Blowing my grocery budget.....

[zigzagzerr]

This may not work for everyone, but we've been using this plan for a number of years and it works for us....

On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of each week we cook a double batch of whatever we're making.

Leftovers go in the fridge.

Then we just alternate the leftovers for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night dinners. Plop the leftovers on your plate, nuke it, ready to go in a minute or two. This works out great, even on nights when we have a zillion activities.

Friday night is free for all -- some quick meal from the freezer or pantry.

Obviously this won't work if your family eats up the double batch of food when you aren't looking (teenagers, anyone?) or if you are leftover-phobic.

Great ideas on this thread!

 

[luvmy3jewels]

I've had the same problems as you and it is so easy to just go out to eat somedays when you are really tired and don't feel like cooking!!

Like the previous poster, I have found it very helpful to cook large meals on Saturday and Sunday and then we have a couple of days worth of leftovers for the beginning of the week. Spaghetti sauce, soups, casseroles, chicken pot pie, etc work great for this and are often better when they are reheated! I'm also trying to use my crockpot more (the crockpot thread has some great recipes!).

The biggest tip that I have is to plan ahead. When I wait until the last minute to decide what to cook, I often don't have all the ingredients and have to run to the store (where I end up buying even more). If I can limit my trips to the store, it helps our budget immensely!

 

[mindyd]

My grocery budget is horrible. I end up making tons of small trips to the store and end up buying tons of extra stuff. Also we end up eating out a lot more then I intend. I finally went this week to Sams and stocked up on tons of stuff meats, etc so am hoping this will help me spend less if I am not at the stores.

I can never find coupons for stuff we use our local paper is horrible and no one around here will take the printed coupons from the Internet. My family hates leftovers and my husband is the worst you would think I am pulling his teeth and that is even if I try to make the meal different.

 

[SaraJayne]

This may not work for everyone, but we've been using this plan for a number of years and it works for us....

On Saturday, Sunday, and Monday of each week we cook a double batch of whatever we're making.

Leftovers go in the fridge.

Then we just alternate the leftovers for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night dinners. Plop the leftovers on your plate, nuke it, ready to go in a minute or two. This works out great, even on nights when we have a zillion activities.

Friday night is free for all -- some quick meal from the freezer or pantry.

Obviously this won't work if your family eats up the double batch of food when you aren't looking (teenagers, anyone?) or if you are leftover-phobic.

Great ideas on this thread!

For our family, eating the same thing twice each week wouldn't go over very well. lol

We need a bit more variety.

Though we do use the leftovers...DH will take them to work for lunch or I'll eat them here. If we have something left over at the end of the week, we just have a "eat whatever's in the fridge" meal...and we'll all eat the bits left from the previous week.

 

[blanq]

I tend to do weekly meal planning, but sometimes it does not always work out the way I envision (like I will have forgotten to take something out of the freezer I was supposed to). I do have a freezer stocked full of meat, so I should be more organized than I sometimes am! I do keep a few items on hand at all times that will make a quick meal in a pinch:

1. Jarred spaghetti sauce and noodles
2. Boxed macaroni and cheese
3. Tomato soup and cheese slices (for grilled cheese)
4. Taco meat and taco shells (I will cook several pounds of meat on a weekend, mixing in taco seasoning and Ortego Taco Sauce. I freeze it into approx 1 lb packages in quart-size freezer bags. I can thaw this in the microwave in a jiffy for tacos or taco salad. I generally always have lettuce, tomatoes and cheese on hand, and I always keep salsa and taco sauce in my pantry)
5. Eggs and canned fruit (if all else fails, we will make a breakfast of eggs, toast and canned fruit)

 

[Ka' eo]

You all have great ideas.

We have chickens, so we always have eggs. I found some recipes today that I am hoping my kids will eat. They are just so picky!!!!!!!!!!