How to Feed Your Family Well on Less

Just a few simple strategies will help you feed your family well on less, whether this means less food, less money or less time.

Feeding a family well is not just about preparing, cooking and serving food. It begins with deciding what to eat and collecting the ingredients. And the eating is as important as the cooking. Feeding a family is not just about food. The effects of the way in which we feed our families have physical, psychological, spiritual, ethical and moral implications.

Feeding a family is done best by a family. Involve even the youngest members of your family in all aspects. They will feel they are appreciated and valued, and they will be learning valuable life skills at the same time. The phrase, "A family who play together stay together," can be related to cooking and eating. Cooking a meal together can be great fun and eating together, especially in the evening, allows us all a chance to share our day, our thoughts, our ideas or our plans.

Planning

Make a written plan of your weekly menu and write a complete shopping list. Planning ahead avoids buying unnecessary things when shopping. (Plan to shop at a time when you're not hungry or stressed, to avoid impulse buying.)

Planning also saves time and makes feeding the family a less daunting thing to do, when you arrive home from work, frazzled and uninspired.

It allows the family to compromise on meal choices so everyone gets their favourite and so that younger members can cook simpler meals.

It means we get a good idea of how balanced our diet is.

Planning means we are less likely to buy more than we need, which avoids wasted food being thrown out.

Plan for healthy snacks too. Make flapjack or muesli bars. Keep a selection of fresh and dried fruit, and vegetables that are lovely to eat raw, like carrots and red peppers.

Shopping

Try to avoid "convenience" shopping. Convenience stores tend to be more expensive and convenience food tends to be less healthy. Planning your weekly menu and shopping list will help avoid the need for last minute convenience shopping.

Buy fresh, local, seasonal food. This will mean the food is healthier, cheaper and kinder to the planet, minimising food miles.

Shop around for bargains, or shop at local markets where you will be able to haggle prices. Make friends with your local butcher, fishmonger, perhaps even a local farmer. They will all have the best year-round choice of fresh food at excellent prices and will be glad to help you.

Storing

Store food to lengthen its life. Fruit and vegetables should be stored in a cool, dark place, with ventilation, preferably individually. Fruit and veg can be stored for almost an entire winter in this way. Use any fruit and veg past its best to make juices, puddings or sauces.

Store bread in a cool, dark, dry place too. Use up older bread for toast, croutons or bread and butter pudding.

Dairy products and meat should be stored in a fridge at the correct temperature. (Don't store fresh meat or frozen meat with cooked meat.) Ensuring the fridge or freezer has an intact seal will not only ensure your food is kept at the optimum temperature but will use less electricity and so save you money on fuel bills while helping the environment too.

Keep your store-cupboard essentials topped up. There are some basic ingredients from which you will always be able to cook a meal from scratch. Check your cupboards when you make your weekly menu plan and shopping list. If you keep a good supply of these ingredients, you will survive a week with less money than usual, if you have extra bills to pay, for example, or a school uniform to buy.

Preparing and Cooking

Planning your menu allows you to provide quick and easy meals when you will be pushed for time or energy, or to plan more time preparing meals together as a family when possible. This not only encourages conversation but develops necessary skills.

Healthy food is food that is prepared taking health and hygiene aspects into consideration; keeping hands and surfaces clean, and ensuring food is cooked properly, for example.

The way you cook can affect your fuel consumption; convection ovens are the most fuel-efficient. Try to avoid opening the oven door while you're cooking and use lids for pans on the hob.

Cook extra and freeze; cooking two of something in the oven, perhaps a lasagne, uses the same amount of fuel as cooking only one. Making double the amount of stew or soup on the hob means you will only have to defrost and heat it through thoroughly another day, rather than start from scratch (saving you time as well.)

Make use of seasonal gluts by making preserves.

Don't overcook food. This destroys vital nutrients. Eating raw food whenever possible (salads, fruit salads, vegetable dips) will save money and provide a boost of essential vitamins and minerals.

Encourage your family to eat regular meals, rather than grazing all day, or going all day with nothing to eat and bingeing in the evening.

Make pack-ups for lunch. Encourage the kids to make their own.

Eating

Starting every morning with a healthy breakfast is important to both the physical and intellectual work we will be doing throughout the day.

Eating at the table as a family is important when trying to feed a family well on less. It makes an occasion of eating, making a meal last longer. This helps us digest our food better, meaning we get the best out of it. It also means we appreciate the food more. It means you are always aware of what they are eating and can be sure they are getting a balanced diet.

But perhaps most importantly, it means you get the chance to spend some quality time together as a family which feeds the soul.

Growing Your Own Food

This is food for a whole post on its own! I'll try and do a post soon about gardening as a family. Kids love getting mucky in the garden and even adults get excited by growing things. Growing food to eat is easy, costs very little and keeps you healthy in so many ways.

Bon Appétit!

A well-fed family is not just fed the right things, but is fed the right way. It doesn't take much food, or money, or time and effort to feed a family well. It just takes a little thought and planning, a lot of teamwork and love. Feeding a family well means feeding more than their tummies, it is about the way we feed them as well as what we feed them.

:o)