Trying to plan dinners on a daily basis can make cooking meals a dreaded chore. Not only do you waste time with extra trips to the grocery store but the added costs of gas to get your there, combined with the higher price of prepackaged food, means your spending more money on food than you need to. Using a weekly meal plan means fewer trips to the store and less hassle for you.
Cookbooks to the Rescue
No matter how busy your lifestyle is you can find the time to draw up a weekly meal plan. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes and enlisting the help of your favorite cookbooks makes the task even easier. Make a chart with each day of the week on it and choose a suitable menu for each day, including any side dishes or desserts. With seven meals chosen you'll now create that week's grocery list so you can pick up the foods you'll need for your weekly meal plan, plus any extra staples you're running low on.
A trick to make cooking meals on your busiest days of the week even easier is to intentionally plan meals for that day which require very little prep time. Meats that can be marinated over night and grilled quickly work well, as do one dish meals such as stir fries. Also, don't forget the handiest of kitchen appliances for those on a time crunch-the crock pot. Stews and other delicious meals can be prepped ahead of time and then left to simmer all day with very little effort on your part.
Shop Smart
It's a well known fact that purchasing commonly used food items in bulk saves you money in the long run. This is true whether you have a big or small family. By buying in bulk and freezing or storing those items you build up a reserve of food items that makes gathering ingredients for your recipes as easy as taking a trip to the freezer or pantry.
While items that spoil quickly or don't freeze well often have to be purchased in smaller quantities you can still save money by purchasing them in larger sizes and plan on using them when cooking meals twice within the next two weekly meal plans. For example, larger bagged salads can be used once as a side salad and again as the base for a chicken Caesar salad latter on.
Waste Not Want Not
A great cost cutting measure when planning your meals is to choose dishes that will intentionally leave you with leftovers. While some may think buying a large roast for only two people is wasteful that leftover meat can be frozen and used again as stewing meat in a latter meal. Look for roasts or larger portions of meat when they come on sale and plan your weekly meals with the intent of revisiting these handy leftovers.
Cook in Bulk
A great trick for doubling your meal efforts while cutting down on the prep time of future meals is to make double batches whenever possible. Foods like lasagna, soups and even marinated meats can be made in two batches and frozen for a later dinner idea. When marinating meat simple pour the extra marinade in a freezer bag, add your raw meat and freeze. It's now ready for another dinner and makes cooking meals easier because you just cut out a huge chunk of prep time for that day.
The old saying goes," He who fails to plan, plans to fail." If you feel like you're flunking out of home-ec due to your last minute meals and climbing grocery bill fight back by taking a few minutes to make a weekly meal plan. Cooking meals when you have a plan is easier, cheaper and can even make you love cooking again. - 15634
Cookbooks to the Rescue
No matter how busy your lifestyle is you can find the time to draw up a weekly meal plan. It only takes about 10 to 15 minutes and enlisting the help of your favorite cookbooks makes the task even easier. Make a chart with each day of the week on it and choose a suitable menu for each day, including any side dishes or desserts. With seven meals chosen you'll now create that week's grocery list so you can pick up the foods you'll need for your weekly meal plan, plus any extra staples you're running low on.
A trick to make cooking meals on your busiest days of the week even easier is to intentionally plan meals for that day which require very little prep time. Meats that can be marinated over night and grilled quickly work well, as do one dish meals such as stir fries. Also, don't forget the handiest of kitchen appliances for those on a time crunch-the crock pot. Stews and other delicious meals can be prepped ahead of time and then left to simmer all day with very little effort on your part.
Shop Smart
It's a well known fact that purchasing commonly used food items in bulk saves you money in the long run. This is true whether you have a big or small family. By buying in bulk and freezing or storing those items you build up a reserve of food items that makes gathering ingredients for your recipes as easy as taking a trip to the freezer or pantry.
While items that spoil quickly or don't freeze well often have to be purchased in smaller quantities you can still save money by purchasing them in larger sizes and plan on using them when cooking meals twice within the next two weekly meal plans. For example, larger bagged salads can be used once as a side salad and again as the base for a chicken Caesar salad latter on.
Waste Not Want Not
A great cost cutting measure when planning your meals is to choose dishes that will intentionally leave you with leftovers. While some may think buying a large roast for only two people is wasteful that leftover meat can be frozen and used again as stewing meat in a latter meal. Look for roasts or larger portions of meat when they come on sale and plan your weekly meals with the intent of revisiting these handy leftovers.
Cook in Bulk
A great trick for doubling your meal efforts while cutting down on the prep time of future meals is to make double batches whenever possible. Foods like lasagna, soups and even marinated meats can be made in two batches and frozen for a later dinner idea. When marinating meat simple pour the extra marinade in a freezer bag, add your raw meat and freeze. It's now ready for another dinner and makes cooking meals easier because you just cut out a huge chunk of prep time for that day.
The old saying goes," He who fails to plan, plans to fail." If you feel like you're flunking out of home-ec due to your last minute meals and climbing grocery bill fight back by taking a few minutes to make a weekly meal plan. Cooking meals when you have a plan is easier, cheaper and can even make you love cooking again. - 15634
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Need easy to cook recipes to add variety to your weekly meal plan? Grab some quick and delicious recipes for cooking with our delectable dinner ideas today.
