A Balanced Meal Plan that Kills Lots of Birds with One Stone

Dear TEAMS,

This post will make more sense after you reference this document.

As I write this entry, there are 5 of you at home, 2 of you being adults.  Our youngest is 14.  And you have this interesting habit of wanting to eat.  (Well, not all of you, but that is for another day…)

The “Cheap vs. Inexpensive” Bird

I am thankful that your father and I grew up the way we did.  Being children of a farmer/blue collar worker and college professor/homemaker, respectively, meant that food was valued because it was paid for with very hard-earned cash.  Our fathers worked hard to earn the money, our mothers worked hard to make the money last, and the yield showed up at the supper table.  After the divorce of my parents, I ate a lot of WIC peanut butter and generic Velveeta…and not a lot of diverse foods.  The upside to that is that I learned early on what the difference is between food that is “cheap” and food that is “inexpensive.”

For instance, “cheap” food was the generic frozen cream pie for $0.79, or hot dogs, or frozen breaded veal patties.  “Inexpensive” food was dried rice, dried beans, and eggs.  The cheap food had very little nutritive value, although it calmed a growling tummy at least for a little while.  The inexpensive food lasted longer in my tummy, and hindsight and years of education now tells me it was infinitely better for my growing cells.

Our downstairs pantry after an 8-week shopping trip

Unfortunately, sometimes decisions were made based on the number at the bottom of the cash register receipt than what the food actually cost.  For instance, if I ate a slice of frozen custard pie or toasted white bread with margarine, I came back to the kitchen sooner for more food because the simple carb energy of the food was used up faster in my body.  Calorically, I might eat the same amount in one 24 hour period, but I consumed a higher quantity of cheap food than inexpensive food.  This meant supplies were depleted sooner, which meant we had to go back to the grocery store sooner, which meant more money was spent sooner.  Cheap food really wasn’t even saving money.

Fast forward to having 5 young children and trying to make the supper table yield the same as our mothers before us.  Plus, I had completed my Nutritionist certification.  Your father couldn’t understand why I would pay extra to buy frozen pizza with legitimate whole wheat crust or stone ground whole wheat bread instead of simply wheat bread.  The answer was to explain to him the difference between cheap food and inexpensive food…and he came around once I ran the numbers for him.

So over the years, I have compiled a menu of inexpensive foods to feed our family.  It’s fairly basic.  I wish that I could buy organic, and I wish that I could make everything from scratch.  But I cannot do what I do and accomplish those goals as well.

The “Knowing How to Prepare Food” Bird

I have also felt that to be a successful adult, you should probably know how to prepare food yourself, which is why I started you all cooking at least one supper by the time you were age 10 or so.  As of the date of this blog, I have you all cooking one day per week, with S cooking 2 days because he has the most to learn.  It has worked well, and over the years there are now probably 30 different meals you have the knowledge to fix.  You are far beyond your peers with that, and it will serve you well when you are on your own.  You’re welcome.

The “Saving Lots by Buying in Bulk” Bird

One of the benefits of having this menu is that when I buy, I only have to do one big shopping trip every other month.  Saves time.  Since I need so much for 8 weeks, I can buy the bigger boxes/quantities which have a cheaper unit price.  Saves money.   I am only going to the Country Store in Mount Joy  once per 8 weeks.  Saves gasoline.

The “Satisfy the Junk Food Craving” Bird

You will notice the meal plan has some {GASP} processed food on it.  A few months ago, I tallied up how much we were spending at Taco Bell, Wendy’s, and Metro Pizza and realized that we were dropping $80 on cheap food.  I realized we could get some better-than-fast food for much less money than what we were paying and still have the convenience and “break” from cooking.  So, that is why you will see the frozen food and chips.  While I wish that you didn’t want that food, I am realistic that if I give it to you in modified, measured form, you will probably want less of it when you are out on your own.  

The “Use the Leftovers” Bird

Your Grandma Sharon has that wonderful Russian meal “mustgo” everytime we go out there, and I think there is something to be said for using up the one or two servings of one dish while another person uses up another.  Plus, we eat leftovers for lunch, so that works as well.

I have attached this meal plan here.

Love,