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07 Mar 2007 10:17 AM

Free Government Suggestions for Thrifty Food Choices

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

The Federal Citizen Information Center is offering an online publication with its suggestions for thrifty and healthy food choices. The publication covers all sorts of information, such as safe food handling practices, but the thing that interests me the most is the chart showing two weeks worth of thrifty menus.

The menus show a daily arrangement of breakfast, lunch, dinner and snack choices that won't cost very much to prepare and enjoy. The menu is based on feeding a family of four. or more specifically, two adults and two children ages six to eleven years old. While your family may not fit into that guideline, you can take advantage of some of the ideas presented by these menus.

Many of the menu choices offer links to simple recipes, such as turkey patties, potato soup and baked beans for lunch choices, and turkey stir fry, saucy beef pasta and turkey-cabbage casserole for dinner choices.

The Federal Citizen's Information Center meals seem to be using the most basic frugal meal practices to save money. For example, the meals are mostly made from scratch with very few convenience foods. Home made meals always cost less that using convenience foods. The meals also emphasize only small amounts of meats, poultry and fish, which tend to be expensive, and combine those amounts with larger portions of less expensive ingredients, such as rice, pasta and beans.

I think the menus could definitely be improved upon with some changes to make them even more frugal. Many of the meals call of english muffins, for example. I would probably substitute homemade breads, especially those with whole grains, to save even more and add to the nutritional value of the meal. And I definitely wouldn't serve white bread on a regular basis.

Still, the menus are a good place to start, especially for those who are new to frugal cooking and don't know where to start, or those who are looking for a few new ideas for thrifty meals. The structure of having a predictable menu may be a great bonus for anyone who doesn't have time to plan out their frugal meals.

Take a look at the government's plan and let me know what you think. To access the menu, click here.

What suggestions do you think are great and what would you change?

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Cooking by Numbers Makes Pantry Shopping Easy!

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

Mary Ann Romans is a freelance writer and mother of three children. She lives in Pennsylvania with her husband, the kids and a 16-pound cat.

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