Cheap food: Is saving money the best reason to eat at home?

Oct 23, 2009 by

“It’s better to pay the grocer than the doctor,” the saying goes.

But according to marketers at Campbell Soup, our benchmark for an “affordable dinner at home” for a family of four is just $10.

The average four-person household, bringing in $49,000 per year, spends $5,700 a year, or $110 a week, or just $5 per meal, for groceries, according to Heinz’s research.

Could cheap food be a reason we’re paying the doctor so much? And why we can expect our kids to pay even more in their future?

How do we profit if we save money today, but lose our health and our children’s health tomorrow?

Double Food Standard

Now I understand the problems of a genuinely tight budget, but where we’re not willing to pay the grocer, we are willing to pay the restaurant. While we choke on paying more than $5 or $10 for the whole family to eat a fresh, tasty,…

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Top 8 things to cut expenses on so you can spend more on quality groceries

Oct 23, 2009 by

  1. Restaurant meals
  2. Soda
  3. Junky snacks
  4. Cable TV
  5. Movies in the theater
  6. Electronic gadgets and video games
  7. New cars
  8. New clothes

Related post: “Reaching the Promised Land: Home Style or Restaurant” Style? https://www.thehappydinnertable.com/2009/09/28/reaching-the-promised-land-home-style-or-restaurant-style/

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Shrimp Remoulade with Hearts of Palm and Avocado

Aug 8, 2009 by

Stock palm treeHearts of palm, an ingredient more common in France than in the U.S., are the soft inner core of the young shoots of various kinds of palm tree, including the coconut palm.  They are interesting little nibbles. It’s something to talk about at the table with kids and a great way to introduce an intriguing and unusual new veggie.  I made this salad with twice the amount of hearts of palm the original recipe called for, and my daughter, who wasn’t familiar with them before, asked if there were any more of them after we finished the last of the leftovers. This fresh little salad was a big hit with us.

Another great thing about it is that kids can build their own salads,  choosing…

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What I'm Cooking This Week

Feb 23, 2009 by

"Many cards and letters have come in requesting" some sample menus. That’s what my old French teacher used to say before he gave us some disagreeable exercise. I’m trying three new recipes this week, which I hope will be easy and delicious, anything but disagreeable. If they're winners, I will post them on this blog.

Moosewood Tonight, I’ll serve "Warm Salad," from the Moosewood vegetarian cookbook (http://www.nibblous.com/recipe/347), "featuring an assortment of ultra nutritious leafy greens, lightly cooked and delicately marinated."

I just came home from Central Market with armloads of ingredients: escarole (a curly salad), red Swiss chard, Savoy cabbage, mustard greens, leeks, cauliflower, celery and mushrooms. It's marinated in just vinegar, Parmesan and pepper. Seems like it could use a little olive oil to me. We'll see. With it, I’ll probably serve a garlic-pesto marinated pork…

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