From Rubi:
I have 5 children, and usally have 2 or three extra at dinner time. So I often sit 8 to 10 big
eaters every meal.
1. Plan
I make out a two week menu. Each person gets to pick two meals. We have rules about this. It has to be real food and there must be either a vegie or a salad. We have Pizza every other week. This cuts down on waste. Eveyone gets a least one meal a week they choose and all the kids thinks it fair, so they complain less and eat more.
2. Shop in bulk with a list.
3. Serve homemake soups and breads with meals.
4. Cut meat in small pieces, it feels like they are getting more.
5. Allow the kids to eat at thier friends and Grandmas whenever invited.
From Kashca:
I do once a month cooking where I cook main dishes for a month and freeze them. I have been doing it for 3 months now and am really seeing a decrease in grocery bill plus we are eating out a lot less!
From Stacey:
I do something called "Once a Month Cooking" where I prepare and freeze a month's worth of meals. I got the idea from a book, appropriately named "Once a Month Cooking." I even wrote a newspaper article about it (I'm a former reporter) and I still have people calling me the "once-a-month cooking" lady. I have a 5-month-old daughter and I have to admit I stopped cooking so far in advance while I was pregnant. I'll still cook about a week's worth or two. I do plan to start cooking for the month again soon.
From Maggie:
I shop a lot at yard sales. With 2 children and 1 on they way it's hard to take the kids. I have a group of 3 or 4 friends and we take turns watching the kids so the others can go out and hit a bunch of sales a lot faster and easier!!
From Breeze:
Compost all of your organic food and plant scraps. We live in San
Francisco and pay for garbage by the can. Composting has reduced our
garbage by at least 1/3 and given us great organic compost for our garden.
Plus, our kids love to separate the worms from the compost as we ready it
for use in the garden.
I want to thank everyone for their tips and hints, and please submit your tip!