Home Cooked Meals are your Biggest Savings

1. Americans spend some 50% of food dollars on out-of-home meals, snacks and beverages. This budget item, therefore, is the first area that can be cut way back. Cooking at home is almost always cheaper than going out to dinner, ordering takeout, or buying prepared foods-and healthier! Plan for a week of meals so you don't waste food. With an online meal planning service (like The Six O'Clock Scramble) you can have your meal planning and grocery lists automatically generated so you also don't waste time.

2. Stretch your budget by making a meal at the end of the week out of ingredients you haven't finished. (Omelets, quesadillas, stir-fries and pasta sauces are flexible options.)

3. Pack up leftovers (sometimes it helps to do this before serving the meal so you don't overeat!). Use them for lunches the next day, or freeze half for a future dinner. That way you get 2 meals in 1.

4. Use up food in your refrigerator and freezer. Many people are sitting on hundreds of dollars of food that they've forgotten is in their freezer. Defrost and use something each week. Make a list of what's in there and label and date the containers.

Healthy Foods are not necessarily a Budget Buster

5. Use less meat! Cooking with non-meat proteins like beans, tofu and eggs is very economical and healthy. You can often substitute boneless chicken for fresh fish in recipes, or use less expensive frozen fish and shrimp.

6. Frozen vegetables are inexpensive, as well as healthy, delicious and convenient. Frozen at their peak of freshness they are a healthy and economic alternative to fresh produce.

7. One timely tip for spring is to grow your own fresh herbs. It only takes about 10 minutes to plant a little herb garden in your yard or on your window sill or deck, so you can use your own crop instead of buying expensive herbs at the market. You can buy little pots of fresh herbs at garden stores for $2 - $3 each, which you can repot and use all season long. (That is about the same amount you would pay at your grocery store for a small packet of fresh herbs that doesn't last more than a week.)

Tips to Save money at the Grocery Store

8. Buy in bulk packages-many stores have super deals especially onmeat, chicken and fish-you can break up the large packages into 1 or 2 lb. packages before freezing them. Also, buy large bags of shredded cheese and freeze 1 lb. portions of them, or buy blocks of cheese and grate it yourself. Buy large containers of items like yogurt, applesauce, raisins and chips, instead of single serving sizes, and divide them into reusable containers yourself.

9. Stock up on staples, such as olive oil, rice, canned beans, canned tomatoes, chicken or vegetable broth, pasta, pasta sauce, frozen chopped spinach, frozen peas, onions, lemons, limes, salsa, balsamic vinegar, and nuts.

10. Buy food when it's on sale, especially non-perishables.

Armed with these suggestions, you should be able to shave hundreds of dollars off your family food bill while still eating delicious and healthy food.

Just as charity begins at home, good nutrition and balance diet habits start at home. The way of life today is fast paced wherein an adult is always on the move. The same applies to your children too. It is essential to have healthy snacks handy which your kids can grab on the move.

Early encouragement for smart eating habits, improved nutritious diet early in life could make your child healthy. Even if you can not stand on their heads 24*7, there are many ways where you can give them well balanced diet and life all round.

Ravenous and famished after school, you’re kid is likely to grab something from the fridge or kitchen shelf for snacks. After school snacking plays an important part of every child's diet, as it could several hours since they last ate and they need nourishment, especially when they have to settle down, do homework and indulge in playful activities. Think of snacks as an opportunity to supplement children's diet with healthy food. It guarantees the nutrition they deserve as well as curbs hunger pangs in between meals.

Make snack time nibbles attractive and hassle free. Prepare small portions of snacks and leave them in easy to find places like kitchen shelf, fridge or dining table. The healthiest and simplest choice for snacks is fresh fruits and raw vegetables requiring minimum preparation time.

Some good suggestions of kid friendly healthy snacks include:

1. Make fruit salads with kid’s favourite fruits. Prepare them in small batches from fresh fruits and freeze them.

2. Dry fruits like raisins or apricots and fresh fruits like apples, oranges, watermelons, and bananas.

3. Sandwiches with peanut butter, tuna or lean meat cuts.

4. Yoghurt, plain or flavoured or milkshakes made with low fat or skimmed milk. Dry cereals or cornflakes served with fruit and low fat milk.

5. Fresh fruit juices like orange, watermelon, grapefruit or frozen juice bars.

6. Hard-boiled eggs with a slice of whole wheat bread, peanuts, pretzels or crackers.

7. Ready to eat cut up veggies like carrots, cucumbers, and celery. Unbuttered popcorns, wheat crackers or whole grain muffins served with low fat cheese dip.

8. Fruit Smoothie made in a blender with fresh fruits, juice and yoghurt.

9. Yoghurt dessert with layers of low fat yoghurt, fruits and veggies.

You can spice up your kid’s snack time with variety of foods… Get your children to make the snacks menu for the week. Serve small portions instead of a big one. Let them learn to be hungry, rather than feel full and stuffed close to lunch or dinner time.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleJoe.com

Sharon Hopkins manages websites on Diet, Nutrition, and Health foods such as www.diethealthclub.com. Healthy food promotes good health and unhealthy food habits lead to a diseased body. Healthy Food contains vital nutrients that aid our body’s metabolic function.