need tips for feeding large family raw

[advancewithcourage]

I have 5 children ages 11 down to 1 and 1/2. I want to feed them mostly raw although I cannot do 100% because hubby is not convinced.

It takes a lot of food to feed all of us and I am wondering if anyone has some meal suggestions that would be affordable. Nuts are expensive - $43 for a 5lb bag of macadamias! I want to increase the amounts of raw foods at least in everyones diet for health reasons but our food bill is astronimical now. We are spending about $200 a week now.

[Purl]

I spend about the same each week, I have 4 children (ages 8,8,5,2) and my dh is like yours ;) . I mainly buy fruit on sale, (this time of year apples and oranges, occ grapes) dried fruit (raisins, apricots, apples, mango, coconut, dates), nuts (almonds, cashews, macadamias, walnuts). I can buy bananas for 39 cents a pound at a discount grocer so I buy 5-6 bunches in different stages of ripening. I use the bananas as the basis of our smoothies. I buy greens (kale, lettuce, baby spinach) and fresh herbs when I need them. I also buy a large bag of organic carrots and tomatoes. I buy frozen avacados from trader joe's. I buy almond butter and raw honey and maple syrup. The first 2 weeks I spent an extra $50-70 a week, as we transitioned but now it's kinda mellowed out. We aren't 100% raw yet, maybe only 50% for the children and 75% for me. Just today I bought sticky notes so I can go thru my newly aquired raw books and find the cheap and easy recipies and mark them for next week. It's all a process, but now I'm not spending $20 a week on organic cow's milk, or some of the other stuff they ate. I also found out that as they eat more nutritionally sound food they eat less quanitity. I allow fruit at ANY TIME-even if supper is just about to go on the table. Fruit is not very expensive and how can you tell a growin' boy NOT to eat FRUIT! Ds #1 had 4 bananas and an apple for breakfast, followed by fresh OJ. Fine with me! I do buy soy or rice milk, and some gluten free crackers. They eat brown rice for breakfast (with raisins and maple syrup) and a smoothie (bananas, soymilk, cinnamon, maple syrup and an avacado). Snack at school is homemade trail mix, lunch is an almond butter sandwich (gluten free bread) and veggies with Annie's dressing. Snack at home is fruit and nuts. Dinner something vegetarian, possibly cooked and a large baby spinach salad with raisins, tomatoes, shredded carrot and sunflower seeds. I let them choose their favorite dressing-high quality brand-no Kraft Krud here! LOL!
Hope this helps. Let me know if I can answer anything else.

Oh! and one more thing-I found a nearby farm that offers a CSA share-it will cost $675 upfront-but we will have 8-17 lbs of fresh organic produce every week from May til Dec and we can buy more at reduced cost. I'll find a lin k for you and post it later.

[joannes]

We are only a family of 5 - this includes 3 kids who all eat well over what my husband eats. I am all raw, the kids are mostly raw, and hubby is somewhere in the middle since he eats whatever I make, but also eats his own thing too. We spend at least $100 a week, but usually about $150 or so. To save money, I buy a case of bananas every week and make it last. I buy all our nuts and seeds from Trader Joe's (very cheap!). If you do not have a TJ's in your area, try a food buying club like Azure Standard or Blooming Prairie, or ?? When things go on sale at the local stores, that's what we eat. Example, last week this one store had 10 pound bags of fuji apples for THREE DOLLARS each! I was so excited. It's not organic, but it's better than eating steak, right?! We ate 50 pounds of apples last week .. well, there's still about 10 apples left. Also, the same store had oranges on sale - small navels for ten cents each. One time a store had spinach for .19 a bunch! We had a lot of spinach that week. We eat what's cheap at the time, and then add in a little of the more expensive stuff to make it more interesting. Example - globe grapes go for only $1 a pound. Even though they have seeds, they are much cheaper than the other grapes and taste better IMO. We spit the seeds out as we eat them. Also, one store had mangoes on sale for fifty cents each. I got 10 of them and made them last the whole week. For an extra treat, we get a few organic medjool dates (3.99 a pound) and each have one ever few days (just like candy!). I buy some things at an asian store - like young coconuts. They cost $2 each at the store close to me, or I can swing by the asian store when I'm in the neighborhood and pay only $1 each. They usually have other fruits and veggies on sale too. Since the kids eat some cooked foods too, I stick to what's cheap - lentils and rice; oatmeal; pancakes made from garbonzo and rice flour; etc. I buy these items from the buying club (Azure Standard).

We are military and just moved in to a new place - I hope to have a small garden of at least some tomatoes, melons, and maybe a few other things as space allows. A garden will help out a lot in the warmer months - put your kids to work :) Also, as I was out and about the other day, I saw a produce truck delivering to a store. I wrote down the name and number and plan to call them and see if they will sell direct to me. And, I think you can ask your local produce manager at a grocery store if you can puchase the 'day old' stuff for a mark down .. or maybe even get it for free? Just start asking around. Any store should sell you produce by the case, just ask. And, wait till it's on sale!

Like I said, it's not all organic, but it's better than eating a SAD, right? Good luck!

[Purl]

Here's a link: Find a Farm Near You (http://wsare.usu.edu/pub/index.cfm?sub=csa)

[7blessings]

Hi, all! I must say, our food bill is our highest bill each month next to our mortgage! LOL!

We have 6 dc: 18, 17, 12, 11, 7, 1 The oldest 4 are big eaters! My oldest, a girl, will only eat salad and occasional fruit. She is out a lot at work and eats junk. But the rest of the crew eats what I make, though they beg for Cheeze-its now and then! We buy from Azure Standard also and that helps. My hubby does all the shopping as we live way out in the country, so he shops on the way home. He does his best to buy organic when on sale. We have also found organic farmers that we can buy cases of pears/apples/plums from in season. ( We are actually looking to buy a working farm, and that will really reduce the food bill!!)

Costco has organic greens and baby carrots. I make dip to go with the carrots.

I know it is difficult. I struggle with the cost of stuff, really miss Trader Joe's (they won't come to Spokane...yet!) But we just do our best to eat healthy.

Blessings,
Lori in WA

[Purl]

(pssst....my food bill is MORE than my mortgage!!!) We are spending about $260 a week, but it's all good and all eaten. I shop on Thurs and by wed night we are O-U-T of food. LOL!!!

[Conscious Midwife]

There Are seven in our household. Make that 6, one just left for college.

Each week we shop with two buggies. I do this as a visual for myself and to track the spending. I sort the buggies by RAW stuff verses SAD

The first tiem I had like $30 worth of my stuff and $150+ of the other stuff. Well I was back at the store every few days cause folks were eating up my stuff.

Since we are not 100% organic I shop the following way:

Sam's 1-2x/ month bulk shopping
Bags of avacados
Bulk frozen fruits
tortilla chips
Case of BOCA burgers
Olive Oil
Pasta
Tomatoes
Granola Cereal
Peanut Butter

Farmers Market 2X/month
Veggies Only, the fruit is usually questionable
Raw Honey

Wild Oats 1x/month
Yeast Flakes
Misc Vegetarian stuff
Dr. Bonners Soap
First Cold Press Olive Oil
Organic fruits and Veggies when on sale


Walmart or Kroger (Weekly)
Occasional soy milk or 100% juice
THINK bars
Assorted veggies, fruits,
Bread
Cleaning stuff and hygiene items
Beans
Kashi crackers

Yesterday at Walmart the RAW Buggy was huge and the Sad had just a few things.

Because meat prep is minimal in our house, the folks who want it usually get it by the serving from the Chinese Restaurant a few miles away. I will keep frozen chick patties and ground turkey on hand BUT I DO NO MEAT PREP!!!

Hubby usually eats fish sandwhich from McDonalds on his lunch break or he has seafood at the Chinese buffet. Then our dinners our all Vegetarian and high raw. I skip the breads and any cooked sides.


ALL enjoy Fruit Smoothies in the AM and with salad lunches on the weekend.

LAst I counted our groceries and meals out came to @ $1000/ month. Looking for a slight decrease with the oldest one away at college. She usually consume 6-9 lbs. of apples and a jar of peanut butter each week. Plus she could inish a 1/2gallon of Silk in a day by herself.

Now that I'm off the cooked vegetarian foods. We'll save more too. Fake nuggets, patties and other prepackage meat substitutes are actually quite expensive per serving and too high in sodium

[Green Life]

So if you're hubby isn't convinced does that mean he is mostly SAD?

If so, I have some ideas because my dearest hubby is also SAD and my children are half and half, respectively.

I use my crock pot to cook my hubbies dinners. It is so easy and cheap because you can buy the cheapest cuts of meat and they will be tender by dinner. Also, dry beans and lentils are super cooked in a slow cooker and oh, so cheap.

And, being a raw person, I don't like to spend time at the stove. So, the crock pot works wonders, I'ts really a life saver me.

So, usually I only spend about 30.00 on SAD ingredients for my hubbiey.

I buy banannas at Ralphs when they have them marked down to 10 cents a pound. I buy them out. Usually, it's 80 pounds! They are organic and ripe ready for yummie smoothies and fruit leather.

I buy the Farmers raw oats that have been hulled for sprouting. I wash them myself, then I roll them out for oatmeal and they are delish. and very cheap.



Cheers!
Green Life
:D

[chilove]

Buy your produce at produce stores and ethnic stores (asian, hispanic) rather than grocery stores. I could never afford to be raw at grocery store prices! :-) I do look at the sales in the Sunday paper though, sometimes they have some good prices on one or two items and I will go stock up on only those items. When you find some good produce stores, introduce yourself to the manager/owner and tell them you are a raw foodist, they always love that. Tell them that you are interested in buying by the case and in their "day old" produce. You can get DEEP discounts that way. You can also find out who they order their produce from, every city has one or two large produce distrubutors. Sometimes these distributors will let individuals (and groups of individuals-co-ops) purchase from them at wholesale prices as long as you purchase their minimum order every time. The one in my ares has a $150.00 minimum order. It might work out great for a large family.

All the best,

Audrey
www.rawhealing.com

[Conscious Midwife]

Went to Wild Oats this afternoon. Stuck to RAW purchases only :D plus Dr. Bonbers Hemp Almond soap!

Found Gogi Berries, great discounts on live wheat grass and bought some wild rice for soaking. Got an assortment of other raw stuff too for less than $55. Walmart was yesterday and I'll be back at the store by tommorow for bananas. We must eat 7-8 bunches a week :eek: .

[rawpriestess]

first, don't buy expensive nuts like macademias


second, buy inexpensive things like zucchini, I peel them then keep peeling them into noodle like strips then add any sauce you like, or add to salads,

also make soup, soup is easy, inexpensive, and tastes great,

take some tomatoes, and some salt, garlic and avocado blend it all up, add some chopped veggies and some spice, and you have a great meal

make sure to add zucchini noodles to your soup.

take any fruit that is too ripe, or leftover and freeze, then make ice cream out of it, add frozen bananas for smoothness and sweetener.

make smoothies, with ice, a bit of fruit and some greens, it extends the food alot.

use inexpensive foods, like bananas at Walmart are 18 cents per pound right now.

apples, oranged, have these available all the time for snacks, desserts, etc.

use sprouts, they are easy to grow, kids will love this, and very inexpensive, taste delicious, and will extend your foods, add them to pate's for texture.

[tvillemom]

I have some sprouts that I just sprouted (like a mix of small seeds). I've got them in the fridge...but I'm not sure how to eat them other than in a salad. Do I just add them to a pate recipe? Thanks. It seems more feasible to add them to something, and then maybe even have leftovers frozen for those weeks when the paycheck is low.
Wendi

[Nix]

I have some sprouts that I just sprouted (like a mix of small seeds). I've got them in the fridge...but I'm not sure how to eat them other than in a salad. Do I just add them to a pate recipe? Thanks. It seems more feasible to add them to something, and then maybe even have leftovers frozen for those weeks when the paycheck is low.
Wendi

I like to make hummus, some raw tahini, some garlic and onion and sea salt. It can be done with chick peas (sprout those in about 2 or 3 days for this) or maybe without if you have enough and want to give it a go!
here is a quote from someone on another posting

"Moonflower]Hi,

I have a raw food prep book that recommends chopping your chic pea sprouts in your food processor and then marinating them overnight in the fridge in olive oil and lemon juice before blending them into hummus.

I've tried it and it worked well for me...

XO,

Moonflower"

Just a thought...

Nix

[Regen]

I've been putting them in my green smoothie :)

[juliebove]

I have 5 children ages 11 down to 1 and 1/2. I want to feed them mostly raw although I cannot do 100% because hubby is not convinced.

It takes a lot of food to feed all of us and I am wondering if anyone has some meal suggestions that would be affordable. Nuts are expensive - $43 for a 5lb bag of macadamias! I want to increase the amounts of raw foods at least in everyones diet for health reasons but our food bill is astronimical now. We are spending about $200 a week now.

Of course food costs vary depending on where you live, but we spend over $200 a week for three of us!

Organic food is better for you, but you can get non-organic cheaper. In this area, you can get big bags of fruit such as apples or mixed apples and oranges for very little money. I find I usually have to throw away one bad apple in every bag but it's still cheaper to buy them this way and you can get the tiny apples that kids love.

Macadamias are one of the more expensive nuts. I buy a lot of cashews here. I made the Swiss nut cheese from them. I also make the onion bread all the time. It is wonderful for sandwiches made with the nut cheese, tomatoes and lettuce.

Sprouts are an inexpensive source of protein, and they're cheaper still if you make your own. My daughter loves chickpea or pea sprouts and will eat them just like popcorn. Raw corn is another inexpensive snack this time of year.

We eat a lot of salads here. I can easily vary them based on what I get in my organic produce box. And this brings me to the biggest money saver of all. The organic produce box! If you can get weekly shipments in your area, I highly recommend them. Depending on what farm makes the delivery, you may or may not have any leeway as to what gets put in the box. The first farm I tried had good produce but didn't allow you to make choices other than all fruit, all veg, or mixed box. In this family, fruit doesn't go over well aside from the occasional navel orange, certain types of apples (rarely the ones in the box), occasional grapes and the stuff on our trees or in the garden. So the all veg. box suited me better, but I kept getting avocados and nobody here will eat those.

Now the farm I use allows you three permanent exceptions. Things you never want to see in the box. Each Friday, they send an e-mail telling you what will be in a standard box. You can then make up to three changes if you want and also add addition items. These items vary from week to week but there are always some sort of greens, carrots, tomatoes, onions, and fruit, plus more season things.

If your aim is simply to increase the amount of raw foods, I'd start with always keeping fresh fruit and some cut up raw veggies in the house. People tend to snack on what is there.