Annette’s best advice when it comes to grocery shopping within your budget is to keep it simple and include plenty of snacks for the kids.
“Don’t buy prepackaged chips, yogurt cups, granola bars, crackers, cheese, or lunch meat, because they’re too expensive,” she says.
Instead, she says to boil eggs and buy vegetables that are in season. She also suggests getting the kids involved. They can peel their own carrots and pop their own popcorn with an air popper
“In the fall, apples can be thirty-three cents a pound. In the winter, there are all types of citrus; in the spring, strawberries, and in the summer, melons, cherries, and blueberries. Get your kids addicted to fruits and veggies.”
She also mentions keeping two lists: one to track what is there and another for the kids to mark what they’re eating.
“Kids need to know where things are in the kitchen. They can’t eat the whole bag of carrots and not tell Mom,” she says.
She reminds parents that growing and baking your own foods can be a bonding experience with your children. “I know people are tight on time, but … Kids can learn to make banana bread and blueberry muffins. Do it on the weekend if you need to do it with them for a while, and then you can freeze them.”
Edible landscaping, which can include dwarfed fruit and nut trees, or simply planting pumpkin and sunflower seeds, can teach kids where their food comes from, as well as provide healthy snacks. The same goes for smoothies. She says that kids can learn nutrition while making tasty combinations such as apples and cinnamon. She also buys string cheese on sale for as cheap as four-to-eight for one dollar, while tortilla chips and salsa is another snack that won’t destroy your budget.
And while the Consumer Expenditures survey in 2005 said that spending on food away from home rose across all income brackets for families, the Economides are still keeping it within their range.
“Every business has a budget. What makes us think that a family can be successful without a budget? But America has convinced us differently, which is why families are in trouble.”
