But families all over the country
pretty much know we are facing, maybe already experiencing, a recession.
For most families, the terms
don’t matter. Recession, inflation, stagflation – it all means worrying more
about paying for the necessities. And yes, food is one of the major areas
where prices can outstrip income very quickly. In 2007, the government
figured out a family of four on a very limited food plan, still needed from
$112 to $129 a week to meet basic nutritional needs. This is a rice and bean
diet. For a more liberal, yet still frugal diet – chicken and chuck, for
example – the weekly cost rose to $216 - $252. (See
http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/USDAFoodPlansCostofFood.htm )
Happily, if happy is a proper word when recession is in
the same sentence, food costs are also one of the more easily modified. But
– and most of today’s busy cooks won’t like this a bit – the trade off for
lower food costs is higher kitchen time. You can significantly save on your
food dollar in many ways, from eating at home and avoiding dinners out,
especially fast food, to preparing your own favorite meals, like pizza,
instead of buying the same meal at the supermarket.
The good news in this bad news situation is that you do
not have to sacrifice nutrition and good taste just because you’ll be
spending less. On the contrary. Most home-cooked meals are just as or more
nutritious than supermarket prepared meals, shortcuts, etc. You are saving
on packaging costs and can include ingredients fresher and catered more to
your family’s needs.
If you plan to use kitchen time, tips and tricks to
lower your weekly food costs, you will find plenty of savvy ideas and
recipes on the Internet. The discussion boards are a great resource and many
sites geared to families have extensive discussion boards. Spend some time
finding sites you can use and even contribute to.
For example, several sites recommended setting an
afternoon or some evening time aside on a regular basis to make meals for
the whole week, freezing them, and using them like fast-food takeout meals
or grocery fast food. Make it a family time, if you can.
At
http://personalbudgeting.suite101.com/discussion.cfm/7596 you will find
a long post from a shopper obviously versed in saving food costs. Some of
her tips:
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Stop using cold
cereal. Cook oatmeal, farina, etc. Much, much cheaper and much more
satisfying in that you aren’t hungry in a couple of hours after breakfast.
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Forego the expensive
squeezed orange juice and use concentrate. Save a couple of dollars per
half gallon.
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Powdered milk is as
nutritious and way cheaper than fresh milk.
At the Website
Allrecipes.com
there are a number of recipes designed to cost the minimum and still deliver
taste and nutrition. Like this one, fittingly adapted from the 1930s: |
