Food costs are the second highest monthly expense for most families, behind only rent or mortgage. In these uncertain economic times, it has become increasingly important to budget and plan for everything, yet many families simply think that food expenditure is non-negotiable. Not so! Taking a few minutes each week to plan meals will not only help use up what's on hand at home and avoid unnecessary purchases at the store, it's also time well spent because planning means healthier eating too.
This series of articles will explore real world solutions that will not only trim the family food budget, but also provide healthy, wholesome meal ideas, all without taxing the meal preparer's time or energy. After all, at the end of a hard work day, who really wants to come home and start working in the kitchen?
Write Out a Meal Plan Every Week
Choose one day a week before visiting the grocery store to take inventory, research recipes using those items, and finally to jot down what you will serve for dinner each night. This needn't be a lengthy process, typically taking a mere ten to fifteen minutes.
A weekly food plan should take into consideration the following:
- What is typically eaten in the home; no need to go to extremes here. Stock up on favorites to avoid wasting items or buying expensive ingredients that ultimately go to waste.
- Use what's on hand already in the home. Again, there's no need to be wasteful.
- Read fliers! Plan meals that incorporate sale items when possible.
- Prepare extra food to have leftovers for lunches. Luncheon meats are exorbitant, unhealthy, and unnecessary.
- Leave room in the plan for unforeseen events, like getting delayed at the dentist and not having time to cook. Prepare meals ahead of time or plan a night or two of leftovers to avoid last minute take out dashes.
Keep Ingredients and Recipes Simple to Save Money
A meal plan doesn't have to be extravagant. In fact the easier the plan, the quicker the meals are to prepare. New recipes are great to try and can spice up an otherwise mundane chore of cooking every night, but beware the ingredient list. Recipes that use extravagant ingredients should be saved for special occasions only, otherwise they become too costly.
Other Benefits of the Meal Plan
There's no doubt that planning ahead can save time and money. Families that take the time to think ahead also typically enjoy a more balanced diet; after all, when a weekly diet is written in black and white it's easy to assess if it includes enough vegetables, whole grains, and limits salts and fats. In addition, meal preparer's no longer have to puzzle over what to feed the family day after day. By removing some of the daily grind, meal plans can actually help make cooking fun again.
In the next installment, explore the pros and cons of buying food in bulk and how to maximize store sales and weekly ads.
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