Meal Prepping & Planning To Save $$

 

Even though it is usually just me I am cooking for these days I still do a weekly meal plan.  Just a simple list of meals for me to choose from each day that is based predominately off of items I already have on hand.  I try not to plan meals which require me to make a trip to the grocery store.

 

Meal planning helps me to save money and minimize any potential food waste.  If there is something I have in the refrigerator that needs to be used up so it doesn’t spoil that will be my priority item to incorporate into my meal plan.  Either I will eat it as a leftover meal or use it to make an entirely different meal, as is often the case.

 

I take frequent inventories of my freezers (the one on my refrigerator and my deep freezer) and my pantry so I always know what I have.  If I spot something that has been hanging around for a while I will make that a priority item as well.

 

Quite often I will make my meals based on feeding two people so I can invite a guest or simply for the leftovers. At this stage of my life I don’t feel the need to cook every single day and I’m perfectly happy reheating leftovers.  I have glass Pyrex containers with lids that I can keep any leftover food in which makes it super handy.  I can remove the lids and reheat them in either the microwave or my little toaster oven.

 

If there is something I really enjoy such as lasagna or enchiladas I’ll make a double batch so I can place a meal into the freezer to enjoy later on.  I will often do this with homemade soups and stews too.  When I find ground beef, pork or turkey on a good buy I will frequently cook and season the entire package, such as for tacos, and then portion it into containers and freeze for multiple future meals.  Another thing I like to do is after buying a large package of ground beef I will make up a big batch of meatballs and a couple meatloaves that I can wrap and freeze.  Whenever I want to make a recipe that calls for meatballs they are ready to go and whenever I have a craving for a good meatloaf all I have to do is pull one out of the freezer.  Meatloaf as well as meatballs are great for taking from the freezer to the slow cooker.  I do that a lot.

 

For me, meal planning is a good way to ensure I get a well rounded nutritious meal while avoiding food fatigue from eating the same old things over and over again.  While I don’t mind eating leftovers I do enjoy having a lot of variety in my diet.  Meal prepping helps me save time, stock my freezer with quick and easy to prepare meal options and also helps so I don’t have to eat leftovers multiple days in a row.  Saving my money and avoiding food waste is a real bonus.