Amy Beecher shared her tips on meal planning on budget at recent R.S. activity. Thanks for this info, Amy!
Steps to Meal Planning
1. Do you hate the 5 o’clock hour? Do you hate hearing the phrase “What’s for dinner?” Or are the words “Meal Plan” two dirty four letter words that nag at you constantly?
· Meal planning is really a very easy thing to do. The more often you create a meal plan the quicker you are able to use your resources in the future.
· It doesn’t have to be complicated. The point is to have a plan so you don’t have to stress about what to do at 5 p.m. every day. If you choose to have cereal, toast and fruit for dinner write it down—put it on your plan, and move on with your day.
2. Follow the rule of 10’s
· Decide what meal from your meal plan you are going to make by 10 p.m. or 10 a.m. so that you can plan accordingly (in case you need to pull things from the freezer etc.)
3. Create a meal plan
· Gather your resources for meal ideas
· Create or find a system that works best for you. This could be a collection of recipe books, recipe cards, internet sites (allrecipes.com), etc . . .
· Make sure to mark notes on your recipes if you make changes. If you try a recipe and don’t like it throw it out.
· Rate your recipes so you remember how well you liked them.
· Create a master list of your favorite recipes. Make sure that your food storage includes the items needed to easily make your favorite “go-to” recipes.
· Ask each family member to tell you one thing they would like to eat. You could also have each family member help cook the meal they choose.
· Ask your mother-in-law for some of your spouse’s favorite recipes.
· Use the weekly ads as a starting point.
· Have a theme for each night.
* Monday = Soup, Tuesday = Casserole, Wednesday = Leftover, Thursday = Salad, etc.
· Make a list or know what you already have on hand.
· Assign a meal for each day of the week
· Make sure to consider your schedule. This helps you to plan for nights that you know you will be gone, working, at an event, or with family. Plan easier meals or leftovers on busy nights.
· Assigning meals to a day also helps you to be aware of the meals you may need to cook earlier in the week in case you need to use any perishable items you already have on hand.
· Planning the order you are going to cook your meals allows you to reinvent your leftovers or to cook more meat for the next day’s dinner, etc.
· Be flexible. Although you assign a meal to each night, be willing to switch things up as your life changes.
· Always plan a night or two for leftovers or something quick and simple like peanut butter and jelly.
· Although I usually plan my meals two weeks at a time, I generally wait to buy some of my produce each week when I go to the store to purchase milk and bread.
· Place meal plan in a visible spot
· The refrigerator
· Inside a cupboard you use often
· Enjoy the freedom and peace of mind that meal planning can bring to your day
· Repeat every two weeks
Other Meal Planning Tips
1. Make a budget and stick to it
· Use cash, this takes away the temptation to spend more. I have found that you will generally save more money using cash than you will by using your credit card to earn reward points.
· When you use cash you will find that it is easier to stick to your budget because you can “see” how much money you have left.
2. Have a plan; even if that plan is to eat cereal, eat out, or have leftovers, etc . . . just make it a habit. Try meal planning on the same day each week.
3. Be flexible with your plan, but make sure to have a plan
· If you like to plan specific meals on a set day be flexible if something changes and you need to switch meals around
· Recycle your meal plans
· Keep a list of future meals
4. Create a custom grocery list that you can keep on the refrigerator. When you run out of an item you can place a check mark next to it throughout the week. This also helps if you are getting low on something you can be on the lookout for a great sale.
5. Buy in bulk when the price per unit is cheaper and you will actually use the food
· Sometimes buying in bulk is not cheaper than purchasing at the grocery store on sale, so become aware of prices on the things you buy most.
· Sometimes buying in bulk causes you to buy more than you want or need, which causes you to spend more than your budget will allow.
· Try to limit the number of trips you take to Costco or Sam’s Club so you are not tempted to spend more money.
· Find a friend who wants to split the cost of items purchased in bulk
6. Buy in season. Not only is this less expensive it is better for the environment because the produce is usually more local.
7. Sales follow the seasons. You usually find baking goods on sale around the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays, picnic type foods around the summer holidays, and there are usually great sales around the beginning of the school year on items like muffin mixes, fruit snacks, granola bars, etc. . .
8. Take advantage of case lot sales. One advantage to using a meal plan is that you will spend less money on your overall food budget. Save this extra money each month and use it on case lot items. Eventually, you will find that you rarely have to buy much more than produce because you will have already purchased your other common ingredients on sale throughout the year.
9. When you know something you use a lot is on sale for a great price . . . STOCK UP! You will get a great return on your investment months down the road when you don’t have to pay two to three times the price.
10. Look at the weekly ads and become familiar with prices. Make a note on your shopping list how much you pay for each item so you can learn to have a rough estimate on how much each meal will cost to make. Play a game; see who can most accurately guess the total of your shopping order.
11. Use coupons wisely
· Sometimes coupons don’t always make items less expensive than the store brands.
· Sometimes coupons can cause you to buy something just because it is “on sale”
· Many coupons are for convenience foods that you can make with food storage items from scratch for a better price.
12. Have items on hand to make simpler meals in case you can’t stick to your plan.
13. Stock up on meat when you see a good sale.
· Roughly decide what you will make with that meat. While you are packaging it for the freezer do the prep work for that meal. (Cube chicken, add marinades, etc.)
· Butterfly chicken breasts to help stretch the meat for more meals.
14. Roll meat flat in quart-sized freezer bags to save on storage in your freezer.
15. Use a slow cooker to take away the stress of cooking on busy nights. Prepare the meal the night before and start the cooker on your way out the door or ask a family member who may leave later to start it for you.
16. Plan for leftovers
· Use them for lunch
· Reinvent the leftover . . . turn Sunday’s roast into tacos
· Freeze the leftovers
17. Double your meal and freeze the second batch. Make sure to label the meal.
· Sometimes I will double or triple just the meat needed to make a meal so that I don’t have to cook it the next time I make the meal (taco meat, café rio pork, chicken pot pie, poppy seed chicken, chicken enchiladas, Sheppard’s pie, sloppy joes) this makes for quick meals. Just make sure you have the rest of the ingredients and within 5 to 10 minutes your meal is ready for the oven.
18. Don’t throw away, “Use it up, wear it out, make it due, or go without”
· If you only need a half of an onion, chop the rest and throw it in the freezer for the next time you need an onion.
· If your peppers are starting to go bad, chop them up and freeze them for later. As long as they are being cooked into something you can’t tell.
· Mash up your bananas and freeze them in the right portions for your favorite banana bread recipe.
19. Make sure your food storage is the food that you cook with and eat. Don’t buy food you don’t like or don’t know how to eat.
20. Price match at Walmart. Ask a manager what their price matching policy is.
21. Be more committed to cooking from scratch
· Make your own cookies instead of buying prepackaged cookies
· Make your own chicken stock from leftover bones
· Make your own pancake mix
· Make your own rolls and bread
22. Challenge yourself to live out of your pantry for a couple of weeks.
23. Challenge yourself to try a new recipe 2 to 3 times a month. This will help you build up a master list.
Internet Sites that I use often:
· All Recipes: http://allrecipes.com/ (get a daily recipe emailed to you each day to help give you some ideas, create a recipe box, FREE)
· Our Best Bites: http://www.ourbestbites.com/ (great tutorials on how to make each recipe)
· This Week for Dinner: http://thisweekfordinner.com/ (meal ideas each week)
· Meal Planning 101: http://themealplanner.
· Deals to Meals: http://www.dealstomeals.com/
o http://dealstomeals.blogspot.
o http://myfoodstoragedeals.
· Pinching Your Pennies: http://www.
· Simple Mom: http://www.simplemom.net/ (lots of great resources for better home management)
Low Price Stores to Checkout:
· Sunflower Market
o 6284 South State St., Murray, UT 84107-7227
o 1375 South State St., Orem, UT 84097-7701
o Website: http://www.sfmarkets.com/
o You can sign up to receive a weekly flyer on their website. There are also links to healthy recipes, news, events, and nutrition information.
· Rancho Market
o 190 E. 3300 S., Salt Lake City (there are other locations listed on the website)
o http://www.ranchomarkets.com/
· Kessimakis Produce
o 995 S. 500 W., Salt Lake City 801-364-0250
o You can go to this produce wholesalers location on Saturday mornings (open until 10:30 a.m.) and choose fresh produce from their coolers. Prices are better than the grocery store and produce is cheaper. Wear a jacket!
· WinCo Foods # 73
o 7020 S. 700 W. Midvale
· Market Square
o 1600 S. 1820 W., Salt Lake City 801-972-4132
No comments:
Post a Comment