Planning a menu each week can be such an annoyance. Some weeks, it would take me hours to come up with enough meals for the week because I'd always try to add variety with new meals. I would scour cookbooks and Pinterest for new recipes and get distracted trying to decide if something sounded good or not. Or whether or not the rest of the family would eat it...
So, one thing that has helped us to cut our grocery budget was to create a short, go-to recipe list! I mean, we eat the same basic things for breakfast each day, why not apply the principle to dinner too?
Narrowing our meal ideas to only 20 options has made meal planning a breeze and has saved us so much money. It also reduces food waste, because I know I am making food that we all enjoy. These meals are a mix of quick & easy meals, recipes that are great for leftovers, and some a wee bit more complicated because they're just so tasty.
So, if you want to finally stop wasting money on groceries, I'd encourage you to grab some inspiration from our go-to recipe list. Here’s what we’re eating, aside from leftover nights and super simple meals (like tomato soup & grilled cheese):
20 Dinner Recipes that Cut Our Grocery Bill:
Tacos - I find that one package of ground beef is enough for two meals for our family. I'll often make it stretch further with a can of baked beans.
French Toast - We often like breakfast meals for dinner. I especially love to make a big batch of French toast because I can freeze the leftovers for quick breakfasts.
Instant Pot Beef Stew - This is so good! Since the recipe doesn't call for potatoes, I like to serve it over mashed potatoes.
Spaghetti - Lately I've been browning ground beef, adding it to the slow cooker with a jar of pasta sauce, a bit of water and a sprinkle of beef bouillon powder.
Hamburger Soup - This freezes well and is enjoyed every time I make it.
Slow Cooker BBQ Sauce Pork Chops - Place pork chops over sliced onions in a slow cooker, then pour your favourite BBQ sauce over top. Cook on low for about 4 - 6 hours. Serve with rice or potatoes and steamed veggies.
Sausage and Potato Bake - Cut up potato, carrots, sweet potato, peppers, and farmer's sausage and place in a big 9x13 baking dish. Drizzle olive oil and a dose of oregano, salt & pepper. Bake at 400 degrees for about 35 minutes.
Roasted chicken - It no secret that a roasted whole chicken can stretch for many meals. I'll often buy rotisserie chicken for a super fast dinner with veggies and potatoes.
Balsamic beef roast - This is another meal that stretches far or is great for feeding a crowd.
There you have it! The 20 family dinner recipes that have managed to cut our grocery bill! Does your family have a go-to recipe list? What are your favourite meals?
Looking for even more kitchen help especially as life gets busy? Check out this fun MEAL PLANNER – with food inventory worksheets,monthly, weekly + daily meal planning worksheets, meal brainstorming worksheets and more!
Menu planning and I have had some ups and downs over the years, due to various life seasons, but I always come back to menu planning because it has SO MANY benefits.
I started menu planning when my husband and I got married way back in the fall of 2007. I was hoping it would make life simpler.
Nearly 15 years later, with mostly consistent planning, I'm finding that it does and I absolutely love it!
If menu planning seems like another chore that you don't want, today, I'd love to tell you the 5 things that I love about menu planning!
I only shop once a week.
When I was living on my own, if I wanted to make something specific, I would go to the store that day to purchase any ingredients I needed.
If you're anything like me, a trip to the grocery store for only a couple of things, turns into purchasing many unexpected things. Doing this a few times each week, I was obviously spending more than I needed to by going more than once a week.
With a menu plan in place, I can limit my grocery shopping to once a week because I've accounted for all the ingredients and staples I need based on what I already have and what's on sale.
Less temptation to eat out.
In other words, we save money AND eat healthier by having a menu plan. But because we enjoy eating out once a week or so, I actually factor our meal out into my menu planning so I don't buy any wasted ingredients.
I have more motivation.
Cooking isn't my favourite thing to do these days. However, when I have a plan in place, I've eliminated a big part of the battle.
I don't struggle for meal ideas or have any missing ingredients. I can just jump right into meal creation almost thoughtlessly. I almost get excited about making dinner, because I already know what I will be making!
Before I menu plan, I take a quick look through the pantry, fridge and freezer to see which ingredients I have on hand. I can usually think of one or two simple meals using what I already have.
My next step is take a look in my local grocery flyers to see what is on sale. I plan some more meals based on what's on sale.
With both of those strategies in play, I am less tempted to impulse buy because I know I won't need that item.
I also like to make plenty of dinner so that there is enough leftover for lunches the next day. This helps eliminate the need to eat out for lunch!
It's a good use of my time.
It takes me less time to plan a weekly menu plan then it does to think up a meal each and every day at meal time. I'm a big fan of using my time efficiently. 😉
There you have it, 5 reasons why I love menu planning! Do you menu plan? If so, why do YOU menu plan?
Are you trying to ensure your family is eating healthy? A meal plan is the best way to plan your meals and keep everything as healthy as possible. Many people can attest to the fact that healthy, fresh meals can seem way more expensive to make than their not as healthy counterparts. Today, I'd love to show you how to make an inexpensive healthy meal plan.
Buy or make a cheap calendar
First of all, the best plan of action is to write your meal plan down. It's nearly impossible to stick with a plan unless it's written down. I like to use a traditional calendar to write out what we will have for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Once you have a place to write down what you will make, you can move on to the next step.
Make a list of healthy foods your family likes
I have learned (by trial and error :)) that you will save money by buying what you know your family will eat. If your family loves bananas, apples and carrots, then spend your money buying those delicious fruits and vegetables. You can always try adding one new fruit or vegetable a week in small quantities.
Create a list of healthy meals that are inexpensive
The only way to create an inexpensive healthy meal plan is to make a list. Make a list of all the healthy meals you can think of that keep you on a budget. You may want to put google or Pinterest to use helping you find ideas. I also really like Budget Bytesfor recipes! In my household, we try to stick to a main dish, veggie side, and rice/potato side. This helps keep things on budget and simple. For example, barbecued chicken with a side of mixed veggies and baked potato.
Plan Meals around Sales
This is a very effective way at saving money on your grocery bill each week! When you look at your list of family favorite meals and your inexpensive meal ideas, also be sure to look at what's on sale that week. Pick the meals from your lists that correspond with the sales. For example, maybe oatmeal is on sale. You could buy that and eat oatmeal for breakfasts that week. Or maybe chicken thighs are on sale. Pick meals that can use those items that are on sale.
Make a shopping list
When you are meal planning healthy meals, you need a shopping list. You don’t want to forget what you need to buy and it helps keep you accountable to eat the healthy meals that you’re planning. A shopping list will help you save your sanity. Write a note in your phone or jot it down on a piece of paper. Depending on the store you shop at, you can even make a shopping list in the store app.
Check out The Meal Planner! I created the printable Meal planner to help make meal planning and saving money easy! The PDF includes:
18 pages
Monthly, Weekly + Daily meal planning worksheets
Meal brainstorming worksheets
Food inventory worksheets
Grocery lists
Price matching worksheet
Party Planning worksheet
Stay on budget
When you’re planning an inexpensive healthy meal, try to stay on budget. You can do the math of what a meal will cost before you even head to the store. This will help you know how much you need to spend before you even spend it. For example, chicken is $3.99 a pound and you need 3 pounds to make this week’s meals. That’s rounded to $12, which can make about 2 meals for a family of 4.
There you have it, the steps to making an inexpensive healthy meal plan for your family. Take your time, create a budget, and plan each meal out. The most important part is sticking to the meal plan that you took the time to create.
Having a well-stocked pantry can save you from unnecessary trips to the grocery store and eating out too often. Since I'm also cleaning out our kitchen cupboards this week, I thought I'd put together a basic pantry staples list that would be useful to have on hand at all times!
Stocking your kitchen with these basic pantry staples, will ensure you have your family's favorite meal ingredients on hand. It also means you will almost always have something on hand to create a simple meal for busy nights or days when you don't feel like cooking much.
These are basic, but versatile staples that are used often. They are also usually quite inexpensive and have a long shelf life if stored properly in the pantry, refrigerator, or freezer.
Below my list, you'll find a Pantry Inventory printable with blank spaces that you can fill in to suit your own needs. I hope you like it!
Looking for even more kitchen help especially as life gets busy? Check out this gorgeous MEAL PLANNER – with food inventory worksheets,monthly, weekly + daily meal planning worksheets, meal brainstorming worksheets and more!
If you've spent any time at all here at Simply Frugal, then you know I sing the praises of meal planning. Taking the time to meal plan is just so sanity saving and money saving!
However, if you're anything like me, there are seasons in life when you need all the inspiration you can get.
That's why I'm excited to let you know that the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle is available once again for a couple of days!
I'm a big fan of printables so I'm especially excited about the Grocery Budget Binder and the Meal Planning Success Kit.
Since my daughter was diagnosed with many food sensitivities last year, I'm going to dig in first with the For Real: For the Love of Real Food ebook for some ideas.
If you want to simplify mealtimes, put unfussy (but still healthy) meals on the table, and ditch the frantic late afternoon craziness, then you'll definitely want to check out the Healthy Meal Planning Bundle.
I think this will be a fun week in the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series! It’s all about food! Specifically, we’re going to plan our holiday menus. You’ll want to think about:
Christmas dinner
Christmas brunch
Christmas eve
Boxing day
And well, any meal surrounding Christmas day. My planning is quite simple. My parents cook our Christmas brunch and dinner so all I have to do is bring the cheesecakeand some baking!
For inspiration, I highly recommend taking a look through Pinterest.
While you’re planning out your dishes, be sure to start adding items to a grocery list. You don’t want to forget anything!
What will be on your holiday menu? Leave it in the comments! Any food traditions you have to uphold? How do you keep on budget?
Sign up for the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas newsletter to receive a FREE Christmas Dinner Checklist! This checklist is quite detailed and will help you remember all the details needed for a memory filled dinner with family and friends. You’ll also receive a weekly email with each week’s “task”.
Here are the posts in the 8 Weeks to a More Organized Christmas series so far:
