Meal Planning Part 2

I have yet to plan for a monthly menu but I have been weekly menu planning. Monthly meal planning seems like something I might do once I get a freezer.(Here is a great resource for once a month cooking ) Until then here is what I have learned that has helped me with weekly meal planning.

1. Go through your pantry and fridge to judge what foods you have that need to be used up. Plan your meals to include these items.
2. Often I will google things I have to see what recipes pop up. Then I plan a modified version of that recipe based on what I have.
3. Make a list of items you need based on your weekly grocery budget. I limit my need list to 40 dollars per week leaving 20 dollars to set aside for sales and buying in bulk. (Say I want to buy a gallon of coconut oil. I save the 20 dollars for two weeks in order to buy it.)
4. In the beginning to make it easier plan a daily theme such as Crock pot Monday, Pasta Tuesdays, Stir Fry Wednesdays, Soup Thursdays, Salad Fridays, Sandwich Saturdays and Whatever is easy Sundays.

This weeks meal plan was written on the plane on the way home from Palm Desert, CA. It relied mostly on what I remembered was in my pantry and what I knew I would be getting delivered from Klesick Family Farms. I only meal planned dinner's since lunches are usually salad or leftovers for both the accountant and I. Here is what I had for this week:

Monday- Black Bean Chili with ground beef, brown rice. Plan freeze the left overs for lunches for the accountant

Tuesday- Spaghetti with red meat sauce and peas

Wednesday- Chicken Stir Fry with ginger sauce and rice noodles

Thursday- Beef Enchiladas with rice and beans

Friday- Pot Roast with carrots and potatos

Saturday-Breakfast for dinner (Eggs, pancakes and bacon)

Sunday- Beef Quesadillas

Meal planning part 1

So I am new to meal planning. I used to balk at the idea, but I have begun to figure it out over the past few months and have found it saves money and makes life a whole lot simpler. This is true especially when it comes to cooking a meal for the evening. Here is what I have been doing.


Weekly menu planning ideas: One of the things I do is buy a large piece of meat and spread it over 3-4 meals. This works great for whole chickens, large roasts and bone in ham. Here is what I do with each one:

• Cook a large turkey breast or a whole chicken in the slow cooker for 4 to 6 hours (your slow cooker must be large enough of course). Keep the seasoning basic by using salt, pepper and garlic. With my chicken I am usually able to make the following meals after de-boning the meat.

1. Serve sliced turkey or chicken for dinner that evening with veggies and rice or a salad.
2. Make a turkey or chicken stir-fry with chopped veggies of your choice and coconut milk over cooked brown rice. Season with ginger, garlic and crushed red pepper, sprinkle with sesame seeds.
3. Make tacos with shredded or chopped meat. Top with lettuce, tomatoes, avocados and salsa.
4. Turkey or chicken salad sandwiches made with mayo and lettuce. Side of tortilla chips 
5. Chicken soup.

• Cook a beef chuck in the oven on low heat (around 250 degrees) until done.  You should have enough meat for 3-4 of the following meals:

1. Pot roast with side of your choice. I usually do baked sweet potatos and peas. 
2. Baked enchiladas in tortillas with homemade enchilada sauce, refried beans and brown rice.
3. Beef salad with salad toppings. Serve with olive oil and apple cider vinegar.
4. Beef sandwiches served with horseradish or mustard. Side of coleslaw.
5. Chili with cornbread

• Purchase a ham bone-in. Roast in oven according to directions.

1. Serve sliced ham with mashed potatoes.
2. Ham sandwiches with sliced tomatoes, mustard and mayo.
3. Split pea soup made with meaty ham bone for lots of flavor.
4. Omelet with ham, green pepper, onions. Side of potatoes cooked on your griddle.

To prevent meat boredom I often freeze part of the meat and plan on using the meat the following week for when I am doing soup, enchiladas or tacos. That way we can eat two nights of chicken than change it up with two nights of pot roast and then a vegetarian meal or two. I found most of these ideas reading the book "Eating Well on a Budget", which I checked out from the library.

Resources for meal planning:

It's frugal being green

Tips for grocery shopping on a budget

Tips for saving money on groceries

These are the last of my current grocery shopping tips. They can be applied to organic or non organic shopping.

• Being a frugal shopper sometimes means you have to go overboard on purchases when items you use frequently go on sale. If organic free range chicken is on sale at Fred Meyer I buy 5-6 of them ( clearance price is 50 percent off) and freeze them!
• I make and mash or grind my own baby food. It is really as simple as roasting a sweet potato and blending it up or peeling a ripe avocado and cutting it small. Nutrition at it's best. While we have been on vacation this week I cut up dates into small pieces from the local farmers market. On sale I have found pre-made organic baby food for 79 cents per bottle a good price for packaged, but compare that to the 50 cents I paid for an organic sweet potato that made me 2 cups worth of baby food!
• Just say no to junk food. Even "organic" supposedly "healthy" pre-packaged food. It is usually expensive and high in calories. Instead make your own popcorn, Popsicles and cookies, They usually taste better anyways. Plus you know what's in them because you put it there.
• Cold cereal can be a  budget killer. Especially the organic healthy stuff. Sure if you have a coupon you can pair with a great sale, go for it! But if not the most frugal healthy thing to do is find the best deal in town on organic oatmeal and serve that to your family. Dress it up with yummy toppings such as nuts, honey and dried cranberries. You know just like at Starbucks only you won't have paid 2.50 for it!
• This tip I have had fun with. Create your own personal pricing guide in a small notebook keep track of prices of items you buy on a weekly to monthly basis. Compare prices at all your local and online supermarkets. Keeping track of prices in a journal enables you to figure out where the items are cheaper and know if a sale or bulk prices really is a good deal. An easy way to start your guide is to keep your register receipts for when you have time to sit down and write out the items with prices. 

Always remember though "waste not, want not." It's one thing to stock up on great deals but make sure you can use it or store it. It's not such a good deal if you end up tossing it in the garbage.