Food For Thought

Owlhaven posed and interesting question on her blog today:

I have a question for all of you who are currently displeased with your current food costs. When you think of your own food spending (groceries and restaurant spending combined) what do you think is the biggest reason you struggle to keep your food budget down? Is it rising food costs? Picky kids? No time to cook? Nothing in the cupboards? An unhealthy obsession for Panda Express orange chicken? Name your nemesis.


(After an unusually long comment, I decided rather than taking up space on her blog, I would post the answers to her question and then link back to her.)

First of all, I too share the unnatural obsession with Panda Express Orange Chicken. In fact, as of right now, I am seriously craving it just because it was brought back to mind! The budget-dangerous fact is that I live within two miles of TWO Panda Expresses. However, I have decreased the severity of the withdrawals with homemade sweet & sour chicken and rice.

I would have to say that the biggest pitfall lies within myself. I am not a veggie fan and I like meat! See the problem? Here is a list of vegetables I will swallow:
Broccoli
Carrots
Corn
Potatoes (yes, I know they are a starch, but I consider them a vegetable)
Black Beans (again, the proper classification would be a legume)
Lettuce (no iceberg please!)
Pickled Beets (I know, for someone who doesn't like veggies I like weird ones)

Oh, and pasta gives me indigestion...lol! So there goes that budget conscious meal!

That's about it. So in order to eat less meals containing dollar devouring meat, I have to eat more of the above. Which doesn't provide much variety. This brings me to another point...

The spice of life, you guessed it, variety! It is hard to have interesting, palate-pleasing meals that don't repeat over and over again, when you have a limited food budget. Eating potatoes, again and again doesn't make for a joyous rush to the table! (That being said, I want it to be known that I am extremely grateful for the food we do have and anything is better than being hungry!)

The price of food has risen, however we have successfully lowered our food budget by 2/3---Thank the Lord for His provision! It's amazing how you can shut off the cravings and gimmees when you don't have the funds. It all begins with a mindset change. Do I really need this? Or is this just a desire?

I am a proud stay at home mom and my husband is an awesome provider. We don't go to restaurants, I pack his lunch every day (which I view as another way to say "I appreciate what you do and thank you"), and we appreciate the special treats all the more when they come our way. Ice cream takes on a whole new indulgence when you don't get it every week!

So to answer Owlhaven's question: The biggest thing to bust my budget is only a lack of creativity with what I have and a lack of gratitude for what we have been given. Contentment is cheaper and healthier :)