what lengths would you go to to give your child a SAHM/D?

SusanC_2

Pee wrote: »

Whilst I can see that making savings by lifestyle changes would be worthwhile to keep a parent at home for the first five years, the idea of feeding children the cheapest food possible to have a SAHM concerns me. It is a fine line, but I would rather work slightly longer hours to ensure my child had the best food that I could provide.

Cheaper food does not always mean bad for you. I'm sure my HM baked beans are cheaper than bought ones but are far healthier. Using dried beans instead of tinned in your chilli is cheaper with no loss if nutritional value. Liver is cheap but nutritious. Ask weezl - she actually goes to the trouble of analysing nutritional content.

Pee

If you are making baked beans yourself, I am impressed. I shouldn't have thought that saves to much money but the health benefits are surely impressive.

I agree that cheaper doesn't have to mean less healthy, but for some people reducing their food bill may lead to less variety or less healthy food.

SusanC_2

Baileys_Babe wrote: »

One obvious advantage of hand washing nappies that I can see is you don't need to wait for a full load, so less nappies are needed. We were luckly the vast majority of our nappies are 2nd hand so we have not had to factor in the cost of a weeks worth of reuseables.

:eek: When we were using nappies full time it didn't take a week to make a load. Do they not smell bad if you keep them a whole week? Once we were down to only making a load after three days we started sticking them in with the regular washing.

do_it_today!

Having a lodger

This thread and my current childcare dilema is really making me feel like being SAHM.... although I cant see this being possible without going into debt - as my DH income can be so variable.
We bought a house recently and I could have been SAHM at the old place but at the cost of my mental health tbh.

I have been doing some calculations and if we cut back on all incl car we would be £350 in the red per month - banking on DH regularly earning a certain amount...

of the poll we would do everything except extending debt and possibly not having a lodger...

galvanizersbaby

Downshifting groceries

Pee wrote: »

If you are making baked beans yourself, I am impressed. I shouldn't have thought that saves to much money but the health benefits are surely impressive.

I agree that cheaper doesn't have to mean less healthy, but for some people reducing their food bill may lead to less variety or less healthy food.

Me too from a parents point of view.

I can recall my own mum making her own homemade of everything and we hated it as kids though undoubtably it was much better for us and saved her money.

I recall a trip to the local burger bar being cancelled and mum making some home made burgers instead which now I would probably love but as a kid they were rather disappointing

She didn't make her own beans though - in fact they were probably not on her shopping list in those days.

She has passed some of her more popular recipes on to me and my sisters

Pee

Having had lots of lodgers and being really pro lodgers, I have to say that this is almost def not a go-er in a family home.

Is that £350 each month, cumalating?

barnaby-bear

SusanC wrote: »

Cheaper food does not always mean bad for you. I'm sure my HM baked beans are cheaper than bought ones but are far healthier. Using dried beans instead of tinned in your chilli is cheaper with no loss if nutritional value. Liver is cheap but nutritious. Ask weezl - she actually goes to the trouble of analysing nutritional content.

I think the problem with dried kidney beans instead of tinned is that they are poisonous until you cook them properly so every so often some muppet doesn't soak and cook them properly and poisons themselves/their family or their little darlings find them in the cupboard/get given them to make pasta pictures with and shove them into their little mouths poisoning themselves..... definitely one for the higher shelves and those who know how to cook them.....
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/food-for-thought-are-uncooked-red-kidney-beans-poisonous-1069434.html

galvanizersbaby

Downshifting groceries

barnaby-bear wrote: »

I think the problem with dried kidney beans instead of tinned is that they are poisonous until you cook them properly so every so often some muppet doesn't soak and cook them properly and poisons themselves/their family or their little darlings find them in the cupboard/get given them to make pasta pictures with and shove them into their little mouths poisoning themselves..... definitely one for the higher shelves and those who know how to cook them.....
http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/food-for-thought-are-uncooked-red-kidney-beans-poisonous-1069434.html

Thanks for that BB - I did know you had to be careful how you cook them and that info certainly helps me avoid being one of those muppets!
Not that I feed my children kidney beans very often anyway - have to confess I don't like them so I don't put them in!;)

barnaby-bear

SusanC wrote: »

Cheaper food does not always mean bad for you. I'm sure my HM baked beans are cheaper than bought ones but are far healthier. Using dried beans instead of tinned in your chilli is cheaper with no loss if nutritional value. Liver is cheap but nutritious. Ask weezl - she actually goes to the trouble of analysing nutritional content.

... no loss of nutrional value but the gaining of an opportunity to poison your kids

http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-en...s-1069434.html

really please add a warning because otherwise some drongo-nod is going to buy a pack of dried kidney beans and poison themselves..... advising someone to used dried beans without warning them of the dangers or including the safe use advice is a bit silly.....

barnaby-bear

galvanizersbaby wrote: »

Thanks for that BB - I did know you had to be careful how you cook them and that info certainly helps me avoid being one of those muppets!
Not that I feed my children kidney beans very often anyway - have to confess I don't like them so I don't put them in!;)

and if you miss out on the poisoning opportunites associated with various beans and pulses.... make sure you don't miss out on the great opportunities to visit A&E to extract them from the tiny darlings ears/nose/other orifices....