Meal Planning on a Budget, part 1
How to Make a Meal Plan
Whether you’re trying to make it on one income so a parent can stay home with the kiddos, or you’re struggling to make it on two incomes or more, you are not alone. I’m no financial expert, but I’ve been at this awhile, and I’m here to share with you something that’s helped me have great success. Meal planning! I do not, repeat, do not go to the grocery store without having made a meal plan, budget, and coordinating shopping list.
I first learned to do this when daughter no. 1 was just a baby. We didn’t cook much back then. Mr. Wanderer was working full time during the day and going to school at night. Often, our meals came from the drive through. It doesn’t take long for that to get old. Times had been very lean for us. We were sometimes given groceries. You know, a lot of canned goods, usually. I didn’t know what to do with most of it. After having to throw some out because it expired, I decided it was time to make use of what was left, and anything I would be so fortunate to receive in the future.
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I had a Better Homes and Gardens cookbook that my mom gave me when I got married. This is where I started. I made a list of all the food in my cabinets. Then I turned to the index of the cookbook to look for ingredients I had on hand. I went over recipe after recipe figuring out what made the most sense to cook for my little family. I made a list of things I needed, and the rest was history. It all grew from there. That was before I had the internet! By the time daughter no. 2 came along, I had internet, and I had my system down pat! I’ve never looked back.
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Steps for planning your meals
1. Decide how many meals to plan at once. Consider how often your family gets paid and a meal planning budget. In my case, I usually need to plan out meals to cover 15 to 17 days at a time. If you get paid weekly, you would plan 7 to 8 meals, or up to 30 meals if you get paid once monthly. Then subtract any evenings you’ll be eating away from home. Now you should know exactly how many meals to plan.
2. Look over your local grocery store ads, keeping in mind your meal planning budget. Meats are probably where the largest portion of your grocery and meal planning budget will go. So this is where I start. Find out what meats are on sale in your area. Maybe, this time it’s chicken thighs and pork chops. What ever it is, assess what your family will eat and try to select a variety. My list often includes some ground beef, chicken tenders, breasts or thighs, and pork chops.
3. Find your recipes. Whatever your favorite source is, Pinterest, cookbooks, or websites, it makes no difference. Here’s a tip though, look for recipes with fewer ingredients and/or that have ingredients in common with each other. This is really not as hard as it sounds, especially if your search is web based!
4. Make your shopping list. Your list should be ingredients needed to complete each recipe. I personally prefer to run two lists. One is the actual menu. The other is the shopping list. By the time you’re finished you might have a lengthy list. Do not let this scare you! Real food does not cost as much as we often think it does. As I stated earlier, most of your costs are in your meats. Vegetables, broths, eggs, butter and other staple ingredients are very affordable. Certain spices can cost a bit, but usually last quite awhile. You won’t need to purchase a particular spice every time you make that particular recipe.
5. Organize your menu. After you’ve been to the store, you need to assess which recipes include the most of your fresh ingredients. Move those meals up to the top of your menu, so you can minimize any food spoilage. If you are one of those who gets paid monthly, I strongly suggest that you make a separate list of fresh produce to purchase on a week by week basis, and set aside the funds for that at the outset. You’re not saving any money or keeping your meal planning budget in line, if you have to throw your food in the garbage because it spoiled!
Stay tuned for even more ideas in part two!
From my nest to yours,
Jo
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