Budgeting

How About A Little Challenge? And Clean Out Your Pantry and Freezer too!

February 14, 2010 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

Recently, as I opened the freezer below my refrigerator I was so frustratred looking for the parmesan cheese that I KNEW was in there, but I couldn’t find it–argh! (yes, it was labeled and I did eventually find it). There was just too much other stuff in the way. A similar thing happened when I was in the pantry looking for an ingredient for a recent recipe. You see, I had a lot of extra items in the pantry and freezer leftover from “I’m going to make this for dinner” type things but they never got used. Some were leftover from when I was stocking up if it was on sale. Others were leftover from when my hubby came home with a bunch of things he thought looked good when he popped into the store (but really had no idea what they would work with).

And while it’s true, I’m a meal planner, I’m not so great when something changes our plans and the ingredients that WERE planned for get left behind on the shelves. Sometimes it’s just “life” that gets in the way and changes our plan. Or sometimes I’m just to tired or uninspired at the end of the day to make what I had actually planned. I needed to start purging the contents of my pantry and freezer before they expired or freezer burn set in!So, being inspired by Money Saving Mom’s Pantry Challenge and the Use It Up weekly feature on Martha Stewart Eveyday Food radio’s host Sandy Gluck, I’ve decided to offer up a challenge for my own readers to join in (partly because Money Saving Mom’s challenge ended in January). My goal is to keep things going at least through March 31st–so just about six weeks.

It will be a fun challenge too, I think, to rediscover a purpose for that extra can of artichokes, bottle of roasted red bell peppers, maraschino cherries or half a bag of self-rising flour. Or maybe it will be the bag of Italian blend cheese that was on clearance or pita bread rounds that are now in my freezer. Perhaps I will actually make up those soups I had in mind when I threw the two roitsserie chicken carcasses in a bag into the freezer or the leftover ham bone too. Should be fun and I love the creative challenge!

The bonus? My grocery budget will also benefit because I’ll be spending less each week while using up the ingredients I’ve already got at home–it’s a double win!

I love how Money Saving Mom suggests that you consider setting aside the money you save from the Challenge by paying down debt, adding to your savings or donating to a charitable cause of your choice so I encourage you to do the same! Of course, it’s not required but won’t it feel great and maybe keep you even more motivated if you have an extra special goal in mind?

Ready to join the challenge? Then post about your plan on your own blog and come back here to leave a direct link to the post below for extra inspiration–then we can all learn new ways to use up what we’ve got. If you don’t have a blog, you can still join us by telling us about your plan in the comments section of this post. You can also take the little badge that I made and put it on your blog if you like! It’s my first attempt making a badge like this so I hope you like it!

Filed Under: budgeting, freezer cooking, freezer meals, meal planning, pantry staples

Meal Planning on a Budget

January 30, 2009 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

It should be no surprise that when you’re on a budget it really pays to plan your meals. Otherwise you’ll find yourself in the store choosing convenience items or the first thing that you see which is not always the best value (or best for you!) In our current economic times, you may find yourself looking for ways to spend less without sacrificing taste with the meals you make for yourself or family.

Where to begin? One idea is to shop the grocery ads. It’s not a new idea but I am so often surprised by how many people never look at the ads or even know when they come out (in our area it they come out on Wednesdays–either mailed or in the newspaper)! Let’s say chicken is on sale and so are cucumbers and tomatoes. Stock up on the chicken while it’s on sale and you can make it for dinner one day this week and freeze the rest. Or make up a bunch of it–say as fajitas or your favorite baked chicken recipe–portion it out, label and freeze. Tomatoes and cucumber? Slice them up, add a little vinegar and dill and you’ve got an quick and tasty side to go along with your meal–and for less since it was on sale!

How do you know if you’re getting the best deal and that the item your looking at won’t go on sale for a cheaper price at a different store? Or say you’d like to start buying organic meat or produce (or whatever) but you’re not sure if shopping at the local health food store is the way to go or if your local grocery store or wholesale club can provide what you need at a better price. It’s hard to keep track of all those prices in your head. You know I like to WRITE IT DOWN and one way to start learning where to get the best deal is by Making a Price Book. This can seem overwhelming at first but in the end it can add up to real savings! Start small at first and begin tracking those items that you use regularly each week. Then you can start adding other items to your list and before long you will know which stores to shop in regularly for the items you need.

Think that saving money means ho-hum meals? Think again! Check out the $5 A Day blog for tips and ideas of meals that can be made for your family for less than $5 A Day! Or for more money saving ideas, head on over to this blog for the Frugal Friday posts to get all sorts of tips! I haven’t even talked about couponing as a way to save money on meals and how it works with meal planning…maybe in a future post!

How do you save money with your menu plans? Post your ideas in the comments below.

As always, happy cooking!

Filed Under: budgeting, coupons, grocery, organization

Halloween Fun and $5 Dinners!

October 31, 2008 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) Leave a Comment

Unless you’ve been living under a rock lately, you know that today is Halloween! We’re gearing up for a fun night of trick-or-treating and fun…our street always does a lot of decorating and our neighbors have a street party. For dinner we’ll have our traditional Chili and Mummy Hotdogs and Cat Cookies for dessert. In year’s past I’ve made fun desserts like Ghosts in the Graveyard

These desserts are EASY and festive so even if you haven’t planned anything for tonight you can whip something up easily to bring to a party you may be attending. Of course, there will no doubt be plenty of candy to go around so maybe you’d rather go a little smaller with something like Happy Halloween Dessert Cups

So, Halloween usually kicks off the season of holidays. As we begin to focus on what we’ll be doing this season you’re no doubt thinking about your budget. For most that means a budget for gift-giving. But don’t forget to include your food budget! If you need some inspiration on how to feed your family on a budget head on over to $5 Dinners. Yes, you CAN feed your family for $5 a meal and no, it’s not all mac and cheese! Check it out and let me know what you think and be sure to share your budget friendly tips in the comments section below!

Happy cooking!

Filed Under: budgeting, desserts, holidays

Is Your Fridge a Composter?

October 11, 2008 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

My husband recently sent me a link to an article on CNN.com about how our refrigerators are becoming composters. I think it was his way of telling me the fridge needed to be cleaned out. Ok, I’ll take that hint. But really it got me thinking about what I was throwing out. No matter how hard I try to plan my meals I’m still working on that temptation to not to buy the 5 lb. bag of carrots instead of the 2 lb. one. It just seems like a better deal! But when a couple of weeks later my family is tired of all the carrot creations I can come up with I’ll end up throwing the food out and sending it to the compost pile. With the rising cost of groceries these days that can quickly become a pretty expensive compost pile! And if you don’t compost your produce waste, then throwing it into the trash can even me more difficult to stomach!

The point is that with meal planning you’re buying just what you need. Whether its zucchini because it’s on sale this week or a tasty apple because they’re in season, planning your meals to include just the produce you need that week to feed your family can save you money and guilt when it comes time to clean out the fridge! I made a really yummy Apple-Cran Walnut cake last week for a get-together. It was so delicious and I was using apples and cranberries that are just coming in season!

I certainly do not have my practice down pat by any means but I do know that since I plan my meals (and plan a night for leftovers), I’m throwing away a lot less spoiled food than I used to. And be sure to keep track of all those recipes that you can to use up the produce before it goes bad. For me that means I’ve got two or three rotating muffin or bread recipes to use up overripe bananas or pears. Banana muffins, banana bread and pear-walnut muffins are almost staples around here. Make a list of your favorites to whip up in a jiffy and save your produce from the compost pile with a yummy snack or meal that your whole family can enjoy. Your pocketbook will enjoy it too!

Happy cooking!

Filed Under: budgeting, composting, Earth Day

Be Cool This Summer…and "Cook" From Your Freezer!

July 15, 2008 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) 1 Comment

So, maybe you can guess by the fact that my last entry was over a month ago that we’ve been caught up in enjoying summer and the lack of routine! We’ve enjoyed lots of “mini-vacations” to visit cousins and grandparents on the other side of town or just a few hours away. With the summer half over, it’s hard to think that school will be here before we know it. Seems like my dinner preparation has been on vacation too giving way to bike rides and evenings at the pool. Am I ever glad for meal planning! I know that on the days that we ARE home, I usually don’t feel like cooking at the end of the day. I want to be in and out of the kitchen as quickly as possible and definitely save on clean up time too! But I’m happy to say our dinners out have been few and far between too. I’ve been “cooking” more from the freezer these days. What does that mean you say? It means I’m taking advantage of my freezer and pulling out some pre-prepared meals that I “fed” to my freezer back in May before school was out. I’ve also supplemented with some meals from my local Super Suppers (they have coupons and specials each month saving me $$). .

Once-A-Month-Cooking (or OAMC) is the way to go whether your time is limited or for days you just don’t feel like cooking and cleaning. It also allows you to save money on your grocery bill as you can buy ingredients in bulk or when they’re on sale—something we can all appreciate these days with rising food bills. The basic idea is that you spend a day (or in my case, sometimes just a couple of hours) making a month’s worth of meals for your freezer. If you’re saying, “yeah, right” who has a day to cook and who has the room in their freezer? Well, I hear ya and believe me I was a real skeptic at first! I started small by only cooking a couple of week’s worth of meals knowing that some days I might actually want to cook something fresh. When I first started, I only had a freezer/fridge combo (I now have a deep freeze chest freezer in the garage). Start small and you’ll still see the benefits of not having to cook a few extra days per month. Making the time to cook is a different challenge altogether. I usually try to do a session when my kids are in school or on a weekend when I arrange with my husband to have him watch the kids for a few hours. Most times I do the grocery shopping for all the ingredients with the kids though so I’m only spending my session time in the kitchen.

There are many resources online to learn more about the benefits of OAMC and also thousands of recipes to try. Forget those thoughts of a freezer full of lasagna and other casseroles…you can freeze much more than you think and all it takes is a little experimenting. One of my favorite cookbooks is “Don’t Panic:Dinner’s In the Freezer!” Just about everything I’ve made from that book is a winner and you can be sure there’s a great selection of meals for the grill or stove top. So start “thinking outside the box—or kitchen” and you’ll soon find you DO have the time to enjoy your family, friends and things that you love a little bit more knowing your feeding them with something healthy too!

Filed Under: budgeting, freezer cooking, OAMC

What Motivates You?

April 30, 2008 By Meal Plan Mom (Brenda) Leave a Comment

So you want to get started with meal planning but you’re not sure where to begin? Ask yourself WHY you want to start and you’ll be headed in the right direction.

Many people have more than one reason to be motivated to meal plan. Perhaps you’re looking to have more meals together as a family rather than passing like ships in the night. Maybe you’d like get a little more variety on your family’s plates instead of falling back on the old standbys of mac ‘n cheese, a PBJ or cereal for dinner. Got picky eaters? No problem–with a little planning you’ll have more hits than misses. Or maybe you’d like to cut your family’s grocery bill…the rise in fuel prices have been hard to ignore and it’s impact on your grocery is no doubt felt too. Feel like you’re throwing out half the food that you make at the end of the week when that science experiment show up in the fridge? Not only will planning help you have less food waste but you’ll also be calling for takeout a little less too so you’ll be saving some $$ also! Does anyone in your family have special dietary restrictions like food allergies or diabetes? Or maybe you want to cut out some of the preservatives or added sugar in your food. Does your famly think that anything green counts as a veggie (even if it’s artificially green like green soda, Jell-o, etc.?) Plan to get some more REAL veggies in their diet by planning ahead.

There are lots of reasons and meal planning can help with all of these things and more. Pick one area to focus on at first so you aren’t too overwhelmed. Before too long you’ll be doing it without really thinking! Knowing you’re on you’re way to helping you and your family—it feels great!

Filed Under: budgeting, motivation, picky eaters, special diets