Anyone who follows me on Instagram has probably been saying (either silently or aloud), "Why does Jessica keep posting so many food pictures lately??"
No, not because I got bored of taking pictures of my kids.
Please.
I've been working on compiling a list of quick, easy and healthy food ideas for kids. It has come up more than once in conversation recently- why is it so hard to feed your kids good food?
Well, I can tell you two very likely reasons why, in most cases. Healthy food either requires time (for preparation), or it takes money (to buy it pre-made). And you know what moms usually don't have a lot of?
Time and money.
But it doesn't have to be complicated- not always. We've never had a lot of expendable income, but healthy eating has been high on the priority list. Not "healthy eating" in the way that we were taught in school- not the whole-grains, low-fat, high-fiber, food-pyramid stuff. The new (or rather, the old) way of eating healthy, in the line of eating whole foods, straight from nature. No processed food, no refined sugar, no artificial or genetically modified ingredients. Just food as simple as you can get it.
So, I've made a list of quick, cheap and healthy foods we give our kids. It's not all-inclusive, but it gives a good starting point. The idea here is food that is quickly thrown together (or requires no prep), full of nutrients, and won't break the bank.
Obviously, eating this way is affordable for us not because the food we're buying is inherently cheap. If you've noticed, most organic and natural items tend to be quite a bit pricier than the less-healthy alternatives.
Here are some of the things I've learned along the way that have enabled us to keep eating this way on a not-very-stretchy budget.
How to make it cheap...
1. Our kids eat what we eat.
Straight from day one of solid-food introduction (which we do when baby shows 3 or more signs of readiness), our babies eat the food we eat. This is two-fold- because in order for that to be safe, we have to be eating well (I find it motivating!). We start with fruits, veggies, meats and eggs, and gradually add more as they get older (finger foods when they get the pincer grasp, dairy around 1, honey after 1, grains after first molars erupt, etc...). This method is called Baby Led Weaning (also known as Baby Led Feeding), and it's worked great for our family. Not only do our kids learn to chew and swallow in the biologically logical order (first learn to mouth the food, then learn to chew, then learn to swallow- as opposed to learning to swallow first, then learning to chew later), but they become accustomed to the tastes of our family's diet.
Another bonus? We don't spend money or time on "kid food." I make one dinner, and everyone eats it. Believe me, that makes my life easier.
Another bonus? We don't spend money or time on "kid food." I make one dinner, and everyone eats it. Believe me, that makes my life easier.
You can read more about BLW here.
2. We buy on sale.
This seems a little obvious, but if you're under a tight budget- especially when you are trying to make good food choices- it's so important to buy things on sale. We only buy on-sale meat for meals each week, and try to do the same for produce as well. That changes our rotation of dinners with what's on sale, for the most part. If there's a great deal on wild-caught salmon, guess what we're having for dinner! If something I know I'll need is on a great sale, and I have the extra money to cover it, I'll buy extra. If it's meat, we freeze it. If it's dry goods, I try to buy enough to last us until the next sale rotation, which varies from item to item.
3. We buy produce in season.
It's better and cheaper. Some things are really hard to get in season- depending on where you live- but whenever possible, aim to buy in season.
4. We don't shop at just one place.
If you're only shopping at one (or even two) stores, you're definitely paying more for some items than you need to. Look around for the best prices and keep track of what is cheapest at which stores. We shop at a mixture of Costco, Sprouts, Whole Foods, King Soopers, Natural Grocers, Walmart and Target- all of which have certain things at the best price.
5. We don't buy pre-made or packaged food.
This is where the "time" part comes into play. Believe me, when we have the extra money, I buy packaged healthy food for the kids. Why? It saves me time and effort! But more often than not, our wallet just can't afford the extra money (and for genuinely healthy packaged food, it gets very, very pricey), and that's when we start prepping our food instead. Which leads me to the next point...
6. We set aside prep time.
This takes time early on, but can save you just as much time as packaged food when you need it quickly. And anyone with a toddler knows that children need food INSTANTLY-BECAUSE-I-CAN'T-FUNCTION on a daily basis. Most of my desserts and snacks for the kids (and myself) are made at night, and then stored in the fridge for quick access. After the kids go to bed, I have prep time for dinners, snacks or other things I want to be easily accessible the next day.
6. We ration dairy, grains and desserts.
If you really want to be extreme, you can cut them out completely. But even cutting back- and filling those gaps with more produce- will make a huge difference. It's really expensive to take a normal grocery budget and ADD a bunch of healthy food to it. But it's much less of a difference if- on top of cutting out the pre-made and packaged food- you cut back on the expenses of dairy, grains and desserts.
7. We buy in bulk when cheaper.
Costco, Sam's Club, Sprouts' bulk section, and Amazon (to name a few) can all offer better prices on lots of items just by buying bulk. If you have the ability to fork out the extra money and buy more at a time, it can make a huge difference. (Again, check where prices are cheaper- usually bulk is cheapest, but that's not always the case.) We have never had the expendable income to buy meat in bulk, but if you can afford to buy a quarter of a cow from a farm, that is an excellent way to save on meat.
8. We only buy organic on the necessities.
The big ones are meat, dairy, and the "dirty dozen." Meat and dairy usually have a pretty significant price jump from non-organic to organic. At this point, with the amount of meat and dairy that our family buys, we can't afford to buy all organic, so we have to compromise there. But when organic options go on sale, or we can find them cheaply in bulk or otherwise, we always choose that over non-organic. If you must compromise on meat or dairy, always choose 100% natural and non-GMO, from a reputable company or farm.
If you haven't heard the term "dirty dozen," it's referring to the 12 most pesticide and GMO-laden produce, which you should definitely buy organic.
The cost difference between organic and non-organic produce isn't overwhelming, but it adds up if you're buying all organic, all the time. We buy organic on the "dirty dozen," but not on the "clean 15."
Those lists are below.
9. We rarely eat out.
10. We save and repurpose leftovers.
If you have a toddler, you know that they are notorious for wasting food. It kills me a little inside, so I try to re-use it however I can. If my girls don't eat their yogurt, I'll make it into a smoothie. If they only eat half of a peach, I cut the rest up and freeze it for another day. If they only eat a half of an avocado, I mash it up and use it as a mayo substitute for tuna. Not everything can be saved, but when it can, it can make a difference!
I hope this is useful for your family!
Do you have any other suggestions? Meal ideas? Favorite "kid-approved" foods? Leave some ideas in the comments!
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