M is for Menu: Simple Menu Planning Tips

M is for Menu Planning   

One of the most important things I do each month, for both my sanity and my budget, is menu planning.

There are a couple of things that I have found over the years to be of the biggest assistance when planning my family’s meals each month.

1.  Planning monthly saves me time and money.   I can cook in bulk and freeze saving me cooking time and having meals prepared ahead saves money on expensive and unhealthy take-out options  
2. Having a deep freeze saves me money
3. Using the weekly flyers saves me money

In my early 30’s (yes I am well beyond that now), I was given the book Once-a-MonthCooking by Mimi Wilson & Mary Beth Lagerborg and it completely changed the way I thought about cooking and planning meals.   It may not be for you and it does indeed leave you locked in the kitchen for a day BUT it is one day a month and then  you are free as a bird the rest of the month.

When checking out the link for the book - I stumbled across this quick YouTube Video that talks about the cost savings and family benefits to using this method.

Planning Monthly Menus.    

I personally have found it helpful to plan my menus by the month.   If making a pot of spaghetti sauce, I would slot that into the menu twice in the month and ensure that I make enough in one batch to not only cover serving it twice in the month but also twice in the following month.   Same would apply with a soup…. I would ensure that there were enough prepared for dinner twice that month or one dinner and two lunches, again I would likely make enough to cover a meal or two for the following month as well.

Where do I find the time to make meals in advance?  It really does not take a lot more effort to cook a meal in bulk than it does to cook it for one dinner.   A few more minutes chopping perhaps but other than that, it does not cost any negligible time and in the long run, you will gain time back into your life having the meals already prepared.

Using Weekly Flyers.    

Weekly flyers can be a blessing or a curse.   If you use them to purchase items your family uses and needs, they are a blessing.  If they are hanging around becoming clutter or you purchase items you do not need and will not use, then they are obviously a curse.

When using flyers, I would recommend stapling a list to the front of each flyer indicating what you wish to purchase from each particular store.   Take the flyer to the store with you so you have the price and the package size and then leave the flyer at the store so you do not have the paper clutter to deal with later.    If there is an item on sale that you use often, like peanut butter or butter, stock up when it is on sale and then do not buy more until the stock is almost depleted.   Do not buy more than you have storage space.  

Our family loves butter and it is usually quite expensive.   Our freezer often holds 6-10 pounds of butter at a time.  Right now, our butter stash has been depleted since butter has not been on sale for a while.   We do the same with meat and buy in bulk when it's on sale.   I then check my freezer when preparing my menu each month and plan around what's in the freezer and what is on sale that week.   It is a rare week that we buy meat that is not on sale.

Having a deep freeze saves you money.  

Buying in bulk when items are on sale and freezing homemade meals in advance is a major factor in having well planned healthy menus ready for your family.

A few tips from our family to yours when menu planning

• Plan left over night the evening before garage pick up.   Haul everything out and serve a wide variety to clear out the fridge

• Serve an egg dish once a week to save dollars.   Omelets, Frittatas, Quiche are great ways to use up left over vegetables and meats as well.

• Plan a pasta dish one night per week

• Plan a fish dish one night per week

•  Make one, freeze one.   It takes no extra time to double each recipe.   Make a meal for dinner and freeze one for later in the month.

If you would like a copy of our free monthly menu planner, please email us and put Free Menu Planner in the subject line, we would be happy to send one out to you.

Adventures in Organizing can help you with your menu planning, household management, home filing systems and time management systems.    

Sign up for our Minute-By-Minute program today!   For just $5.00 per week you will have your own customized organizing program.  

The Organizing Olympics, Day 7: Junk Mail Javelin

Today's event will be.....Junk Mail Javelin.

This individual event comprises training agility and skill to keep your competitors, junk mailers and paper marketers at bay.

The goal of this event is to:

Stop the junk mail from entering the sector (entering the house).     

What is your strategy to win at this game? 

1. Throw The Javelin - Sort your mail as soon as you pick it up. 
2. Use Javelin competitor’s techniques and with an “overhand” throw to toss all non-addressed junk mail directly in the recycle bin.
3. Addressed junk mail can either be shredded or recycled based upon your comfort level 

(I shred anything with our names on it)

4. Throw for Distance - Contact catalogue companies and get off their mailing lists – you can get everything on line if you are looking for an item.
5. Get as many of your other mail pieces sent to you online.   Most bill companies will send you eBills to cut down on the paperwork

The competitor with the longest single legal throw is the winner, so grab that Javelin and throw that junk mail as far from your home as possible.

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Organizing By The Letter: G is for Groceries

G is for Groceries!       

            

Save Time and Money with Menu Planning and an Action Plan             

Preparing for Your Trip to the Store

Check the weekly grocery fliers and shop for sale items.   If chicken is on sale this week…come up with a minimum of three chicken dish ideas.   Check the recipes and make sure to add all the ingredients to your shopping list.

For those with the luxury of a big freezer, plan out shopping lists to make a few meals in advance using the sale items available that week.   In our house, we seldom if ever buy meat that is not on sale…if it is pork at one store, we only buy our pork then…if it is chicken at another, it is usually, worth the extra drive to stock up on chicken at a second store.   Get to know what is a good deal and what is not.   

Checking flyers, comparing prices between them is a really good exercise to save you money.   Last week a big chain in our area had 500grams of cheese on sale for 6.99 so my plan was to go there to buy some but on further checking through the flyers, another chain grocer had the same on sale for 4.99 same cheese, same size, both on “SALE”.  

Going to multiple stores does take a little extra time, but if entering each store armed with a shopping list, and simply grabbing the items that are pre-planned on the grocery list – it is worth the dollar savings for sure!

Making a List – Checking it Twice

Making a grocery list is essential to good planning.   It helps us stay on budget, it saves us time, and it saves us money.  To make shopping trips as quick as possible, save time walking back and forth in the stores my making shopping lists using categories such as:

·         Dairy

·         Meats

·         Breads

·         Frozen Foods

·         Produce (I like to sub-categorize this further)

·         Fruits

·         Vegetables

Online, you can find free downloadable PDF  Grocery Lists

Before going to the store take a few minutes to clear out any science experiments in the refrigerator.   During this process you may notice you are low on staple items such as Ketchup, Eggs and Milk…wipe off any shelves that are a little gooey.   Double check the pantry and check boxes to make sure none have been put back on the shelf empty.  The goal here is to be able to put new purchases away as quickly as possible, as efficiently as possible and then get on with the remainder of the day.

Heading out the Door - Last Minute Check

• Keys

• Purse (is your bank card in there?)

• Sunglasses

• List

• Shopping Bags in the trunk

• Cooler in trunk for frozen items (not a necessity but sure helpful)

• Coupons or Store Reward Cards

• Kids (do they need a snack to go?

• Any library books to return on your way?   Goodwill to drop?   Make each trip count.

At the Store

Make time count, follow the list, and don’t be swayed by the items at the ends of the isles or at the front cash.   Get in; get out…keeping extra dollars in hand rather than in the store’s cash register.  Leave the store under budget?   Tuck the excess away in a vacation jar or a Christmas fund. 

 

Home Again, Home Again…

Put frozen items away first.

Fridge items away next.   Consider taking some extra during this process to do a little extra preparation for the meats – pre-marinade chicken, put in a Ziploc bag with the marinade, label then freeze…make hamburger patties in advance, then freeze…add sauces to the pot roast in advance, then freeze, sauce and all, in a labelled Ziploc.   Now, not only is there new food in the freezer, some of it is prepped and ready to go.  

I almost always add marinades to meat in advance.  Freeze and then when needed, toss the entire contents, while still frozen, into the crock pot in the morning – throw my vegies on top and then it is finished and yummy by the end of the day.

Back to the Groceries. Finish off with the canned goods - put new items behind the older ones ensuring you consume the oldest first.  If there are cans of food in the panty that  are likely never going to be consumed, consider donating them to the Food Bank but make sure they have not expired.  If they have expired, toss!

Personally, I tend to get rid of a lot of the packing.  Boxes take up a lot of room so items like crackers go into mason jars, or sometimes the cookie jar – am I the only one who has noticed that the boxes are only half full now?   Cereal goes into sealed Tupperware type containers to ensure no pests can get to the food once it is opened.  Rice, flour, sugar etc…all come out of the original packaging and into glass jars or plastic food storage containers.  When using glass or clear plastic, another advantage is that it is easy to see when items are running low.

Oh yes, don’t forget to take all the bags back out to the trunk for the next “Adventures in Groceries”

Happy Shopping!