Poll: Grocery Budgets

After a hiatus due to the holidays and some family issues, we're bringing back our polls. Check out the latest poll, "What do you think is a reasonable grocery budget for a family of four?"

Reducing our grocery costs has been at the top of my list of financial goals for some time, especially now that food prices are skyrocketing. I do what I can with coupons and shopping sales, but there are certain sacrifices I'm not willing to make when it comes to saving money at the supermarket. Most weeks, a full half of my list consists of fresh produce, and when I look at my receipt, the big ticket items are usually lean cuts of meat or non-processed dairy items. Once I actually calculated what I was spending on diet soda, I confronted my problem with caffeine and cut down our bills.

So when a friend told me she spends over 200 dollars a week feeding her family of four, I was amazed because I spend considerably less than that for MY family of four, and was still worried that I needed to crunch my budget a little more. I also picked up a copy of the new magazine Clean Eating to see if their headline of '5 Dinner For 60 Dollars' was reasonable. Not only was it do-able, but I made some small changes and did it for even less. And found all 5 recipes to be tasty, healthy and easy.

You can read about my experiment here and also take the 60 dollar challenge yourself.

We'd love to know: what do you consider to be a reasonable grocery budget for your family? What are the most expensive items on your list? Do you have plans to cut down the amount you spend? Any tips or tricks?

December Poll: How Healthy Does Your Family Eat?

I admit that I used to eat pretty much whatever I wanted. I've always led a pretty active lifestyle. I played sports in high school and college and have held jobs that required a decent amount of walking, lifting or other physical activity. But when my first child was born, I wanted the baby weight gone and I wanted it gone yesterday, if you know what I mean. In addition, once we introduced solid foods, I wanted to be sure that I fed my baby the healthiest foods available. I started reading food labels and cutting unhealthy choices out of our diets.

That baby turned three a couple of months ago and his sister is about to turn one. I've maintained my label reading and nutrition and nutrition science have become a personal interest. I credit my interest in nutrition for an easier recovery period.

One of my favorite magazines has an occasional feature where a registered dietitian goes shopping with families and critiques their choices, then helps them make better choices for those areas they fall short on.

I think my family would do well. We eat a lot of fresh and frozen produce, avoid white flour and trans-fats, buy organic when we can and watch the sugar and salt contents of our meals. We use a lot of low-fat or fat-free products and eat lean meat and fish, and well as vegetarian meals once or twice a week. However, I have a pretty hefty diet soda habit that I'm working on quitting and I have a bit of a sweet tooth. My husband has the willpower to eat a handful of chips and put the bag back, but I don't. To get around the temptation, I buy chips in flavors that I don't like, and I try to buy treats that give me more bang for the calories. Strawberries with a squirt of fat-free whipped cream, for example, instead of a candy bar. And although I read a lot about nutrition and try new foods often, the amount of information out there is staggering, so it can be hard to remember all those facts when I'm grocery shopping with two little kids.

If a dietitian went shopping with you, how do you think you would do? Overall, how healthy does your family eat? What are your downfalls?

October/November Poll Round Up: Time Spent Cooking

Sixty of you voted in our last poll! Thanks for your participation!

The poll was about how long you take on a typical night to cook dinner. Many moms don't have hours to spend in the kitchen cooking from scratch, but many convenience items are too high in fat or salt. 65% of voters spend 30-60 minutes cooking dinner. This is also the category I fall into, although I tend to prefer meals that require little active preparation. I also store shredded cheese and prechopped peppers and onions in my freezer for those nights when I don't have a lot of time. 15% of you spend more than an hour, another 15% spend 15-30 minutes cooking and just 3 voters chose the 'less than 15 minutes' option.

My co-blogger Jen says, "I spend about 30-45 minutes usually. Sometimes as little as ten. I always try to cook extra chicken, then I refrigerate it to use in a casserole later in the week. That cuts down on cooking time. Same thing with rice, cook extra and your casserole is easier tomorrow.I glance over my meal plan to be most efficient. I start thawing meat in the microwave while I clean the kitchen (I cook faster in a clean kitchen). Cook noodles while grating cheese/cutting veggies, etc. I never do just one thing at a time, and I recruit [my husband] and the kids to do whatever they can."

Jen38 says, "I love my crock pot. After my DH complained that the roasts weren't big enough, I bought the 8 quart Kitchen Aid Deluxe Model! I usually spend 20 - 30 minutes cooking for the dinner meal. I always try to make extra for lunch the next day. Rarely do we have leftovers anymore!"

Kelly says, " My husband is often away for work, and I work full time, so I rely a lot on convenience type food. Not really the healthiest stuff, but it comes together quick and that is what I need. I probably spend less than 15 minutes a night cooking dinner." Be sure to check out this post on healthy convenience products, Kelly, and thanks for stopping by!

Don't forget to vote in our next poll and look for a round up next month!

October Poll: Meals In A Jiffy

If you're a mom, or a dad in charge of the cooking, you're probably aware of just how attractive the idea of a quick and healthy meal is. Food Network Icons have made millions using that very idea, and most of the food-centric magazines on the shelves have recipes that can be made quickly.

It's no wonder it's so popular. When you're trying to fit dinner in between work, soccer practice, and meetings, or if you have small children at home that need a lot of attention, faster is almost always better.

Women of my mom's generation spent an average of an hour cooking dinner each night. My generation spends closer to thirty minutes. I have a baby and a preschooler at home, so I'm willing to try just about any recipe that can be made in under thirty minutes that still meets my requirements for a healthy dinner. To meet this goal, I take advantage of convenience grocery products, like instant rice or thin-sliced chicken, and I stock my kitchen with the best tools of the trade. Using my crockpot, we can have a delicious roast beef dinner with little effort on my part, and we eat steamed vegetables every night thanks in part to my microwave.

Share with us! How long do you spend in the kitchen cooking dinner and what are some of your tricks for cutting preparation and cooking time?

Poll Round-Up: Eating As A Family

Our September/October Poll was about eating meals as a family. Thirty-four of you voted, with 44% voting for 'every night' and 47% voting for 4-5 times per week.

These days, it seems everyone is busy, so setting aside time to spend together as a family can be difficult. Since everyone needs to eat, mealtime is a great way to make sure you're getting that quality time with your spouse and kids before everyone rushes off to activities and jobs.

Contributor Jen says, "We eat dinner together every night. Since [my husband's] schedule is such that he can't always be with us because of travel, the kids and I still do. We also eat lunches and breakfasts together. When [my husband] leaves to get on a plane at dinner time, I fix a big lunch as our "dinner" for the day, so we still get to enjoy a nice meal together before he leaves."

Reader Lisa says, "I love the family dinner. The kids and I eat together most nights. If my hubby can be home, we all eat together, but he has a long commute and we never know when he will show. I just had one enter high school, though, and you never know with sports what will change. The goal is to eat together as much as possible."

Debbie says, "We will have Daddy on speakerphone if he can't be with us. Sometimes we will have a quick snack dinner with finger foods to eat quickly and more relaxed. Otherwise we always have family night on Friday and work very hard at making sure we don't book anything that night."

Erin says, "Even when [my son] refuses to eat his dinner, we still make him sit at the table with us while we eat. Its the one thing I insist on doing as a family as much as we possibly can."

Thanks for the ideas ladies! Be sure to vote in our new poll and check back next month for the results.

September Poll: Eating As A Family

My husband's work schedule allows us to eat as a family most nights. It's a luxury I know a lot of families don't have. Even if he's going to be late, I feed the kids, and then he and I sit down together to eat, or we all sit at the table and catch up while he enjoys his meal.

Once school starts back up and kids get involved in clubs and sports, it can be hard to sit down all together and have a meal.

Share with us. How often do you eat together? What are some of your tips for fitting in that special family time?

Leave us a comment, and of course, look for a poll round up at the end of the month!

August Poll Round Up: School Lunches

Our poll for August was all about school lunches. How healthy (or unhealthy) you find them, if you think they are priced reasonably, et cetera.

Fifteen of you voted and no one voted for "very happy." Five votes went to "somewhat happy," and the rest went to "not happy."

Reader Heather says, "I have five kids in school and am disgusted with school lunches. Many of the foods are pre-packaged junk food items (potato chips, rice krispy treats, etc.) or high carb (cinnamon rolls, pizza, corn dogs). Plus they allow the children to serve themselves so they don't have to put veggies on their plates. I once walked into the cafeteria and just saw sea of yellow foods on everyone's trays.I rarely let my kids buy lunches one because of how unhealthy they are and two because of the expense. If all of my children bought lunch every day it would cost me well over $125 a month. For much less I can offer healthy lunches made from home."

Contributor Jen mentioned that although schools are supposed to meet certain nutritional goals, the meals don't seem healthy at a glance.

A common complaint was the amount of time allotted for lunch and recess. In one county in my state, the lunch/recess period was shortened by 15 minutes. The lines for school lunch were so long, the kids didn't have time to eat leisurely and also enjoy outdoor time.

So what can you do? Write letters! Contact the school board or write to the school superintendent and let them know how you feel about the choices in the cafeteria. Does your child's school have vending machines where the students can access them? Lobby to have them removed. If all else fails, you always have the option to pack lunches for your kids. Get them involved in the process, take them shopping with you, to teach lessons about healthy eating. They might even discover a new favorite!

Thanks to all who participated in our August Poll!

New For August: Polls

Starting this month, be sure to participate in our monthly poll! See the sidebar to vote and view results. This month's poll, just in time for back to school, concerns how happy you are with the food offered in your children's cafeteria.

When I was a student, I rarely purchased my lunch. The lines were always so long that there wasn't enough time to buy the food and then eat it leisurely, and the healthfulness of the meals served was questionable. Soda machines were not available to students, but anyone could purchase prepackaged brownies, cookies, and other treats, and many of my classmates ate only those offerings for lunch.

Share with us your feelings about school lunches. Do you kids like to buy their lunch? Are the prices to buy lunch affordable? How do you feel about the timing and length of your child's lunch period? What sort of food is available to buy?

Check back in a month for our round up and discussion of the voting results and also to view the next poll.