Shopping on a budget
Life with young children is fulfilling and busy! With my wife and me working full- time and our kids in full-time daycare we are on a tight timeline and financial budget. Menu planning and a shopping list help minimize time and cost. However, I am flexible - I let freshness, price and availability influence my weekly planned menus. I would rather use a substitute than chase a hard to find item.
Each week, I plan 4-5 large quantity dinners. The surplus is used for lunches and sometimes we have enough for an additional dinner. For the remainder of the weekly meals we sometimes get take-out after a fun afternoon at the beach or playground! If we need more home-cooked meals, I cook something easy like pasta. Tip - you can add the veggies to the pasta pot a few minutes before the pasta is done - a one pot wonder! Just mix with olive oil and sprinkle with cheese! We always have hummus in the fridge as a quick starter with veggie sticks if the kids are hungry before the meal is ready. I do one big grocery shop and a few quick visits to specialty stores to get specific good quality ingredients.
This way I optimize time and money spent, while getting the precise menu items. For me, specific good quality items are foods that our family loves to eat and we are very particular about. For example, we love tasty olive oil. The brand we buy is single origin, grown by and sold through a cooperative business model. I trust the merchant’s detailed information about the growing practices and purity. The price is above the average, however I do not like the taste of cheaper olive oils - organic or not.
Trusting your sense of taste is the most important criteria when choosing any food. There are several other items that fall into this category. However, sometimes I just buy an acceptable substitute to save time. The most important thing is to eat something good together! In the summer, I go to the local farmers market with the kids. I give them each $10 and they are free to choose any fruit, vegetable and (occasionally) a baked item. It’s a fun activity. Some years during fall/early winter we have subscribed to a CSA veggie box from a local farm. Throughout the year, I go to a local fruit and vegetable market with my 4 year old while our toddler is napping. We look at the shopping list together and our 4 year old selects a few easy to get items and puts them in the cart. I’m also open to my child’s substitute ingredient ideas - often there are good creative suggestions! We buy fruit, veggies, grain, dairy, seeds/nuts, beans/lentils. I’m a firm believer in involving our kids in most adult activities, like shopping. The young children feel included, are engaged, and learn life-skills. The walk to and from the store is also good outdoor exercise.
Tip - take a stroller for the groceries!! When they are busy, I park it outside and take big reusable shopping bags to carry the food out once I’m done with the cart. When it’s not busy, sometimes there is room to park the stroller near the end of one of the isles, near the check-out ;)