Thrifty Thursday: Meal Planning & Shopping

Thrifty Meal Planning and Grocery Shopping

I have found that the key to sticking to my grocery budget, being able to afford lots of healthy, quality foods, and making sure I have enough food for a variety of dinner meals, I need to plan my meals in advance, make a detailed grocery list, and stick to it. I often clip coupons if they are things that I will actually buy. I leave the ones that would just add things to my list. I often use the weekly sale flyer to plan my meals. I usually shop once a week. I like to plan 2 weeks of dinners at a time. I plan them for specific days, but often switch around the days as we go. I am not a fancy eater or cook, so most of our meals are quick and easy, and as nutritious as possible. I don't plan breakfasts or lunches because those are usually the same types of things: breakfast - cereal, oatmeal, fruit; lunch - sandwiches, fruit, yogurt. I also very seldom eat out. Thankfully these methods help me to stay on a strict grocery budget, buy lots of organic and fresh produce, buy all organic chicken and the lowest fat beef, and still have some left over for a treat or two :) 

So how do I do it?

I have a pad of paper that has each day of the week written on it. I divide the pad in half and label on side "dinners" and the other side "things to do". The dinner is the meal for that day and the things to do is what I need to do that day to prepare for a day or days ahead to make my life easier. I then plan my weekly shopping list from that and don't veer from the list. Below is an example of my 2 week meal plan.

                                  Dinner                                                      To Do

Sunday                      Beef in crockpot                                        Defrost pureed squash                                 

                                  w/ egg noodles & carrots                           Defrost chicken for Tues

Monday                    Banana pancakes w/ pureed squash,          Make double batch & freeze

                                  & 2 scoops of protein powder, fruit,          Marinate chicken for tomorrow

                                  yogurt, milk

Tuesday                    Baked Chiavetta's chicken, brown             Make double chicken & freeze

                                  rice, carrots & peppers w/ ranch dip

                                  applesauce, milk 

Wednesday              Leftovers from Sunday                               Defrost chicken for Fri

Thursday                 At Nana & Papa's - cheese ravioli,

                                 meatballs, garlic bread, milk

Friday                      Lemon chicken, brown rice, veggies w/

                                 dip, corn, fruit, milk

Saturday                 Grilled cheese, veggies w/ dip, yogurt,

                                fruit & protein smoothie

Sunday                    "Buffet" - any leftover dinners plus food that     Defrost chicken breast for tomorrow

                                 we have extra of. The kids LOVE this & they

                                 pick little bits of lots of different things

Monday                   Kids w/ Dad, I eat leftover chicken

Tuesday                   Pita pizzas, veggies w/ dip                               Defrost beef for tomorrow

Wednesday              Beef tacos w/ whole wheat shells,                   Make double beef & freeze

                                  veggies, dip

Thursday                  At Nana & Papa's - cheese ravioli,

                                 meatballs, garlic bread, milk

Friday                      Turkey wraps, veggies, fruit, milk

Saturday                  Kids w/ Dad

Sunday                    Kids w/ Dad

** During the weekends that the kids are gone, I usually don't cook unless the mood really strikes me :) I eat leftovers, cereal, or get together with people to share a meal. **