Intro and menu planning Q

=Lee=B · August 2014

Hello,

I am sort of a new stay at home mom of a 17month old daughter. When my daughter was 10months old I started a home daycare (I am a certified teacher and have numerous degrees in childcare and child psychology). I had 5 kids in my daycare ages 14-19months of age when I closed up shop a month ago. While it was my dream job it soon became evident that it was my dream job when I was single and childless and as a wife and mother working 10hr days with 5 toddlers was leaving me so drained that our marriage was suffering and I just wasn't enjoying it like I did years ago.

So when things got really rocky between my husband and I...I quit my daycare, my husband and I started couples therapy, and we are on the road back to a happy marriage. I have now taken on one child to watch Tues-Thurs to join my daughter and I (she was my daughters best bud from my daycare group).

With the huge financial cut I would like to trim up my food budget. We can survive without my working but I'd like to tighten up the food costs to balance out my being at home.

Any suggestions for websites or books to help me figure out how to menu plan to cut costs? I have always cooked the large majority of our meals, I make good use of the crock pot and really enjoy cooking. But I have never really tried to do it cost effectively...which I'd like to try. How do I go about planning ahead? I think I usually go shopping, buy tons of what's on sale then come home and look to see what we have before deciding on a meal. I'm not sure if this is the best way to do this!

My daughter eats anything and everything and is happy to eat crock pot meals and other meals where everything is all mixed together. She eats a TON and she goes for meat (and beans and protein) over anything else and has much less preference for carbs. My husband is happy with anything. Our only food concern is my daughters Milk Protein Intolerance...but I think she might finally be starting to outgrow that and can handle a bit of baked in dairy now.

It's mainly suppers I have to focus on as while I do warm breakfasts they are simple (oatmeal, omelettes) and don't vary much week to week. Lunches tend to just be left overs from the night before. So, if I can master the suppers the rest of all good.

Sorry this was so long! Any advice or direction will be much appreciated.

heatherwhite1984 · August 2014

I like to do "one pot wonders" and there are lots of recipes on Pinterest. I often think about what meat we may want to eat that week and plan meals that would use roughly the same ingredients so that food is not wasted. Does it work well for us? No. Do I wish it would, absolutely! I often find myself freezing most of the meat in Ziploc bags with the marinade I want. If you like the crock pot meals, can you purchase enough to get maybe three meals from it, maybe more? Freeze what you are not going to eat - either already cooked or uncooked.

orangegoggles · August 2014

Hi! I don't have too much advice on trimming the budget in regards to food but I do try to plan my meals and I find that seems to help keep costs down. I also try to reuse the meat in a different way. So I'll buy ground turkey and use it for tacos and then on another night use it for stuffed peppers.

ConnieRob · August 2014

Hi!!!

I love cooking and do all the meal planning. I also try to keep to a budget for our family of four.

I do better in the winter months than summer because I do a lot of soups and stews in the winter so you can stretch meat a little further.

One of the odd things I've noticed is that if I cut meat up versus serving a whole piece, we actually eat less (like making homemade chicken fingers versus serving a baked chicken breast).

I also stock up in whatever is on sale. This week my store had whole chickens in sale for $0.67/pound. I bought 5 and tossed them in the freezer. It helps if you're not squeamish about breaking things down yourself

I like budgetbytes.com for some good cheap recipes. Also utilize your leftovers and keep an eye on what perishables you have on hand. If something is getting close to the end if it's shelf life use it up or get it in the freezer. I try to throw away as little as possible.

JeffandLeslie · August 2014

Welcome!

Meat, produce, and dairy typically take up the most of my grocery budget. I tend to wait until pantry staples go on sale/on coupon (or both at the same time!) and stock up on those. So things like beans, rice, mac and cheese, canned veggies, canned soups, etc.

I don't do this but I know moms who look at the sale ads for the week and identify what meat is on sale, then plan their menus around that. I tend to buy the sale meat and stick it in the freezer for later, then when I meal plan I can think about what's in my freezer instead of what's on sale.

Produce and dairy I don't worry about what's on sale/coupon, unless I get to the store and see a good sale on berries or something. I focus instead on what's in season for produce and cook that. Dairy I can't really save money on as DD and I both need lactose free milk and I buy cage free organic eggs.

I don't do a lot of freezer cooking as I don't have the freezer space but I know lots of people will bulk shop/cook to save money and then freeze the meals.

Good luck!

notkateanymore · September 2014

I LOVE you and your memory @gastro It's golden!

Andrewsgal · September 2014

I put this in the other thread, but even in a suit 5 toddlers screaming in the background of a conference call is not at all professional.

vlagrl29 · September 2014

Andrewsgal said:

I put this in the other thread, but even in a suit 5 toddlers screaming in the background of a conference call is not at all professional.

oh god, that would drive me nuts! I can't even stand teaching a private lesson with DD.

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