Family off our grocery budget?

[Anonymous]

Just to give another perspective.... I don't think your costs are that high. We spend about $175/week for 2 adults and 3 kids. We eat out 2-3x/month, pack our lunches, and eat lots of fresh veggies and some meat. We also use a fair number of convenience foods to keep ourselves from going crazy.

And I second the recommendation for the Fresh20. We couldn't keep up because we work long hours, but it's awesome.

[Anonymous]

I don't think your costs are that high either, particularly if you eat a lot of fresh produce and meat. One thing I have found is that making meals in larger quantities and having leftovers (either in the fridge or frozen) cuts costs. Sucks for people who won't eat leftovers, but DH and I can eat the same thing 4 nights in a row no problem. It's just harder to use everything up when you have a recipe that calls for two ribs of celery or 1/4 cup chopped onion or 1/2 lb. ground beef because food isn't sold that way. Obviously you can plan to make two or three different recipes that have these ingredients, but since I don't mind leftovers and prefer to expend less effort on cooking rather than more, it's easier for me to just eat the same thing multiple nights.

[Anonymous]

Thank you overseas vegan! I don't think it's obnoxious to be vegan at home. We are mostly vegetarian at home and eat whatever we want in restaurants. It's a great way to keep costs down and eat healthy, I think. (While having the freedom to enjoy special things too.)

I just hope you are overseas somewhere where you can have a large freezer for all that meal prep you do!

[Anonymous]

Your costs are about in line w/ our costs but you definitely get more meals b/c we don't pack lunches. I have noticed our grocery bill creep up about $25 in the past year/18 months due to food being priced higher.