I want to share a trick that I have found to be extremely helpful, not only to eat at home and to avoid fast food/pizza, but also to stick to a weekly grocery budget.
First of all...I want to put this out and publish this so I can continue to work hard and motivate myself. I decided to get on a scale today..... and....
My starting weight was 159...EEKK!!!! At 5"4'....not a great weight....did not feel healthy, had muffin tops, and just felt like a slug...
Now....145! much better, although I have not quite reached my goal weight yet. I feel healthier, have more energy and I just feel better about myself. :)
Now, getting down to business. Weekends are busy for me. Buns always seems to be doing homework (this term is busy) and so I keep busy myself being a "wife". hehehe....seriously...
I am not very good at making dinner every night. Hence the reason for some healthy lifestyle changes. I feel overwhelmed when I get home from work and think about what I need to do at home. So dinner needs to be taken cared of a head of time. That is where the weekend comes in.
So here is what I do:
1) Make a list of meals that you enjoy eating. Our list this week includes B-B-Q chicken, Beef Stew, Meatloaf, one pasta dish, 2X4 soup (I am going to share this recipe), tacos, etc.
2) Figure out what you have at home already. I knew that I already had some frozen chicken and canned veggies, but pretty much was out of everything else.
3) Make your shopping list for missing ingredients and shop! Make sure to buy things in bulk if it is cheaper. I grew up in a large southern family and it is difficult for me to just make enough for Buns and I. So I think big and save money in the long run by buying bulk. You will understand how I save in a bit.
4) Cook! This week I made 2X4 soup first, then washed the crockpot and made the stew and while that was cooking I made chicken, meatloaf (I use my kitchenaid mixer to keep the mess to a minimum) and Manicotti.
5) Separate into containers. There is no way that Buns and I could or SHOULD eat a 2 lb. meatloaf before it goes bad, and so I break it up into 4 sections, wrap in aluminum foil and then three of the sections went into a freezer safe container while the other section went to the fridge. I also took the stew and soup, divided into 2 freezer safe containers each. The chicken was cooked, some with b-b-q and some not. The plain chicken was cut up into chucks, divided into small plastic freezer bags in 1 cup servings and all the bags were placed in a large freezer safe bag. The B-B-Q chicken was put in the fridge. Ground Turkey was cooked and stored in 1 lb. sections for future tacos, spaghetti, etc. The manicotti was stored in the fridge.
Fridge Food: Manicotti (2-3 meals), B-B-Q chicken (1-2 meals), meatloaf (1 meal).
Freezer Food: Plain chicken chunks, 2X4 soup (4+ meals), Beef stew (4+ meals), meatloaf (3 meals).
Total Costs: $ 55 (this includes EVERYTHING I had and bought for the meals)
Average cost per meal: $3.43
Average cost per meal PER PERSON: $1.71
SERIOUSLY?!?! WOW!
Days cooking? ONE!
Days of meals all done: 2 + weeks!!
Things that help make it better: Demarle, Kitchenaid, Pampered Chef, Ziplock, my Crockpot, my hand labeler which makes finding the freezer food a breeze AND Netflix, which keeps me company while I work!!!
Things that would make it even easier: A chest or standing freezer. A food processor.
2 comments:
Great ideas!
I have heard of people making dinners ahead of time, but I have so far yet to try it. I am great at making menus, buying all the stuff, but at least once a week I flake out and tell Eric is fend for yourself night, I am not cooking! But once a week that's not terrible right?
Not at all!!! Almost every Friday night I tell Bryan that it is his turn. He likes to grill out so we keep frozen Turkey burgers and hot dogs around for just such an occasion. :)
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