Menu Plan

Yesterday, I mentioned that we've achieved our fabulous grocery savings by having a meal plan, making a list of ingredients from there and then matching up items we need to local sale fliers.

I thought I'd share my weekly meal plan today!   I've already looked in our sale fliers to see that boneless chicken is on sale, as are round roasts.   I have ham for soup, veggie burgers, steaks and bacon in the freezer.   I will look for low cost replacements for our freezer.  If you buy most of your  main ingredients ahead of time and buy the rest from what is on sale that week, you can assure that you are always paying the lowest price you can.

When you create your meal plan, work around your weekly schedule.  For instance, my husband teaches at the local university on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  By the time he gets home, it is almost 9pm and he does not want a big heavy meal.  I typically try to have a soup, stew, or light meal of some sort for him.  Friday nights, we take our little to kids gym, his class starts at 6:30 so we have to have a quick dinner.   To avoid dinner stress and increased costs associated with eating out --  plan around your weekly schedule.  It makes for a smoother mealtime and happier family

MONDAY

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs

Toast

Juice

Milk

 

Lunch

Paul – soup from freezer

Willow - salad with cucumber, shredded cheese, croutons, ranch

 

Dinner

Baked chicken breast

Roasted potatoes

Broccoli & cauliflower (1/4 each…fresh)

 

 

TUESDAY

Breakfast

French Toast

“Hot dog” sausages

Juice

Milk

 

Lunch

Paul – soup from freezer

Willow - salad with cucumber, shredded cheese, croutons, ranch

 

Dinner

Ham and Bean Soup  (freeze 2 servings of leftovers)

Homemade bread

 

 

WEDNESDAY

Breakfast

Oatmeal

Milk

 

Lunch

Paul – leftover soup from freezer

Willow - Boca chicken sandwich, raw carrots

 

Dinner

Swissed steak

Mashed potatoes

Fresh green beans

 

  

THURSDAY

Breakfast

Scrambled eggs w/cheese

Greek Yogurt

juice

 

Lunch

Paul –   lamb stew from freezer

Willow –  tabouli & pita, fruit, greek yogurt

 

Dinner

Spinach quiche

Homemade bread

 

FRIDAY

Breakfast

Grapefruit

Toast

Milk

 

Lunch

Paul – sandwich & chips

Willow –  tuna pita, chips

 

Dinner

Veggie burgers

French fries

Baked beans

 

 

SATURDAY

Breakfast

Pancakes w/fruit or peanut butter

"hot dog" sausages

Milk

 

Lunch

Bacon sandwiches

Leftover baked beans

Cut up apples

 

Dinner

Steaks on the grill w/blue cheese butter

Roasted baby potatoes

Steamed Broccoli

melon

 

 

 

SUNDAY

Brunch

Omelets

bacon

Greek yogurt w/berries

Muffins

Milk

 

Sunday Dinner

Crockpot roast

Potatoes

Carrots & parsnips

Gravy

Yorkshire pudding

 

SNACKS

 

Yogurt

Cut up apples (with and without peanut butter)

Graham crackers

Homemade granola

Stick pretzels

Nuts & raisins

The Devil is in the Details, eh?

Are you on a budget? Trying to save money off the monthly grocery bill? I've cut our bill by more than 65% over the last two months. We are eating so much healthier by cooking from scratch with fresh ingredients.  Here's how:

Now that Mama is working from home, there are no more quick runs out to dinner because everyone is too tired or too stressed to cook! I have found that having a weekly meal plan is imperative.
Make a list of your meals for each day of your shopping period and then stick to it! Planning in this way helps you to purchase all of the ingredients at one time that you will need.

Additional trips to the grocery add to grocery costs in a huge way (can you say...impulse buy?) Not sure about this? Read the book "Why we Buy" from Paco Underhill This amazing book explains the science and psychology of shopping. Stores capitalize on a number of strategies to get you to buy more...(don't think the candy shelves at the checkout are accidental!) It's a daily struggle not to fall into their trap!   With smart planning and smart shopping, you can beat them at their own game!

If you are just starting with menu plans, as i was just a short time ago...you may want to start with just your dinner plans. Living a more frugal and simple life requires more time spent in planning but so much time and money savings on a day to day basis that we'll never look back!

I start with my grocery fliers....what is on sale right now? Do i have any coupons or store rewards that I can use to plan my meals around? I then go to the cookbook where I keep my family's favourites recipes. What meals will fit the items on sale at my local stores this week?   I try to incorporate a new recipe or two each week. 

As I decide which recipes I'll make, I make a list of ingredients required for each. I try to make sure that i have a couple meals each week that include the same on-sale ingredients. For instance, if we have spaghetti with a bolognese sauce, I will also plan hamburgers or a beef stroganoff. Casserole type dishes typically work best for our family, as the hubs takes leftovers for his lunch. Our little guy is still very picky, so I try to make sure I offer at last one item that I know he likes (green beans go down a lot easier with spaghetti, you know....)

Once I have a list of meals and ingredients, I start going through ads and coupons matching up sale prices with our needs for this week. I typically shop at 2-3 stores to maximize my savings. The trick to saving money is that once you've gone for your time period (whether you shop weekly, bi-weekly or monthly)...you don't go again. I cheat here a bit,  as I set aside money to buy bread & milk every 3 days. We do not currently have a second freezer and our fridge is quite full on a regular basis.

When you've made your list, matched up your sales and your coupons...Shop Baby Shop!!!