But, if I make something that does freeze well, I often just make 2 at the time and throw it in the freezer. I don’t have a huge freezer so right now I don’t do TONS of freezer meals. We also usually budget takeout for 2-3x a month, so that can be a default too. Either way, we have 1-2 backups that are just boring but we both know they are the default. We also usually always have stuff for a ham and cheese grinders. It’s not the most exciting, but it’s our backup. Like I said, we always have a frozen pizza in the freezer as a just in case. What do you do in the event of an “emergency”? Head to YouTube | Visit my Blog Watch the FULL Meal Planning Video Your Meal Planning FAQs I have some free printables you can download including my kitchen inventory checklist, and the meal planning print out I use, etc. This way if grocery shopping day arrives and we forgot to meal plan, that’s our default menu for the week. It includes just simple easy dinners we both like. We also have a backup menu for the entire week. This way if something happens like some produce goes bad too quickly or an ingredient was missed, we have a cheap backup dinner to make for that night. We always keep a frozen pizza in the freezer. It forces both of us to be active members of planning the meals so we know we’ll like what’s planned for the week because we’ve both been stuck with meals we didn’t want. We eat it and know that we can change our choices for next week. If I don’t want something or Michael doesn’t it… we just suck it up. I know what’s coming on what days, and can be prepared for it.Īnd, how about when Tuesday comes and it says chili but you don’t want it? For us, we buy groceries 1x a week. The beautiful thing about meal prepping is there’s no guessing. This way I always know what we’re having each day and don’t have to struggle to remember or forget about one of the meals I had planned. So, I start by writing the meals we’re having that week up on our calendar that hangs in our kitchen. Making the plan and buying the stuff is one thing, but sometimes committing to those meals is hard. I’d say this is the part of meal planning where a lot of people fall short. Step Five: Put it on the Calendar and Commit I make sure I stick right to my list and don’t buy anything if it’s not on it. This is why meal planning is so important, I know exactly what I need and can avoid the rest. Hands down the biggest money suck from my groceries is if I stray from my list and start buying extras. Now it’s time to actually go to the store. Did I have to throw away any food that wasn’t eaten or went bad?.For me, I can always tell how successful my meal planning was by two factors If I can’t ingredient share I make sure to freeze things so I can use them one of the next weeks. And, the chicken cobb salad has bacon, so we’ll also do BLTs to use up all the bacon. I’ll buy a pack of chicken breasts, but I won’t use them all up for just my husband and me, so I’m also going to make a chicken cobb salad. If I’m going to buy something for one meal and I know I won’t use it all up, I try to think of another meal I can have that will use it. So I spend the majority of my time scanning the main pages. The best deals are usually on the front and back of the flyer, the inside is a lot of fluff. This is why taking the inventory is so helpful! Step Three: Fill in the Blanks with the Flyer But, I also see I already have diced tomatoes and beans, so chili is a clear winner here. For example, I have ground turkey in my freezer right now that I had bought when it was on sale. Once I have a list of what I already have, I sit down to plan out the meals, starting around what I already have. Head to YouTube | Visit my Blog Step Two: Plan Around What You Have I only send a few emails a month with tons of helpful productivity, motherhood, and money-saving tips! You have also successfully joined my subscriber list! You can opt-out at any time, but I hope you stick around. So, I just write down everything I have that I could use for this week’s meals. You can make sure you don’t fall into the trap of buying something full price because you need it for a meal this week only to get home and realize you already had it.Using items already in your kitchen adds $0 to your week’s grocery budget.A weekly kitchen inventory reminds you of what you have and ensures you use it up. BUT, if you’re bad about remember to use up those things, then it’s wasted food and wasted money. If you’re good about stocking up on things in bulk or when they are on sale, it can save you a lot.Skipping this step is pretty much the biggest meal planning mistake you can make. The first thing I do is take stock of what I already have. So my meal planning always starts in my kitchen.
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