In this post I'd like to share a little bit about how I do our meal planning and grocery shopping. Then I will share this week's meal plan (of dinners) with you.
This week I spent $78 for our groceries, which was $1 less than what I estimated on my grocery list. I only "meal plan" for dinners, as we eat a lot of leftovers for lunches as well as the the occasional pb&j, fruit, and oatmeal or eggs for breakfasts. So other than making sure those staples are stocked up, my grocery lists mostly contain dinner items as well as the regular household items such as toilet paper, etc. This week I was lucky and didn't need buy any household items.
I also buy my milk (1 1/2 gallons) and eggs (2 dozen) from a friend I met in MOPS who has chickens and a jersey cow. So that's actually another $10 each week. It is also notable that we (for the most part) only buy high-quality, grass-fed (where applicable), free-range (etc. etc.) meat. This week, we made an exception and bought conventional roast. This information is just to give you a more accurate idea of our habits for budget purposes.
On Saturday, as part of our date night, My Stud and I went grocery shopping together, which was by the far the fastest grocery shopping trip ever. (I know, we are wild.) This time, I did something a little different with my grocery list than I usually do. You see, I usually plan meals, write out my shopping list and go. And I usually end up spending more than our Food and Household budget allows for the week. This means I am often taking a loan from another category and starting out next week's grocery funds by having to pay back money owed. (For more on the cash envelope system I use, refer back to this post.) Something needed to change in my planning.
This week, when I wrote out my list, I listed estimated the price to the left of each grocery item, added it all up, and made adjustments to my list where necessary. Part of my motivation for doing this was that I had forgotten to plan for Easter dinner, and I wanted to buy a large roast and the fixings, I was already working with $20 less because of paybacks from the previous week, and I was determined to break the cycle of overspending/borrowing grocery money.
At the store, I was able to glance at my estimated prices and know how I was doing along the way. Having to stick to my numbers also helped me stick to my list like never before. I am always finding something on sale to stock up on or something I "forgot" to put on the list. I actually did buy yogurt and a coconut, both on excellent sale, both not on my list. However, I knew that I had a little room to flex since almost everything I bought was a little under my estimated prices, so it still worked out great.
I thought I would share this week's (dinner) meal plan. At one point I used E-mealz to help with meal planning because I was in such a rut as far as simple, creative ideas go. Now that I'm out of that rut, I am back to doing my own planning. You will notice that we're not big on a bunch of side dishes at our house. I went through a phase where I tried very hard to improve in this area, and my family - well mostly my husband - let me know that he was just as happy with a one-dish meal and maybe one side, so I gave myself a break. One thing is for sure, meal planning is the best way to get the most bang for your buck at the grocery store. If you don't have a plan, you'll probably buy a bunch of random stuff that sounds good, and then end up having to make multiple trips to the store in order to turn those things into meals. With good planning, I limit my grocery shopping trips to once a week. Some people shop once per month, but I am not that awesome.
Here is what we're eating for dinners this week:
Monday: Taco salad
Tuesday: Stir fry and wild rice
Wednesday: Crock pot chicken/green chili burritos
Thursday: Lentil soup and homemade whole wheat rolls
Friday: Spaghetti squash with sausage sauce and salad (regular spaghetti for kids)
Saturday: Potato and ham bake w/ veggies
Sunday: Easter - Pot roast w/ potatoes, carrots, onions, salad.
And now you know what we eat around here. ;-)
What is your grocery shopping and meal planning strategy to keep groceries from being a budget-buster?
4 comments:
Meal planning is definitely the way to go! I manage to plan out half of my meals a week or so, but doing it daily is not something I pull off most weeks. I try to shop for staples monthly, and produce/perishables weekly. We also shop at Aldi alot, where it's cash-only and their produce is always in-season type stuff so it's super cheap. That combined with our organic co-op (where we get organic produce for super cheap) and we do okay. Meat is our big deal. We raise our own cattle, but have yet to butcher one. Hubby won't admit it, but he just likes them for lawn ornaments. ;)
We have our own chickens, and I have connections for fresh dairy/goat milk - though we don't drink a lot of milk so I normally just buy a 1/2 gallon every now and then. I'll be glad when my goats are ready to milk, Hubby won't drink it, but I'm sure the kids will!
I like the idea of also including the price! I tend to plan a week or so of meals, make the list, and then shop. I never take the time to estimate the price, so this will be a new challenge for me.
I LOVE meal planning. Most of my recipes are on Allrecipes.com, so I just click "add to shopping list" and then print and adjust as needed. I don't foresee myself estimating the price of everything, but I just check the ads from the Sprouts and Sunflower Market (health food stores) and whatever is on sale, I incorporate into the meals. Example: Chicken over $2/lb...we're not having chicken that week. But usually it's $1.99 so I plan accordingly. If there's a great sale on fish, I add that into the plan. But I have to admit...I have struggled since the twins came along and will be relieved to get back into the meal planning.
I also like to buy for a couple meals at a time and freeze one, use one. For instance, the Chicken Pot Pie I make freezes very well or putting raw chicken in a marinade and freezing for a time we need. I LOVE freezing meals and have not noticed any less flavor.
Oh man I miss Sprout's more than you know! I looooooove that store. I have a good store up here called Natural Grocers but it is not as reasonable on things like meat.
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