Rules of Menu Planning

I usually start the menu planning process about a week before we get each paycheck. I can jot down some ideas and tweak them when we find out exactly how much money we'll have to work with. February is going to be a tight month because we're still catching up on bills since our recent move. But we'll be just fine and I'm going to share with you exactly how we never go hungry, even if we have a tiny budget.

First, here are the basic guidelines I try to follow when planning my family's meals:

1. Eat as healthy as possible with as much variety and as many whole foods as we can.
2. Cook meals that use some of the same ingredients so nothing goes to waste.
3. Buy bulk and cook big batches. This is a huge money and time saver!
4. Make as many things from scratch as possible, such as bread, sauces, soups, etc. Not only is this healthier, but it's often cheaper too!
5. Keep on eye on sales and buy food where it's the cheapest, while still keeping the grocery shopping confined to a maximum of three stores.

That's about it. I know some of that sounds really complicated and at first it might be. It's taken a couple years of trial and error to get to a point where we can save money, eat healthy, and not waste. But I'm hoping that my tips and tricks will help you get to that point faster and without as many errors!

Step One: Inventory

The first thing I do is take an inventory of what's already in my pantry and refrigerator/freezer that I can work with. Thankfully my grandma dropped off some meat last week, knowing that we would be having a tough month, so we're pretty well stocked in that department. We have pork roast, pork chops, sea bass, sausage links, and ground breakfast sausage to work with. Some of those things I bought on sale this month too. I also have blueberries, pumpkin puree, diced ham, and homemade pizza sauce in the freezer. I have everything I need for baking except that I will need some more flour. I was hoping to go to Costco this month to buy the big 50 lb bags of flour, but that will have to wait until later.

Step Two: Meal Ideas

Next, I make a list of dinner ideas that sound good and use some of what we already have. I will need 14 dinners unless I know one meal will provide enough food for two nights or we have plans to eat elsewhere (like Superbowl Sunday). Here's what I came up with for the next two weeks:

Macaroni and Cheese with Sausage (2 nights)
Fish & Chips (2 nights)
Pita Pizzas
Slow Cooker Pork Roast (Leftovers)
Tuna Melts
Nachos (2 nights)
Breakfast for Dinner (French Toast, Pancakes, or Waffles)
Slow Cooker Ranch Pork Chops
Biscuits and Sausage Gravy

Now, before I start my shopping list, I can't forget breakfast, lunch, and snack foods. I don't plan these out for each day, but I make sure I have enough food to throw something different together every day. Here's some of the meals we like to eat:

Overnight Oats
Oatmeal
French Toast in a Cup
Scrambled Eggs with Cheese
Pita Pizzas
Smoothies
Peanut Butter Sandwiches
Pita and Hummus Melts
Bagels and Cream Cheese

Step 3: Shopping List

So now that I know what I want to eat, I have to put together my list and see if it fits in my budget. We should have about $100 for food and toiletries for the next two weeks (thank goodness I don't have to buy any meat!). We need paper towels (for homemade baby wipes) and contact solution, so that leaves me with about $75 for food. Since I know about how much each item costs at the grocery store, I just round up to the nearest dollar to give me an extra cushion. Always over-budget, never under-budget! So here's what I've come up with:

Folger's coffee - $10
Baking powder - $2
Whole wheat flour - $3
Bread flour - $3
Bag of red potatoes - $2
Bag of russet potatoes - $2
Greek Yogurt - $3
Vanilla Yogurt - $3
Frozen Peas - $4
2 Bunches bananas - $4
4 Avocados - $3
Carrots - $2
Onion - $1
Lemon - $1
2 Sweet potatoes - $3
2 Boxes macaroni- $2
Dried pinto beans - $2
Tortillas - $5
Brown rice - $3
Canned pineapple - $2
Eggs - $3
Cheddar - $5
Mozzarella - $5
Hummus - $3
Cream cheese - $2

Now, if I did my math right, this comes out to $78. Of course, I don't know that these prices are 100% right, but they're close enough that I feel confident taking this list to the store with me. Oh, and I forgot to mention that we get WIC, so that's why there's no milk or peanut butter and not very many fruits or veggies. We save about $50 a month on groceries thanks to the WIC program!

You'll notice that there is no junk food on this shopping list either. Occasionally we will splurge on ice cream or chips, but when money's tight, that's the first thing that gets crossed off the list. So we'll have to be content with homemade bagels, yogurt, carrots and hummus, and homemade cookies when we're in a munchy mood, which are all delicious anyway.

All I have left to do now is match a meal with each day of the week and we're good to go! I will be sharing my receipts and what we eat every day, so stay tuned for lists, ideas, and recipes starting Feb. 1st!

Update: To see the actual receipts for this shopping list, click here!