As H and I are looking into buying the biggest thing we have ever bought, we have been thinking through our budget and would like to make some cuts and snippets here and there to make more room for our master savings (which will soon be deflated, pretty much, umm - completely).
In hopes of bringing the grocery bill down, I am seeking to start shopping for longer-term, and making this a way of life from now on. Its easier to start now as two, before two becomes three, three becomes four, four . . . (you get it ;) I love to cook, but I get frustrated when I am not thinking ahead with how I shop. I am a big fan of hearty and healthy meals & we are trying to stick to whole grains, fruits, veggies, lean meats, (chocolate, icecream, wine and beer ;)
So, I am eager for feedback - frugal shoppers and meal planners, reveal thyselves, I am ALL ears.
p.s. - I browsed Barne's and Noble's cookbook rack to see if there were any books on this - I only seemed to find one that looked remotely interesting, Cheap, Fast, Good, by Beverly Mills and Alicia Ross
Has anyone read this? What were your thoughts on it?
I ordered Sheri Ingram's Menu Planning Made Easy off Crystal's Site, and I am looking forward to getting that.
I also did a google search last night on frugal meal planning and got completely overwhelmed.
23 January 2007
Meal Planning Query
Posted by Hofwoman at 7:39 AM
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About Me
* Wedding Day * 10-08-05
Things I Love - and not necessarily in this particular order ;)
- Bubble Baths
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January
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Wisdom, Encouragement, and Practical Advice
4 comments:
O my daughter, I have neglected to get you the best cookbook of all!
By that I mean that I used it the very most, at least when I used recipes. It is also the one that has Haven's crumb cake recipe in it.
Book title is MOre with Less, and it is probably updated by now. My copy is spiral-bound, which is the most useful, since it can be flat on the counter. The idea behind the book is that if we all use less, those with less will have more. While I don't agree with the environmental emphasis (because the world economy is not a finitely sized pie, it always grows)I do like the idea of making less go further, like using less meat and more vegies, etc. It also has alot of really good ethnic simple recipes.
check it out!
Love you,
M2
Compared to my sisters I'm just a beginner, but in my defense San Antonio is a tuff town to get deals in like they can get in Indiana!
But, for the 4 of us, I spend about $120/twice a month in groceries. The single thing that saved us soooo much money is menu planning. I sit down at the beginning of every month and plan out all meals. Then I make my shopping list based on that. I do some freezer cooking, but most of mine is done by cooking double and freezing a meal's worth. This works well for me since we don't have an extra freezer. Some other things that save time and money is chopping and freezing vegetables. Onions and green bell peppers are popular ones for me. So if there's a good deal I'll buy a decent amount, then chop and freeze.
The last thing I can think of is to watch the sales. Sun Harvest will have chicken breast and/or chicken tenders on sale for as low as $1.49/lb. Buy and freeze! I'll let you know if I think of anything else!
Kim (who can't seem to figure out my login at the moment)
If you haven't heard of it yet - Frozen Assets: How to Cook for a Day and Eat for a Month. I've used this book before. It has great tips for shopping frugally. Also the method of cooking for a day to freeze a months worth of food is good for saving money because you can use a bunch of the same ingredients (buy bulk) and make them into differnt meals. It may also be nice for you since you work. Also, since you're only cooking for 2 right now it wouldn't take that much freezer space so you wouldn't need an extra freezer to start. It also works doubling recipes and just freezing half. She also talks about how to freeze properly - like if you're freezing pasta, don't cook it all the way or it will be mush, onions loose flavor when frozen, etc.
Here's some websites of have bookmarked for frugality - (some require subscription for parts of them)
http://www.cheapskatemonthly.com/
http://members.aol.com/OAMCLoop/index.html (author of cook for a day)
http://www.menumailer.net/
http://www.stretcher.com/index.cfm
Hope this helps...I could go on and on... :)
Kat :)
hey mames.
i shop for anything non-perishable and/or freezable once a month (i.e. cereal, bread, meats, potatoes, pastas, peanut butter and jams, paper goods, etc) it is amazing how many things you only have to buy once a month or less. then, i buy fresh produce twice a month. fruit kept in the fridge can easily last two weeks, and usually veggies can too. the only trick is to know HOW MUCH to buy of each thing to last you through till the next shopping trip. but, that's the fun of it. and if you run out before it's time to shop again, and your budget can't allow a quick trip, then just go for the gold and eat WHATEVER you find in your cupboards. a couple days or a week of that won't kill you. and i rather enjoy it sometimes, as i feel i'm using my domestic talents to stay resourceful. and it makes you very grateful for God's goodness in FOOD. :0)
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