When gas and grocery prices are rising it can be challenging to make up the difference in your home finance family budget. A terrific way to make ends meet without changing your family's routine is to become more aware of how much you spend per meal.

Think about it. If you can feed your family on just $15 a day, then you can budget just $450 a month on groceries. Drop that amount down to $10 a day, and you're only spending around $300 a month on food!

Impossible, you say? Try these frugal meal ideas and see if you don't save money day after day.

Breakfast. Skip the expensive juices and eat fresh fruit instead. Limit breakfast choices to eggs, wholesome generic cereals, or whole-grain breads and bagels. Our family's morning routine consists of filtered water, coffee, fruit, organic oat-O's and maple and brown sugar mini-wheats. Total cost is around $2 a day.

Lunch. If you're brown-bagging, take advantage of leftovers. Instead of expensive soda, bottled water or juice boxes, recycle water bottles by washing and re-filling them with water or unsweetened iced tea from home. Make sandwiches, and add "crunch" to your lunch with fresh veggies (such as baby carrots). If you must do snacks, such as chips or pretzels, buy in bulk versus the pre-packaged servings. You'll save a ton.

Dinner. Here's where the savings can really add up! Start by avoiding expensive cuts of meat. Purchase cuts of beef and chicken only when they're on sale, and then stock up. If a recipe calls for meat, cut the amount in half and add more veggies. Use your crock-pot frequently to make your own spaghetti sauce, stews and soups. Buy generic brands whenever possible. Serve whole-grain pasta meals more often. Skip dessert.

Here are some terrific frugal dinner ideas:

homemade spaghetti sauce and meatballs
homemade chicken noodle soup, made with canned chicken and frozen veggies
pancakes
casseroles
chicken and stuffing with soup gravy
crispy chicken drumsticks with mashed potatoes and veggies
tacos
grilled cheese and tomato soup
hot dogs and beans
quesadillas
omelettes

The key to planning frugal meals is just that: planning. Using your grocery store ads and your current freezer and pantry stock, plan meals for the next two weeks. On your next shopping trip only buy what you'll need to prepare your menu items.

Get creative!

Drinks and desserts. This is one area where you can really maximize the savings, not to mention drop some pounds! I remember when we first looked at our family food budget. We discovered we were spending over $40 a month on seltzer, in 12-packs of cans. We stopped buying seltzer as well as orange juice and started drinking filtered water instead, saving over $50 a month. At $3.00 to $5.00 for a half-gallon of ice cream, $3.00 for a package of cookies, and over $4 for a 12-pack of soda, beverages and treats can really add up. Instead of ready-made desserts, bake homemade cookies, prepare flavored gelatin or eliminate desserts altogether.

Don't think you can't squeeze more out of your family's food budget. Challenge yourself to feed your family as inexpensively as possible. You'll really enjoy watching your budget shrink and your savings grow.