i still can’t believe you have to feed them everyday!
how do other moms keep up with this never ending food consumption?!
this fridge is constantly empty.
feeding seven people a day has become a challenge to me.
and my budget (or lack there of).
i need a new plan…what do you do?
load me up with new ideas people!
elisabeth (bovagoods) - not sure if you are much into coupon-ing, but it seems like everyone where i live is nuts about it. there are people here saving some serious money using coupons. here are my favorite sites:
http://www.moneysavingmom.som
http://www.moneysavingmethods.com
http://www.southernsavers.com
btw, love your blog. my mom used to have the “whatever…” verse stenciled on her kitchen walls. that was back when stenciled walls with flowing stenciled green ivy was all the rage. they recently repainted. i miss seeing those words when i visit. LOVE your house! i am having some serious house envy. i live near charleston, sc and people here want and arm and a leg and a child for the historic homes here. i am from ohio and things are much more affordable there, like kansas. jealous! 😉
Mindy Beeby - I have just recently started reading your blog…love it…and we have had an excellent opportunity to find local churches who participate in AngelFoodMinistries.com and it is incredible. There are some months we don’t do it and it is for anyone no matter your income level. The food they have also has a “menu” of sorts. Really it is super. You can order as much as you want or need and there are specials available as well. We have had several friends who loved this for their big families and especially boys.
Shana - This changed our life…Every month I make a menu – everyone in our family of four has to come up with at least 5 menu ideas (dinner only). Then we write the menu on the calendar, make a list and buy all of the groceries for that month – including snacks! They have learned quickly that if you want a snack at the end of the month you won’t eat two boxes of crackers in one sitting at the beginning of the month! Does our menu look the same most months? Yes! Does it take the brainwork out of 29 other days of the month? Yes! Does it take an hour or two to accomplish every month? Yes! Sometimes I am very creative in where and when I make the list – in the car on the way to a swim meet, yelling ideas from the shower, or just copying last July’s menu and saying “That must have worked!”
Jennifer P. - Uhhhhhmmmmmm….maybe get some chickens. Then you could eat them AND their eggs! Or go to McDonalds looking all pathetic and moneyless—-hey! it worked once :)!
meg duerksen - thanks for the ideas girls!
i will definitely devising a more deliberate plan for sam’s club.
i usually just get whatever i see when i’m there…no planning ahead.
it’s 30 minutes away which is a bummer but worth it once a month.
and thanks for all the other sites. i will be checking them out when i am ready to get organized. 🙂
Nancy - Visit http://www.orgjunkie.com for menu ideas every Monday. There are more than 100+ folks that participate in this each week, many of whom have fabulous ideas for frugal shopping / menu planning on their blogs. I’ve found many resources this way! Good luck! I only have 4 to feed daily and I’m with you on this one.
Liz - I don’t think there’s an easy answer to that one. The problem in our house is we’re sick of eating the same old, same old. I need new recipes!
kim in Camas - ScrapToMyLu - wow, seven people! Pasta pasta pasta. Or rice rice rice…….it’s cheap.
cynthia - our fridge looked like that until this afternoon!
as far as what to feed a family of 7, i’m probably not much help with only the three of us…but what i do is make a menu for the week, make a list (stick to it for the most part) and head to the grocery store! i’ve found that this way we are not wasteful and usually end up eating everything!
i’m a planner, can’t help it!
Sara - Oh, it helps if you have a pizza restaurant, then you can always get a free meal whenever you want, AND someone else does the dishes.
So, consider opening a pizza place in your town! You have enough kids to make it work! ha ha.
Of course if you eat pizza 5x week it tends to show up on the scales. Yikes. Somehow the diet coke doesn’t offset the pizza.
Pattie - SAMS! It’s a lifesaver.
We have a minimum of 4 teenage boys at our house almost all the time. I grill chicken breasts by the ton and they use them for quesadillas, pizzas, nachos, salads or whatever. Same with most meat, I grill a lot of extra. Mine like paninni sandwiches too so I keep deli meat. I used to not have a ton of junk food but, I sent them to the grocery store this week to find stuff they liked and they came home with hot dogs, ice cream, chips, tons of fruit (yea!) hamburgers, and like 5 boxes of pop tarts ha. We also go through gallons of tea, gatorade and bottled water.
The thing I hate more than all the food they eat is all the dishes and dirty countertops that are left when they leave.
johnnie - Ugh, grocery shopping and getting gas in the car are my least fav. chores! I have a pre-teen boy who eats more than the other 3 of us..I get recipes emailed to me, and I stick them in a folder in my email and grocery shop for the week accordingly..I also double everything and have leftovers.. I also crock pot alot and have some great crockpot cook books.. check out the library and photocopy your favs..
kraftfoods.com (sign up for their free magazine and email “e-zine” – great fast ideas)
campbells.com
jimmydean.com
http://crockpot365.blogspot.com/ great blog for ideas too! 🙂
good luck!
One Wired Woman - My two boys are eating me out of house and home this summer too. I’ll have to hack some of your visitor ideas here in the comment section. 🙂 ~Jill
Lee Ann - I’m not much help. I only have two little ones who would eat PBJ every meal. I just need new ideas. Especially in the summer. I’m lazy. On the flip side….I WISH my fridge looked as clean as yours. Maybe this week.
danelle - We do a lot of ramen noodles during the summer. And popsicles for snacks. You ever shop at Aldi’s? I used to go there more often but I remember their prices being cheap.
Lindy - 1. http://www.thegrocerygame.com – BEST thing I’ve ever done as far as saving money on food goes. Message boards for Hot Tips on savings. The members blow me away with how they save money. You gotta clip coupons but it is SO worth it.
2. http://www.supercook.com – plug in the ingredients that you have on hand and it will give you ideas for making less trips to the store.
3. Applebees has .99 dinner on Wednesdays for 12 and under.
4. Look at your local Kids Pages for what restaraunts have kids night discounts.
LOVE your blog – can’t get enuff of your photography!!!!
amy d - start running it like a restaurant and make up a cute little menu on your chalkboard door and then START CHARGING THEM!!! 🙂 oh, and put out a tip jar!
holly - Wow, your fridge is clean! Love your blog & visit daily. Thanks for sharing.
We are a family of five. I usually ponder over my cookbooks on Sunday and pick 3 meals (one of which is usually a slow cooker recipe). I grocery shop weekly and Costco is usually a monthly outing. I double recipes so there’s always leftovers for lunches/dinners. Oh and those rottisare (sp?) chickens are magical in so many recipes. Feel free to email me & I’ll share the cookbooks I love.
Thanks again for your inspiring and happy blog.
xoxoxoxo,
Holly
traci - i wish i could help you but it seems like my fridge looks like that all the time too. i no sooner hit a couple grocery stores, fill it up and i hear “mom, there’s no food” – and it’s empty again. just wait till the boys get a little older.
Jenny Pocknall - On the upside, your fridge is very clean and tidy!
One thing we do and our kids love it – lots of spaghetti bolognese (or bolognaise). It is cheap to cook, and easy to freeze. And we always grate in a few carrots and zucchinis.
Brenis - LOL !!
Sam’s club or Costco!! We make a trip monthly and usually end up buying most things on alternating months (w/ exception of meats, cheese and TP which we need every month! lol) Farmers markets for fruits and veggies twice a month, if you don’t have a veggie garden. Buy alot if it’s on sale and freeze it – and having an extra freezer is a must for us!! And yes.. always making more than we need and having left overs works wonders!
Good luck hon!! I know what a struggle it is. Cooking has become a chore anymore and i cringe each day it’s time to cook! LOL!
hugs,
Brenis 🙂
I can’t believe HOW CLEAN your fridge is!! Did you just clean it for this photo?? LOL!!
Mine always has spills of this or that with 6 of us in and out of it! 🙁
Dayna - I know you like gardening, have you tried a veggie garden? We started growing our own veggies last year and I can’t even tell you what a reduction we have had in our grocery bill! I also cook large batches of food/baked goods on the weekend, and divy them upthroughout the week. Buy in bulk at a warehouse club or health food store, make freezer meals. I do a lot of from scratch cooking, which seems to help a lot. AND it’s healthier, too.
chris - Sorry I am baffled , and sick of the constant chore of grocery shopping and trying to make everyone happy at all with food selections, 10 years has drained me from liking cooking, how do we all do it ?
PamperingBeki - I have noticed this more this summer than ever before! It’s crazy.
Tuesdays are Papa Murphey pizza night because you can get a family sized one topping for $6.99. A couple of those will last us a few days for lunches. (along with sides, of course)
And we do a lot of sandwiches. Ugh.
Karol - My refrigarator frequently looks like yours. I, too, am baffled by all the food these people eat in the summer. So, I have been going to Costco and loading up on fruit, snacks, meats, and bread items. It seems to be working and lasting much longer than my constant grocery store visits. Oh, and I am saving money!
Country Girl - I try to cook large suppers and then use the leftovers for lunch…also
PBJ and mandarian oranges
hot dogs and apples
ham and cheese and bananas
chicken nuggets and apple sauce
peanut butter/crackers and green beans
pizza
tacos
i also send them to the neighbors around lunch time and say of they eat look hungry and poor….it works