Meal/Menu Planning is NOT Scary!

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Meal/Menu Planning is NOT SCARY!!!  
I promise :)


The most important thing I have found with cutting food costs is Meal/Menu Planning.  

This is something when you first start that might take a little time.....or if you are natural it won't take any time at all...I am was not a natural. (don't let this scare you :)  because really...it's not that scary.  I said that already didn't I? :))

The first thing I did was print off a calendar from my computer (I used a basic calendar in my publisher).  I then looked in my kitchen and made a list of what we had. (this can be actual pad and pencil or mentally)  

I then sat down and thought of all my "family favorites" that we like that can be made from what we had. 

(ie. we have hamburger, kidney beans and tomato juice in our house this = Chili)  

After I run out of ideas from the "family favorites", I start searching online for recipes.  We usually have chicken, beef roast and hamburger so I search for recipes with those ingredients or if our garden is producing a bunch of one item I will search for what vegetable we have the most of at the time.  

By the way, you will be AMAZED at how much you can find online!

If you don't have a lot of food in your home you can sit down with the week's sale bill to figure out what you will make for your meals.  I like when the store has frozen veggies on sale and I can get them for next to free or free with coupon (this is after I have run out from our garden).  I make the frozen veggies stretchhhhhhhh as far as I can (see later post on this) so that I can get the most for my money.  Once you have looked at the sales start searching for meals you can make with the food that is on sale.  (this is an important key in keeping your food costs down).

When you have found a bunch of recipes that look soooooo good to you, you need to sit down and place them in your meal/menu calendar.  I usually try not to have my meats twice in a row in a week.  I might do chicken, beef roast, pork and then hamburger something like that to mix things up.  

I know this sounds scary but really it's not bad at all.  I make my menu's while my kids play, do homework, etc.  If I see a recipe that looks yummy I will cut it out/copy it to add to my menu the next time that it is completed.  Once you get this down it will be SUPER simple!  (and if nothing else there are websites that will do this for you :))

Meal/Menu Planning is NOT scary.....repeat that 10 times to yourself...and get going.  
You will be thankful that you did!