Yes, it takes a little time to check out the sales ads and find coupons, but it’s totally worth it! So, hop online or download your grocery store’s app. This is a huge money-saving step in learning how to meal plan. Take the extra chicken sitting in the fridge from salsa chicken rice bowl last night and put chicken and cheese quesadillas on the meal plan for early next week! Pro tip: Use those leftover ingredients in a new recipe. You’ll save money by shopping your pantry and fridge-and you’ll save those perfectly ripe veggies from ending up in the trash, which is a total waste of money and food. If anything’s expiring soon, use it before it spoils! Also, work some of what you already have into this week’s meal plan. Look through your pantry, fridge and freezer. You can also put a leftovers night on the calendar-where everyone eats what you’ve already made that week.ģ. Then freeze the leftover half to pull out on evenings when you don’t have time to meal prep. First off, go ahead and double recipes when you can. You might need to double a recipe to feed a crowd this week or have a quick meal ready to go for those nights you have to run kids from soccer practice to piano lessons. So, check out what’s coming up and plan ahead. Your meal plan should line up with your schedule. Don’t trust your memory here! That’s how you end up with five cans of black beans and no salsa for taco Tuesday. You have to look at what you already have on hand (more on that in step three). Pro tip: You really do need to be in your kitchen to make the best meal plan possible. Get a sheet of paper and head to the kitchen. You’ll get faster at this as you go, but when you’re first learning how to meal plan, start off giving yourself at least 30 minutes each week. Make time to meal plan before the week begins. I broke down how to meal plan into 10 super manageable steps. You guys, you’re totally going to eat healthier and save so much cash! Because a meal plan is all about being intentional with what you’re spending and what you’re eating. It means no unplanned trips to the snack machine or drive-thru. That means no more randomly buying things you might use because they seem like a good idea in the moment. (Don’t worry, I’ll break that down in a minute.) Then you’ll make your grocery list for only what you need. That’s because you’ll look at the recipes you’ll be using, see what’s on sale, and know what ingredients you already have in your pantry. When you meal plan, you won’t buy food you don’t need. Meal planning is deciding up front-and on purpose-what you’ll eat for breakfast, lunch, dinner and snacks throughout the week. Let’s talk about how to create a meal plan that works for your life.īut first, let’s talk about what a meal plan even is. It’ll take a little time on the front end, but meal planning is a game changer for your budget. That’s why the best way to help your food budget is to learn how to meal plan. Just like in every area of life, we need to be intentional here. Grocery prices are on the rise, and, well-we’re busy people! It’s all too easy to make a last-minute run to the drive-thru or fill up your grocery cart with good intentions but no real plans.īut there’s the key word: plan. It’s food! There are lots of reasons why. Where do Americans tend to overspend the most in their budgets? The answer probably won’t surprise you.
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