Cravings on a budget

Being pregnant means food cravings. Recently we drove by Panda Express, and I had a sudden craving for orange chicken. Now, at $8 for a takeout container, it's not cheap. Fortunately we were also right near Costco, so my husband offered to run in to pick up a package of frozen orange chicken. For $12, you get just over 4lbs of chicken, split into two packages. He cooked up one of the packages of chicken and we all enjoyed it- there was just enough left over for lunch, and it only cost $6.50!

Early in my pregnancy, I craved Tom Kha Kai, a Thai coconut milk soup, and Greek salad. Both were relatively easy to make, though my initial trip to the store for Greek salad ingredients cost $30 ($10 for olive oil alone, $5 for Kalamata olives, etc). I did get enough to make daily salads for nearly 2 weeks, a huge savings over the $7-8 price per salad at the deli counter or a restaurant. Ingredients for Tom Kha were even less.

Thanks to my mom, I have a great recipe for oven fried chicken and can make a KFC style meal for $12, including mashed potatoes, gravy, and corn on the cob (still looking for the perfect biscuit recipe!). That includes dinner for all of us plus lunch. We've also made homemade pizza (dough and sauce from scratch) that everyone loved, and the kids really enjoyed creating their own pizzas.

Another bonus is that it's much easier to avoid additives, preservatives, and processed foods by cooking ourselves. I know what we make is healthier and safer for my kids to eat- and it's less expensive!

Limiting our dining out (family meals once every 2-3 weeks; breakfast or lunch 1-2x/month for me and 3x/month for my husband) has saved us a lot, and we've gotten better at learning to cook some of our favorites at home as well as learned to be more selective about where we choose to eat when we go out. We've discovered many of our previously favorite restaurants don't match up to home cooking.

Dining out has become a way to enjoy the company of friends (and each other!) and savor food we can't or don't cook at home, and not just a way to fill an empty belly.