Meal planning routine doesn’t have to be some weekly ritual that takes hours. Depending on your pantry , fridge and freezer inventory it should go pretty quickly.
I do leave a day for new recipes, low cost breakfast dishes that I haven’t tried, or casseroles that do not involve a lot of ingredients.
On my shelf are several recipe books, but with the cost of groceries right now I use only ones that I know I can implement ingredients I have on hand into them.
Here are a few steps to take that will help you start your routine:
Meal Planning from Your Pantry and Freezer
This is the first place to start a meal planning routine. Don’t buy more of what you don’t need, and ignore what you have. It is important to pay attention to your FiFO ingredients. That way no food that has been bought to prep for future emergencies goes to waste.
Check your refrigerator to see what needs to be eaten before you go to the store, and finally check your freezer. Any meals leftover from the last month or meat about to expire gets added to the top of the menu plan.
That’s the foundation of the routine.
H2- Review Your Grocery Budget
Reviewing your grocery budget is very important. I pay cash for my groceries now, and that helps me to know that my bank account stays safe from any fraudulent transactions, and I don’t overspend. So, before I go a budget is set.
Likewise the type of shopping trip is important. If I am going on a weekly trip for a few things it will be lower. In addition to that, if it is a monthly bulk purchase the grocery budget amount will change.
Choose Five Dinners to Use in the Week
I use to plan meals with a theme, but that has become too hard with current costs. Overall my goal is to get the most food at a lower cost. I buy rice in bulk because it goes well with a lot of dishes and makes a good side dish.
I make as much from scratch as I can, and plan two nights of leftovers or use them for lunch during the week. Salad is a great side dish because it is also very inexpensive and healthy.
A good idea is to make a list of your favorite 30 frugal meals and rotate them each month. Plan on making double so that you have lunch for the next day. A frugal tip is to make on dinner last for two meals. So that is why I use my dinner for lunches that week with salad and fruit as a side dish.
Frugal Homemaker Emergency Meals
A meal planning routine isn’t going to be successful unless you have a few emergency meals on hand. For instance, we had a remodel going on in our house and the power ended up being out all day. Therefore, I could not cook. We had emergency meals on hand of PBJ with carrot sticks. Not the fanciest, but in a pinch everyone was happy. My other go to emergency meal is breakfast. Fast, efficient, healthy and frugal.
Anything that keeps you from ordering takeout or buying fast food is going to be a win. But, worst case scenario fast food is going to feed the family and that ’s ok. Whatever keeps the family fed is my motto.
Build Your Grocery List from your Menu
Once you have your meals written down, write out the groceries you will need. Check each meal, and add all of the ingredients needed. Cross off anything you already have on your pantry and freezer inventory list.
Organize your list by store section; produce, meat dairy, pantry, frozen, household.
Try to add snacks that are homemade and avoid all ultra processed foods. Not only are they expensive, but unhealthy as well.
Meal Prep Ahead of Time
Cooking rice for the week, washing and chopping veggies baking muffins, homemade snacks, bread and rolls are all time savers.
Meal planning also means looking ahead at what needs to be done for the week. Pick a day to thaw your meat for the week, portion out snacks, and chop any veggies that need to be prepped. Finally, cook all of your meat ahead. This is so important. There is nothing worse than having a dish ready and uncooked meat. Set aside a cooking day and be ready for your week.
Meal planning is an all encompassing word that means being prepared and not stressed. You will be happier and so will your family.
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