Jacob's Cove Blog

A year and a half ago I went with my sisters to a presentation to learn the virtues of shopping with coupons.  We left with visions of full shopping carts and full wallets dancing in our heads.  We jumped in feet first.  We purchased our binders and baseball card organizers, ordered 5 copies of the local Sunday paper, and waited with bated breath until that first load of coupons arrived.

One of my first shopping trips included loading up on a package I had seen but never eaten: Hamburger Helper.  As I stacked the boxes in my food storage room my daughter came in and asked what it was.  I didn’t quite know what to say.  Should I tell her it’s food?  Should I explain the economics that made this a justifiable (in my mind) action?  Packaged foods were new to my kids and thus held an excitement that a tomato sandwich didn’t.  I did tell her that this package was for “emergencies” and not something we would probably eat before the millenium.

It was 5:50 in the evening, nothing prepared for dinner and we had Cub Scout Pack Meeting at 6:30.  This was an emergency!  I decided try some Hamburger Helper, just once.  Once was enough.  I fell in love.  All you do is brown a pound of hamburger, pour in water, milk and a packet of powder with ingredients you can’t pronounce, and wallah!  Dinner is served.

By this time my kids were too smart about real food and recognized Hamburger Helper for what it was.  “I can’t eat this,” my son informed me.  “It’s junk.”  “This is dinner.  Eat it.” was my reply.  It was edible (sort of) and CHEAP.

I was trying to convince myself that I only pay for my food once – when I take it from the store.  Any of us who have reached a level of logic have noticed that we pay for our food in a multitude of ways, the least of which is money.  We pay via medical bills, poor relationships, low energy, bad tempers, PMS and ultimately our lives.

As my coupon adventure continued I brought case after case of food into my home that I swore I would only feed my family “in case of emergency.”  But, as all mother’s know, emergencies are part of the everyday life of a family.  Our diet became more and more processed while our bellies (and other body parts) got bigger and bigger, our energy plummeted and we craved these packaged foods more and more.

Eventually I had to say goodbye to my Hambuger Helper and coupons altogether.  I’m not one of those gals who can get a stack of coupons and just cut out the “healthy ones.”  I actually don’t think any of those gals exist.  We want to save money and live within our family budget and allow our family to thrive all at the same time. I’ve discovered is that it doesn’t take a lot of cheap food for that to happen .  It takes real food, in moderation and prepared with care that creates the balance that helps a family to thrive.  It takes a thoughtful approach to what I am feeding my family.  It’s not cheap but it’s enjoyable and it sure tastes better.  In the long run I believe that eating real food is the most cost effective way to feed my family.  I’d rather pay a farmer than a doctor.