Substitutes

One of the major changes I've had to make has been to my food budget. I used to buy a lot of processed foods and vending machine snacks. They were just easier, and let's face it, they are yummy. But as the cost of living increased, I realized I need to make better use of my food dollars. Afterall, I have two growing children I must nourish. So, I slowly started substituting some foods for others.

Do you remember how awesome it was when you had a substitute teacher in school? You knew you wouldn't have to work as hard that day and you might even get to watch a movie.

Substitute foods can be seen the same way. Don't think of the sub as bad, or boring. Realize that it will in fact allow you not to have to work as hard. For example, I substituted cereal for chips (most of the time). This allows me to eat until I'm full without having to sacrifice taste or having to exercise a lot. Cereal is loaded with vitamins and minerals and even the sugary ones are better for you than chips and pretzels. Pretzels are a good choice if you HAVE to have something salty, if you know what I mean. ;)   But if all you really need is something crunchy to munch on, cereal is great!
And let's not be crazy. You don't need to suffer through switching to regular toasted oats right away, or ever . You can eat whatever cereal you want; sugary loops or marshmallow cereal, they are still better than chips. Look at the nutrition information. And you get more food for the money with cereal.

Anyway, this is the first change I made. I did it about a year or so ago, and it has helped my greatly.