Reducing breakfast costs

[Danestress]

Okay, you ladies are such an inspriration to me in terms of frugality.

My family has always eaten breakfast cereral almost every morning. Not the "Coco Puffs" type stuff - my basic rules were that there had to be 3 grams of fiber per bowl, no artificial colors and flavors, and sugar in moderation. I only bought the cereal that was on sale.

So after I started tracking money spending, I decided we would try to not eat cereal. I've been making breakfast every morning. Everyone is happy with this arrangement and they don't seem to miss cereal if the alternative is pancakes, eggs, muffins, and occasionally eggs. I eat a lot of oatmeal but they aren't wild about it.

But I'm not really sure this is saving money. When I mentally calculate what the butter and eggs cost, what the blueberries in the muffins cost, etc, I wonder if it's worth the extra work the cooking and cleaning.

Has anyone tried to calculate this? Do you have a "very cheapest way to eat without eating garbage for breakfast" plan? No meat, please!

[PariSarah]

You're making Sunday Fancy Brunch!!

Our breakfast routine is super-cheap, but it's also pretty restrictive. I feel absolutely no guilt about this, because we simply have no choice. And they get used to it.

We have three breakfasts. Cheese grits, oatmeal, and toast. That's it. Period. The grits and oatmeal are practically free, b/c I buy them in bulk. Maybe $.25? The cheese is a little pricier, especially when dh is doling it out. :rolleyes: But no more than a dollar. And the toast is super-cheap when it's my bread. Still less than $.50 when it's store-bought.

[Virginia Dawn]

forget about the blueberries, raisins are cheaper, you could skip the butter and make your own brown sugar syrup, sprinkle with cinnamon sugar, or eat with applesauce.

Make oatmeal or whole wheat muffins and pancakes for the fiber. A box of generic bran flakes is a pretty cheap breakfast cereal, add sliced bananas which are also inexpensive around here.

To make pancakes and muffins seriously on the cheap substitute water for the milk. They are not as tender but my kids didn't seem to notice when we were low on funds.

[Sue G in PA]

It's all my ds6 will eat and my dh eats is just as frequently as ds6. Those 2 are definitely cut from the same cloth :eek: I only buy on sale and NOT the art. stuff either. But, it still cost a bunch. Good for you for making breakfast every morning...it might not save you a ton but it is healthier! :) I say skip the blueberries as well...until they are in season (unless they are in your area!). My kids like chocolate chips (okay not very healthy, but yummy!) in their muffins/pancakes. I also make french toast w/ eggs, vanilla yogurt and a cinn/spice blend. We try to buy the turkey sausage when it's on sale and I'll always buy frozen fruit when it's on sale b/c we make a ton of smoothies in the summer (for breakfast too). Sorry no help w/ saving money but good for you for making breakfast every am!

[Stacey in MA]

We are big on trying to work in protein into the breakfast meal. Also, veggies and/or fiber. Not an easy task at breakfast, always!

Tuna boats: 1/2 english muffin w/ tuna salad on top. I can get a 6-pack of english muffins for $1. Tuna costs maybe $2-$3 a can. A dolop of mayo -??.

Pasta w/ Eggs: I love this dish, and sometime make it with Ramen noodles (not the healthiest!), but with spaghetti, or even whole wheat spaghetti, it's healthier. Take leftover pasta and heat it in a pot with a little milk or cream. Crack a few eggs (maybe 1 per person?) into the pasta, scramble on the the spot, and then mix into the spaghetti. Stir constantly to get the egg cooked - it cooks quickly! Mix in a somewhat thawed bag (or 1/2 bag, depending on what it is and how many people are eating) of frozen veggies. Last time I use frozen peas, and frozen chopped spinach. Toss in any leftover cheese you have, though grated parm works best. This covers the carb, the protein and veggie! It works well to use up leftover pasta, can be made for any meal, can be easily made any time and simply reheated by the bowl. Cheap! Pasta (whole wheat) $1.50, 6 eggs $1, 1/2 peas and 1/2 spinach $1.50, bit of cheese ??, touch of milk ??

I ate a TON of oatmeal when I had GD b/c it's more slowly digested than cereal....I discovered it's soooo cheap. If you could find a way to get your kiddos to eat oatmeal (add a tiny bit of sugar, brown sugar or syrup, raisins, chopped fresh fruit - anything sweet...plus a little cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, ginger - whatever spice suits you), that would be a real cheap way to go!

GL! and hope that helps....
- Stacey in MA

[Jennifer in NH]

We love to eat leftovers for breakfast! Whatever we had for dinner the day before!
We also love frittatas. I think eggs are still very economical, even though they have doubled in price over the last year around here!

[PrairieAir]

Do you make your own mix for your pancakes? I've never actually calculated the cost, but I just can't imagine that making pancakes from my easy homemade mix is more expensive than cold cereal. Pancakes are simple with my electric griddle, too.

Do you make your muffins from scratch? Blueberries are expensive, so maybe you could make a different type. Try muffins with raisins, apples, or bananas instead. If you want a cheap boxed mix for blueberry muffins, try Aldis. I think the last time I bought it it was $1.69. Two muffins and a piece of fruit each is enough breakfast for most of my family.

Occasionally I make bread pudding for breakfast. I save all the heels that nobody seems to like and any stale bread and hotdog/hamburger buns to use for this. I just tear up the bread and put it directly in a couple of plastic coffee cans I keep in the freezer and I always have it ready when I need it. (I also use the breadcrumbs for meatloaf and other things. I keep several coffee cans with different size breadcrumbs for different purposes.) The cost of the bread is like nothing because it's what would have been thrown out otherwise. A little milk, a couple eggs, and some sugar and spices and some time in the oven--it's a pretty easy breakfast. You can add fruit to it also. If my apples are starting to go a little soft, I dice them fine or grate them and add them to the bread pudding.

Cold cereal is a rare treat here. It's just so expensive and the kids seem to require so much of it when they do eat it. It's nothing to go through two boxes for breakfast if everyone is eating and they use a lot of milk with it, too. Sometimes if the kids are really craving cold cereal, they slice a banana into a bowl drizzle it with a tiny bit of honey and pour milk over top. I think many of the options you can come up with to make yourself are cheaper and healthier than cold cereal.

[Whisperlily]

I'm very frugal, but I don't know if I could do that! I LOVE breakfast because it's the easiest meal to get everyone to eat a variety of healthy foods and it starts the day off right. Here's a list of some of the things we have, and my justification for buying them.

First, about the cereal, if you watch for it you can get some great deals. I love having that option for a quick snack in the evening, too. I don't let my *kids* eat 4 bowls for breakfast. ;) DH might, but he's earned that luxury. One full sized bowl is enough.

Yogurt: You can get it in the big tubs instead of individual servings to save $. I know some people on these boards make their own for a fraction of the cost, but I am willing to pay for the convenience at this point.

Eggs: They're cheap, and scrambled eggs don't require much effort. We don't add anything to ours. If I add milk (for those who can have dairy) they usually complain that they don't taste right.

Pancakes and muffins aren't too expensive, but for our family they create a sugar issue. When we do serve pancakes or waffles, I usually have them top them with fresh fruit and yogurt or applesauce instead of syrup.

Biscuits and gravy aren't spendy.

Peanut butter toast if your kids can have peanut butter.

String cheese isn't too expensive if they're not grabbing them as a major part of their breakfast protein.

Most of all, I would make sure they're getting enough, but not OVERDO breakfast. When my kids eat too much heavy or sugary foods for breakfast they get sluggish... all day. Plus, they seem to want to snack all day. That's just my own observation about how things go here.

[susie in tx]

One of our cheap breakfasts is leftovers. I don't usually think to do it, but I need to start doing it again. I take a bunch of stuff from the refrigerator and stir fry it. Add some soy sauce. Eat over rice. Or not. Sometimes, I just make a quick stir-fry without rice.

This morning, I had two red potatoes, some baby carrots, some leftover stir fry, and a leftover hamburger. I cut it all up, put it in a pan and got it warm. Then, I put some eggs over the top and voila! Breakfast.

We always try to eat some sort of protein for breakfast.

However, I can get breakfast cereal for super cheap, so that is my default on those days when I can't manage to get something decent served for breakfast.

[Danestress]

I could definitely convince my kids to eat oatmeal. I think we will all talk about all this input from all of you. I think it's true that I have been trying to make Sunday brunch everyday, lol.

But one thing is for sure. I will never make tuna for breakfast, lol.

[Nancy in MI]

It's not as expensive as store-bought cereal and it's healthier.

We have it either with milk and bananas or on top of yogurt.

We also do oatmeal or bagels.

:)
Nancy

[tmkclscroggins]

What about rice cereal? Rice is cheap and you just add a little milk, butter, sugar and some raisin or whatever else you want. Mine really like this. If you use brown rice, just soak it the night before and you can't tell a difference!

Do you make biscuits from scratch? Not too expensive.

hth,
melissa

[one l michele]

I see breakfast as the most important meal of the day and my boys definitely have better days when they eat a hearty breakfast. Big breakfasts also mean they snack less. We have egg and dairy allergies, but staples here are pancakes with sausage or bacon, or bagel sandwiches with hashbrowns, with fortified OJ or fruit.

Store bought oatmeal, cereal, toast, muffins, etc. just seem to burn through them in an hour.

[Ellie]

Having two dds who were lactose intolerant, cold cereal was never an option. We ate hot cereal almost daily, served with maple syrup and butter (the butter didn't bother them). Yummo. Sometimes scrambled eggs, once in a while French toast.

[Antonia]

French toast is pretty cheap to make. I think it's better when you use white bread which is soooo cheap (we eat wheat otherwise), and you only need a couple of eggs for a batch. The only cold cereal we eat is Cheerios, and if you look for a sale you can stock up for a month. I got four boxes recently for .75 each with the sale price and a double coupon.

[nestof3]

I don't know how much I spend on breakfast cereal, but I like breakfast to be healthy and simple.

I have stopped buying any cereal with high fructose corn syrup or anything artificial. Last time I went to Super Walmart, I stocked up on a bunch of different Kashi cereals. I mix a couple of them together in a HUGE bowl along with Uncle Sams (which is a flaxseed cereal -- cheap) and a bunch of sliced almonds (I buy large bags at BJs). I keep diced dates on hand to throw in when serving. I also buy these large bags of puffed brown rice which my six year old likes. There are usually a few other Kashi cereals in the cabinet. Kashi cereals fill up better than cheap white grain ones because the whole grains are much denser.

I buy cheap cooking oats for oatmeal. We also always have whole wheat bread for peanut butter, honey and banana sandwiches or toast. I try to have bananas on hand as well, and during the summer berries to add to cereal.

The reason I am a fan of cereal is because I can get lots of different grains at one time, and usually about a third of my fiber for the day at breakfast. I find it hard to get that kind of fiber with other breakfast foods.

Sometimes, there will be muffins and such leftover from last night's dinner as well that are eaten at breakfast.

We eat pancakes and french toast, eggs and such at dinner sometimes.

I buy large bags of frozen wild blueberries from Super Walmart for muffins. They are so high in antioxidants!