Comments on: Meal planning

By: Liz

Liz — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 17:27:10 +0000

Have you thought of soups or chili?

They are good, throw in a quick side of bread, and your done.

Make some on the weekend, and freeze it.

By: Debt Be Gone

Debt Be Gone — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 15:40:10 +0000

It can be tedious, but we menu-plan in advance. Every Saturday morning we take stock of what’s in the fridge, build a menu for the week (usually just dinners). Then we build our grocery list based on what we need to make our dinners, and what we know we usually eat for breakfasts, snacks and lunches (which is almost always last night’s leftovers + a salad).

It is a pain to do, but we went from spending $140 a week on groceries (most of which we threw out because it had gone bad), to about $55/wk. And it means that we usually always end up with a virtually empty fridge by Friday.

By: bluntmoney

bluntmoney — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 04:03:06 +0000

Thanks, I’ll check that web site out. (And for some odd reason I’d never thought of making subs…mmm.)

By: Lazy Man and Money

Lazy Man and Money — Thu, 08 Feb 2007 01:51:05 +0000

Hmmmm, lazy cook? You’ve come to the right place. I like Michelena frozen dinners which are healthy (look for the light ones) and around $1. Overall they aren’t too bad.

Other than that, I like to just cook some staples on the weekends and eat them during the week. You’d be suprised how many things ground beef or turkey can fit into (think meat sauce and pasta, hamburger helper, taco night, etc.) The same can be said of sliced grilled chicken (salads, again taco night, subs, etc.)

I also like to keep some hard boiled eggs on hand. They can go in a salad and work great for breakfasts.

By: donnajean

donnajean — Wed, 07 Feb 2007 14:09:08 +0000

You might want to check out savingdinner.com. I have the Saving Dinner cookbook that I’ve used for years and I’ve also subscribed to their menu-mailers (email subscription) for more menu ideas. The food is consistently good and it is organized in weekly menus with shopping lists. There is a frugal menu mailer that will also help you stretch your dollar.

Like I said, the food is consistently good, but it isn’t spectacular. I started using it because I got tired of trying to figure out dinner every night and the cookbook and menu mailers allowed me to set the weeks menu ahead of time and I just had to come home and put dinner together.

Try some of their free sample menu mailers and pick the book up from the library before buying either. I highly recommend both for saving time and money.