teach me how to shop and save
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Anonymous
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I would not waste my time with sales and coupons. It doesn't sound like you are at the edge of poverty and need to save 99cents on chicken to make it through the month. Instead, focus your energy on two things:
1) finding the store that gives you good value for your money in terms of quality. It doesn't help to cheap out on prices if you end up with mushy apples and brown lettuce. 2) meal plan. Grab a cookbook and figure out the yummy, cheap meals and make a list. |
Anonymous
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We made a master list of entrees and sides we like. Then each week I pick a few things to make, based on sales, seasons, cravings. Then make a list of what we need.
Sometimes we build meals to clean out the pantry or freezer. For example, if canned tuna is piling up we have tuna salad or pasta salad with tuna. |
Anonymous
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OP, in order to plan meals your family will enjoy we need to start with a few basic questions:
1) Do you like eating meat and if so, what kinds? How about fish? Are you more vegetarian so that you'd prefer to build your meals around other protein sources? Do you eat dairy and eggs? Any food allergies or special dietary requirements needing consideration? Do you have young kids and require kid-friendly meals? 2) How important is budget? Can you splurge on expensive cuts of beef once in a while? Are you okay with some convenience foods that cost a bit more but make life easier? For instance, there are items like frozen precooked rice or frozen meal starters that simplify meal prep but cost more than buying a big bag of rice or chopping up all vegetables and a whole chicken for soup or stew. 3) Do you know how to cook? Have you ever followed a recipe? Do you want really simple stuff like pasta or chicken or are you open to trying slightly more difficult prepartions. There are tons of recipes available online. Literally, you can google chicken dishes, find something appealing, then make your grocery list from this. 4) Are you okay with shopping more than once a week for fresh produce and maybe meat/fish, or do you want to shop less often? This will determine in part how many staple items you need to keep on hand in your freezer or pantry. Things like pasta, rice, beans, canned tomatoes, frozen vegetables, etc. Once you've answered these questions it will be easier to come up with a shopping game plan. What we usually do is plan dinners Sunday through Thursday. Friday is usually pizza, pasta or catch as catch can. Saturday is dinner out. So that's roughly 5 dinners to plan, plus food for lunches/breakfasts. In a typical week I might buy: eggs milk whole grain sliced bread block of cheddar cheese bag of grated cheese bag of tortillas hummus peanut butter bag of field greens lettuce or prewashed romaine fresh tomatoes and cucumbers onions potatoes of some variety (idaho, redskin, sweet, etc) yogurts apples, bananas and other seasonal fruit (whatever looks good and is on sale) Oatmeal cold cereal protein bars/cereal bars Orange juice From the above I have the makings of most lunches and breakfasts. Then I plan my dinners -- protein, starch and vegetables. Lastly, I buy some "fun" items for snacks. Could be more fruit, some mixed nuts, a package of cookies from the bakery aisle, pretzels, ice cream or frozen yogurt. Done! |
Anonymous
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A chalkboard or paper pad in the kitchen would help you build a list of what you need. Anytime you are out of a snack, spice, fruit, etc just write it onto the list. Try to get
a sense of how much your family eats particular items. You might try keeping track of what you eat for a week. Having staples, such as rice, pasta, eggs, butter, carrots, peanut butter,bread... means you can always make a meal without having to run out for take-out or an impulse grocery trip. Always having easy snacks for the kids, even if that's bananas and granola bars, can prevent the sense that "we have nothing to eat" when there not time to cook. Do you have regular dishes you prepare? If so, what other dishes can you make with similar ingredients? Chicken is on sale. You can make chicken and broccoli with rice. Use more chicken for tacos, sandwiches, chicken curry. You have 3 dinners and a lunch. Just some ideas. |
Anonymous
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OP, you haven't said if you cook. I'm going to assume that you have basic kitchen skills (ie can roast a chicken, do simple things without recipes, etc).
1. Think about the number of meals you actually need to plan for. Ie, the nanny doesn't eat breakfast, and DH eats lunch at work... etc. Many people plan breakfasts and lunches, I don't really (we always eat the exact same thing for breakfast, we're all out at lunch and I use lunch as leftover-eating-time). So let's say you're planning to plan for 1 weekend breakfast, 5 lunches for nanny and DC, 4 weeknight dinners, and 1 weekend night dinner. 2. Fill in a couple things that you know you want/like/etc. Make sure you actually have time to make these things... ie not a super complicated dish for Wed night dinner. So you might be here: Sun breakfast: pancakes and bacon lunches: Mon dinner: spaghetti and meat sauce Tues: grilled chicken breasts over pasta Wed: nothing planned, you'll go out Thurs: Fri: Sat dinner: steak, corn, and zucchini on the grill 3. Then start looking for opportunities to double up on / use up ingredients before they go bad. Sun breakfast: pancakes and bacon lunches: BLT's and/or leftover spaghetti Mon dinner: spaghetti and meat sauce Tues: grilled chicken breasts over pasta Wed: nothing planned, you'll go out Thurs: leftover grilled chicken in wrap sandwiches Fri: salmon and sautéed veggies Sat dinner: steak, corn, and (leftover sautéed veggies) on the grill 4. I generally do some adjusting... I only grocery shop 1x/week and prefer to eat any seafood within 24 hours of it hitting the fridge. Cook once, eat twice (see what I did with the chicken? Maybe chicken is on sale this week. Etc. 5. Keep a good pantry/fridge/freezer with YOUR family's staples, whatever they are, so that you can always throw together a quick weeknight meal or lunch of... something. I always have on hand: frozen edamame, frozen fruit, plain yogurt, crackers, pasta, canned diced tomatoes, rice, ground beef and usually blsl chicken thighs in the freezer, parmesan cheese, and eggs. I only meal-plan 4 dinners per week... the rest of the week, DH works late so I either use leftovers those nights or make something based on whatever's in the house at the moment. After a little while you'll figure out your own rhythm for how often to plan for leftovers, etc. I'm not a huge sale-er and coupon-er, but I do take advantage of the fact that larger cuts or quantities of meat are often less expensive per unit. So If I'm grilling chicken breasts, you better believe I'm grilling a ton, and serving them in various ways all week. Or freezing some for later use. a typical meal plan and shopping list for our family: Sat grilled chicken, corn, and tomatoes Sun tacos with leftover chicken, leftover corn, salsa, cheese, rice Wed beef and broccoli stir fry with leftover rice Thu roast beef sandwiches (roast the meat the night before and slice thin), salad, fruit shopping list: fruit, corn, tomatoes, salad veg, broccoli - chicken, ribeye, roast - salsa, shredded cheese, eggs, fruit and cereal bars, bulk almonds and raisins |
Anonymous
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I've never used a meal planning app very consistently, but I like the ones that automatically generate a shopping/what you need list. These might be of interest:
http://lifehacker.com/five-best-meal-planning-apps-1533809184 http://www.thekitchn.com/5-online-meal-and-menu-planning-tools-169221 |
Anonymous
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Here's what I do.
1. On the weekend, write down what we will eat for dinner every night. Monday: tacos Tuesday: pasta w/ chicken & veggies .... etc, etc. Then write down all the ingredients for all those meals. Delete anything you already have in the house. Buy that stuff. Eat it. 
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Anonymous
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Anonymous
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It can get as simple as having a pasta salad for dinner. You can add the.
I've been combining it like this. If we grill hamburger for the weekend, on monday, I use the leftover hamburger for a chili and add whatever that is around. If there are leftover meat from, you add spaghetti sauce and do pasta the following day or skip. I do similar for chicken. you start with chicken pieces and do stir fry. A day later i blend the raw chicken pieces with vegetables and make chicken pieces. I love cooking just not planning or cutting the food. Happy Cooking! |
Anonymous
+1 The key is knowing how much things cost and what actually is a good price. $1.99 for produce means you're buying in season, so the food is probably tastier as well as being inexpensive. Chicken averages $3/lb. so when it's on sale for $1.79, we stock up and freeze in meal-size Ziplocs. Next week, steak is on sale and we stock up on that. Eventually you fill the freezer and then you get to "spend down" what you have on hand -- meal plan based on what's in the freezer/house. That's this week in our house. We're also going on vacation in a couple of weeks so I want to eat up the perishables by then. I have meals planned out for the next two weeks, along with the (as few as possible) additional ingredients I need to complete the meal. I don't buy produce more than two days out, so I actually go to the store every other day, but I only buy a few things each time. |
Anonymous
I too have seen ZERO value in coupons and circulars. When I'm on a budget, I get all of my produce at the Asian grocery. I would not even so much as dream about getting rice or legumes outside of the Asian grocery. I also do not buy enough boxed or canned food for it to even be worth hunting a coupon. OP, I would bet that even with your discount, the Asian grocery is cheaper than your DHs discount if he works for a national American chain. I make a meal plan every sunday night. IN the summer I grow all my fresh herbs and tomatoes so I never need to buy those (unless it is cilantro, which I used a few times a week). I try to reuse ingredients. So if I make something with a specialty item (such as Arugula) and can only buy a big bag of it, I make two meals that contain that ingredient. I use a lot of inexpensive greens such as collards, mustard greens, and kale. I do a lot of prep, for instance, I use all of my animal bones for broth and freeze my broth in mason jars, so I never have to buy that. For my family of 4 (two boys) I can cook just about all meals at home (including packed lunches) for about $120/wk...it does take a ton of planning and work on SUndays, but is well worth it. My weekday evenings are pretty relaxed. |
Anonymous
This is what I do. It is not complicated. |
Anonymous
| +1 for realistic organizer |
Anonymous
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Here is a good meal plan website: http://www.skinnytaste.com
It will give you recipes and grocery lists when you select the meals. You can pick what kind of meal, vegetarian, chicken, ham, low carb, low cal whatever you want. My trainer recommended it to me. |
Anonymous
Agree. Once I started paying attention, I could figure out which grocery store coupons were just ploys to get me to spend more money through the gas program vs. what was actually cheaper. I rotate my shopping between three different stores and buy what is cheaper at each of the three stores. But OP maybe your store discount is great enough that it's never worth it to shop at a different store…? OP did you say if you have extra freezer space? Part of shopping to save involves waiting till chicken goes on sale and then buying a month's worth. PP who said all they do is plan their meals, check pantry for what they already have and buy the rest - to save money, s/he would need to have planned her meals based on the items in her pantry plus the best prices at the store that week. Also we don't know OP if you waste food. Using up leftovers is an art. |