Meal Planning 101 & Food Budgeting

[BVOGT30]

There was a thread that asked how much one spends on grocery and such a week. I gave my information ($400 max a month on everything from toothpaste to salad) and stressed that I can only stick to budget when I make a meal plan. I offer to help those viewing and commenting on the thread to make a personal meal plan to help them and they took me up on it, so that is what this thread is going to be for. Making a meal plan to help with budgeting.


Step One:
Make a list of the meals you normaly eat and a list of ingredients to go with it. Example in post 2.

Step Two:
Make a grocery list of the items you do not have on hand

Step Three:
Compare your grocery list to the fliers and your coupon stack
Determine what you can get on the cheap and what should wait for the next trip

Step Four:
rework your meal plan based on what you get on the shopping trip.

Note: Be sure to stock up on essentials for your cooking needs. For me that inclused a LOT of broth and beans (dry and canned)


More to come!!!

[BVOGT30]

Meal Plan:

Chicken Gumbo
Rice-Bell Peppers-Celery-Stewed Tomatoes-Chicken Broth-Tomato Paste-Thyme-Okra*-Chicken

Chicken & Winter Vegetables
Chicken-Chicken Broth-Garlic-Marjoram-Leeks-Potato-Turnip-Parsnip-Onion-Green Beans-
Plum Tomato-Parsley

Chicken* Jumbalaya
Garlic-Onion-Bell Pepper-Canadian Bacon*-Chicken Broth-Rice-chili powder-chicken*-oregano

Meatball Soup
Egg-bread crumbs-parmesean cheese-onion-ground beef-garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)-
beef broth-stewed tomato-green beans*-fennel seed

Corsican Beef Stew
Garlic-2lbs stew beef-4 oz thick bacon-onions-passata-cinnamon-rosemary-bay leaf-large macaroni-
parnesean cheese

Hamburger Mac and Cheese
1 lb ground beef-2 boxes Kraft Dinner

[BVOGT30]

reserved for future use

[BVOGT30]

saved for future use

[greentires4me]

Staple list...

Flour, Baking soda, baking Powder, Oil, Vinegar, Eggs, Milk, Bread, Margarine/butter or Shortening, Salt, Spices & Dried Herbs, Canned items(veggies, or meat, etc.) Rice, Pasta, Stock(powdered or canned), Broth, dried fruit, chocolate(semi-sweet, bitter-sweet, & Dutch process cocoa), sugar (brown, white, cane, powdered or artifical), yeast, cornstarch, fresh produce, cheese, condiments, sour cream, whipping cream, oatmeal...

Some people would argue that also soups would be found in the staple list as well like mushroom soup goes good with any slow cooker recipes or even chicken mushroom soup with fried onions baked and side of steamed green beans...which contended to be verstile as well.

[BVOGT30]

I find it interesting that you place sour cream, fresh produce and canned meat on your staples list. I would never have thought to place them on it. I usually stick to frozen produce and canned fruit except in the summer time and I usually only buy sour cream if a meal or recipe calls for it.

[Sally888]

I need sugar. Im not sure where it went off to. I went to make koolaid (something i had a huge craving for) and we were out.

Like who runs out of sugar lol.

[Sally888]

I find it interesting that you place sour cream, fresh produce and canned meat on your staples list. I would never have thought to place them on it. I usually stick to frozen produce and canned fruit except in the summer time and I usually only buy sour cream if a meal or recipe calls for it.

I guess it would all depend on how often you use those things. Whipping cream and sour cream aren't used enough in my house to be a staple, but im also the only one who likes sour cream.

[BVOGT30]

True enough Sally. We only use sour cream for a few dishes and I don't cook them every week...but if I did...oh my!

[ergo2]

My meal plan.

Meat , the more I have , the better the plan!
Ok i eat veggies too

For real tho I make meals as to what I have on hand. Planning will only cost me more.

[BVOGT30]

It used to be that way for me too, ergo...then I had kids. lol I can't get away with a dollar for a steak, 25 cents for a potato and frozen veggies that will last a month. LOL Oh those were the cheap days.

[jayne_a]

I need sugar. Im not sure where it went off to. I went to make koolaid (something i had a huge craving for) and we were out.

Like who runs out of sugar lol.

i actually run out of sugar all the time. Dh uses it in his coffee and i only use it for baking ( mostly i use splenda ) i find out when Dh starts complaining lol, this also happens with coffee too. ( i don't drink the stuff )

[jayne_a]

Meal Plan:

Chicken Gumbo
Rice-Bell Peppers-Celery-Stewed Tomatoes-Chicken Broth-Tomato Paste-Thyme-Okra*-Chicken

Chicken & Winter Vegetables
Chicken-Chicken Broth-Garlic-Marjoram-Leeks-Potato-Turnip-Parsnip-Onion-Green Beans-
Plum Tomato-Parsley

Chicken* Jumbalaya
Garlic-Onion-Bell Pepper-Canadian Bacon*-Chicken Broth-Rice-chili powder-chicken*-oregano

Meatball Soup
Egg-bread crumbs-parmesean cheese-onion-ground beef-garbanzo beans (aka chick peas)-
beef broth-stewed tomato-green beans*-fennel seed

Corsican Beef Stew
Garlic-2lbs stew beef-4 oz thick bacon-onions-passata-cinnamon-rosemary-bay leaf-large macaroni-
parnesean cheese

Hamburger Mac and Cheese
1 lb ground beef-2 boxes Kraft Dinner

have you ever tried adding pasta sauce to your hamburger mac and cheese. it tastes really good. it's a favorate in our house.

[BVOGT30]

jayne-I have never combined the cheese sauce with pasta sauce. I usually do one or the other, just to make things stretch a little farther. I will have to give it a shot though, sounds interesting!

[cesara]

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