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Meal Planning – A Great Way to
Save Time and Money
You may have heard of
family meal planning or perhaps have been wondering what the fuss is all
about. Well, to put it simply family meal planning means planning your
family’s meal to help you save time and money.
But beyond saving time and money there are some other great reasons for
family meal planning. By planning your meals and doing your shopping
ahead of time, it’s easier to make sure your family eats healthy and
balanced meals. It’s too easy to reach for the phone and order a pizza
when everyone’s just gotten home from soccer practice and your fridge is
empty.
Here are Some Tips to Make Family Meal Planning Easy:
First, look through your pantry and cupboards and make a mental note of
what you have. The see if there are any foods you can use to plan your
family’s meals around. For example if you have pasta or rice then create
a couple of meals including those staples.
Then sit down and plan your week’s menu. Write down each dinner and
remember to make allowances for days you don’t have a lot of time or get
home late. If you know ahead of time Tuesdays are stressful then plan
something pretty simple to make for that day or even make double on
Monday and save the leftovers for Tuesday. You can vary the meal by
changing one or two things around.
Once you have your menu write a shopping list while checking your
pantry, cupboards and fridge again to make sure you’re not buying
something you already have. Then add items you’ll need for breakfast,
lunch and snacks. You may not necessarily plan these meals but just make
sure you include enough of the foods you usually need on your list.
Although going to the supermarket once a week is a good way to save time
and avoid overspending, it may not always be possible for all items. If
you buy a lot of fresh fruits and vegetables you may want to only
include half a week’s worth of items on your list and make a second
quick trip during the week for the rest. Just stick to the produce isle
to avoid temptations.
When planning your list think of meals that are both nutritious but
frugal. Casseroles, stews and pasta dishes can be quite inexpensive and
also easy to prepare. To save money, include one or two vegetarian meals
a week. You can make a nutritious meat-free chili or cheesy pasta bake.
Tuna is another great frugal food you can add to pasta or rice dishes.
When you’re buying your vegetables plan your meals around them to avoid
wasting food. Say you buy a bag of carrots then try to include carrots
in several dinners or use them for snacks to avoid ending up with a
fridge full of expired produce at the end of the week.
Think ahead and use your freezer. If you’re making something that
freezes well like spaghetti sauce, a stew or casserole make double and
freeze the second portion for those days where you just don’t have any
time to cook.
Finally, don’t forget to stick your menu on your fridge or other
prominent place and plan ahead every day. If you’re making a crock pot
stew you can cut the veggies the night before and add them to your crock
pot in the morning. Leave your meat thawing in the fridge during the day
and leave the items for the evening’s dinner out so that you can easily
start cooking once you get in.
Copyright 2006 All Rights Reserved
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