This would be a great book and a great help! How do you sneak in healthy ingredients into your regular dishes?

This is my question- does this book have mainly casseroles, or does it incorporate alot of meat and potatoes? My husband is *SO* picky, and I can’t make alot of normal food that other people like- i.e., lasagna, casseroles, anything with cheese, anything with tomatoes, anything with pasta, anything that isn’t meat and potatoes! And fixing meals with meat every night costs money! So does it have recipes that I can fix or tweak for a very picky husband? Thanks!

Hi! How do you manage to eat healthy on a budget. It seems like all of the good for you foods are the most expensive!

I am looking to cut our food budget. What are some good tips you use to cut your budget? (such as food substitutions)

How do you handle the the food inventory in terms of record keeping, practical storage, and variety?

You are an amazing woman!! How much time do you spend in the kitchen daily?

What is your single favorite frugal AND healthy food? At our house, the favorite is sweet potatoes!

I have your book. It is on the table beside my chair right now. I like your recipes very much. I also have ‘Not Just Beans’ and ‘Dining on a Dime’ both by Tawra Kellam. I think all 3 of these books would make wonderful gifts for new brides.
Thanks for your wonderful book.

hi how do you manage time with food prep, shopping, and kids?

My question is Are all the recipes enough to feed 10 children plus 2 adults, or are the recipes for smaller size families?

Do you mention using coupons in the book and how to go about doing that?

Does the book include Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner recipes?

How many questions are we allowed to ask? (Just kidding!!) My real question is…
Do you have some simpler recipes for busier days when you don’t have as much time to spend in the kitchen?

Does the $75 include all meals or just dinners? Thank you for the giveaway.

koinonia572001@yahoo.com

Great idea to combine the giveaway with the interview! My question is this – how do you negotiate between serving healthy meals and serving meals that are actually welcome at the table of ‘meat and potato’ lovers?

I want to know how Mary stays motivated in her efforts to raise good kids, feed them well, homeschool them, and stay within budget the whole time.

How much time do you spend a week orgazining your menu and grocery list? Do you shop at multiple stores (as that is not an option for us)?

Do you keep within that budget by going through sales flyers and using coupons each week? Or do you have some other shopping strategy (assuming you have one)?

Nurturing a large family is requires a particularly focused commitment (make that commitments – emotional, mental and physical). What would the (current day) you tell the just-starting-the-journey you, if you had the chance to share some hard-won wisdom with your younger self?

(Can I sneak in another? Do you think the younger you would listen to the advice?)

Do the recipes include a lot of dairy, egg, soy, nuts, and other allergens?

Hi Mary. We have recently increased our food budget from $200 to $250 every 2 weeks, with a 17-month old and another will be here in Nov. For the newborn, once it’s time for foods, my wife will be making homemade baby food again (fruits, veggies, etc).

How would you propose we plan our meals on a tighter food budget, and still ensure that there are items that will be healthy for our new child?

How long do you spend cooking/prepping foods each day? How much of that time is actual hands on time?

Does your family garden?

I find myself making the same meals over and over. How do you stay out of the menu rut?

Do your meals usually require a few ingredients, or many? I try to keep my cooking as simple as possible.

How far in advance do you plan your meals?

Do you ever recommend purchasing organic ingredients?

What foods do you think are the best for combining healthiness and frugality? If my family can be persuaded to eat them, that is a major plus too:-)

What is your favorite and most frugal snack item?

Do you have some frugal ideas for low-carb eating?

The thought of a free book on saving money makes my toes curl! I am curious how large your garden is and how much produce do you glean a season from it to supplement your budget.

I’m most curious to know how to work in organic (especially in the dirty dozen and dairy areas) when keeping to a low grocery budget. We do about $100/month and I’m struggling to get more organics in.

Thanks!
Heather

Do you can? From your garden, from friend’s garden or from a farmer’s market? Any ideas on finding inexpensive foods to preserve?

I’m excited for this interview…can you tell?

Heather

Do you stick to the $75/week strictly or is that an average over the month or year? Our $100/month is what my goal is, but it tends to be an average as there are months I go over and then months I stay way under to balance. If it is a strict amount how do you use that to buy bulk or really great deals you find?

Can’t wait and thanks so much for the giveaway.

Heather

Do you purchase from a bulk food store or co-op? We would like to try either but this area does not seem to have either.

My question is similar to one above…how far in advance do you plan your meals? Do you plan all three meals plus snacks?
(p.s. your sister is in my cloth diapering group!)

My family eats from a very whole-foods mindset. How much of your cooking philosophy is influenced by a whole-foods diet?

My question is what do you do about picky eaters? It drives me nuts trying to cook for everyone and still be frugal! Ideas?

When you are planning your menu and shopping do you try to first use what you have on hand and then shop the sales or do you more look at what is on sale and go from there first?

I would love to know how often your kids cook a meal. This summer my kids each took a turn cooking one week and it was eye opening for all of us!

Have you done any analysis of the cost of storing bulk food? A friend recently asked if I’d be interested in sharing a side of beef. I would have had to buy a freezer, and then pay for electricity all year long to run it. (Then it turned out the beef cost more than store sales anyway.)

Having just reread my questions, I realize they all sound kind of whiny and self-pitying. I apologize. I need to go adjust my attitude.

I would love to read this book. I have a family of 6. I plan my meals and menu before I make my grocery list. I would love to see how someone else makes their grocery budget stretch.
How often do you go to the store and are you able to do most of your shopping at one stop?

Thank you for sharing your tips with us!

Do you think if people at more ethnic foods they’d be able to lower their food bill? It seems in our house we eat the same foods over and over but they aren’t very creative. Maybe we should learn to like other foods that we haven’t ordinarily heard of.

I have not read your book but the suggestions I have come across in the past has LOTS of noodles and pre-packaged mixes that include a lot of wheat. Do you have ideas to stay within a budget like $75 a week when your family has to eat Gluten Free?

Was your book written prior to the current economic crisis? $75 doesn’t buy today what it did a year ago, so I’m curious if it is based on current pricing?

Do you include many vegan recipe ideas in your book? We eat vegan for a fair amount of the year (fasting periods–we’re Eastern Orthodox).

I am wondering if you buy any convenience foods. I am also wondering if the meals are healthy as this is one thing I would not be willing to compromise.

Do you give nutritional information in your cookbook? How do you manage to be inexpensive and healthy…and not just eat beans and rice? Do you incorporate Fresh Fruits and Veggies in the food budget?

facebook post I am sure my friends & family will enjoy this book!

I love to cook and would love to spend just $75/week. What is your favorite tip on saving money?

Facebook statused about giveaway!