Budget friendly meal planning

[jessiespano]

Groceries seems to be my biggest expense.  I feel like I have the hardest time sticking to a budget with a giant husband who eats all the things and an almost four year old who demands food and then doesn't eat it.  So lets use this thread to post ways you save money and/or recipes that stretch, etc.  

I'm currently on hold with my insurance company so I'll have to come back to this tomorrow most likely.

[MrsEmuTavi]

Use beans! They're good, healthy filler and cheap!

[xcrissx]

Family packs of chicken are cheap. I pay $10-$12 and I can get three days worth of meals out of one pack. We make:
- strips, breaded and baked
- chicken curry
- chili
- quesadillas, tacos, enchiladas
-stir fry/ saute (this is my new favorite meal) Serve with rice or pasta

[London]

As per previous comments the key is being smart with proteins. We plan our meals based on what meat is on sale. We also typically leverage meat to last at least 2 dinners (ex spaghetti and meatballs, followed by sweet and sour meatballs).

This tends to be a point of debate in budgeting land, but I am typically not a proponent of buying in bulk. Especially food (household items are a bit different). Firstly, it is more money out of your pocket right off the bat. The long term savings only accrue if you continue to spend, which doesn't make sense of you are having a cash crunch. Secondly, it does nothing to slow your rate of consumption, which is ultimately what leads to spending less. Figuring out how to stretch 5 lbs of potatoes at $8 per bag is going to serve you better financially than buying a 10 lb bag of potatoes for $12 but using them at the same rate.

[mandie]

I shoot to spend around $65/week on groceries, and I often hit that mark. I don't buy snacks or processed food, particularly not for the toddler. Goldfish, pouches, etc were starting to eat up $10+ a week, and that doesn't work with my goal amount.

I start my meal plan by cleaning out my fridge. I get rid of any leftovers/produce/perishable item that has gone bad. I also take note of what needs to be used that week. I base my menu planning around either things I already have (like this week) or around one of two items, so I can stretch those items out. Sometimes it is a protein, but a lot of times it will be produce, like peppers or spinach, so I can know that I will be using all that produce before it goes bad.

I shoot to spend $30 on produce (bananas and berries are nonnegotiable purchases for Ben), and the remaining $30-40 split between meat, dairy and grains. I obviously get more produce for $30 in the summer.

Ben's snacks are vegetables, Cheerios, yogurt, cheese or peanut butter and fruit. Every once in a while I buy goldfish but by keeping his snacks limited to items that I purchase for other meals, it really helps to diffuse grocery costs and make sure we use everything we buy. I am fortunate that he likes a variety of foods, though.

[jessiespano]

mandie pouches are killing me. But it one of his only safe foods. But a friend gave me a pouch making system, and if I can make some he will eat, that will be awesome. He seems really interested in the process, so hopefully it'll work. At around $1.30 a pop, I spend SO much on them. Also, buying in bulk is tempting but I don't like it either.

I'll be looking up some beans recipes today!

[britbratjf]

This is a yummy, vegetarian meal: www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/black-bean-and-quinoa-enchilada-bake/?m

I serve it with tortilla chips but you could easily wrap some up in a soft taco shell. It makes a lot - I usually get 2 dinners & 2-3 lunches out of it.

This is another recipe I can get multiple meals from: www.skinnymom.com/easy-enchilada-noodle-bake/

Both these freeze well!

[britbratjf]

What do you mean pouches are one of J's "safe" foods? Like one of the foods you know he'll eat?

Will he eat smoothies? Smoothies are a good way to get fruits & veggies in & you could make a batch & keep it in the freezer. Or muffins? There are a lot of hidden veggie muffin recipes. Freeze the muffins then pop one in the microwave for 30-40 seconds to warm up for a snack.

[southernpeach89]

I know this isn't all that convenient to do if you don't hunt but my H goes on 2-3 hunting trips a year and kills our meat so we have normally 30-50 lbs of venison in our freezer. We get it processed for a decent price and that lasts us all year.

We do buy chicken though and definitely buy it in bulk like xcrissx was mentioning. That works really well for us and lasts a while when we freeze it.

Soup is also one of our weekly favorites and is cheap. I make a HUGE pot of soup and freeze it in separate containers and we will eat it whenever I don't feel like cooking. The ingredients can be really inexpensive also like using beans, tomatoes, chicken, rice, etc...

[swbrigadoon]

mandie I am seriously in awe of your $65/week grocery budget. I am really impressed! I know my budget is inflated because of certain purposeful choices around meat/produce and our gluten free requirement, but I don't know that I could ever figure out how to keep to such a great budget even without all that!
britbratjf great suggestion with the smoothies and muffins.

[jessiespano]

Feb 2, 2016 7:39:44 GMT -5 britbratjf said:

What do you mean pouches are one of J's "safe" foods? Like one of the foods you know he'll eat?

Will he eat smoothies? Smoothies are a good way to get fruits & veggies in & you could make a batch & keep it in the freezer. Or muffins? There are a lot of hidden veggie muffin recipes. Freeze the muffins then pop one in the microwave for 30-40 seconds to warm up for a snack.

Yes. Right now he only eats about ten things. His pedi and I are working on expanding that slowly.

[andtheheartbreakers]

I do a crock pot soup every week, and try to freeze half of it. I find it so helpful when we have something easy in the freezer that can be taken out the night before if we have nothing for lunches the following day, or for dinner in a hurry. This stops us from eating out as much!

[sdfonz619]

We also make soup every week or salad during the warmer months. It's great to keep on hand to have a snack or side option to planned meals. Also, this is something that has helped give me an additional healthy option to have when I am ravenous from breastfeeding.

Then, whatever meals we have in mind, we always make extra to cover lunches for the next day to keep us from eating out.

Re bulk buying; every few months we will stock up on protein at Costco which we then breakdown into portions, vacuum seal and freeze. While it does require a little more out of pocket spending initially, it is so helpful when we either have nothing planned or if an unexpected expense comes up making things tight.

[mrsb1008]

We do a lot of soups in the crockpot over the winter since they are inexpensive.

Re buying in bulk. We do but meat in bulk as its a significant savings. We separate the portions out and freeze. We also rotate the buying as much as possible so if we buy chicken one week, two weeks later it will be ground beef. We can get at least 3 meals + leftovers out of each package so that helps.

We also have switched to a lot more frozen vegetables to cut back on waste. We were finding we would waste a lot, so anything we can buy frozen we do. We still keep salad and things like carrots around fresh since we eat those regularly. We choose one fruit at a time and try to choose something that will last longer, like apples, so there is less chance of wasting them.