I'd like to know how other Mom's plan their meals out and if they stick within their budget. 

We are a family of five living (by choice) on a single income.  We decided that for the first 30 days we would go Superhero and not worry about a grocery budget.  This Thursday 6/8/10 we are 30 days in.  Normally we spend $600 a month on groceries, this includes everything t.p., diapers, wipes, cleaning supplies, light bulbs, batteries, food, etc.  For the month of June we spent an additional $180.  Ninty-five pecent of what I bought has been organic.  Keep in mind many of the items we won't need to buy each week, or even each month. 

A few budget tips...maple syrup I bought at Costco, nearly same price as Whole Foods only I get a lot more for my money.  Nori, buy a package from Whole Foods for about $6-7 or go to an Asian grocery store and pay $10 for 50 sheets.

I do plan out our meals for the week.  And am now going to make some simplier meals 1-2 times a week.   Rice, bean and mixed veggies on top or whole wheat pasta veggies and tofu cubes.  When I go shopping tomorrow I'll be crossing my fingers that I spend under $150.  I'm pretty sure I can do it! 

P.S. To keep on budget stay away from the packaged stuff as much as you can. 

Thank you so much.  I spend about $200 a week for my family of five.  I have a lot to learn!  I'm trying to drop our budget and go full superhero.  I just shopped for the week (I had many staples at home already) and spent $96!  It was less than I remember spending in a long time.  My plan for the week is to make grains and tofu, spaghetti with greens, a lentil soup.  And for the weekend is a stew and tofu salad.  I making sure to have leftovers.  And if all else fails, I bought whole oats for a dinner of oatmeal and miso soup. 

I kept telling myself to keep it simple, keep it simple, keep it simple.  :) 

Now I hope my family enjoys the meals.  My husband is behind me on this.  My children are 6 (twins) and a 14 month old.  All three have big appetities! 

Do you buy your diapers at Costco?  I get 7th generation when they are on sale or the 365 brand at Whole Foods.  I also buy the G-diapers which are completely biodegradable. 

Thanks, again.  Deb

We have much in common Deb.  My oldest is 7, middle is 3 and youngest is also 14 months (born May 1).  Sounds like you have a great menu plan, and you did fantastic shopping. 

I don't know if you've talked to your twins yet but if not, I recommend not saying anything to them for awhile.  I told my oldest right away, she has loved everything we have made but frequently complains of missing meat.  I think I told her too much adult talk about why we made the change, and I should have let her lead the questioning.

I do buy diapers at Costco.  I didn't know there were better alternatives out there.  At our Whole Foods I was looking for those sanitary pads Alicia Silverstone was talking about recently and couldn't find a thing.  Are both 7th gen and G-diapers at Whole Foods?

Have you tried any of the receipes from the book?  Family faves around here are the Hijiki Croquettes, the Black Eye Pea Croquettes and the Bean Dip.  Oh and the Udon Noodles with paprika (can't think of the name).

Hi there!  Ahhh, the food budget!  Menus have always helped me save too. I try to keep my weekly budget at $175 for a family of 5.  It is 3 meals a day, 7 days a week as we rarely eat out.  I am the only one trying to eat superhero so I am still buying some meat and dairy for my family, but on the flip side, I am the only one eating some of the macrobiotic foods so I think it balances out.  I so wish we had a Whole Foods here.  This budget does not allow for many organics.  Much of my budget goes toward snacks.  What do your kids like in the way of more healthy chips or pretzels?  My friend recently started using the G diapers and it made me wish I had a baby in diapers again! They are too cool!  You ladies have a nice day!

Hi Manya.  I'm feeling relieved that our grocery budget is close to what others are trying to do.  We also do not eat out, the restaurant prices just kill me.  I'm sorry to hear there isn't a Whole Foods near you.  That makes it especially difficult.

We eat breakfast and lunch so close together that we skip a.m. snack.  But in the p.m. the kids might have some Annie's crackers, Pirates Booty or popcorn.  If they are still hungry I cut up some fruit for them.  I also am not opposed to making dinner early if the snack wasn't enough.

Wow, you guys all inspire to to spend much less on groceries!!!! I have a family of five as well, and my goal is to stay under 250 a week and I struggle with that! I still buy dairy (although almond and soy milk for my girls, which is more $) and some meat for kiddos.  I feel like I spend the most on snacks as well!!  I go to farmers market on wed. and spend about $50 just on veggies, then I still have to get fruit, which they eat a ton of.  Doesn't include the rice, tofu, beans... snacks and what not.  I definitely need to figure out how to spend less, if you guys can keep it under 200 and even 150 surely I can as well!  Any advice is appreciated.

I buy a case of soy milk and rice milk (organic) each at Costco.  Then when I pour milk in my little one's sippy cup or for cereal I mix the two!  It's much cheaper than Eden's brand for the soy/rice combo milk.  I plan a menu and try to stick to it when I'm shopping!  I plan out M-Th with simple meals like brown rice and beans, a soup night, a wrap or pizza night and one night is just oatmeal or cereals.  Friday/Saturday I pull out the fancy stuff with a stew, maybe a tofu or tempeh salad, fancy veggies and a dessert.  Sunday I won't cook.  It's either leftovers or whatever I can put together.  I hope this helps! 

The G-diapers are great, except that my son is a major pooper.  Must be all the grains!  And it never contains the poops.  So if I go out of the house for a long time, I use the 7th generation or something else. 

Lorna, thanks for the advice with the kids.  I can see where too much information can ruin it.  Thank you! 

Manya, for snacks I got a big tub of whole grain pretzels and a box of "natural" fruit leathers from Costco.  I also make smoothies like crazy, oh, and popcorn.  I bought a vita-mix and it was the best purchase, ever!  And then there is fresh fruit, maybe some homemade cookies once in a while.

Like all of you, I cook three meals a day, 7 days a week!  I really don't mind, it's best for me and the family.  But I do get a little moody at times if I'm just too tired.  And, in addition, The $96 was for M-Th.  I'll probably spend about $75 for the fancy weekend meal. 

Thanks for sharing.  Keep it coming.

Deb I found the diapers you mentioned today at Whole Foods.  I bought the 7th Gen pull-ups for my 3 year old.  It's a poopy life around here too with my son.   Our Whole Foods only had newborn sizes for the pants G-diaper.  Maybe I can look on-line.

Hi, I'm also a mom trying to cut our grocery bills.  Does Costco really help, does it have many organics?  I just switched to an organic CSA since I can't seem to find a farmer's market with many organics in my area. Our first pick up was yesterday, and we really got a lot for the money - a huge bin of stuff for $50.  We're normally (between Target and Whole Foods) spending between $800-1000 a month on groceries - I'm hoping to cut that in half if possible - I'm trying to do things like make our bread, buy dried beans and cook and freeze them, and stick to basics as much as possible and away from pre-packaged stuff.  Any tips though would be greatly appreciated!!

If you live in Utah, Wyoming, Texas, Arizona, Washington, Idaho or Nevado, you should check out www.BountifulBasket.org   For only $15 you get two small laundry baskets FULL of vegetables & fruit--it's SO MUCH for $15.  Their goal is to stay as local as possible & buy from smaller farmers--they try to get clean produce when at all possible & even have an organic option for $10 more every other week.  This has been such a great resource for my parents & sister who live in a rural area & don't have great produce selection in stores.  It's completely volunteer-based; the site can be kind of confusing so if anyone is interested & has specific questions just send me a message.

I LOVE planning my weekly menu & searching out new recipes to try.  It really helps keep costs--& waste--down, because you can use the same produce you have on hand in different ways throughout the week or amp up leftovers to make a whole new meal.  Also, buy beans, rice, nuts, etc in bulk--much much cheaper & creates less waste.  If you can't buy local produce, at least try to stick to what's in season--it's usually less expensive during its peak.  Reduce the amount of processed goods you buy--this is where things can add up quickly.

Lorna, glad you found those diapers.  Hope you like them.  The 7th run a little small, just so you know.  My son has been in G's all day.  I bought mine on line.  They have great packages and sales.  Bought them from the G-diaper website.  My son's birthday is April 14.

I agree with everyone, planning weekly menu and writing the list of what you need saves so much money.  And I agree that there is less waste. 

We have some local farmers markets, I go there once a week but they certainly don't have daikon and some of those goodies. 

I'm not a mom, but I've cut a load of money out of my grocery bill by using coupons and/or buying groceries on sale.  Also, if your local stores double or triple coupon value, then you really can make a killing.  For example, I had some 1.00 off silk soymilk coupons that doubled to 2.00 off (on Wednesday only) at my local Farm Fresh supermarket; it took the price down to 1.79 each half gallon.  Something similar happened with other nondairy milks (Almond Breeze).  I currently have a lot of .75 off silk coupons which double to 1.50 off at Farm Fresh and Harris Teeter (I have bought some coupons off of ebay, which is legal depending on what the coupons say...Also, ebay has a coupon policy).  You can also try sites like thecouponclippers.  I had the most amazing experience when I took 4 (1.25 off silk almond) coupons into Harris Teeter during their superdoubles event (where they'd double the face value of coupons up to almost 2 bucks; the register took 2.50 off of each half gallon of silk almond milk (which was originally 2.99) and I paid .49 for each half gallon!

I'm sorry for such a long post.  I hope it helps.  I learned a lot on the couponmom website, too.

Anyone out there have advise on transitioning my children to a vegan diet? I am a flirt transitioning to a vegan and really want to get my kids there too. I have a 6 and 4 year old. I have already changed to Almond Milk and Tofruitti cream cheese but need to expand!!!! My 6 year old has many environmental allergies(dust, pollen, grass, trees, cats) as well as some mild asthma issues. I know that switching him over completely will do wonders for him! I think I will try the Black Eye Pea Croquettes and Udon Noodles. I think they may eat those!!!! 

My kids love fried rice, plain brown rice with soy sauce (sometimes I make a tahini sauce), the krispie treats are a huge hit, anything with udon noodles (like in a miso broth with some corn and peas), baked tofu, ezikiel bagels with earth balance or tofutti cream cheese, tofu salad, hummus, oatmeal too.   There's more, I just can't think of it all right now. 

If I don't tell them it's different and vegan and just make it a yummy dinner, they are fine.