Is it just me our is the cost of food constantly rising? My household eats mainly fish and poultry which, spins off into the items I purchase for the daycare operations. In the summer I love to get produce from local farmers market like; Yorktown, Lombard or Downers Grove but off season I find myself at : Trader Joe’s, Ultra, Jewel, Wholes Food and Aldi’s. I usually spend between $150-$200 for weekly grocery shopping – this included the cost of feeding my family and running the daycare, purchasing household and daycare supplies. Do you think this is too much to spend on a small business operation and for a family of only four?

I am working on ways to cut back cost while providing nutritional meals for all. I recently received a newsletter on the ‘thrifty thirteen’ foods and thought, I would love to share this information and ask your opinion. I got this information from my government agency that holds me accountable for each child nutritional staple.

The list of Thrifty Thirteen Foods are:

• Spinach
• Banana
• Berries
• Potatoes
• Onions
• Beans
• Tomatoes
• Cauliflower
• Carrots
• Apples
• Cabbage
• Tuna
• Watermelon

You can substitute the menu depending on your meat preference or dietary habits. Click here for information from the US Dept of Agriculture

Click to access foodplansrecipebook.pdf

Let me hear your thoughts. 🙂