Does meal planning save you money?

[pmmahan]

I am trying to cut corners right now for DH and I with food (we got married last month, enough said). I am sad, cause i can't really go out and try all the new recipes in CL http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/frown.gif.

I was wondering if cooking batches of stuff on the weekend (ie lasagnas and soups) to be eaten during the week or taken for lunch helps. We both work full time and usually don't get home until about 7:30 at night. I want to cut corners but still eat healthfully. I have seen a few threads on cutting corners, but was wondering if you had any new ideas for 2 working professionals. I'd love to bake my own bread on the weekends, does that work? Would you recommend making as much from scratch as possible on the weekends?
There is a great farm market in Boston near where I work called Haymarket where I can get produce (and just about anything else) cheap, cheap, cheap!

I want to continue to eat well (no Kraft macaroni or Ramen noodles for us - left those back in college!)

Thank you!!!

[gabbyh]

pmmahan,
Good for you! I must tell you though...being on this board has cost me a mint!! ;-} So many great ideas and recipes...lots of new foods to try...new cookbooks I MUST own...etc...the thing that saves me money I think is the cooking of extra amounts so I have leftovers to take for lunches...I do bake bread when time allows and keep it in the freezer...also, if you have "healthy" things available it cuts down on the "running in the door and before you even drop your briefcase grabbing something sinful from the fridge" syndrome...which I tend to do after midnight! Good luck and let us know how you do...

[Jewel]

I'm not usually a meal planner, even though I try very hard to be! I won't necessarily write down what I am going to make and go shopping with a list, but I'll think on Saturday that I want to make this and this and this, then when I hit the grocery I'll remember those two or three dishes I'm planning and pick up the necessary ingredients. That STILL doesn't keep me from hitting the market on the way home nearly every day for one or two items, usually the fresh veggies I'll need, or the one red pepper I forgot. I think if I was more dilligent about planning it WOULD save us money. Those quick trips add up!

I'm feeding just my husband and myself, no kids. If we're trying to cut the costs a little bit we head to Costco. Buying bulk sometimes is not cost-effective for just the two of us, but if it's something I can vac-pack in my FoodSaver or store in the basement, it's a good deal. I buy meat in bulk at Costco, and I buy a lot of my canned stuff there, like chicken broth.

Our best money-saver on a regular basis has either been the crockpot or our love of soups, beans, lentils and stews. There is nothing cheaper and more versatile than a bean! I can buy a bag of small white beans for $1 and turn it into 3 meals for the both of us by adding ham and veggies and turning it into a luscious soup! My crockpot helps me take a cheaper cut of meat and turn it into a fall-apart roast that will make a second dinner and a few lunches!

Check out the crockpot threads on this BB as well as the many soup threads. Soup isn't just for winter! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/biggrin.gif But I may be biased... I live in an area that doesn't have that hot a summer!

[KathrynY]

I try to plan my weekly meals with leftovers in mind for lunches. It's just DH and me, so if I make a dinner that serves 4 we each get 1 dinner and 1 lunch each out of it, with no extra work. Lasagnas and soups are even better - more leftovers! Leftovers go into individual plastic microwaveable containers, which we grab the next morning and take to work. We definitely save $$$ by bringing our own lunches - a lunch out around here is around $7 x 5 days x 2 people = $70 per week http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/eek.gif. I also buy cases of soda and keep at the office - much cheaper than buying an individual can at a convenience store every day.

[LaraW]

I think that in the long run meal planning has saved us $ on groceries. It took a while to get the kitchen stocked with things that we needed on a "regular" basis.

One thing that I might suggest is if you have an ingredient that you need to purchase because you are out of it or have never used it before, is to look for another recipe that calls for it.

My husband and I both work, and have found that menu planning makes cooking dinner more enjoyable for both of us. I really think that the hardest part about cooking dinner on a weeknight is deciding what to have. If your kitchen is already stocked with the ingredients, and you know what you are having, it really does take less time than going to the store, walking around, figuring out what to have, bringing it home, heating it up, etc, etc.

We usually take our lunches to work, however, I prefer to take a sandwich, yogurt, raisins, chips, etc. I don't care too much for leftovers, so we don't have them around that much. That is a huge money saver, though! You could probably save at least $30/week each by just taking your lunch.

Great thread! I was just talking to my friend last night, who is wanting to learn to cook and get suggestions on menu planning. I offered her 3 years worth of back issues of CL so that she could try them out and see if she liked it. Maybe she will start to subscribe! I need to work on her and her brand new hubby and turn them into foodies.....

[gertdog]

Meal planning definitely saves us money. I choose several dinner menus for each week... but never a full 7 days' worth, to leave room for leftovers and the occasional meal out on nights when I just don't want to cook.

It's just the two of us, and I actually began the meal planning because our grocery bills were WAY out of control, and we were throwing so much extra food away each week. I make the grocery list straight from my meal plan, then add on any staples from the list on our dry erase board on the fridge. This cuts out all the impulse purchases I used to make. I used to think that if an item we sometimes used was on sale, I should buy it to use later, but I eventually ended up with an overflowing pantry and lots of spoilage. So... unless I can justify it as a superduper bargain, no impulse purchases. Since I started doing this, we've reduced our grocery bills by over $100 per month and we're eating better too.

Recently, I took this all a step further (a step I should have been doing all along) and started basing my meal planning on what's in the pantry. Kind of like Lara mentions above. Half a box of orzo? Look for some orzo salad recipes. 4 oz. of feta left in the fridge from last week's risotto-making? Fine, find something to do with it this week. This has definitely cut down on waste for us.

I do take my lunch to work most days, although if things are crazy or there aren't any good leftovers in the fridge, I'll buy a sandwich at the local bakery. But it gets expensive really fast, so I try to stick to leftovers.

I don't do any of the weekend cooking that you mention, and I'd be interested to know if others do and if it works well for them.

Good luck! I know what it's like to cook on a budget... we did it on the (non-existent) income of two grad students for several years.

[Joyce]

The grocery ads here come out on Wedn. On Fri. night I usually sit down with C/L and the ads and plan my meals for the week with the local sales. Sat. morning I shop. Since there are only two of us, I cook a nce meal for four on Sat and Sun. On Mon. I cook an "under 30 minutes" meal. We then have leftovers Tues,Wedn.& Thurs. Friday is "eat out or omelettes" night.

[LGBurns]

Meal planning can save me money and can cost me money depending. For us, I find that I only really save money if I think about the cost of things as I'm making out my list (I guess that seems pretty obvious--but I learned it the hard way). One week, I planned the whole week's menu, breakfast, lunch and dinner (including when we would have what leftovers etc) thinking I would save a ton of money. Well, my grocery bill ended up being twice my weekly budget for groceries. Plus, I had planned so many things to make that I got completely burned out by the end of the weekend (compounded by all that grocery shopping) and didn't make half the things I had planned so we ended up having to eat out that week anyway (for lunch). I think it's better to plan most of the meals ahead but have some cheap staples around for quick stuff so you're not trying to feed yourselves for the entire week in one weekend. I actually stopped cooking any recipes or anything I wasn't completely familiar with for two weeks after that I was so burned by it. But I'm starting to get ready to do more cooking now. http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by LGBurns (edited 06-22-2001).]

[goldilocks]

Boy can I relate to you. We are newlyweds too, both professionals with busy jobs and schedules. I am a planner in every respect, and have tried meal planning only to find that it cost me so much money and a lot a wasted food. Here is what I have done:

As was said above, take some time this weekend to sort through your refrigerator, freezer and pantry. Purge what you need to and take note of the items that are soon to expire, or are half used. Plan recipes around these items first.

I don't grocery shop once a week, I go almost every day/every other day. I know this can't work for everyone, and it only works for me because I can walk to the market on the way home from work and it is superconvenient. I can pick up a few items at a time. This has helped tremendously in cutting down food waste and the amount of money I pay for groceries.

I decide what I am going to make based on the market ads for the week, incorporating what I have in the pantry and fridge. I have learned to not 'overbuy' as there are only 2 of us. I don't plan out each day as we are busy and our schedules are sometimes unpredictable. If all else fails there is pasta and sauce as a backup. This has been my biggest money saver so far.

Bringing your breakfast/lunch is a huge money saver. Making coffee at home is another one. If you must travel to work with a fresh cup, Dixie now makes coffee cups with lids that will travel. I found them in my supermarket.

Another thing that seems to work also if you only need one ingredient, like bread, is to go to a convenience store(7-11) or drug store around you to buy that one ingredient. It will cost you more for that loaf of bread, but if you went to the store for that same loaf, you would wind up with a bunch of other impulse purchases and a higher grocery bill.

Sometimes we have to resort to eating what I am not really craving since the item will go bad if it's not eaten. I can't stand wasting food. We've also done a lot of 'clean out the fridge meals', which surprisingly have been some of my most delicous meals. Experiment and make the plate look pretty and be confident about it and your husband will love it, as did mine.

Lastly, seriously reconsider a trip to Costco. Nothing is a good deal if it goes to waste. I learned this the hard way. Get things you use on a regular basis for food only. I know that I am stating the obvious here, but it's easy to get carried away while you are there.

Well, these are the things that work for me. I haven't calculated it in a while, but I think I probably spend about $60 a month on groceries, and we eat good, healthly meals. Good luck!

[aggie94]

Originally posted by goldilocks:
I haven't calculated it in a while, but I think I probably spend about $60 a month on groceries, and we eat good, healthly meals. Good luck!

Are you kidding me?? There are only two of us, and I'm sure we easily spend that every week! HOW do you do that??

I know there have been several threads on "how much we spend on groceries." Maybe I'll have to go back and reread them. I can't even imagine trying to live on a $60/month grocery budget for two people.

[pmmahan]

Thanks for all the great suggestions!

Yeah, wow! $60 a month! In my dreams! For us, $70 a week is really good!!!

I like the crockpot idea.....I think I will also try and make my own bread, making more things from scratch, no convenience foods. well, I can cook, even if it isn't CL recipes!

[Gail]

I'm the one here who speaks up against pre-planning. Personally, it doesn't suit me a bit.

However...

I remember the years of skrimping and saving. (Do you notice the word "skrimp" is never used alone, always in conjunction with saving?) I had to fight off my natural tendency to shop too frequently, because if I did I was bound to buy more than actually needed. So, yes, I'd sit there with a paper and pen, scrupulously writing down menus and ingredients, so that I could pick things up at one time and not be tempted to pick up something not on the list which "really looks interesting." I'd clip coupons and look for specials, and yes, buy in bulk. Invest in a roll of butcher paper and tape. Go to Costco, or wherever you can buy in bulk. You can pick up fantastic buys on meats and poultry, which you then bring home, separate into packages with enough for a meal or two, and freeze it. Do this with a couple of things at least, so you don't get stuck with two weeks of only chicken. And then, of course, you find recipes to vary how you utilize whatever you bought.

During those particularly tight times, I used to bake my own bread as well. No, I didn't have a bread machine, and frankly I'm quite happy using my Kitchenaid or working by hand.

I'd find ways to utilize inexpensive cuts of meat and tried not to use the same main ingredient more than once a week. Maybe Monday I'd take out a package of chicken, Tuesday make pasta, Wednesday I'd take out a package of beef, Thursday I'd go vegetarian, Friday I'd do something from Mexico's corn kitchen, Saturday maybe an omelet, Sunday a small pork roast. I'd keep shuffling things, trying variations on those meats I had in the freezer, throwing in the pasta or Mexican, vegetarian or whatever as fillers. And, yes, I often got home at 8:00 pm, so I either cooked in advance or we simply ate late. Soups and stews were cheap, as were pastas. I'd use canned seafood products for variation (salmon or clams) and every so often I'd cook up a huge batch of tomato sauce to be utilized in a variety of dishes. I'd buy large bottles of decent-if-unremarkable wine for "special" meals and brought leftovers to work for lunch as frequently as possible. We saved money, ate well, and life was good.

Don't be sad about having to cut corners. With a little careful ahead-of-time planning, you can still squeeze in all sorts of new CL recipes. Just don't waste your money right now on those requiring one-time-only or unususal ingredients.

Things will get better. Good luck! http://www.cookinglight.com/bbs/smile.gif

[This message has been edited by Gail (edited 06-22-2001).]

[aggie94]

Originally posted by pmmahan:
I was wondering if cooking batches of stuff on the weekend (ie lasagnas and soups) to be eaten during the week or taken for lunch helps. We both work full time and usually don't get home until about 7:30 at night.

When I used to commute 3 hours to work a day, I never had time during the week to cook. So Sunday was my big cooking day. I'd make two or three big meals (usually at least one was for DH, since he & I have completely different tastes in food): lasagnas, casseroles, soups, stir-fries, pasta dishes, etc. Then, I'd have leftovers that would last me usually until Thursday or Friday, and I wouldn't have to eat the same thing for every meal. Soup for lunch, lasagna for dinner...you get the idea. Bringing leftovers for lunch everyday really cut back on expenses. A lot of my Sunday was taken up with cooking every week, but it left me a little extra time on weeknights to exercise, relax, read, etc. You really gotta love leftovers, though!



[This message has been edited by aggie94 (edited 06-22-2001).]

[makedah]

I'm a grad student/teaching assistant with an additional part-time job, so I know all about being crunched for time. For years, I would just run to McDees when I came home exhausted, or buy a stock of frozen pizzas for those nights. Not any more! I'm trying to do the same thing that you are -- eat healthier, save time and money. It can be tough!!! I spend about $200 a month on food, but I'm trying to trim that down without sacrificing flavor. Cooking from scratch is definitely the way to go -- you can eat better-quality, more healthful food for LESS that way.

Cooking big batches on the weekend is a good idea as long as you don't mind eating leftovers for a week (BTW, is food good for a whole week?). The thought of it makes me ill (i can't eat leftovers past 1-2 days), so I can't do it.

Lots of people will double a recipe and freeze the second batch (I would only do this with a tried-and-true recipe, however). Lasagnas, meat loaves and bean dishes freeze well (so I have heard). As you can imagine, mixing enough meat for two meat loaves takes a heck of a lot less time than making meat loaf twice. I have also frozen baked goods (cookies, sweet potato pie, banana bread) with success.

Start freezing raw ingredients in useable portions (ice cubes of lemon/lime juice or chicken broth, 1/2 c. chopped onions, 1 c. shredded cheese). I do this and it means that I am fairly confident that I can whip up something nice (and not just fast) without going to the grocery store. I don't like leftovers much and I'm just getting into freezing cooked food, so it's really a challenge to save time when I have to cook everyday. Freezing ingredients really helps.

Do you have a grocery store near you that sells bulk items (like flour, cereal, beans)? That can be cheaper than packaged goods, and you can try out new things (like spices!) without making a big cost commitment.

TO finally answer your question -- does meal planning save money? I think it depends -- I found myself spending MORE on food and wasting more food when I planned meals because I could never get around to cooking the things I wanted, or by the time I was supposed to cook the dish, it no longer sounded appetizing. I over-planned (expected to cook 4 times a week and only had time to cook twice) and over-bought. To test it out, I suggest that you plan for a week at a time before trying 2 weeks or a month at a time and see how it works.

[aggie94]

Originally posted by makedah:
Cooking big batches on the weekend is a good idea as long as you don't mind eating leftovers for a week (BTW, is food good for a whole week?).

I've wondered the same thing, and in fact, I think I asked that question at one point on this BB. For some irrational reason, I am averse to freezing things, even uncooked meat. So I would put things in the fridge Sunday evening after cooking, and have leftovers until they ran out, which was usually by dinner Thursday or lunch Friday. I've never had any problem with things not making it that long -- so far, everything has tasted/smelled fine. Past 5 days is when I start to worry.

[HedyL]

I couldn't even begin to imagine spending only $60 a month on food for me and my DH. usually is that amount each week! I can definately relate to this discussion..my husband and I work late too. I know I could probably spend a little less on food, but i don't think i do too badly...

I try to do a full food shop once a week, and one extra stop for items forgotten or on sale at the supermarket next to where I work. I either have a list, with meals planned out or at least ideas in my mind so I can have the ingredients on hand. I always have certain staples around for quick dinners...pasta/sauces, enchiladas, etc. On my days off I try to cook more time-consuming items that I can make two meals from and freeze one. This works out pretty well, except that i'm never sure what to do for lunch; my DH and I eat lean-cuisine type frozen foods most days (sometimes leftovers).

[CHRIST1NE]

Like many of you, I do plan my meals but only 2-3 at a time. When I used to plan/buy the weeks worth of meals, undoubtly, unexpected things would come up and I would end up wasting alot of it. Grocery shopping is now on Wed and Sat. Sat I buy for the weekend, Mon and Tues and Wed I buy for Wed, Thurs and Fri. I have been much happier with this system and I have saved some money.

If you have a computer and don't have Mastercook, you might want to look into that. It's a great way to "scale" bigger recipes down to your size and you can do "ingredient searches" to find things to use up "that little bit of something" both of these features will save you money over the long run.

Another vote for taking your lunch. I get an "allowance" of $20 week. The entire amount used to get spent on food. Since I've started taking my lunch I rarely ever use the allowance, except when the new issue of Cooks Illustrated comes out. I save whatever is left at the end of the week in a jar and save it until there is somthing that I want - usually clothes.

[Tally]

What a great topic!

One small piece of advice I can give is to not try and plan too much. As a newlywed, I tried to plan meals for every night of the week. (When you're first married, you just want to cook full meals all the time for your hubby LOL.)

I started realizing that my DH wasn't expecting a "typical meal" (salad, meat, veggie, starch, dessert) every night. When I hadn't planned something for an evening, or realized that I was out of a key ingredient, I would ask him if he had any ideas on what to make. The answer was invariably something light and/or easy: grilled cheese and a can of Progresso Soup, Black Beans and Rice, or some stir fry mix that I had in the freezer.

It made me realize that it was OK to plan a few low budget/low stress meals in the week. Now we have "soup and sandwich night" and "salad night" quite often.