Thursday, October 4, 2012

Thrifty Thursday: Meal Planning

Thrifty Thursday isn't just about thrift items, it is about being thrifty with your money. Meal planning is a GREAT way to save money, and one of the easiest things to do.

After my mother passed, my father and sister were at a lost as for what to for dinners. My youngest sister is 18 and had just graduated high school. Dad after 30 years of marriage, is now a bachelor again. About a month ago she asked me what to do for grocery shopping and for some recipes because she had no  idea what to make.

It got me thinking, that maybe not just the fresh out of the parents home people need some help with how to organize their dinners.

Some people when the meal plan the plan breakfast, lunch, snack, and dinner for every day. I like to have a little wiggle room in the kitchen, so my meal planning is more like a meal guide.

1. Find a cookbook and flip through it for ideas.

This works great, because if I sit down with the purpose of planning our meals I draw a complete BLANK. The cookbooks help to get me thinking, and every so often we try something new.

2. Write down the dinners you want with ALL the ingredients.

This is probably the most important step. When I do our weekly meal calendar I do 5-6 meals, one night leftovers and one night Wonderful Man is completely in charge (usually date night). Writing down all the ingredients  helps you to make sure you have everything either in your kitchen or on you grocery list. There are a few things I 'skip' in this step: salt, EVO, pepper, and basic things I KNOW I have.

3. Make a grocery list.

From step two if it wasn't in the kitchen, it goes on the grocery list. That way it doesn't come to Tuesday, and you are missing cream for your pot pie or something important.

4. Grocery shop with a LIST.

Second most important step. With out a list you will wander the store and BUY MORE than you need, and stuff you can't make dinners with. So you just end up at the store more, spending more money.

5. Repeat.

Repeat weekly/bi-weekly/monthly/however often you want to shopping.


I think it is fairly simple, and question are always welcome!!

2 comments:

  1. I usually plan a few meals, but don't assign them to a certain day unless I need to. I like to have varying levels of prep to choose from. On days with a busy evening, I will plan a crockpot meal (many can be prepped and frozen before), we like to make big meals and have leftovers toward the end of the week when getting burnt out, and keep things like pasta on hand for a quick and easy meal.
    To save money, I try to figure out what I can make myself or buy in bulk. This week I turned some milk into cottage cheese for lasagna, I also like to make bread and granola from scratch, so wheat and oats are around in bulk.
    Do you have a method for deciding what meals are worth recycling? I love looking through a cookbook or online, but sometimes trying new things turns out to be a lot of work, and I always forget to have standbys (besides pasta).

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    Replies
    1. Those are great ideas. I will work on a "meal recycling' post for you along with some stand by meals.

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