The Perspective from Here
What's For Dinner?
It's hard to ignore the price of food when we go shopping, let alone the constant news stories about the cost of food.
How are you finding meal planning? Have you made changes to adjust to costs?
These can be hard decisions to make because we all want to feed our families healthy foods, ensuring they are consuming all the nutrients they need. There are lots of tips and tricks out there, but one thing I believe is that eating healthy and affordably is cheaper when made from scratch.
The thought of making a meal from scratch may give you shivers or cause some eye-rolling but it's really not that hard. I think we have been led to believe that we are too busy to cook from scratch. The key is planning and perhaps even getting the kids involved! Perhaps the thought of cooking every night is too overwhelming, so start with a couple of meals. Not sure where to begin? Ask a friend or an EarlyON Educator - we happily share recipes :)
I find it is key to plan out the week's meals and shop accordingly. If I am not prepared, I always end up spending more and feeling stressed in the middle of the week trying to decide what to make. Like many chefs, Jamie Oliver has a months worth of budget friendly recipes on his site. And don't feel you have to cook meat every night, there are a lot of food sources supplying the amount of protein we need. This is my favourite meatless chili recipe. Also buying frozen vegetables can save some time with slicing and dicing and they are still nutritious. At the grocery store check out the clearance shelf, many items there are great for soups and stews.
These are expensive times and there are supports out there. Every Town and Municipality in Muskoka have food support programs, look here to find one near you. All of these sources are friendly and non-judgemental, simply neighbours helping neighbours. On Tuesdays in Bracebridge and Gravenhurst, EarlyON offers a free soup lunch during our drop-in program and the last Tuesday of the month we provide a free dinner as part of our Food for Thought webinar program.
Get together with some friends to prep food or have each person make a large batch of something and do a meal exchange. The best way to get through tough times, is with a little help from our friends.
That's the perspective from here.
Stay well,
Pam Rennie, BA, BEd, RECE
