Random Thoughts

This came in handy when I was planning our monthly menu. So Mommies, this might help you too.

More Ways to Save Money on Healthy Food by Carolyn Richardson

Here are my 6 favorite tips and tricks for stretching every last grocery dollar.

Plan a Week's Worth of Meals

When it comes to saving money at the grocery store, much of it happens before I even leave my house. Typically, on Sunday afternoons, I take the time to meal-plan for the week.

Poke Around the Fridge

The first thing I do in my meal-planning process is take stock of what I already have in my kitchen. I take the time to move things around in the refrigerator and scour the cabinets to see what I have on hand. Most of the time, I am surprised by what I find—a jar of marinated artichoke hearts, a can of pinto beans, a half-used bag of coffee. Instead of buying these items again or letting them go to waste, I incorporate them into the coming week’s menu.

Consider Your Schedule

Before I visit the grocery store, I look at my calendar as well as my husband’s for the upcoming week and create meals around when we will be home for dinner. We typically plan a meal for each night at home and make sure to take into account meals with lots of leftovers—like casseroles or homemade pizza. I keep in mind that Fridays and Saturdays are usually "wing it" nights because we’ll often end up going out to dinner or meeting friends for appetizers and drinks, so I don’t buy extra food for those nights.

Don't Be Afraid of Bruised Produce

I always check out the reduced produce area with the hope of finding some good deals. Usually, this produce has a single bump or bruise that can easily be cut off. But, I only buy produce that I plan to use right away or have something in mind for. It’s not worth buying damaged produce if I don’t end up using it. Lately, I’ve been buying a bunch of bruised produce that I immediately peeled and freeze for smoothies.

Stock Up on Staples

Sure, you’ve heard of the “make a list and stick to it” tip when grocery shopping. It’s a great piece advice, and I usually keep it in mind. However, I also make sure to stock up on my favorite products when they go on sale. My husband and I plow through peanut butter and oatmeal like it’s our job, so when they go on sale, I make sure to buy them even if we haven’t run out yet. I know that we’ll use these items at some point, so I might as well stock up and save a little money.

SOURCE.

What I do is I plan our menu every month. I know it seems like a month is too long but these days, it just flew by so quickly that I'm even surprised that I'm about to make another menu.

Will definitely look more into these tips and see if I can incorporate most of it in our budget and menu.