|
Frugal Meal Planning
By Adlen W. Robinson
Back in January, I wrote
a column about cutting
your food budget. Who
would have thought that
food prices would
continue to rise? I have
received lots of emails
lately from people who
are wondering how they
can slash their food
budget, but still eat
well. With four children
and a food-loving
husband, I can relate to
all of your woes! Here
are some guidelines to
help make each and every
dollar stretch.
First and foremost: Make
a menu plan for the
week, complete with a
shopping list. When you
are trying to make every
dollar count, having a
menu plan is critical.
Most people blow their
food budget when there
is no dinner plan,
little people are
hungry, big people are
tired, and pizza is only
a phone call away. Pizza
is fine, but purchase
frozen pizza or fresh
pizza from a discount
warehouse and have it on
a night you planned for.
Before you make your
weekly meal plan, clean
out your refrigerator
and freezer. I am always
astounded by how many
meals I can make from my
freezer without buying
anything. Remember when
you do put leftovers in
the freezer to label,
label, label. How many
times have you had to
throw out things simply
because you have no idea
what or how old it is?
With milk costs so high,
think about buying
powdered milk and mixing
it half and half with
milk. I advise against
telling your children
about this tip since you
will likely hear the
word “gross” screamed at
you. When our children
were quite young, I used
to do that all the time.
I would take one gallon
of milk and pour half
into another empty
gallon, mix with the
powdered milk and water.
Just make sure the milk
has a chance to get very
cold before you serve
it. If you buy the
powdered milk from a
warehouse store, it is
even more economical.
Ground beef, turkey, and
chicken are much more
affordable than steak,
roasts, etc. When they
go on sale, stock up and
store in the
freezer—again, be sure
to label and date. When
making tacos, do not buy
the boxed variety, just
brown beef (or turkey)
and then drain well.
Then, to the browned
meat, add a little chili
powder, cumin, garlic
and/or onion powder, and
salt to taste. Add a
little water and simmer
for a few minutes. Those
pre-made packets are
filled with additives
you do not need anyway.
Pasta is cheap, and
delicious. Instead of
buying bottled spaghetti
sauce, make your own.
Simply sauté some minced
onion and garlic, add a
can or two of crushed
tomatoes (at a warehouse
store, you can get cans
of crushed tomatoes for
a great price), season
with a pinch of sugar, a
splash of dry red wine,
some dried Italian
herbs, and some fresh
basil if you have some.
Voila! Delicious
homemade spaghetti sauce
in minutes.
Eat vegetarian a few
times a week. Again, I
usually do not announce
this. Instead of serving
a meat as the main
course, make a
vegetarian baked ziti,
or Fettuccini Alfredo.
Serve a salad and
another vegetable
accompanied by some
garlic bread. Nobody
will miss the meat.
Buy in bulk when it
makes sense. Calculate
the cost and consider
that if the item is on
sale at the regular
grocery store, sometimes
that makes it cheaper.
If you bake a lot,
buying flour and/or
sugar may be a better
deal to buy it in bulk.
Doing a little leg work
and calculating can
really pay off. I have
found that buying free
range chicken breasts at
a warehouse is almost
always a better deal
than buying them at the
grocery store—but I
always check the regular
grocery stores sales
flyers just in case they
are deeply discounted.
You can never have too
many boneless, skinless
chicken breasts in your
freezer.
To save on treats, plan
a family baking day.
Bake cookies and other
treats, wrap tightly in
freezer wrap, label and
freeze. Homemade treats
taste better and have
the added bonus of not
being full of additives
and preservatives.
To save on vegetables,
shop the local Farmers
Market and/or small
grocery stands. Better
yet, plan on growing
your own next summer!
Get your family in on
the act. Explain to your
children you are cutting
the food budget and let
everybody brainstorm
about how they can help.
Try to calculate how
much money you save in a
month, and use part of
that to do something
special for the entire
family—like enjoy a
steak dinner!
Adlen
Robinson’s “Home
Matters” column is
published in every
Sunday’s Lifestyles
section of the
newspaper. You can also
read her food column in
Friday’s newspaper.
Adlen welcomes reader
tips, comments and
suggestions! Please
email her at
contact@adlenrobinson.com
or write to her at the
newspaper. Visit Adlen’s
web site at
www.adlenrobinson.com
for more columns and
recipes.
|
