|
Cooking on a budget doesn’t mean you have to sacrifice flavor or nutrition. You simply need to plan ahead and use a little creativity!
Here are 4 Very Important Steps to Serving Delicious Meals to Your Family On A Tight Budget!
Create a Weekly or Monthly Menu Planner
This simple step will save you money, time, and stress! If you write down a weekly menu BEFORE you go shopping, you will have the opportunity to create a menu that includes a wide variety of foods, incorporating items on sale, leftovers, and fun ideas for making eating at home more enjoyable for everyone. Not only will you be able to save money incorporating items on sale, but you will avoid spending money on items you don’t need to buy. The bonus is everything’s planned for the week and you can prevent the stress of not knowing what you are serving your family on any particular night.
You can plan for 5, 6, or 7 days, depending on whether you want to save a couple of days for dining out or eating with friends. List the days on a piece of paper and write underneath them ideas for a variety of meals, including side dishes. Before you begin Week 1, you may want to create a Master Menu List, showing categories of all your favorite meals from the full course meals to one dish casseroles to pasta and rice dishes to chilies, stews, soups, pizza, sandwiches and wraps, and dinner salads. Get your family involved with their suggestions as well.
Shop Smart!
Be a clever shopper. Watch your supermarket’s ad circulars to get the best deals. If the sale is a really good deal, keep in mind that most things freeze well. Divide large packets of food into smaller containers or freezer bags ready to defrost for single meals. Utilizing your freezer will enable you to take advantage of sale items and fit them into your weekly menus. Same with your pantry --- keep a good selection of canned and dry goods that you can rely on to create quick delicious meals and to use as a basis to mix in with leftovers. Most of these pantry staples have a long shelf life so you should always be able to have a well-stocked pantry, saving time and money. Know when your supermarket’s sales week starts and ends. Jungle Jim runs their ad from Monday through Sunday and can be viewed and run off your personal computer for convenience. Also, buy in season. And try store or off brands to save money over name brands if not on sale – especially items like pasta and rice and canned goods --- don’t scrunch your nose up at that suggestion --- just try one can or package and see if it makes a difference --- you’ll never know if you don’t try.
Keep your shopping list handy and stay focused on what is on the list. It also helps if you know the layout of the store and arrange your list of items by the way you walk through the store --- prevents backtracking for an item or two and being tempted to buy something you see but don’tt need. Allow plenty of time to do your weekly shopping so you can read labels and unit pricing to discover which is the best bargain. Don’t buy what you know you won’t eat even if it’s the best bargain ever – it’ll just sit on the shelf. No savings there! Supermarkets are cleverly designed to entice you to buy more, with expensive items at eye level and cheaper varieties on the lower levels. Use your list! Seek out special sections of reduced items --- Jungle has an entire section not to be missed – lots of savings! Keep in mind that “convenience” foods are not only pricey, but also not as nutritious as the ones you make yourself. So, give homemade chicken nuggets, pizza, and burgers a try!
Oh, did I mention to BUY WHAT IS ON YOUR SHOPPING LIST! Never wander aimlessly around the supermarket trying to come up with ideas for meals without your list --- you will be so surprised and thrilled to see how much you will save by sticking to your shopping list.
Never go shopping when hungry --- you’ll end up with a cart full of cookies, pizza, and snacks! Also, leave the children at home if you possibly can. That alone will cut down on the many assorted impulse items they throw into your cart --- believe me, it adds up! If possible, hook up with another mom who will watch your children while you shop and you reciprocate --- you can also share tips on sale items and even recipes.
Be Creative and Inclusive
Be creative and add an element of fun by including the family in the meal planning.
Put your Weekly Menu Planner on a chalkboard or on the refrigerator so your family can see what’s coming up for the week – have a section for suggestions and an additional section for grocery items you have used up and need to buy. Starting in January, I will be sharing budget conscious recipes to add to your Master Menu List. And I encourage all of you to share your ideas and recipes with all of us.
By planning your menu, you will be able to cook well balanced meals with family input. You can look forward to sitting down together, catching up on the day’s events, solving problems, sharing concerns and lots of laughter - all at the dinner table.
You can save money by considering portion size as well. Are you scraping food into the garbage after every meal? How many people does your recipe serve and how many people are eating? You can either halve the recipe, or freeze half of the recipe for a future meal, or you can use the leftovers from that meal in a creative way. Chinese Fried Rice was actually created to use leftover vegetables, meats, and rice. If you’ve made too much food, don’t throw it away. Most foods will keep for up to four days in the fridge with the exception of fish or seafood and can be creatively used again. Think about ways you can use leftover food to create a new recipe. Leftover food can be brought back to life in soups, casseroles, rice dishes, pastas, and sauces with just a little imagination.
What about Meatless Monday? You say your kids and husband would never go for that? Think of a wonderful Italian spaghetti, lasagna or manicotti dinner with warm bread from the oven and a crisp salad for instance – yummy, huh? What about Breakfast for Dinner? So many breakfast recipes are fun and filling for dinner one night. If you have a particular busy day or two, dust off that Slow Cooker and have your meal ready when you walk in the door – what a time saver and the house smells so good! Have a Tapas Night --- small bites of food on small plates – similar to an appetizer night – make it festive and fun.
Cook for the future. Double a recipe and freeze half for a future night’s meal. Cook once to eat twice. Cook a little extra of an ingredient for one dinner to be made into an entirely new meal a day or two later. For example, cooking a little extra chicken (especially if it is on sale that week) can be utilized in rice and pasta dishes, soups, stews, salads, quesadillas, sandwiches, and casseroles, saving time and money. An inexpensive tomato based sauce can be used for a pasta dish, a Mexican recipe, chili, soup, or a stew with just a few adjustments – not only cuts down on costs, but on time spent cooking.
Cook from Scratch
Cook from scratch for healthier, tastier meals at home. Leave the processed food and ready-made meals on the supermarket shelves. When you look at the labels, you’ll discover an abundance of additives and fillers to cover up the poor quality and taste. If they seem economical, it’s probably due to the use of less or poorer quality ingredients. So if you take quality of food into account – and you should – processed food is not less expensive, all things considered. And do you really need to pay so much money to purchase cut up fruit and vegetables rather than taking a few minutes to cut it up yourself? I didn’t think so. And don’t get me started with tossing your money away at those drive-through fast food joints – ugh! Put yourself in control of what you and your family eat, and opt for less expensive, healthier, and tastier meals. Meals don’t have to be complicated or time-consuming to be tasty. The majority of my recipes are quick, easy, nutritious and delicious ---- because that’s simply what happy busy people need! Keep the complicated recipes for special occasions. By planning ahead, utilizing leftovers, freezing meals for another day, keeping a stocked pantry, and using your slow cooker, you can make healthy, tasty meals in no time at all and well in your budget! Starting in January on Channel 9 WCPO, I will be doing cooking segments on Fridays sharing scrumptious meals on a tight budget. In the meantime, I want to hear from you. Please share with me and everyone your questions AND your tips for staying within your food budget and yummy recipes that don’t break the bank. All you have to do is click ADD A COMMENT below. I have a few tricks and recipes up my sleeve as well ---- we can be Budget Buddies in the Kitchen! Lovin’ to Cook and Savin’ Money, Margie Potts
Margie Potts, known for creating quick and easy, palate and wallet pleasing meals, has been a cooking instructor for over 14 years and currently does cooking segments on local television stations as well as for private affairs, fundraisers, and conventions. She has also done "Around the House" seasonal specials, Thanksgiving and Christmas Specials from her home, Do It Yourself (DIY) segments, including 15 taped segments for national Food Network.
|
