Quite a few of the searches that send readers to the Frugal Cottage are about meal planning. A few of them are about how to start meal planning when you don’t know where to start. I have written before about how meal planing helps you to keep costs down and stay healthy.
But, how do you know where to start if you’ve never planned before?
Make a list of favourite meals.
The first thing to do is to make a list of your favourite family meals. Write down everything you like eating. It doesn’t matter at the moment if they’re simple or complicated meals, just write them down. If there are other members in your household, ask them what their favourite meals are; I’m sure they can think of plenty! Soon enough, there will be a list of at least 20 meals that can be put in rotation. This mean planner and shopping list will help you to plan properly.
Do easier meals on busier days
If there are certain days in the week which are busier than others, then plan to have easier/quick meals on those nights. In our house, Mondays are always later than normal, so by the time we get home and get sorted, the last thing I want to do is to then spend an hour in the kitchen. I always have something quick and easy to cook on Mondays, like my spaghetti puttanesca. Meal planning is meant to make your life easier!
Have a veggie night
Now, to incorporate saving money with meal planning, one of the easiest ways to do this is to have a veggie night. Lately, I have been making more vegetarian meals, so cut costs down, and they have been delicious. I have made an aubergine and lentil stew this week which was really tasty. Not buying meat everyday does cut costs. I also find that I’m trying new recipes often, which makes our meal plan more varied. I have this vegetarian cookbook which has some very tasty recipes in.
Use what you already have
Everybody has items of food in their kitchens that tend to languish at the back of the cupboards. Until quite recently, I had a surplus of chickpeas which I have now thankfully used due to meal planning. Before you start to plan your meals and write your shopping list, have a look in your cupboards. See if you can make any meals out of what you have at home already. The same with your fridge and freezer; is there anything in there that needs using?
Related post: How Meal Planning Benefits Your Health And Your Wealth
Related post: The Rising Cost Of Food And What You Can Do About It
Related post: 5 Easy Ways To Reduce Grocery Costs
What are your top tips for starting to meal plan? I’d love to hear them!
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A great post for busy people/families – we have been menu planning for a while and we not only save money but OH (who has to do the cooking) is less stressed!
I agree with it being less stressful – you know what you’re cooking before you get home 🙂
I have meal planned for years, I sometimes find there is a little too much for the two of us, so whats left goes into the freezer, I then bulk it out with beans, good source of protein, I keep some dried beans for stews and casseroles or even 3 bean casserole with herb dumplings. I also have one or two tins of beans in the store cupboard. It would not be the first time I have rinsed the excess tomato sauce off of left over baked beans and put them in.
Another thing I have done in the past is add stuffing mix, usually sage and onion, to mince. bulks it up nicely and tastes delicious.
Ooh, I might try adding stuffing mix to mince, not heard of that. Thanks!
Love the stuffing mix idea. Can’t wait to try it!
I think I need to go back to my old, trusted list and add to it, as we’ve gotten into a bit of a rut.
I often try and build in a lazy night- something like homemade wedges and a pizza. It could be cheaper, but I keep my motivation up for all the other days, when I try to cook from scratch rather than giving up and ordering a take away!
Definitely better than a takeaway!
I apply these tips in meal planning. I also do schedule full-veggie meals thrice a week.
Do you have any of your favourite veggie recipes you could share? 🙂
For fabulously inexpensive vegi recipes see Jack Munroe’s book – A girl called Jack
I do my main shop on the last Saturday of every month and top up with fresh fruit and veg as necessary. I shop first, buying what is on offer, what is reduced etc. Then I make my plan for the month based on what I have bought. If, for example, I will use half a tin of tomatoes one day, I will make sure that the meal 2 days hence will use up the rest. If I am lucky enough to get a really good buy (6 fresh chicken breasts reduced from £5.99 to £2.36 yesterday), then I have a “cooking for he freezer” session and spread those meals out over the month’s plan.