Menu Planning

SALLY597

I don't know about your household but my DH and I seem to have the same old, same old menus. They are adequate but we would like to begin a written journal of 90-120 days of breakfasts, lunches, dinners, snacks and so forth that meet our criteria for speed, taste, healthy ingredients and cost. Our plan is to get our food budget into a $75 or less per week range (currently a little over $100 still using coupons). I have found a website that offers meal plans around $50 a week for four people which sounds good but after looking at the bare bones menus they simply would not work for my husband and I. What kind of food budgets do you stick to and how many in your household??? Any tips or plans that you have that you're willing to share? I don't understand how singles, couples and families on public assistance or disability are able to make it, even with food stamps because I feel we are paying more than "normal" for just the two of us. Input? I am new here and looking forward to making new friends and sharing with the Nest Community. Thanks for any replies.

SALLY597

Funny, I just read the article that reads "The US Department of Agriculture estimates that a family of two spends about $350 a month on groceries." ... I guess it *IS* possible to be around $75 weekly for the two of us. I was thinking that was unrealistic. Now, again, HELP!!!

BlueBirdMB

We spend between $500-$600 per month on groceries for 2 people.  That's for all toiletries, cleaning products, and food.  On food alone, we probably spend $400-$450 per month.  Obviously prices vary greatly from area to area.  

I think it's a million times more important to buy healthy food than cheap food. I am willing to skimp on almost any other area of my life, but not food.  It's not worth sacrificing our health.

OtterJ

The best way to save money on food, is to make sure that you're not throwing food away.  You can meal plan in a way that ensures that all of the food that you purchase will be a part of a snack or meal before it has time to spoil.

My husband and I try to do meal planning, but we've realized that things spring up on us too often.  Throughout the month, it always seems like our meal planning gets delayed enough that some moldy bread or sour milk or rotting veggies always has to be tossed before their meal is prepared.  Our recent solution is meal planning, on top of more regular grocery shopping.  Since many of our food purchases are fresh, we now only shop for about 2 days worth of food, instead of the week that we used to. 

Just this week, we also reorganized our fridge, so that leftovers are front and center - so they don't spoil in the back of the fridge, forgotten, and alone. 

In our house, that seems to be the best way for us to cut down on spending....to watch what food we put in the trash, and make sure it's as little as humanly possible.  We're also a 2 person household, and we probably spend close to $80 a month (although that will always vary by area).  The more prepacked food, frozen meals, and junk we get, the higher that bill goes.  Especially because we tend to snack more (and thus, eat more), when snacks are in the house. 

DZKathryn

We're a 2 person household too and I find that meal planning really helps us keep our food spending in check. Like @OtterJ said, if I know I'm going to buy an ingredient for one meal, I try to think about other ways that I can use that ingredient later in the week. Not only does it mean we throw less food away, but it also means we buy fewer ingredients and can take advantage of buying in bulk, when it will work for us. 

Our schedule can get really crazy too. I volunteer with a couple different organizations and my husband travels a lot for work, sometimes on short notice. I try to keep my planner updated with everything that is going on in our lives so I can take that into account when I meal plan. I try to make sure there are a few nights each week where the prep and cook time is short so we can work around evening commitments. I also shuffle the schedule depending on what will last/can be frozen and what needs to be eaten right away when something last minute does come up. 

Our budget is $100 a week for food, but we're often closer to $50-75. Lately, we've started buying meat at Whole Foods because they have greater selection, I can buy exactly how much I want instead of a pre-packaged amount, and I can be selective about quality and origin of the meats. It has affected the budget a little to do this, but it hasn't completely driven up the costs like I expected. I also try to plan at least 1 or 2 vegetarian nights in each week which also helps keep the costs down. We don't really buy snack foods, soda or lunch stuff. We try to mostly eat leftovers as lunches. 

On that note, the last few months I have been trying to make one larger meal each week that will give us leftovers for lunches or quick dinners. Usually it is some sort of slow-cooker soup, stew, or chili. We've been liking it so far. It helps keep costs down and makes packing lunch in the morning really easy. If you're not into eating the same thing 3-4 times each week this may not work as well for you.

As for the recipes themselves I pull a lot from Cooking Light and Pinterest. We have some go-tos that are in regular rotation, but I'd say I make new recipes 50-75% of the time. I'd be happy to share some of my favorites with you. What are your criteria? What kinds of things are you looking for?

MrsT4433

I'm sure you've heard most of this before, but cooking as much as possible from scratch and buying less pre-packaged stuff is one way to really save. I also find the largest portion of our food budget seems to go towards meat, so I try to cook recipes where meat is an ingredient, but not necessarily the "star" of the dish. For instance, instead of having burgers and using lots of ground beef, I could use half the amount of meat in a big pot of chili. 

Also - if something can be frozen, buy it in large quantities and freeze it. We buy our boneless skinless chicken from Zaycon for about 50 cents less than the grocery store. it's sold in 40lb quantities, but I borrow my friend's food saver and vacuum seal all that, and then freeze it and we have chicken for a year. Saves you a ton in the long run. 

Another idea might be to pick a theme for the week. My husband is pickier than a 6 year old, but he LOVES mexican food, so sometimes if I'm feeling cheap and/or lazy, we'll do mexican-inspired meals for a week, since they share a lot of the same ingredients. I'll cook up a big pot of beans and a large batch of taco meat. Then we have burritos, tacos, nachos, taco salad, burrito bowls... He's happy, and my grocery list is way shorter because all of those dishes share common ingredients so I'm not buying a ton of stuff.

bpphoto785

We buy more than we need when items, especially meat, are on sale. I also try to use less meat in recipes and bulk it up with vegetables or beans. Meat is always the largest chunk of our grocery bill so this helps us to save money and eat healthier. Extra meat is frozen. In general, I try to add more vegetables to any recipe. It not only makes it healthier, but the meal goes farther. 

I spend less money if I go grocery shopping every other week instead of every week. As I meal plan I put produce that will spoil quickly in the first week, and heartier items in the second week. 

Over time I've learned what recipes share ingredients and put them together. For instance, I have a chicken peanut stir fry and a buffalo turkey burger that both call for broccoli slaw and shredded carrots. (Both are SkinnyTaste recipes if anyone is interested). So I will make these two dishes in the same week. It also makes it easier to shred the carrots in a food processor one night instead of two. 

I try to have quick meals ready for when I don't feel like really cooking, so that we avoid going out or getting take out. Most of the time it's extra bolognese sauce, burritos, etc. I've made and frozen. Sometimes it's mac & cheese with hot dogs (H's favorite).  

chrisnjay05212010

I also shop every other week and plan my menus accordingly.   I will use any thing that spoils quickly in that first week. I will look at the flier and see if any specific meats are on sale and plan meals with it.  We spend about $150-$200 every other week (that includes cleaning supplies for the house) and it's just the two of us. I try to mix in pasta dishes as well to keep some of the meat costs down.  I will only buy the meat when its on sale and i try to buy in bulk and freeze into smaller portions.  We use our leftovers for lunches and i keep some snacks in the house.  I do keep quick meals on hand for lunch on the weekends or week nights when we are busy to try and cut down on any take out. For breakfast we are usually cereal eaters during the week (which i will only buy on sale) and egg eaters on the weekends.

I find most of my recipes on pinterest and from the girls here.  I also love www.allrecipes.com.  I try to add at least one or two new recipes each meal plan and see if its a keeper. 

BlueBirdMB

Wow you guys are good food shoppers.  I know that our high bills aren't from not using everything we buy- I always use everything I buy.  Even if we don't want to eat the same thing for the whole week,  I will cook enough to use everything up and freeze it, which we do eat later.

We have a lot of food allergies and substitute foods are very expensive.  I also just feel so much better eating organic meats and eggs, so we only organic for those things, which is super expensive.  Like I said before, food isn't something I choose to budget for health reasons.