When I plan my meals for the month I always look for healthier alternatives I can substitute both in shopping and in recipes.
Eating healthier can be a challenge when your on a budget but if you pay attention to the sales, buy fresh fruit and vegetable in season and substitute simple ingredients in your recipes you can create cheap family meals that are healthy.
Here is a list of some of my favorite simple substitutions:
Eggs/Oil
You can substitute the oil in your favorite recipe with applesauce. For egg allergies (or if you just ran out like me most the time) applesauce can replace the eggs. Applesauce also gives a sweeter flavor when used so for famous oatmeal cake with broiled frosting, now you have sugar and spice with everything nice in it.
Butter
Butter tastes delicious but it just to expensive for my monthly food budget. You can substitute butter with margarine, vegetable oil or of course applesauce in baking recipes.
Whole Milk/Cream
A healthier alternative is to substitute with skim milk.
Cheese
If your recipe calls for Cheddar, Swiss or American cheese, a healthier option can include choosing a low fat cheese or a Mozzarella cheese.
Meat
You can substitute ground beef in your meals with ground turkey for a healthier dish.
Cream Cheese
Use a non fat cream cheese or Neufchatel cheese as a simple substitution.
Baking Chocolate
Simply substitute 3 Tbsp. cocoa powder plus 1 Tbsp. vegetable oil per 1oz. of chocolate as recipe requires.
So if your preparing your dream dinner or favorite dessert simple substituting can be a healthy alternative to any family meal. And don’t forget to watch your local grocery store sales for better bargains on healthier food items.
Leftovers for lunch!! Now I can’t think of any other lunch idea cheaper than leftovers. If we have leftovers from dinner the night before, they magically turn into a lunch menu the next day.
I will even prepare make ahead freezer meals in a larger than needed quantity and store in those plastic Ziploc containers for quick, easy and of course cheap meals.
Here are some ideas for make ahead meals that would make a great lunch.
Family Meals From The Freezer:
(yep kids, leftovers)
- Spaghetti
- Chicken pasta
- Tuna fish casserole
- Homemade mac-n-cheese
- Pasta salad
Those are just a few example of what you can make. These are easy meals and still taste great when reheated. I serve with some carrot/celery sticks with ranch and a can of fruit from the pantry and lunch is done.
And of course my menu still has a place for PBJ sandwiches, top ramen and mac-n-cheese as these are the foods my children prefer to eat but buying food items for convenience is just becoming to expensive. My suggestion: try to balance the two, get a few of the quick and easy meals the kids love to eat but give more effort and attention to basic homemade meals. (I’m starting to think like my mom!!)
How about breakfast, check this out: Cheap Family Meal Ideas For Breakfast
And Let’s not forget dinner, here ya go: Creating “Big Family” Meals On A Budget
If you have any cheap and easy lunch ideas I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
Breakfast was becoming one of the most expensive meals in our house. With the price of milk and cereal these days, I had to get creative and come up with some
family meals for breakfast that cost less but yet still simple and appealing to my kids. Here are a few breakfast tips from a mom who needs simple morning meals that fit in a frugal family budget.
- Instant oatmeal, pears and a glass of milk
- 2 slices of toast, a can of mandarin oranges and a glass of milk
- Leftover waffles from dinner, I toast these in the toaster, banana and a glass of milk
- Pancakes (I buy muffin mixes that you add water to and make pancake batter with them) fruit and milk
- Muffins (if time permits), peaches and milk
- French toast leftovers (see dinner menu) I toast in the toaster, strawberries and glass of milk
And for those days when nothing is going right, I still break out the bowl and spoon and pour a good ‘ole bowl of cereal with milk.
If you have any cheap and easy breakfast ideas I would love to hear from you. Leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail.
Need some easy lunch ideas? Check This Out: Easy Freezer Lunch ideas
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