I grew up in a VERY carnivorous home. There was some form of meat at every dinner, be it pork, chicken, or beef. That's probably fairly typical of a lot of American families, but meat is expensive. It's also best used sparingly; a little is good for your health, but a diet rich in meat can quickly increase your cholesterol and your body weight!We purchase our ground beef in big economy packs, and then divide it up in the freezer. When we divide it up, though, we put it in sections of maybe 1/3 of a pound apiece. We've found this to be plenty to add to most recipes that call for a full pound of ground beef - stroganoff, spaghetti, casseroles, etc. (It obviously won't work well if your recipe is very meat-centric, like meatloaf or hamburgers.)
Cutting back on the amount of ground beef we use has saved us a lot of money, and makes our diet just a little bit healthier, as well.
For more tips & advice, visit Works-For-Me Wednesday over at Rocks in my Dryer!
5 comments:
Amen to cutting back! I totally agree! I grew up in a huge huge meat eating home, and I have done the same with my family. It saves us so much money too! I used to use 4 chicken breasts per dinner, and have found that I can use 2, cut them into strips, and everyone walks away full and content!
Great idea!
Hugs.. Amy
I agree - I hardly ever use the amount of meat called for in a recipe. It's just not necessary.
I grew up like you guys - eating meat at every meal. Part of that was because my Dad is a big hunter, and what he killed, we ate. They still do. That's definitely a way to cut down on cost!
But lately Husband's been on a low-carb kick and it's killing me! :) So much for casseroles!
I don't know about saving costs but you can up the health content of any casserole by replacing the meat you took out with eggplant or mushrooms or my favorite chinese tofu. Meat is a lot more expensive than fresh vegetables around here ( I know not at home in the states) and we can save money and pounds this way. I always do this in chicken and dumplings.
I grew up the same way, meat with every meal, or it wasn't a meal. Now when we have lighter meals, we all feel so much better!
i've also been subbing turkey instead of meat. which is a lot healthier.
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