Saijen SilverWolf1
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Weekly menus
We have discovered that we buy fewer groceries when we make up a weekly menu. We'll grab our favorite cookbooks and plan meals around some of our favorite things, or things we'd like to try. We incorporate as many of our home grown vegetables as possible as sides.
We're amazed at how much money we save by doing this. We rarely stray from our list, but once in a while we may add some odds and ends.
I don't do much precooking, unless we're going camping. I don't have enough freezer space to freeze precooked meals, so doing it this way helps us out. We bought groceries about 2 weeks ago, and spent less than $200. Now, we have had to go get a few things, and we have eaten out a time or 2, but we're still saving by creating our shopping list by creating a menu for the week first! Makes shopping a great deal easier as well!!
--- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
~~@Saijen@~~
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1/6/2012, 7:58 pm
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TexasMadness
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Location: Austin, Texas
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Re: Weekly menus
I love doing weekly menus! For along time I tried the cooking ahead method. It sometimes worked, sometimes didn't. So I've pretty much given up on it. I cook/make something for breakfast everyday but rarely plan that. I do plan 4 or 5 meals a week. Those are usually dinners and lunch is leftovers or sandwiches. I used to try to plan 7 dinners a week but invariably something would happen and we wouldn't cook one or two so we'd end up with veggies going bad.
This is also getting easier for us as we got a basket of veggies from the farm on Thursday night, go to the farmer's market on Saturday for any extra veggies (rarely) and meat, and then can stop at the grocery on the way home if need be. So we I plan meals on Friday after seeing what we get from the farm so I know what to shop for the next day!
Just curious, how many meals do you actually plan? 7 breakfast, 7 lunches, 7 dinners?
Last edited by TexasMadness, 1/6/2012, 10:25 pm
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1/6/2012, 10:24 pm
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Queenyforever
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Re: Weekly menus
Oh goodness, I used to have no choice but to do menus.....we shopped once a month at the Navy commissary on base...I HAD to plan!
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“Freedom and democracy are dreams you never give up.”
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1/6/2012, 10:36 pm
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Saijen SilverWolf1
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Re: Weekly menus
Queeny, I'd hate to have to plan a whole month!!!!
Texas, I usually only plan 7 suppers. Breakfasts are usually things like toast, toasted bagels and cream cheese, oatmeal, fruit and yogurt, or something like that. Once in a while I'll do boiled eggs and toast. On weekends, I may do a meat (pork chops, bacon, or sausage), biscuits and gravy. I don't really plan breakfasts or lunches.
Since I'm usually the only one home for lunch, except on weekends, I may do yogurt and fruit, a sandwich or something like a Smart Ones or Health Choice meal.
Tonight, I did spaghetti and cheesy garlic toast. I used some of our homemade spaghetti sauce, but had to add some stuff. It tasted good when we made it, but once it's sat, it seems to have lost some of it's flavor. So, I added a can of tomato paste to thicken it up, some more Italian seasoning, onion powder, garlic, celery salt, salt, pepper, sage, basil and parsley flakes. Sure did turn out good! Was pleased with myself! The tomatoes, onions and bell pepper I put in the original were from our garden. I would have loved to have used fresh herbs, but since our landlord accidently dug up my herbs, that couldn't happen.
We are trying to prepare our menus around the stuff we already have....veggies and meat. So far, we're not doing too badly.
--- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
~~@Saijen@~~
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1/8/2012, 1:28 am
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Queenyforever
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Re: Weekly menus
I did plan for a whole month....we lived 42 miles from Tacoma where the Commissary was, the 1st check went to the rent and car payment......the 2nd check on the 15th...went to groceries, insurance...etc.
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1/16/2012, 10:01 pm
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Saijen SilverWolf1
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Re: Weekly menus
Sometimes you just gotta do what you gotta do
--- "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you"
~~@Saijen@~~
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1/17/2012, 1:34 am
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