Trying to simplify and streamline everything is a huge task that is too overwhelming to do all at once, so I'm taking it one week at a time. Next week I'm concentrating on menu planning and building our pantry stock from items on sale.
I've learnt to my cost that sticking to a menu plan saves me money, and yet I keep sucking at it. I'm trying to do a four weekly revolving plan that fits in with our pay schedule; I find that a four week plan gives us some flexibility.
{The above photo is our current pantry, not very glamorous I know but it serves a purpose; it's an old shelving unit that fits perfectly in our breakfast room cupboard. The front is here, much nicer!}
This week we're having:
Mon - Curry + Rice
Tue - Fajitas (using left over chicken cooked for the curry)
Wed - Pizza + Salad
Thu - Pasta with homemade sauce from the freezer
Fri - Tuna/Pasta bake
Sat - Steak/Mushrooms/Veg
Sun - Chicken + Veg
Do you menu plan? Have you worked out a system that works best for your family?
Keeping the grocery budget down was one of the main things that helped me to get out of debt, now it's just as important if we want to achieve our long term goals.
4 Comments:
I'm starting to menu plan and it's been helping me lower my food costs. I first spent the first few weeks stocking up on sale items. Now, I've looked at what I've accumulated and am planning meals around my purchases.
Today I've made split pea soup (chock full of carrots, celery & onions) for lunch. Dinner was turkey sausage with stir fried peppers, onions & garlic, over brown rice. Desert will be home made crepes filled with Bonn Maman Strawberry preserves and topped with greek strawberry (organic) yogurt. All items listed above were purchased on sale!
YUMMY!
(pictures to follow later this week)
We plan a menu every Sunday for the week. It has saved us money and time. We've been doing this now for well over a year - I wish we had thought about it sooner.
P.S. - I love the chalkboard on your pantry door. Very smart.
@Morrison food looks great, the pancakes sound wonderful!
@savingherlife there are a lot of things I wish I'd done sooner too, but it doesn't matter, it's what we do now that counts :-)
We menu plan but are not strict about sticking to it; something I will change this year.
A suggestion that I really like: Make a list of your top 30 favorite meals but not necessarily you most frequent and when you can't think of something you want you can reference that list. If you want to take it a step further make a notebook or index cards with the ingredients and/or instructions so you can have it on hand for easy reference.
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