Meal Planning on a Budget

Eating out in these hectic days, has become more of a need than a trend. In most of the busy families, eating out at night at a take away or drive-in joint seems easier than cooking meals at home. If you too belong to such families, you must have noticed that you tend to spend double the amount on food than required, every month. Eating out may / may not be expensive; but, it is definitely not healthy. Let us take a look at the tips and techniques on healthy meal planning when on a budget.

Low-Budget Meal Planning Guide

One of the golden rules in meal planning is to actually chalk down your budget and the amount of food that you will be requiring (based on the number of family members). Planning in advance is a key to weekly diet meal plans. The following are the tips and techniques that will be helpful to you.

• Literally write down the meal menu that you would like to cook for the week (breakfast, lunch and dinner). This will be helpful for you to prepare a list on foods that you should buy.
• Now, check for the items/foods that you already have at home/pantry, and cancel them from your meal planning chart. This will save a considerable amount of money, initially.
• Check out for the word 'DISCOUNT' in any supermarket. You are sure to find plenty of them in local as well as chain supermarkets. Buy the goods that you actually need in discounts. You can also cash in your discount coupons to buy foodstuff that you actually require (and not waste them on sweets and gourmet foods).
• If you have not included a particular foodstuff but are getting it at a cheaper rate, you can always go for it and modify your menu accordingly.
• When planning meal on a budget, remember that buying bigger packets of certain foodstuff (rice, pasta, sugar) can be cheaper. These foods can also be stocked for a couple of months.
• Substitute all the gourmet items with those that are required daily. A tahini sauce can be replaced with salsa sauce as the latter can be used in different preparations.
• Eggs, potatoes, pasta, etc., are available at cheaper rates and can be used for making a variety of dishes. Therefore, you should try to include such foods in your grocery shopping.
• Most of processed foods are expensive as compared to fresh ones. Try to make your own salsa sauce, tomato sauce, ranch sauce, salads dressings, etc. to save money on buying these products.
• One of the best meal planning ideas is to go for one dish meals for lunch and dinner that require less amount of time and can fill up immediately. (e,g. Larger, 3 layer sandwiches, rice and beans, potatoes and chicken, etc.)
• You should not throw away leftovers, but, use it in making dishes for the next day.
• Lastly, when planning your weekly meals, note that the menu should be planned such that it will help in overcoming the temptation of eating out. You can include home-made hamburgers, home-made pizzas, etc. in your menu to avoid eating out.

If you follow these tips, you are sure to save a lot of money per month. So, think about it! Good luck!