Grocery Woes

by Amie Sexton
excerpt from "Decorating with Weeds"

This is an area where I can truly say, “I’ve tried it all!” We are a family of five and while my three children are still young, they have huge appetites. We’ve actually had neighbors who wanted to watch our kids eat just for the fun of it. Granted, we may be lacking in entertainment here in rural North Carolina but hopefully you get the point. And I’m not complaining. Sweets and snacks are strictly limited at our house and so my kids eat plenty because they aren’t full of junk. But these big eaters are hard on our budget. I can only imagine the damage they will do as teenagers!

I’ve tried shopping once a month, twice a month, every week, during store sales, and so on. I’ve cut coupons. I’ve cut out pre-packaged foods. I’ve cut corners. I’ve created menus and shopping lists in every form imaginable. If stacks of grocery related paper products could evolve into pot roast we’d be eating like kings every night. Still, it seemed no matter what I tried, we were always low on food and even lower on money at the end of the month. So, where did all this planning and re-planning get me? Back to the one thing that works in my life…simplicity!

We have a basic menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner with a few extra recipes on standby just to keep life from being too monotonous. I try to think ahead. Not months ahead. There are women who do this and my hat is off to them but a week at a time is about all I can handle without going into information overload.

I can’t share about groceries and budgeting without sharing what has become a favorite story at our house.

Pond Scum Soup

Sounds disgusting, I know, but it’s actually a very delicious soup made with spinach, onions, ham, and chicken broth. Unfortunately, it wouldn’t win any prizes for presentation. My husband officially named it after the very first time I served it to the family and how could I argue with him? It really does look like, well, pond scum.

A while back we moved into a new house that lo and behold has a pond practically in the backyard. One night as I was just about to dish up a batch of soup, Tim and I wondered what the kids would do if they thought we were really eating pond scum. Being the type of parents who aren’t afraid of inflicting minor emotional trauma for the sake of a good laugh, we decided to try them out.

Tim headed out with a large mixing bowl in hand and called all the kids to help him collect our main ingredient. Now, just the thought of scooping dinner from a pond would put average children over the edge. Not my crew. They trouped down to the water’s edge just as cheerfully as ever and as Tim dipped into the slime and algae, my oldest son excitedly declared, “Dad, this is great! This is a lot cheaper than having to buy it at the store!” A boy after my own heart.

Believe it or not, we sat down for dinner and the children ate without a word of complaint. It was only when I began serving seconds and asked if they wanted it “with or without tadpoles” that their eyes grew wide with horror. The rouse was up and we let them in on our little secret. We have trained our kids to be thankful for whatever food is put in front of them but even I was impressed by how far they were willing to go.