Most Cost Efficient Meals/Snacks...Yucky Medical Bill :(

[SunflowerMama]

Ok long story short I just got off the phone with the insurance company and have an ER visit bill for over $3,000 (why do I have insurance again:confused. So I'm thinking of ways to cut back on costs a bit for the next few months while I take care of this bill.

Currently I'm spending about $150-$200 week for 6 dcks and my 2 kids and husband. I know I can do better than this.

What are your most cost effective and as healthy as possible meals/snacks for the dcks. I do crock pot a little but not as much as I could.

Any cost cutting suggestions??

[jessrlee]

I have a ton of suggestions for you! Would you be willing to pm me your #? I can give you a ring during naptime.

[lil angels]

I need some ideas to!!!

[tenderhearts]

Do you like to clip coupons? You can go to several places online and clip coupons printing them right on your computer, a great place that helps you with all the "deals" is krazycouponlady.com, she teaches you how and she writes out the deals and how to do each one.
This is just one way, there's a lot more. I feed 6 daycare kids plus my family of 4 on $80 - $100 per week, with some times going to $125 but that's maybe once a month - month and a half. I'm sure others on here will have some great ideas too.

[SunflowerMama]

Do you like to clip coupons? You can go to several places online and clip coupons printing them right on your computer, a great place that helps you with all the "deals" is krazycouponlady.com, she teaches you how and she writes out the deals and how to do each one.
This is just one way, there's a lot more. I feed 6 daycare kids plus my family of 4 on $80 - $100 per week, with some times going to $125 but that's maybe once a month - month and a half. I'm sure others on here will have some great ideas too.

What kind of meals/snack do you typically serve the daycare kids to keep it b/w $80 - $100/wk?

[nannyde]

Sun do you make home made bread?

[marniewon]

1. Coupons are great, especially when combined with a store sale.

2. Cook/bake from scratch. Always cheaper.

3. Think outside the box. Want roasted red peppers for your homemade pizza? Or croutons for your salad? Instead of buying pre-packaged, make them yourself. (croutons and bread crumbs are super easy and cheap using heels of bread or stale bread).

4. Go to www.hillbillyhousewife.com for all sorts of money saving tips. They also have a whole week's worth of meals for $45 and $70. Recipes, tips, etc.

5. When you go to the grocery store, always check the "manager's specials" on meat, bread, produce. As long as you use/freeze them right away, they are still good.

Last month, out of necessity, I fed my family of four (myself, dh and 2 teen boys) and 3 full time dc kids for around $200 for the month. All of dc meals/snacks were healthy, and most of my family's were healthy.

[nannyde]

1. Coupons are great, especially when combined with a store sale.

2. Cook/bake from scratch. Always cheaper.

3. Think outside the box. Want roasted red peppers for your homemade pizza? Or croutons for your salad? Instead of buying pre-packaged, make them yourself. (croutons and bread crumbs are super easy and cheap using heels of bread or stale bread).

4. Go to www.hillbillyhousewife.com .

I learned a lot about cooking from hillbillyhousewife. Simple recipes kids really love.

[tenderhearts]

Mains

grilled cheese

Cheese quesadilla (when we have tacos for dinner that way I'm not wasting
refried beans)
corn dog bites-
I cut a turkey dog into 3 pieces cut croissanst in half and roll them so a package of croissants ( .99 for off brand) makes 16 mini corndog bites.

I do the same with pizza except I don't cut them in half, little tom. sauce, sprinkle cheese and roll.
Or
Pizza sub same but on a hoagie roll

Spaghetti, I make enough to have left overs the next day for lunch.

Tuna casserole(same make enough for dinner so there is left overs the next day)
Box mac & cheese(I only use half of the cheese stuff in the box)
crm mush. soup
peas/carrots
tuna
top with a little shredded cheese
pour a little milk so it's not too dry


theres more some ideas

[My Daycare]

With the coupon thing that others mentioned you can pick and choose. If you don't want to do coupon deals on processed food, then don't do the deal. You can save a load of money on cleaning, laundry, hygenic supplies, and kitchen supplies like ziploc bags and tin foil, which can really add up.

I don't buy certain foods with coupons or when there are deals. Although, I do when the deal is on stuff like ketsup, mustard, ect...

You can also make your own cleaning supplies, but I think I read somewhere that you already do.

[cillybean83]

I have a zillion recipes, pm me if you'd like them!

[SunflowerMama]

Sun do you make home made bread?

I do homemade bread and that helps a bit but snacks get me because I always serve some sort of grain/protein with fruit and these kids are bottomless when it comes to fruit. Also my organic milk is from a local farm so that is close to $25 - $30 a week just in milk. I've done homemade granola bars and they usually go for those unless I make them uber healthy .

I'm definitely going to check out hillbillyhousewive.com and I also need to learn how to make homemade tortillas. We do so much with tortillas during the week for lunch and snacks so if I could make those from scratch the could save me a bit too.

[jessrlee]

It sounds like you need to limit portions. It isn't "starving" a child to have one correct potion. It will help them in the long run know what correct portion sizes are. Look at your budget: do you know what you need to spend per child per snack? I spend .25-.40. So if I want to serve an expensive fruit or veggie I will serve it with saltines or a super cheap grain. Give lots of water. You eat a lot more if you are not hydrated. You can make a batch of plain muffins for about nothing, pair it with whatever .99lb fruit your grocery offers that week.

Also- put the word out. I always make it clear that I'm not too proud. If you have extra fruit or veggies you think might go to waste bring em on over! I get gobs of apples in fall, bumper squash crops, tomatoes when mom gets tired of canning, and once 50lbs of spaghetti from a family that aparently hates pasta (they would get it in their Angel boxes) Lol!

[SunflowerMama]

It sounds like you need to limit portions. It isn't "starving" a child to have one correct potion. It will help them in the long run know what correct portion sizes are. Look at your budget: do you know what you need to spend per child per snack? I spend .25-.40. So if I want to serve an expensive fruit or veggie I will serve it with saltines or a super cheap grain. Give lots of water. You eat a lot more if you are not hydrated. You can make a batch of plain muffins for about nothing, pair it with whatever .99lb fruit your grocery offers that week.

I'm sure I do give 2nds and 3rds of foods way too often. I'm a sucker about that. I never give 2nds of fruit until they have at least made a dent in their veggies and main dish but I'll dish veggies and other sides out until they are completely gone.

For lunch today they went through a whole large tub of organic yogurt and a large bag of frozen organic corn and that was in addition to a large cantaloupe and whole wheat pasta with ground turkey veggie sauce. They are just all big, big eaters.

They have water bottles available to them all day so I know they are drinking some H2O but could probably drink more. I think I'm just going to start making more and more heavy/whole wheat muffins/breads/tortillas to pair with other things to keep those little bellies full!

[tenderhearts]

What are the ages of your daycare kids? Yours definetley seem eat way more than mine. A large tub of yogurt here lasts at least 2 weeks, and I do give seconds.