by Sawsan Mlinarcik

Created on: November 29, 2007

Some weeks cooking can be a real challenge, let alone cooking on a budget. If you've done it for years or are just starting out, it's not always easy to stay fresh and creative when trying to feed your family. Setting aside the fact that we want to do it nutritiously and in a tasty way, cooking on a budget can present some real challenges. If you feel you're at your wits' end, I implore you stop and take a deep breath. Maybe you haven't explored all your options and there might be some hope after all. With a few new techniques and dining options, you might just be able to do this. You might even become the master that others come to for advise with their own menu crises.

So it's Sunday night, and you're now thinking of the week ahead. You have the hamburger defrosting in the frig for the meatloaf for tomorrow night, but what about the rest of the week? You have no idea what to prepare for your hungry family of four. And to make matters worse, you only have $100! What are you going to do? First of all, you don't want to panic. Stay calm and collected. Think this through what's the best way to figure this out? Here's my suggestion. Get out a pen and pad of paper. Create a sort of "food pyramid" if you will. In keeping with the idea of "balanced nutrition" write down all the different types of starches you can think of. Do the same for vegetables and then for proteins. Keep in mind that you want to give your family a variety of foods throughout the week. This will provide a spectrum of nutrients and will keep your family from becoming bored, thus elevating you from whines and tantrums. In addition, think of what you want to serve as a "pre-meal" or first course. Do you want to do a green salad, coleslaw, cottage cheese or soup? The variety of things you can do in these categories is endless. You may want to figure this part in only 3 or 4 nights of the week. Also what about the sweet stuff? It's better to give your family a little throughout the week than allow a binge of it even a few times. Even with dessert, you want to give options and variety. Wouldn't it be fun to have a "build-your-own-Sunday" night? If nothing more, it's good bribing material.
Having all this in mind, when you finally do make it to the grocery store, be sure to pick up a weekly specials brochure. Stop to give it a quick run through, making notes of the staples like milk and bread and then the stuff you will need for this week. If chicken is on special that week, then maybe you want to have

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