Ask Aunt B

B Dear Aunt B, I have a family of four. We eat out at fast food or restaurants almost all the time. When we aren’t eating out, we eat processed food and anything out of a box. I hear that isn’t good for you either. I’m not a cook. Any ideas? This is breaking our bank. I Will Have Fries With That Dear I Will Have Fries With That, You will be able to save so much food with just a little bit of work that you won’t believe it. Of course you can still spend tons of money and spend a lot of time in the kitchen. The key is planning and some good, basic recipes.

I had a friend, Becky, who was a star at this when I was young. She had three kids and really had to be on a budget. The one thing she did that always stuck in my mind was she had a pretty much fixed menu. On Monday, she had a roast in a crockpot. On Tuesday, she had tacos. You get the drift. This took so much pressure off. She always knew what she needed to shop for and didn’t waste a great deal of time planning. Her key was that the seven basic things she cooked were great tasting. You might imagine this was boring, but If you think about this you might be already doing something similar just with fast food.

The crockpot was another key. You can put so many different things in the crockpot and virtually walk away until dinner. I’m not sure how expensive they are, but now they have crockpot liners where cleaning up would be a breeze. I would sure look into those. I know you are trying to save money too, so figure the cost into the equation. I would have loved those little liners back in the day. Heck, they probably had them, but I was too cheap. I just Googled cheap liners for the crockpot. There is a wide range of cost but there was also a silicone one. I love this silicone cookware. It is very easy to clean. Take your pick.

Do you have a Costco or Sam’s membership? These can be real money savers. Combine the buying in bulk with food prep and you are on your way to magic. You will be saving money and time and eating a much higher quality of food in no time.

You might enlist your children in helping you with this task. It is a great habit to teach them. Depending on their ages, this might be more work but a good use of quality time. Keep the task age appropriate. No chopping with knives for the young ones. Of course, you knew that, but I felt it needed to be said.

I could spend hours on Instagram looking at recipes, and I don’t consider myself a cook. Well actually, I’m more of a cook than I have ever been before. There I go again, getting off the target.

Again, the web to the answer. I know that social media can get a bad rap, and I am sure that there are some less than ideal things and habits on social media. There are good and some bad uses for social media. Use it for the good. You can research meal prep and easy crockpot recipes and get tons of great ideas.

I applaud you for taking on this endeavor. Remember you don’t have to be perfect. You can still break away and go get some of your favorite fast foods as well. As with everything, just start.

Love, Aunt B

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