There’s been a bit of a rumpus about the growth of companies such as KFC and Dominos Pizza in the recession. Both are enjoying buoyant sales and KFC, for instance, will be creating 9000 new jobs to cope with demand. There’s been plenty of hand-wringing from people worrying what this means for the health of the nation.
I have a family with 3 boys (4 including my husband) so feeding in volume is always important. But that doesn’t mean that we always cook. I like to give them homemade food as often as possible and I think that’s one way to get the family eating together as well as managing cash. Even with a ravenous family of five, you can cook up a delicious meal for less than a tenner if you’re creative and start from scratch. And that’s much less than a Family Bucket.
But, of course, there are times when the kids want to go out. Perhaps for a treat or a birthday so I can really see that going to KFC is a cheaper option rather than taking them out to a more expensive restaurant. It’s the same with a takeaway pizza. It’s a bit of fun and cheaper than a restaurant.
For me it’s a matter of balance and finding good ways to feed your family without blowing the budget. A pizza or a trip to KFC every now and again doesn’t make me a bad mother.