Most of us know that menu planning can save a lot of money. Going into the grocery store with a list that tells you exactly what you need to buy - and no more - means that you spend less on things you don't need.
But something I've figured out is that there's virtue in being a bit flexible. I've started purposefully being less than exact in parts of my menu, and found that it saves me money.
I use this technique most often when it comes to fruit. Fruit is one of my favorite side dishes; fresh or canned, it takes little preparation, it's healthy, it's delicious, and it entirely eliminates the need for dessert. But even though pineapple might be the perfect fruit to serve with your curry on a Tuesday night, you can't count on pineapple being on sale when you go to the store Tuesday morning. So instead of saying, "Pineapple, asian pear, oranges" on my grocery list for the three side dishes I need that week, I just write, "Dinner fruit 1, dinner fruit 2, dinner fruit 3", or "canned fruit 1, canned fruit 2, canned fruit 3", and then I can just buy whatever's cheapest. This saves me a lot of money.
(My favorite canned fruit, btw, is the kind packed in juice, because then you get a nice cup of juice too. But even if its canned in heavy syrup, you can just rinse it well, and it's still a pretty healthy side.)
peace of Christ to you,
Jessica
3 comments:
Excellent idea! I tend not to be flexible enough in this area! And, you just reminded me that I need some canned peaches. That's my favorite winter fruit... until I can get the real thing this summer!
Produce is also my wild card, menu wise. I like how you give it a name on the list "Fruit 1"--this might save me from forgetting it (again).
That's just what I do, except for veggies. I only serve fruit with dinner occasionally during the summer, and even then only melon. My husband is not a big fruit fan so it is something we tend to enjoy with breakfast and lunch and as part of our snacks.
The other thing I sometimes do is go grocery shopping first, then come home and plan my menu. I shop through a food coop, so I always have lots of dried beans and grains on hand. I then use whatever veggies were on sale and what I have at home to figure out what we'll have for the week. I find this helps keep my grocery bill down (because I don't buy a lot of fancy ingredients or spices that I might only use once) and it makes sure I am using what I am stashing in my pantry.
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