Budgeting for Food: Should Nourishment Be Sacrificed?

I remember having heard this old adage somewhere…

“You know you’re hitting the poverty level when you have to scrimp on food”.

At that time, this did not sit well with me because good food is my only luxury during the time when I was still a struggling student and the whole time I was a new graduate looking for a job. In fact, the vision of me and a guy i love eating noodles everyday because we hopped into the marriage bandwagon too early was the main thing that kept me commitment-phobic during my “poorer” days.

I knew I couldn’t bear to eat bad food just to survive… which also drove me to get a decent job, re-think my options and not worry about peripherals like getting a loan for a car and getting stuck with things like a discount auto insurance.

But now that I have a family to feed and TOYS have suddenly become a priority, it’s not surprising that I’m thinking about scrimping on food… but NOT nutrition.

What do I mean by this?

Well, I learned recently that what I thought of as good food isn’t necessarily healthy. I mean, sure, chocolate has alkaloids and all, but we all know that it doesn’t do much as far as balanced diet is concerned. So, now I’ve found some ways to make dinner or lunch a more nourishing affair, despite that the ingredients aren’t fit for 5-star restaurants…

Here are some ideas if you’re like me (a practical mom who saves money daily to afford the next toy shopping spree!)

1. Know the food groups

Motherhood will take you back to your grade school days when you learned the food pyramid. Yes, sources of carbo, protein and fiber will be things to worry about when you’re in the grocery thinking of what to feed your family. Get representatives from each food group and find recipes that include these foodstuff.

2. Be realistic about your budget

Dreaming about luxury things is great, but if you don’t have a budget to work with, it’s better to keep a clear head of what you really need for the moment. Don’t depend on credit cards and loans; you will have to pay for these soon enough (or else, the interest will kill your budget for the next year entirely).

3. Eat less

Alright, when I say “diet”, I mean eating just enough and not binging. This means you should NEVER go grocery shopping when you’re hungry. This also means you should eat meryenda or snacks every afternoon to keep you from cooking up a storm (and depleting your food for the week) during dinner time.