For All Single Parent Families - 5 Ways to Eat Well and Be Well

Fresh vegetables are important components of a healthy diet. 

Unless you are a wealthy single parent, you want your family to eat well and be well without breaking the bank. 

As one who was raised by a single mother, I learned firsthand to appreciate the challenge of frugality and healthy living. 

Steaks and chops were not a common part of our diet, but soups, casseroles, stews, rice dishes, fruits, and both cooked and raw vegetables were.

While I will not be giving healthy recipes in this post, (look for these recipes in future posts) these 5 Ways to Eat Well and Be Well offers all single parents the basic principles associated with eating healthy while being thrifty. Here they are:

1. Make More Meatless Meals
You can reduce the amount of expensive meat and poultry you buy by changing your healthy recipes  to include meatless meals. If you don't want to do without your favorite meats altogether, use them ( along with a lot with poultry and fish) as flavor enhancers, rather than the main course. Add chopped meat, chicken, and fish to omelets, pasta, rice dishes, salads, and stews. You will not be skimping on the flavor, only on the budget.

2. Be a Savvy Shopper
If you want to be the smartest shopping in the neighborhood, shop only in perimeter of the supermarket. That way you will buy healthier groceries. Whole foods, such as produce, meat, and dairy products are always on the outer edge of the store. Generally, the inside aisles are filled with processed and more expensive foods.  

3. Eliminate the Junk Foods
Just say no to junk food. Food with little or no nutritional value has no place in a frugal shopping cart. Make your own cookies, pop your own popcorn, and make iced herbal teas and other healthful beverages. Don't buy packaged deserts. Eat more fruit. It's a healthier choice and will fill you up faster. Avoid sugar filled sodas and drink more water.

4. Forget the Cereal Aisle
Cold cereal is overpriced and overrated. If you have coupons, use them, especially when there is a sale. But the most frugal solution is to get your family hooked on oatmeal. It is more healthful and cost less. Buy the least expensive  brand and dress it up with some with raisins, cinnamon, sliced or dried fruit, or anything else that delights your taste buds.

5. Create a Personal Pricing Guide
Buy a small notebook and keep track of the prices of items you buy every week. Compare prices at all of the local supermarkets. You'll likely find one store that sells your favorite flour, cereal, or pasta for much less than another market. An easy way to start a personal guide is to keep your register receipts so that you can record your item costs. Once you finished your guide, you will find that it will take a little longer to get your shopping done, especially if you shop at three different stores, but you'll spend less money in the long run.

These principles offer you as a single parent, some ideas on how to provide healthy food for yourself and your family while being economical about it. Especially consider giving your children healthy breakfasts and healthy snacks. 


Let me know your thoughts. Leave your comments below