Tips and Reviews from a Frugal Shopaholic with Expensive Taste
We’ve all seen the commercials for the fancy meal kits that are supposed to make cooking easier. But what if you could create your own meal kits at home? Not only would you save money, but you’d have meals that you actually wanted to eat. Let’s take a closer look at how to make homemade meal kits at home.
Your son’s soccer practice got out late and you’ve forgotten to take out something for dinner. It’s already 7:30, and you have no idea what in the world you’re going to feed your family. Your daughter is in the back seat complaining how hungry she is, and after a long and stressful day you’ve had enough. So you hit the drive thru and tell yourself you’ll cook something tomorrow. This scenario probably sounds all too familiar. We are all extremely busy, and takeout is so tempting when you already have so much on your plate.
We all know how easy it is to get sucked into the drive-through or to pick up that takeout menu and order dinner, but it’s hard on our wallets. With a little planning, we can avoid those traps.
I like to cook on Sundays, and have meals ready to go for Monday through Wednesday. Thursday then becomes “leftover day.” You choose what works best for you and your schedule.
This week is going to be busier than usual since one kid has a dentist appointment, another has a doctor appointment and I’m leaving town on Friday for the Brandcation blogging conference. It’s weeks like this that I am so grateful to have a menu plan and a freezer full of home cooked meals to choose from! We save a bunch of money because we’re not trying to figure out what to have for supper on the way home from wherever, which made it too easy to stop and grab fast food. We can even change our minds and mix or match the meals depending on how we feel or how the day is going because there is a list of options available. If you haven’t tried menu planning yet I highly recommend that you look into it – it not only saves us money but also greatly reduces the stress level around dinner time.
Monday – Lemon Chicken
Tuesday – Homemade Garlic Crust Pizza
Wednesday – Crock Pot Honey Ham
Thursday – Crescent Wrapped Hot Dogs
Friday – HOHO (hubby’s on his own – I’ll be out of town)
Saturday – HOHO (hubby’s on his own – I’ll be out of town)
Sunday – Sandwiches
My meal plan is listed at OrgJunkie.com!
I’m so excited that we’re starting to get a bunch of tomatoes on our plants and I’m hoping that we have a couple of big ones ready for our tacos tomorrow night, unfortunately that probably means I need to stop picking and eating them real fast as soon as they start to ripen. We’re still working on clearing out our freezer so it’s getting a little harder to come up with creative meal plans for the week, but I have to admit that it’s been wonderful for the budget! Pretty soon there will only be chicken and blueberries left in the freezer so I figure I’ll worry about re-stocking when we get to that point 😉
Monday – Baked Herb Chicken
Tuesday – Beef Tacos
Wednesday – Cheesy Baked Chicken & Bowtie Pasta with Veggies
Thursday – Rotisserie Sausage
Friday – Date night – dinner out!
Saturday – French Toast (breakfast for supper)
Sunday – Chicken Nuggets
My meal plan is listed at OrgJunkie.com!
Tonight I have to go to a meeting in town so I've planned something easy for hubby to feed the kids. We've been working on eating only what we have in the freezer and pantry for the past few months and now the selection is getting pretty limited, but I'm thrilled to have been able to plan out the menu for the whole month based on what we have on hand. I don't think we're going to be able to do it again next month, but then I'm really surprised that we've made it this long since we started with the pantry challenge in January!
Monday – Salisbury Steak
Tuesday – Spaghetti & Meatballs
Wednesday – Baked Honey Mustard Chicken
Thursday – Tilapia Fish Sticks
Friday – Date night – dinner out!
Saturday – Bacon Wrapped Garlic Chicken
Sunday – Sandwiches
My meal plan is listed at OrgJunkie.com!
Food and drinks are an interesting struggle when trying to save money. Everyone eats, multiple times throughout the day, and there is no way of getting around it. I find that, especially as a working adult, it is incredibly easy to fall into the habit of skipping breakfast, grabbing a quick lunch, then picking up a late dinner. Not only is this a really unhealthy way to live, it’s also very expensive! Here are a few ways to improve your diet AND your bank account when it comes to your day-to-day dining:
Remember when you were a kid and wanted hot lunch every day? Your mother said no of course, and told you to pack your own lunch. Well, the office cafe is the grown-up equivalent to your school’s cafeteria, so use the same logic your mother did, and don’t waste your money on overpriced mediocre food! Packing a lunch is something that takes about five minutes, and can save you hundreds of calories and dollars over the course of a year.
Before you start your week, sit down and plan out what days you’ll be home, what meals you’d like to make, and what you need to buy to make those meals. Not only will this stop you from picking up pricy take-out dinners, but it will stop you from over-buying at the grocery! Bonus points if you pick recipes that use food that you already have!
Ah, if I had a dollar for every time I pulled over at a Starbucks . . . or maybe $5, for that matter! Coffee and tea drinks have some of the highest markups of all consumables, as well as tons of hidden sugars and calories. Starbucksrecipes.org has quite a few recipes of the favorite Starbucks indulgences, and a quick Google search can find you pretty much any other recipe people have discovered for make-your-own gourmet coffee.
Sometimes, eating out is unavoidable – but don’t worry, there are still ways to stay within your mealtime budget! If you’re going with friends, split a meal, as well as the cost and the calories! If you’re out with a group that you aren’t comfortable splitting food with (co-workers or something a bit more professional), don’t be afraid to order off of the appetizer menu – an appetizer is often far cheaper and better proportioned than the huge entrees that restaurants offer.
Photo Credit: iClipart
I'm a professional blogger, social media consultant, and working mom of eleven year old quadruplets and a twelve year old son. I enjoy sharing shopping, fashion, beauty and travel tips as well as recipes and reviews from a frugal shop-a-holic with expensive tastes! Click here to contact me or learn more about me.
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