Feeding your family well... while on a budget
Being a parent is a huge responsibility.
(I know firsthand that we parents hear this a lot.)
And one area that seems so important - but isn’t talked about much - is the responsibility of feeding our families well. It can be really hard to feed our families nutritious meals all the time… especially when you’re on a budget. And I’ve been there! So here are some of my own tips and tricks that worked for me, if you too are on a journey to feeding your family more nutritious meals:
Eat more at home.
This one was hard for me at first. We are so busy! And honestly, cooking was not always something I enjoyed. But with four kids, eating out gets expensive fast. One of the first things I did to try and eat better was to cook most of our meals at home. As I learned to make meals that we really enjoy and make us feel good, I actually began to love cooking!
Plan means in advance.
Full disclosure: I’m still working on getting better at this one! But when I do make a meal plan (which isn’t fancy; it simply means that I plan ahead what I am going to prepare on what days that week), I not only save money at the store, but we also eat more well-rounded meals. There’s nothing worse than coming up with dinner-for-6 on the fly. Meal planning takes the stress out of wondering what we are all going to have for lunch or dinner, and helps us avoid running through a drive-thru!
Start with small swaps.
Early on in my own nutrition journey, I read a lot about PUFAS/seed oils (e.g. canola, grapeseed, corn, and a few other vegetable oils). I now use olive oil (for cold recipes), avocado oil (for cooking with), and butter. Then, because I learned my daughter has a food dye sensitivity, the second thing I focused on was to get rid of anything with food dyes. This is easier said than done because food dyes seem to be in everything these days (even marshmallows contain blue food dye…what?!). After that, I did my best to buy organic or local whenever it was possible/within my means. Organic can be overwhelming and expensive but it doesn’t have to be everything - for me, I focus primarily on fruits/veggies, eggs, and milk products! This whole process happened over time, and began with small swaps here or there, wherever we could make them. And even those small swaps have a big impact.
There are so many areas you could focus on when it comes to nutrition - trust me, I know it can be overwhelming. But eating well doesn’t have to be expensive. And it’s a process. If you start with one small step and choose just one thing that you can manage, that one step can make a big difference - and a lifestyle of healthy eating will come over time.
Allie Martin served as our business intern in Spring 2023. We’re thankful for her knowledge, help, and support!
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