One of my favorite ways to extend my family’s food dollar is to meal plan. I know that I have said this many times, but it helps! When we sit down together and plan our meals for the week it prevents us from going to the store more than we have to. This drastically reduces the amount of money we spend at the grocery store in two ways.
- We do not put extra ingredients or convenience items in the cart more than once a week. When we are at the store it is really easy for me to let the boys pick out treats or a new item I want to try catches my eye (those end caps get me!). By limiting the number of times we are at the grocery store we can reduce the amount of temptations we have. Therefore, saving us a lot of money!
- The second way meal planning helps us reduce our food costs is that I try to plan meals that use similar ingredients before they go bad. This reduces the number of food items we throw away at the end of the week which saves us money!
Reducing food waste not only saves you a ton of money, but it can also be great for the planet. Below are recipe examples I would plan to use up similar ingredients, without serving the same things over and over.
- Crunch Wraps – uses cooked chicken, rice, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheese, salsa, tortillas
- Taco Salad – uses cooked chicken or ground beef, tomatoes, onions, shredded cheese, salsa
- Korean Beef – uses rice, soy sauce, ground beef, ginger, garlic
- Chicken and Veggie Stir Fry – uses cooked chicken, soy sauce, ginger, garlic
- Pizza Casserole – mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, pepperoni, ground sausage
- Tortilla Pizzas – mozzarella cheese, tortillas, pizza sauce, pepperoni, ground sausage, leftover vegetables onions, peppers, etc.
After picking a meal your family loves, you can begin to find inspiration to plan the rest of the week using similar ingredients. This will greatly reduce your overall food bill for the month!