Meal Planning: 3 Thrifty Tips
Today in the kitchen, we’re talking about how meal planning can be a huge help in trimming the grocery budget. When you plan and eat a meal at home, you’re most likely saving some money. I’m a big fan of saving little bits of money here and there. So, I’m going to share some of the tips that help me feed my family for less.
My plan might look different than yours. I’m a stay-at-home wife with a husband and a college-age daughter at home. Recently my youngest daughter and grandchildren have come home for a while as well, so my meal plan might look different than that of a working mom with two young children, or a retired couple. However, I still think these tips can be adapted and used in a variety of situations.
So, here we go!
Step one in meal planning: Use it up!
What do you have that needs to be used up quickly? Do you have some salad mix in the crisper drawer? Some potatoes in the pantry? Maybe a couple of pieces of chicken left from yesterday’s supper? Incorporate these bits and pieces into your meal planning. You’ll save money by not letting food go to waste. I do my meal plan for just the evening meal, but we often use leftovers for lunch. When I do my meal planning on Sunday afternoons, I take a peek in the fridge to see if there are any veggies or dairy products I need to incorporate into a meal.
Then, shop your fridge and pantry.
After you’ve planned meals to use up your leftovers, then plan meals based on what’s in your pantry and freezer. Sometimes we can get caught up in planning meals based on what we’re craving or what sounds good, rather than what we have available. Why go and buy food if you have it in the cupboard, fridge and freezer, or growing in the garden?
I find it helpful to keep a pantry and freezer inventory. We did a freezer inventory recently and I was surprised at the amount of food I had in there. I scanned the list and came up with many meal ideas. Unfortunately, I have slacked about keeping it current, so it’s not accurate anymore. However, an inventory can be a huge help if you’re better than me about crossing things off when you use them and adding them to the list when you put them in the freezer.
Finally, scan the sale ads.
If you have planned to use your leftovers and what you have at home and haven’t come up with a week’s worth of meals yet, check the local supermarket ads and plan your meals based on what’s on sale. I save the most money on meats and fresh produce, so I look for those in the ads and plan my meals based on what I find.
Of course, you can combine these tips. There might be fresh carrots in the fridge (you can steam them), wild rice in the pantry, and there could be a sale on chicken breasts this week. You can combine foods in so many ways to make delicious meals for your family, for not a lot of money.
You will become better and better at meal planning the more you do it. (Just like with budgeting!) It will seem complicated or confusing at first, but keep at it! You will soon find it has become second nature. I can better focus on other things if I have a couple weeks’ worth of meals planned. It’s just one less decision to have to make in a day!
Meal Planning Bonus tip!
Keep an emergency meal in the pantry as a backup. If you’re stuck at the doctor’s office until 4:30 pm and you’d planned a meal that takes a while to prepare, save that one for the next day and make something simple. I always try to keep 2-cup portions of cooked chicken in the freezer. I can thaw that quickly, make some boxed rice mix and a veggie and mix it all together. In the summer, use tortillas and have chicken wraps. This will keep you from ordering pizza or stopping at the drive-through, and will help you stay on budget.
