Meal-Planning on reduced budget

Soupy84 · April 2014

Hi ladies,

The last few days I have been re-assessing our food budget. DH & I have never really had a restricted food budget - we had a number in mind for the month, but we didnt really make a huge effort to stick to it. Now that we wont have our DINK lifestyle (even further reduced by my maternity leave), I am trying to find some resources. I have been all over pinterest and have taken the recipes I think would work. We are both foodies, love to cook, and hate leftovers (unless they can be worked into a new recipe).

I would love some of your suggestions on blogs you follow that help keep your grocery budget in line while providing a nutritious and inspired meal plan!

dogsombrero · April 2014

I've found one of the best ways to save is to know the cycle of your store in terms of pricing. A super sale on canned goods means I'll stock up until the next sale. The freezer is also your friend, when things are a great price freeze what you can't immediately use.

I also tend to make a big cut of meat on the weekend like a roast or whole chicken (cheaper than individual cuts) then use the leftovers to make quesadillas, soups, casseroles, stirfrys etc. that way there is variety. If we get tired of it I'll freeze the pre-cooked meat for an easy throw together meal. Breakfast for dinner and making scratch items will save you as well.

DBonfante · April 2014

I also love to save some money. Look for online coupons and definitely take advantage of sales. I also have found that certain items are cheaper at Target and you can also use cartwheel for more savings. I would also say that leftovers are your friend. You can make them into something a little bit different for lunch the next day.
Good luck

britab · April 2014

I really like https://www.budgetbytes.com/

We save a lot by clipping coupons and shopping our grocery store's sales. We buy meat and freeze it when it's on sale and eat in season produce. We stock up on frozen veggies when they're on sale and we have coupons and make things like crockpot soup/dishes. We meal plan to make sure we use up what we have and it doesn't go bad.

Hip2save.com has coupon and meal savings ideas. GL!

cnbean · April 2014

The biggest help for me is to only make what we will eat. We aren't that crazy about leftovers here either, so I cut most of my recipes in half (or more). That way I'm not cooking a ton of food that is going to get tossed out.

usernewname · April 2014

cnbean said:

The biggest help for me is to only make what we will eat. We aren't that crazy about leftovers here either, so I cut most of my recipes in half (or more). That way I'm not cooking a ton of food that is going to get tossed out.

This - I'm not a huge fan of leftovers, unless its a certain thing. And take advantage of coupons and sales! We usually only buy something if its on sale, and try to top up with a coupon. Also, we buy quality/farmer's market veggies/fruits as we find they last longer than regular store bought produce. That way we can get to it within a timeframe. I also juice a lot, so that cleans up older produce that's going mushy or almost spoiled.

We also usually try to plan our meals in advance, but sometimes its just figuring out that morning - but with what we have in the house. We rarely run out to the grocery store to grab missing ingredients as that can add up.

busterbeagle · April 2014

We recently started sticking to a much stricter budget. Things that have helped us are grocery shopping once a week on a predictable day, meal planning in advance, sticking strictly to our list, and getting as much as possible at Aldi. We found that when we have a full fridge, we forget about and waste things, so we don't stock up on anything anymore. We also eat very little meat (I don't eat any) and that helps save a lot, too.

Jennyinheaven · April 2014

I started budget planning about 4 months before baby as I am staying home for awhile and wanted to get used to a smaller grocery budget. I go on both coupon sites and purchase the Sunday paper once or twice a month. I clip everthing I think we may be interested in even the doubles then file them in a small coupon file divided by categories. Then when I need to shop I grab the circular and match any coupons to whats on sale, I find it easier to save by not having specific items in mind just general meal needs. For example Ill look for something like 5 proteins. So if sausage is on sale at the store plus I have a coupon for it, sausage makes the shopping list. Takes me about 45 minutes to make my list and match up the coupons before shopping, it isn't extreme couponing and doesn't require that leval of dedication it does save me an average of $60 dollars on about $150 grocery bill.

Jennyinheaven · April 2014

Oh and I also frequent a local Amish market for meats it allows me to buy small amounts of quality product instead of the larger pre packaged grocery meats.

Bayberry12 · April 2014

I started using a meal planning service called the fresh 20. It's about $5 a month and calls for all fresh seasonal ingredients. They send you a weekly menu, recipes, and shopping list. The ingredients should cost $50 or less a week. The portions are pretty large, since it's just dh and I, we cut the portions in half and only buy half the amount of food.
It's been really great for us to have a set menu and not have to really worry about what to buy/make.

sparklingdiamond · April 2014

We use e-meals and they have some pretty budget friendly plans. I will sometimes substitute things to make it cheaper as well.

chknma · April 2014

Great thread. We struggle with this too. I love trying new recipes cooking with lots of ingredients. We usually fail at finishing up leftovers.

I do find that I stick better to budget when I buy at either our local organic store or farmers market. Paying slightly more for good food, I tend not to let it go to waste. I'd love to try once a month cooking but couldn't figure out how to do it with one child, two sounds impossible!

Soupy84 · April 2014

Thank you for all the suggestions ladies! Right now I have 2 months worth of new recipes that are budget friendly (and hopefully DH will eat - he is the biggest critic in the house!).

I am very envious of the awesome couponing that happens in the US. In Canada, we dont really have the same stacking opportunities that produce the same caliber of savings. The past few months I have been watching the weekly flyers (and taking note of the grocery store cycles - I shop between 2 stores consistently) for good deals.

Practice makes perfect! I will continue to be diligent in what limited coupon efforts I can make, but will be trying to ensure we dont make too much food. Should help both DH & I lose some baby weight if we stick to better portions & it will stretch the budget further

getitdone · April 2014

DH and I hate leftovers as well, so I buy bigger packs of meats and then portion them down to multiple nights of use. For example, I will take a large pack of chicken breasts and then freeze 2-3 breasts in their individual packages. Also, I plan to make things that will inevitably make leftovers - like lasagna, for when I know I can eat it for lunch the next day. I agree with the pps about making a whole chicken in the crockpot and then using it for multiple meals that week for quesidillas, pulled chicken sandwhichs, and chicken salad.

delatl · April 2014

I also like Budget Bytes. A few things that have helped my meal budget: planning our meals for the week every single Sunday and shopping with a very detailed list; buying whatever meat is on sale and all the 2 for 1s; storing the extra in our deep freezer. My DH insists on meat at every meal, which can get expensive, but taking advantage of all the sales saves us a lot of money.

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