MENU PLANNING 101
Before we get to couponing, we really need to tackle meal planning. I know it’s tempting to skip the hard part (meal planning) to get to the fun part (saving big!), but if you don’t have a plan for all those great deals you’re about to get, and determine to stick to that plan, you’ll just end up with disorganized piles of free stuff. My goal, then, is to help you develop a workable strategy not only to get free stuff but also to reduce your grocery spending, feeding your family even better in the process.
I’ll be the first to confess that I don’t like to cook. I enjoy the results, but cooking just isn’t my idea of fun. But obviously my family has to eat, and when I’m not prepared with a meal, or when it’s almost suppertime and we play the “what do you want to eat?” game, it’s tempting to go to a restaurant or grab some fast food because I didn’t have a plan.
Meal planning doesn’t have to be a long, drawn-out process. It can be very simple and quick, and the more often you do it, you will find it goes quicker. Here are some helpful hints for starting to plan a weekly menu:
Cook meals your family enjoys. If you want your husband and children to appreciate your efforts, ask what some of their favorite dishes are, and try to include some of them each week.
Plan for simple meals. I don’t have the time or the inclination to attempt nine-course meals. Most of the time, the meals I plan are the dinners, when our family will be seated together at the table. When planning supper meals, I also plan side dishes and a dessert, if I’m having one. Breakfasts and lunches, especially during school, are pretty standard in our house. Work on planning a week’s worth of meals. It’s not as hard as you think. Then, when you’ve gotten the hang of that, plan a month’s worth of meals. It doesn’t take much more time, and you’ll already know what’s on the schedule if you happen to see some of those key ingredients on sale.
I have a small magnetic dry-erase board mounted on the side of my fridge. My family looks forward to seeing what we’ll be having this week. When things come up unexpectedly, as they often do, I have had to switch some of those meals around. But my goal is to still be able to eat at home, not to yield to the temptation to eat out.
Use the C-O-B method of planning. I like to break up the pattern of our family suppers by using these abbreviations to help me. C stands for chicken. O stands other (fish, baked potato night, homemade pizza, etc.). B stands for beef. Alternate between C-O-B (I list the letter beside the menu item on my dry-erase board) to help you plan meals with variety.
Make your grocery list. After planning your menu, think through the recipes you intend to prepare, and take inventory of what’s in your refrigerator and in your pantry. If there are items you need, put them on your grocery list. If you consult the grocery sale ads and find that there’s a huge sale on chicken this week, consider changing your menus to accommodate the savings. If you have extra money in your grocery budget, grab a couple of extra packages to store in the freezer for next month’s menus.
Helpful Hints
Make use of online recipes and resources. Stumped at what you can make with the ingredients you have on hand? Use the “ingredient search” tool at All Recipes.com, and it will list recipes with those ingredients. Looking for an online menu planner that you can print out? Try SayMmm.com. Want a nudge in the right direction for weekly meal planning? Consider E-Mealz, which suggests meals based on your grocery store’s sales, all for $1.25 per week.
Improvising is OK. I have a couple of quick, easy alternatives (like sloppy joes) for crazy nights. Or consider having breakfast for supper. Often our mornings are so busy that it’s a rare treat to have a full-blown breakfast with all the trimmings. Who cares that it’s not served in the morning? J
Pre-cook your ground beef. Cook a family pack of ground beef all at once, then separate it into one-pound packages in the freezer. When you’re in a hurry, it’s much easier to grab a pre-cooked bag from the freezer to save prep time!
Make your own TV dinners with leftovers. Consider putting leftovers (if you have any; often, we don’t!) into Rubbermaid divider dishes that can be frozen. Put one main dish and two sides in each. They don’t all have to be the same. Then, when you get enough for the entire family, you can go to the freezer and enjoy a “homemade” TV dinner from leftovers. Let the family decide who gets the one with lasagna, the chicken enchilada, or the piece of fried chicken…complete with sides!
Be flexible, but be accountable. It’s OK to have to switch meals around due to family time constraints, but I can tell you that my husband greatly appreciates looking at the menu board as he walks out of the house. He has all day to look forward to what I’m supposed to be cooking that night. Having the menu posted keeps me accountable to do what I’ve promised to do instead of wimping out and going to a restaurant.
Use your crockpot. There are tons of books in the Fix It and Forget It series of crockpot recipe books. Grab one and make your life incredibly easier!
Make a double batch, then freeze half. If I’m going to all the trouble to make lasagna from scratch, it’s not much trouble at all to cook twice the amount of noodles, etc., and put the other pan in the freezer. This saves time and money, mainly because you’ll have another time-saving option besides carry-out.
