Ways To Save - Meal Planning
We have all been guilty of trying to figure out what’s for dinner at the last minute only to realize we need to make a quick trip to the store because we don’t have everything we need. Here are a few ways that have saved me from the stress of waiting until the last minute to plan our meal.
Plan your menu for the week - I have a calendar that I print out off my computer and list Sunday - Saturday. I then list what’s for dinner; Sunday - Lasagna, salad, green beans. Monday - Leftover Lasagna, etc.
Plan a meal from leftovers - If your family is fine with leftovers, try and plan a meal large enough for leftovers. This will save you a night of cooking and a bit on your grocery bill. Fall weather is near and there is nothing like a large pot of chili. We will have chili for a meal and then the next night I might make chili dogs. You can always freeze the rest of the chili.
Shop from ads - I like to sit down on Sundays and look at my sale ads to see what is on sale for the week. I will stock up on sale items and plan my menu around the ads from the paper. If there is a good sale on beef, I will add a meatloaf, spaghetti or hamburgers to our menu for the week.
Have a grocery list - Always have a list when heading out to the grocery store. This will prevent over spending and not forgetting something on your list.
Crock Pot Cooking - If you’ve been reading our blog for awhile now, you will notice I love crock pot cooking. It is quick and easy and there are many great recipes you can find online. I like making a large chuck roast and making two meals from it. Beef and noodles, tacos, etc.
Sandwich night or salad night - My husband loves a good ham sandwich so we do have a sandwich night occasionally. Switch it up with fresh deli meat or grilled cheese and tomato soup. You can always make a huge salad and add ham, chicken or turkey to the salad.
It’s all about being organized and saving yourself time, money and frustration. Start out small and eventually you will have a months worth of meals planned and a full pantry of items you stocked up on when those items were on sale.
September 7th, 2008 at 1:20 pm
I finally bought a crock pot yesterday. Now I just need to find some recipes for it. Worked great for keeping the cheese dip hot, but that’s not really a meal.