Lunch...What Is It Anyway?

[Meyou]

Today we're having honey garlic ribs, egg fried rice and veggie stir fry. Yum! I can't wait and I don't care if the kids like it. :P (They will though...they love fried rice and stir fry).

[laundrymom]

Also since I serve am snack, lunch & dinner- I routinely serve a larger dinner type meal at lunch at noon and sandwich and fruit and beg at dinner. Our dinner is at 4 pm so my kids aren't starving at suppertime with mom and dad.

[mac60]

I truly don't understand how some of you can afford to feed the way you do. Your lunchtime meals are way more expensive than I could ever afford, and much more expensive than my own family eats at supper time, which in my opinion, is the big meal of the day.

Typical lunch foods here are:
Chicken n noodles
Beef n noodles
Turkey n noodles (Yes I love these types of foods)
Spaghetti
Beef stew
Goulash
Pancakes and sausage
Cheese Pizza
Hot dogs
Mac and chees
Grilled cheese
Soup and sandwich
Mashed potatoes
Corn bread
A veggie
A fruit

[Meyou]

I truly don't understand how some of you can afford to feed the way you do. Your lunchtime meals are way more expensive than I could ever afford, and much more expensive than my own family eats at supper time, which in my opinion, is the big meal of the day.

For me it's not hard to control the cost with proper portion control. For example I use boneless skinless chicken BUT I only buy it in bulk and on sale and then individually freeze the breasts. I can make lunch for my kids with one chicken breast...that's enough so that everyone has the proper serving.

I also shop sales and coupon for pantry staples. I NEVER pay full price for food unless it's milk or eggs. I get my fresh produce from the local market instead of the grocery store so it's about half the price.

The meal I'm making today is ribs that were on sale for $0.99/lb, rib sauce I got with coupons for $0.25/jar, rice from a 10lb bag that was on sale, 2 eggs, 2 green onions and stirfry from a carrot, a celery stick, 1/2 cup each brocolli and cauliflower, some green beans and some corn. Minimal cost but it's a substantial meal. My overall cost for 6 kids (and myself) is about $5.00.

[Cat Herder]

Mac, I live near a chicken processing plant and HUGE farmers market.

I buy direct from them by the case/bushel. I have 3 freezers, total.

I also trade strawberries, blueberries, apples, plums and grapes from my garden to my neighbors for collard/turnip greens, corn, carrots, green beans, cucumbers, watermelons and peppers each year.

I used to have several producing Cherry tree's, too...but they all suddenly died last season.... I was crushed...I tried everything I knew of to save them.... My plums are looking suspect currently....

My neighbor grows the WORLDS BEST Silver Queen corn. He has 20 acres and mad skills...happyface I hope to learn from him this season...

Sorry for the diversion, Silver.... I do love playing in the dirt...

[Sunshine44]

I agree that I couldn't spend that much. I don't have elaborate dinner meals for my own family.

[melskids]

For me it's not hard to control the cost with proper portion control. For example I use boneless skinless chicken BUT I only buy it in bulk and on sale and then individually freeze the breasts. I can make lunch for my kids with one chicken breast...that's enough so that everyone has the proper serving.

I also shop sales and coupon for pantry staples. I NEVER pay full price for food unless it's milk or eggs. I get my fresh produce from the local market instead of the grocery store so it's about half the price.

The meal I'm making today is ribs that were on sale for $0.99/lb, rib sauce I got with coupons for $0.25/jar, rice from a 10lb bag that was on sale, 2 eggs, 2 green onions and stirfry from a carrot, a celery stick, 1/2 cup each brocolli and cauliflower, some green beans and some corn. Minimal cost but it's a substantial meal. My overall cost for 6 kids (and myself) is about $5.00.

ITA! happyface

Also, I think with a little pre-planning, and good organization, home cooked meals with real foods are WAY more cost effective than convienience foods in the long run.

A frozen bag of Tyson chicken fingers is around 8 or 9 bucks in these parts. I can make the same amount, using local free range chicken breast, homemade bread crumbs, an egg or 2, and some seasoning for half that amount.

We aren't allow to can ourselves, but we can freeze. I buy bushels of apples, pears, berries, etc when they are in season, and freeze them for year round use.

We garden with the kiddos, and get hundreds of zuchini each year. I'll think nothing of making a few dozen loaves of zuchini bread on a weekend and freezing that too.

[Sunchimes]

I understand the ban on canning, but are you allowed to give them homemade jam or jelly?

[Cat Herder]

I understand the ban on canning, but are you allowed to give them homemade jam or jelly?

My understanding is that I can as long as it is frozen instead of home canned.

I can also take my own produce to the local cannery and do it myself there (or pay them to do it). It is government funded. They have USDA inspectors to sign off on them.

Same with fresh caught fish & wild game meats... I can run them up to the processor to be inspected and packaged for CHEAP (or donate a portion to the food bank and get it free).

[beachgrl]

Those sandwhiches sound delish, did you have a recipe for those?

Today we had...

Egg salad sandwiches (using plain Greek yogurt and avocados instead of mayo/mustard) on high fiber ww bread
carrot sticks
grapes
Veggie chips
skim milk

A lot of times we'll do leftovers from the night before, like a pp mentioned. We do a lot of crock pot meals and casseroles. And visa versa. I'll do casseroles for the dcks and what's leftover will be dinner for my family that evening.

We also do a lot of different types of ww pastas and sauces with homemade bread, veggies and fruit.

My dcks also LOVE breakfast for lunch. Homemade ww waffles, scrambled eggs with veggies (spinach, tomatoes, etc.) and some fruit.

[BigMama]

Today we had whole wheat penne pasta with ground turkey meat sauce, steamed broccoli, and a fresh melon medley (and skim milk).

I serve the same lunch once a week: sunflower butter & jelly on whole wheat bread, yogurt, fresh green beans, and seasonal fruit (apples in the fall, strawberries in early summer, etc.) I serve this meal on whatever day is going to be most hectic (library storytime day, a day that we go to the playground, etc.) I find that knowing that I have this very quick & easy yet nutritious standby once a week really eases up on my menu planning.

Some regular meals for us for the rest of the week include:
-Baked chicken legs, brown rice, steamed carrots, fresh blueberries
-Black bean & cheese quesadillas on whole wheat tortillas, green peas, fresh pineapple
-Homemade mac. & cheese, spinach, fresh strawberries
-Turkey sandwiches with lettuce & tomato, mashed sweet potatoes, grapes, cucumber slices
-Roasted chicken, butternut squash, green apples, whole wheat roll
-Rice & beans, sugar snap peas, oranges
-Vegetarian lasagna, tossed salad, pears

I do what a lot of other posters do and make enough of the lunches for my family to have for dinner. As another poster said, I also do not buy anything but milk and fresh produce unless it is on sale. My other rule is that I do not spend more than a half hour preparing lunch. I don't count baking/roasting time, just my actual physical time cooking.

[CountryMommy]

Today we are having meatballs in a tomato sauce, mashed potatoes, and a cabbage dish with milk to drink.


We buy all our meat from farmers around here and butcher them ourselves. That way I can make sure that the meat we buy is free range, hormone and antibiotic free because we can go check out the farms and see the animal before it's butchered to see what it's being fed, how healthy it is, etc. Butchering the meat ourselves saves us hundreds of dollars. We buy a whole pig for $150 and that gives us TONS of ribs, bacon, ham, pork chops, sausages, and meat for stews and ground pork. We bought half a cow not long ago for $200 and it gave us enough beef to feed our family plus the daycare for over half a year. I've bought chickens anywhere from $5-10 a piece and 2 dozen free range and organic eggs cost me $5. If we bought our meat from the stores it would be a LOT more expensive, especially the hormone, antibiotic free, free range meat.

I also garden in the summer. This gives me tons of produce for much less money spent. I can a lot of my own stuff too. Salsa, pizza sauce, tomato sauce, peaches, pickles, pineapple, jams, etc.

But even if we didn't do it this way, buying fresh food saves you money in the long run because even if at first you spend more, your get a lot more food out of it than you would for that price of prepackaged food.

[laundrymom]

Mac, my food cost NEVER is more than my reimbursement rate for FP.
We keep portion sizes in check. I serve all requirements and if they are still hungry after they eat the requireds, I have carrots that I slice with a veg peeler( coin carrots) or apple slices, Pb on rye, plain vanilla yogurt. Prunes.
I only offer healthy foods. Ever. Except for birthdays, you get chocolate milk for your Bday here. And it is a production, I hold the Hershey bottle way high!!! Drip it in their cup at table. They probably only get 1/2 tsp. but its all in the presentation. I dont serve ready to go foods. I try to use whole grain, fresh unprocessed stuff and just fix it fancy. 75% of food is presentation. If it LOOKS cool. It IS cool. And how I get them to eat everything from broiled swiss and tomatoes on pumpernickel, to asparagus, mushroom risotto. ( complete with fresh grated parm. Lunch at our house, meals really, are fun, learning , tasting experiences. My family are adventuresome eaters. I try ( as much as I am able to) give that love to my dayfriends.

I truly don't understand how some of you can afford to feed the way you do. Your lunchtime meals are way more expensive than I could ever afford, and much more expensive than my own family eats at supper time, which in my opinion, is the big meal of the day.

Typical lunch foods here are:
Chicken n noodles
Beef n noodles
Turkey n noodles (Yes I love these types of foods)
Spaghetti
Beef stew
Goulash
Pancakes and sausage
Cheese Pizza
Hot dogs
Mac and chees
Grilled cheese
Soup and sandwich
Mashed potatoes
Corn bread
A veggie
A fruit

[melskids]

Deli meat for sandwiches is way too expensive as well. I would never pay $8 or $9 a pound for turkey or roast beef at the deli counter, when I can get whole roasts or hams on sale for a third of that price, and turkey for .69 cents a pound!!!! I roast meats ahead of time, and slice really thin for sammies. Its real meat, with none of that processed junk or added sodium.

[Meyou]

Deli meat for sandwiches is way too expensive as well. I would never pay $8 or $9 a pound for turkey or roast beef at the deli counter, when I can get whole roasts or hams on sale for a third of that price, and turkey for .69 cents a pound!!!! I roast meats ahead of time, and slice really thin for sammies. Its real meat, with none of that processed junk or added sodium.

That reminds me of a funny story. My dd has a program where you can pay one day per week and they get a sandwich from a local place. We don't do lunchmeat at all but I let her go ahead since her friends were all getting them. She marched up the first day and enthusiastically thanked the lady by saying, "This is soooooo great!! My mom totally never lets me eat poison lunchmeat at home! This is a really special day!!" ::::::

Poor deprived little girl only eating unprocessed real meats. ::::