Step-By-Step Guide
Ever dread planning and making dinner? I know sometimes sitting down planning a list of groceries and meals can seem daunting but I've come up with a way to simply and effectively plan your grocery list along with your meals. This will not only save you money but you can still make fun and delicious meals without over-spending or compromising quality. You know that expression "If you fail to plan, you plan to fail".
I have a method that I've been using for several months. We first starting using this method when we knew we had to maintain a food budget every month. In Proverbs, scripture teaches us that it is wise to plan for our families and to budget things out. Proverbs 31: 14-15 depict a woman who goes out to get food for her family and provides for her entire household. This should be our goal. My husband encouraged me to create a plan based on our budget and it now has become something I do every Sunday before the week starts. Below I have an example of what this looks like.
Breakdown
The best way to plan your grocery list is to first find recipes that you like and that won't break your budget. My family aims for high protein and whole foods. For example, if I have a dinner idea that I like, I will write every ingredient on the grocery list that I need to make for that meal, that we don't already have. Since we have been keeping our budget in mind when planning meals, I tend to stick to dinners that have minimal ingredients. I will soon create a weekly dinner menu to help inspire those who have picky eaters! This method really helps you to only buy what you need for each meal you plan to eat. I used to buy a heap of random things for different ideas without planning ahead. This led to overspending and food going to waste.
Steps for weekly plan
1. Throughout the week keep an eye on what you are running out of. If you need it for a meal you plan, or its a regular item anyway, like milk, add it to the list
2. Pick a day of the week to sit down and write down at least five dinner ideas. Sunday is a good day since it is the first day of the week! I like to ask my husband what he likes and is wanting for dinner that week so that I'm planning around what he will actually eat. In our house our kids aren't the only picky eaters.
3. Each meal that you want to make, write down the ingredients you need on the grocery list. This varies but I like to keep the ingredient list to a minimum when considering budget.
4. Map out what stores you need to go to, to get the best deals. We tend to find the best deals at Costco for various things. A big thing we save money on at Costco for dinners, is meat. Since we like high protein and whole foods we tend to get most of our meat and produce from there. The other items that you don't necessarily need in bulk- you can get from a local grocery store. **If you really want to be budget savvy you can sit down and clip coupons for deals and save even more!
5. Finally, after mapping out and separating what is needed from each store you can take your list to the store and try your very best to stick to what you wrote down.
Side Note: I would recommend writing your list on a piece of paper/in your phone to keep it throughout your shopping trip. This helps keep you on track and ensures you don't forget anything. Plus, it's honestly pretty fun to cross of those items as you go!
Happy Planning! ♥
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