Loving Less Expensive (and Junky) Food

by Mary Ann Romans | More from this Blogger

25 May 2008 11:49 AM

Are the rising food prices killing your budget? Why not make some changes to adapt your family to more home cooked meals. They are generally less expensive and offer better nutrition. This is the third article in a series today in which I talk about how our food palate can influence our food choices and our budget. By training your pallet, to less expensive food, you can seriously reduce your food bill. If you missed the two earlier articles, click here: The Frugal Palate Phenomena and Training the Frugal Palate.

Let's continue.

My own kids tend to prefer home cooked meals. I'm not saying that they don't jump for joy at the prospect of McDonalds and the free toy. But they tend to eat more when I make chicken nuggets and fries from scratch, they won't eat the McDonald's fries, choosing apples instead, and they will refuse to eat the stuff when after one bite when it arrives on the table of a friend sans toy or McDonald's identification. Of course they are still kids and will gulp up soda at a friends house if offered to them, something we never buy except for company.

Just be aware that your palate can work against your budget. For example, I love real dark chocolate, and that can get expensive. A friend of mine can satisfy her chocolate craving with a handful of semi-sweet baking chips. Another friend stayed away from chocolate to avoid the caffeine during a medical issue and now has no taste for it at all, even though her doctor has given the okay for it to be put back into her diet in moderation. She struggled in the beginning without the chocolate, of course.

You might be able to use this strategy of adapting the pallet to a more frugal one to your advantage. Pick some food that you spend too much for and see if you can substitute a more frugal one in your diet. It is important to be consistent here but not extreme. Don't serve home made stir fry (yum) for two days and then go out to restaurant chinese food on the third day. Instead, cut out the restaurant food and work on improving your recipes.

Consider eliminating something from your household that is expensive and unhealthy. Substitute home made lemonade for soda, bags of popcorn you can pop yourself for chips, homemade pizza for frozen, casseroles for take out food.

There may be a bit of resistance at first, but with time, you can change your palate to reflect a more frugal lifestyle.

Mary Ann Romans writes about everything related to saving money in the Frugal Blog, technology in the Computing Blog, and creating a home in the Home Blog. You can read more of her articles by clicking here.

Related Articles:

Avoid These Foods

Make Your Breadmaker Work for You

The Frugal Banana

How Much Does It Cost to Eat at Home?

Saving Bread Ends

Frugal Breakfast Plan

Learn more about Mary Ann Romans

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

View Full Profile | More from this Blogger