Meal plans

There is a picture on the Internet that has been circulating . It is three grocery carts. The forest one says 1998 and is full. The second says 2005 and is half full. The third one says 2012 and is almost empty. Each is headed with a twenty dollar bill. Groceries are a big part of our discretionary spending. The cost of food has gone up every year , but this year some items have doubled in cost. It is getting harder and harder to Stay on a thrifty budget. I can still average ten dollars a sack; the sacks are just smaller. LOL.

This week , I spent thirty dollars at ALBERTSONS and twenty at Fred Meyers and 4 at the dollar store. I didn't get any protein. I have a lot stockpiled. Mostly fresh food and some frozen veggies. A


It is possible to eat well on a thrifty budget. Last night we had Scratch Mack and cheese and mixed vegetables. vegetables. it is a dinner that satisfies the whole family and I only have to cook one version.

When I make meal plans I use a matrix. We have a vegetarian, a semi vegetarian and a dad that doesn't like most vegetables., I have given up and just cook veggies. Take it or leave it. But, I cook a variety of protein in an effort to be more healthy and satisfy everyone.

My matrix is

2 beef
2 pork or chicken
2 vegetarian
1 fish or shellfish

This makes meal planning easier. Your matrix may be different, but a matrix helps. Betty Crocker web sites help. I get them on e mail weekly. They even tell you if there is a store near you that has ingredients on sale.
Some recipes need adjusting to be on the cheap, but almost all are doable and many sound really good. You can also google an ingredient you need to use up and it will provide recipes.

I use the matrix and incorporate what's in the fridge with my meal plans. What needs to be used up.


1) tacos, refried beans, vegetarian Spanish rice.

2) Italian meatballs and spaghetti,small ad baguette

3) chicken Kiev , baked potato, minted peas, salad.

4) smoked pork, peppers, potatoes, baguette

5) Mac and cheese, mixed vegetables

6) split pea soup, bread sticks

7) tuna Cassarole with peas.


Notes:

Taco kit was 1.55 at ALBERTSONS with a coupon. I bought enough for tacos once a week or the month. I usually make my own taco seasoning, but this is cheaper than making and Buying the two different kinds of shells, the seasoning, and the taco sauce.

The chicken is from the grill packs I bought last week. I de boned the breasts and cooked and shredded the rest. I added some vegetables during n the cooking time so that I had a stock left when I was finished. I portioned the chicken shreads so that I have one meal bags. For salads, tacos, stir fry, on top of Mac and cheese. I can use the stock in split pea soup: easy fare in the slow cooker. The smoked pork was I think 1.23 with a sale and a coupon. Peppers are at the dollar store. The meat balls were batch cooked from hamburger I got at Costco for 2.89 for 9 percent ground beef. Ditto the taco meat. The base for the Mac and cheese was a garlic recipe starter that I got for .50 at the dollar store. It is cheaper than making white sauce.

Plans can be altered, but you need to have a plan. I remember one time, years ago, when I walked into albertsons to get milk. They announced over the store PA system that they had purchased too much Dover sole . It was two dollars a pound. We had Dover Sole that night.! LOL. Without a plan,things are sure to go a muck the first time your schedule is compromised.

groceries on the cheap takes on a whole different way of grocery shopping. You do not come home from shopping with a weeks worth of food. Because you have the basics for a weeks worth of food in your pantry and freezer, basicly when you are fully set up you are buying

A) the loss leader meat/ protein that is available that week. I buy cheese when it is under pr at 2.50 a pound. Grate it and freeze it. I add a little cornstarch to it so that it doesn't clump. I want pork loin for under 2.00.
I want ground beef for as close to 2.50 as I can get it and I want 7-9 percent. If I want more fat for meatballs or meatloaf, I can add some ground pork that I have ground from a pork loin, or I can grind my own from chuck if it is cheaper than good ground beef. I want to pay a buck a poundnformchicken. I have been getting whole chickens for a buck, I got grill packs this month for a buck at two of the chain stores, and saw them at the other two on sale too.
Sausage is cheapest at Costco in a roll. The price keeps going up, but with sausage a little bit goes a long ways. I cook it and de fat it and portion control it in bags in the freezer. Use it on pizza, in soup, or on quiche. The pork, chicken are pretty much passive cooking. The ground sausage and beef are a bit more time consuming. I used to buy a roast beef before beef took such a hike.

There is a idea out there for what they are calling now freezer cooking, we used to call it marathon cooking. Thos is a compromise that takes less commitment of time, allows for more fresh food, and less freezer space. I think it is more doable. I don't have the stamina to shop and prep for 8 hours and cook for eight hours. Itmcouldmworkmfor some families I think, especially if the family had parents that had 12 hour shifts for work and left a culinary challenged parent to cook. I used to do some freezer cooking so that I could take already cooked meals to our elderly mothers. To is hard to cook for one person, especially of you are not well.

If you buy and cook one thing a week in bulk and rotate to for your meal plans, it will save time and money. You cook when you are more relaxed. Most of the time, you can passive cook the meat and when the meat is already cooked, it makes for an easy dinner time. In most families with children, dinner time is the most hectic time of the day, besides getting everyone out the door in the morning. I would not batch cook any more of one thing than a months worth. You can get a months worth of dinners in a standard freezer section of a fridge.
Rotate it for variety.

B) the perishables you will need to round out your meals. : fresh produce, dairy and eggs. I buy eggs when they are close to a dollar. They have a loag fridge life.

C) anything on your stocking list that is at or below your target price that you need to bring you up to your goal amount.



All this takes a little planning to get started. The result is better, faster, cheaper meals. The average family can cut their food bill by 1/2. 75.00 a week times 52 weeks is wait for it......

3900.00. And, it probably won't take you more than an extra hour a week. That is about 75.00 an hour.

Next time: ready made or scratch. When is it worth it.

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Jane