Plan your meals around what you have in your refrigerator, freezer and cupboards that needs to be used up and fill in the menu using these items first. Check for ingredients required for recipes in menu plan and think about family favorites and staples needed. Use our 4-day menu planner to record your meal plans.
TIP -- Healthy Meals in a Hurry offers recipes for 14 main dishes that can be prepared ahead of time and frozen for ready-to-use convenience. Preparing all 14 recipes and packaging them in the suggested amounts produces a total of 120 servings at a cost of less than $1 per serving.
Use the new Food Guide Pyramid to plan nutritious meals and snacks. Healthy foods give you more value for the dollar.
- Start at the left of the pyramid with plenty of breads, cereals, rice and pasta. You need the
most servings of these foods each day. They are naturally low in fat and provide protein and complex carbohydrates for energy.
- Add fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals.
- Finally, choose lower fat servings from the milk group and the meat group for protein, calcium and iron.
Consider food preferences. When you serve popular foods, you increase eating pleasure and avoid waste. Make a collection of economical, nutritious recipes that your family likes and serve them often.
Consider your schedule. When planning your menus and shopping list, think about how much time will you have for food prep this week. Perhaps this is a week to prepare some meals ahead for a busier week, or it may be a week to have quick meals. Consider your time available for food preparation before you shop.
Check newspaper ads for special sales. Use local store ads to determine if there are weekly sales that you want to take advantage of when planning your weekly menu. As you continue to watch ads and get to know the costs of items you purchase frequently, you will be able to quickly identify true deals.
- Specials and seasonal foods can help save money.
- Compare advertised prices among stores to find where you can save the most on your entire shopping list.
- Be aware that specials and coupon offers invite you to buy impulsively.
- Be sure that the items you select are things you need and will use. Even at special prices and with refunds or coupons, some foods may not be within your budget.
- Plan your menus around sale items, especially more expensive purchases, such as meat.
Use a price book to find real deals. This simple system helps you monitor the prices of frequently purchased products. Make your own price book:
- Find or buy a small address book or notebook.
- Write down the product name, package size, price, store, and date. View an example price book page.
- Compare the written prices to advertised specials. After a few weeks you’ll know the best prices and be able to stock up so you never pay the “regular price.”
Make a grocery list. Once your menu is planned, it is time to write a grocery list. For convenience, place items on the paper in the order in which they are located in the store. Include quantity or sizes needed for your recipes.
Say YES to family meals!
Did you know... planned meals save money and children who often eat dinner with their families are more likely to:
- Do well in school
- Be emotionally content
- Have positive peer relationships
- Less likely to have friends who drink alcohol and use marijuana
- Have lower levels of stress and be bored less often
- Be at lower risk for thoughts of suicide
- Be at lower risk for substance abuse
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