Success! I'm happy to report that we survived our first week of the monthly meal plan and quite enjoyed it. We have shifted some meals around, but we have really curbed the urge to stop at fast food or casual dining for dinner. When you have a full freezer full of food looking back at you it's pretty hard to justify.
Also, once we get in the routine and mind set that we don't eat out unless is a planned or special occasion, eating at home has become more enjoyable. We've focused on meals that we both agree we like and are fairly easy to prepare. We also mix standards with a few new recipes which keeps it interesting.
This week we only spent $25 to pick up fresh produce, milk and bread. If we keep this up, we'll average about $65 per week total for groceries a month including our monthly big shop and weekly pick up. That's down from almost $125 per week, a lot of which we ended up throwing away because we chose not to eat at home.
Another plus side, we have almost an extra hour of our weekend back when we're not fighting other shoppers. It's a win-win.
What are some of your tricks for meal planning?
Whoa, nice job! What recipes did you use this week? I would love to read your reviews. Keep up the good work! Trying to cook all month is a huge task!
ReplyDeleteThanks Alysia! That's a great idea. Luck for some frugal food reviews soon!
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