Planning a family vacation this year? Meals, snacks and drinks can really add up during those days away from home. While food is one of the most expensive areas of a vacation budget, I have some tips and ideas to help keep those costs down.
Plan ahead
Will you be eating out? Preparing your meals in the hotel? By having an idea of what you intend to do about the meals on your vacation, you have to opportunity to plan ahead by researching restaurants, grocery stores within walking distance, and even compile a meal plan if you’re cooking in!
Use those daily deal sites
Sign up for the email list for your vacation destination on daily deal sites like WagJag, Groupon and Living Social. Keep an eye open for deals featuring restaurants you may enjoy eating at. Might as well get a deal if you’ll be eating out anyways!
Be a local
By simply asking locals where the best place to grab an affordable meal is, they’ll most likely point you in the direction of a fantastic, hole in the wall restaurant that will give you more bang for your buck. Stay away from those tourist traps!
Entertainment coupon books
Sign up for the Entertainment coupon membership! Not only are there tons of coupons for discounted meals, you’ll find coupons for local attractions and shopping. 🙂 It’s only $34 per year or $4.99 per month.
Search out restaurants where Kids eat free
I have a list available on Simply Frugal where Kids Eat Free in Canada that might be worth checking out. Or visit Family Money School for a huge list of restaurants in the United States!
Stop in at the local tourist bureau
Stop in at the local tourist bureau and peruse the brochures they have available because you might find some great coupons inside! Most likely, the staff on hand will gladly point you in the direction of money saving coupons and even help you find affordable eating options.
Stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast
My husband and I love staying at hotels that offer free breakfast. It’s so nice to walk down, grab from the variety they have available, then get on with our day! When we’re on vacation, we like to eat a big breakfast so that we can skip lunch, which helps to keep our food budget lower.
Pack a cooler full of food
If you’re road tripping, bring along a cooler full of food. Buns, meat, fruit, vegetables and snacks are all great things to have readily available in case you come across the perfect picnic location. Consider freezing some milk to use as an ice pack. You can then use it the next day for cereal!
Hit up the local grocery store
Once you’ve arrived at your destination, hit up a local grocery store to stock up on snacks, drinks and simple meals. Even if you intend on eating out at restaurants, by incorporating a few grocery store meals, you’ll be saving a bundle.
Bring a slow cooker or air fryer
If you can, consider bringing along a slow cooker or air fryer. Put something together in the morning, head out sight seeing for the day, then arrive back at the hotel with dinner already made! Or whip up something quickly in the air fryer!
Meal plan
If your intention is to not eat out at restaurants while you’re vacationing, create a meal plan before you leave home that will help take the stress out of deciding what to eat. Keep it simple and allow for some leftovers.
Buy pre-made meals
Once again, if you have access to a kitchen, consider purchasing pre-made meals. While this is more expensive then cooking from scratch, you’ll still save quite a bit of money if you take this route.
Now it’s your turn, how do you save money on food while you’re on vacation?
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.
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.
If you really struggle with the idea of creating a meal plan, try out $5 Meal Plan. It happens to be my favorite meal planning service. It’s just $5 a month (the first two weeks are free!), and you get menu plans sent straight to your email along with the exact shopping list you need in order to create the meals. Each meal costs around $2 per person or less. This service allows you to save time because you won’t have to meal plan anymore, and it will save you money as well! If you are interested in joining for free, click here.
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.
This post is mainly to get my own butt in gear regarding food waste, but I think many of you could benefit from it as well! Or at least input some valuable tips for those of us that need some help! 🙂
These days it’s essential to save money on groceries, so here are five tips to make the most of your food and minimize food waste.
5 Ways to Waste Less in the Kitchen
Use what you buy
A very obvious tip, but I too often find produce or other time sensitive ingredients sitting in my fridge on their very last legs. There are some days at the grocery store when I purchase something because it looks good and is on sale. Yes, a spur of the moment purchase, thinking that I can transform it into some tasty meal or snack during the week. The key here, with these purchases, is that I actually have to use the ingredient! So if I don’t have a particular purpose in mind when I buy it, I quite often find it sitting in the fridge rotting away. One way I’d like to help myself with this is to do something with the item right away. Maybe it’s a giant bag of carrots that I could cut up into sticks for easy snacking throughout the week!
Learn to use the ingredients you have
An important factor in my success with using these spur of the moment purchases is learning how to use them. Especially if they’re a bit more unique. I once used a coupon for a free tub of Greek yogurt with the intention of using it in some muffins. But, never having used, or tasted Greek yogurt before, I was unsure if it would be a good replacement for regular plain yogurt. I asked the wonderful people at our Simply Frugal Facebook page how I’d make out if I used it. They convinced me it would be wonderful and even healthier for us! That day, I learned some great tips about a product that was unfamiliar to me.
If some of your produce is starting to show its age, don’t throw it out, simply salvage what you can! This is probably the area I fall the hardest. I have intentions of turning that soft apple into apple sauce, but making it happen is another story. I get lazy 🙁
Here are some suggestions to make the most of older food:
Cut around the bad parts
Turn stale bread into croutons or breadcrumbs
Make apple sauce out of soft apples
Puree tomatoes into sauce or salsa
Brown bananas are the best for smoothies or baking
Old vegetables can be used in soups or stews
One bad potato in the bag? Weed out the rotten produce so you don’t contaminate the rest of the lot!
Know what you have
Knowing exactly what you have on hand can save you tons in the grocery budget. Make an effort to regularly go through the contents of your fridge and freezer so that nothing slips by unnoticed. Store things in clear containers so you can see the exact contents at a glance. Label your freezer food well. Learning to store your produce properly will also ensure nothing goes to waste before you have a chance to use it!
Use the freezer
By now you might have noticed that I’m a big fan of using our freezer. Here are my favourite ways to fill it up with extra food:
Freeze any dinner leftovers to make for a super simple meal on a rushed night
Put all the end bits of vegetables in a freezer bag to make broth once the bag is full
Take advantage of local, seasonal fruit and stock up, but freeze the majority of it for a taste of summer all year long. Here’s how I freeze peaches if you’re interested!
Put any extra wine, broth, tomato paste, lemon/lime juice into ice cube trays to add to meals at a later date.
Freeze extra rice to turn into fried rice
What are your tips to make the most of your groceries and leftover food?
Nothing beats home-cooked meals and knowing exactly what you’re feeding your family. It’s even better when the spices you use are those you’ve made yourself. Rather than using store bought spices that have ingredients you can’t pronounce!
Let’s take a look at 7 seasoning spices you can make at home.
Homemade Ranch Seasoning
Ranch seasoning is a popular choice in many households. Ranch seasoning can be used to make dips, dressing, added to sauces, and as an ingredient in recipes from meatloaf to pasta salad.
Here’s how to make your own:
½ cup dry buttermilk
2 tablespoons dried parsley
1 tablespoon dried chives
2 teaspoons garlic powder
2 teaspoons onion powder
1 teaspoon dried dill
salt and pepper
Mix it all together and keep in an airtight container, such as a mason jar or plastic container. This mix can be stored in the fridge for up to 3 months.
Curry Seasoning
Curry has its origins in Asia and gives a flavorful and spicy twist to your recipes. Instead of using store bought curry mixes, you can make your own.
Here’s how to make curry seasoning:
2 tablespoons coriander
1 ½ teaspoons cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
¾ teaspoon ground mustard
½ teaspoon cardamom
½ teaspoon ground cloves
½ teaspoon nutmeg
⅛ teaspoon cayenne pepper
Mix well and store in an airtight container. This is enough for seasoning one meal, or you can multiply it and keep the mix for up to a year to be used in future recipes.
Taco Seasoning
Who doesn’t love tacos? Everyone likes their taco seasoning a little different, but being able to make your own, to your own taste ensures you will have the perfect Taco Tuesday each week.
Here’s how to make taco seasoning:
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon cumin
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon ground pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne
¼ teaspoon oregano
This recipe is enough for 1lb of ground beef. Adjust the amount for more meat or multiply and keep in an airtight container for future use.
Jerk Seasoning
The Caribbean has given us dishes that have the mix of sweet and spicy flavors. This Jamaican jerk seasoning will add this great flavor to your next Carribean themed meal.
Here’s how to make your own:
2 teaspoons allspice
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon garlic powder
2 teaspoons cayenne
2 teaspoons onion powder
2 teaspoons dried thyme
2 teaspoons salt
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons dried parsley
This recipe will work for 2 lbs of meat. If you mix it ahead of time, be sure to put it in an airtight container and it will keep for at least 3 months.
Chili Seasoning
What’s better on a cool fall night than a steaming hot bowl of chili? This recipe will work for 1lb of your choice of meat.
As with the others, if you want to mix up a batch to keep for later use be sure to put it in an airtight container. It will keep for up to a year.
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon onion powder
¼ teaspoon thyme
Cajun Seasoning
Getting Cajun flavor just right can be very tricky, but once you get the right mix, you’ll be set. Cajun seasoning can be used in chicken and seafood dishes, here’s the mix you need:
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon paprika
½ teaspoon oregano
½ teaspoon onion powder
½ teaspoon thyme
¼ teaspoon black pepper
¼ teaspoon cayenne
Mix well and make more if you want to store it, The mix will last up to 1 year.
Italian Seasoning
Italian seasoning is another one that gets used in many dishes.
This Italian seasoning recipe is good to be used with your choice of meats, pastas, pizzas, and any other Italian dishes.
1 ½ teaspoons oregano
1 teaspoon parsley
1 teaspoon thyme
½ teaspoon basil
½ teaspoon sage
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground pepper
Spices don’t really “go bad”, they might lose their flavor or potency, but they won’t make you sick. Most spices last from 1-3 years.
If you make a spice mix that incorporates things other than just spices, that would be what determines the shelf life. For example: the Ranch above has dry buttermilk, so that would be what determines how long you can store it and where it needs to be stored.
Hopefully these recipes will help add some “spice” to your life in the form of delicious meals!