Food prices keep rising, and it can be challenging to feed your family without breaking the bank. Here are the top tips for frugal meal planning to help you lower your grocery bill.
Why should you meal plan?
Meal planning has so many benefits beyond saving you money. Making a menu and grocery list helps you stick to the plan and determine ahead of time what needs to be prepared and when. This helps to cut down on the time it takes each day to come up with a dinner idea and gather the ingredients.
If you have children, posting the menu in a place where they can see it helps cut down on the meal-time stress. Many children like to know what to expect, and having a menu can help them feel secure in knowing what they can expect to see on the table each day.
Reduced Waste
Frugal meal planning is a fantastic way to reduce the amount of food wasted in your household (1). When you buy food you aren’t able to eat before it goes off, you are essentially throwing money in the garbage, which can add up quickly. When you create a meal plan, buy only what you need, and stick to it, you can help reduce the amount of food that ends up in a landfill. The added bonus? This can also help reduce the negative impacts that food waste has on our environment. It has been estimated that 63% of the food that Canadians throw out is food that could have been eaten (2). The average Canadian household throws away approximately $1300 worth of food each year (2), much of which can be avoided with frugal meal planning.
Healthy for you and your Family
Not only is meal planning healthy for our environment, but it is also healthy for you and your family too! Planning ahead allows you to choose more balanced meals than what you might get when relying on prepared meals or take-away. Cooking your meals at home is a great way to reduce the amount of sodium and added sugars your include in your diet and makes it easier to add a side of vegetables or fruit to your meals.
Cutting your costs on groceries is just one of the many benefits of meal planning. It is also healthy for you and the environment! Use these tips to help you along on your own frugal meal planning journey.
Jot Down Family Favorites
Create a list of meals that you and your family enjoy and add to it as you try new recipes. Having this list on hand when planning your weekly meals can help reduce the stress of picking meals for the week. To make the list even more helpful, add codes for or highlight the meals that take under 20 minutes to prepare, different family members’ favorites, or require the least amount of dishes. Whatever you find helpful can ease the burden of picking which meals you will serve. Having this list will not only save you time but can help save money by making meals that you know your family will enjoy.
Open your Pantry
Before planning your meals for the week, open your fridge, pantry, or cupboards and see what is in there. Choose meals that use up those half bags of pasta or the can of chickpeas that got shoved to the very back. Using what you already have helps reduce your grocery bill and prevent food from becoming moldy, stale, or rotten, saving you money!
Make a Menu
Once you have taken inventory of what you need to use up, create a menu for the week (or two weeks depending on your grocery shopping schedule). Plan your meals around the ingredients you already have on hand and add the additional ingredients to your shopping list. Try to incorporate new recipes with family favourites to help decrease meal fatigue and find new potential favourites.
When planning your menu, be sure to add some vegetarian meals that use plant-based proteins such as beans, lentils, and tofu. Plant-based proteins are often much less expensive than meat and poultry, and they can make for hearty and delicious meals. If you want some plant-based inspiration, try out my Spicy Black Beans in a grain bowl or as quesadilla filling.
Stick to your List
Remember that you made your grocery list for a reason, so stick to it at the grocery store! It can be easy to be swayed to impulse buy food you don’t need by clever marketing, so having your list in your hand can help you keep track of what you need to buy. Additionally, try to avoid shopping on an empty stomach as this can increase the likelihood of impulse buying tempting food items.
That being said, having some flexibility with your list can also help you save money on your bill. For example, if you are making chili and have ground beef on your list, but when you get to the meat section, you see that ground turkey is on sale, don’t feel that you need to rigidly stick to your list. Or perhaps you have berries on your list, but the ones in the store look less than fresh, leave them there. Only buy what you know will get eaten to avoid wasting money and food.
Buy in Bulk
If there are foods that you use regularly, buy the larger sized packages of them. Bulk sizes of staple items, such as rice, pasta, legumes, and grains, are often cheaper per weight than the smaller packages of the same product. As long as it is an item you know will get used up before the best before dates (which are often close to a year away for dried products), buying the bulk-sized version is a great way to reduce your weekly spending.
Shop the Sales
Stocking up on favorite products when they are on sale can help cut down on the grocery bill. Skim through the flyers and keep your eye out for sales tags. Those “reduced to clear” or “enjoy tonight stickers” are a great way to save money. Take them home and freeze them for three months, taking the pressure off you to come up with a meal idea.
Those “reduced to clear” racks and stickers often show up on produce as well, and it is a great way to get a great deal on pricier vegetables, such as red peppers. This is where you can use some flexibility in your shopping. If you see price-reduced produce, you can take advantage of it by chopping it up and freezing it or shifting your menu plan to allow for the produce to be used that night.
If you are looking for some recipe inspiration to use up priced-to-sell produce, try out some of these easy and delicious recipes:
Bell peppers on sale? Make this Easy Ground Turkey and Black Bean Taco skillet is a crowd-pleaser!
Try out these Easy Cheesy Baked Zucchini Fritters if you find some reduced zucchinis.
Check the Freezers
Frozen fruits and vegetables are a fantastic way to cut your costs at the grocery store because frozen is almost always the cheaper option. You will be happy to know that frozen fruits and vegetables are just as or more nutritious than the fresh version because they are picked at peak ripeness and frozen. In contrast, fresh produce is usually picked before it is ripe, allowing it to ripen in transport. Some nutrients may be lost in processing, such as the blanching some vegetables go through before freezing. However, the loss is insignificant, so you can feel good about choosing frozen for the cost and the health benefits. Frozen fruits and vegetables are last a lot longer than fresh produce. This can help cut down on food waste and your grocery bill.
Canned goods are also an excellent option for cutting costs because they are often less expensive, and last a lot longer in your kitchen than fresh. Just check the nutrition facts table for high amounts of added sugars and salts in canned items and opt for those with reduced or no added sugar and salt.
Get Cooking
Baking a large batch of snacks or doubling your recipe for dinner and then freezing them is a great way to save money and time. Batch cooking often can mean less of those half-full packages of ingredients taking up space in your pantry. Additionally, homemade snacks are usually less expensive than comparable store-brand snack foods.
Most importantly, having a stock of snacks and meals in your freezer can help cut down on how much take-out and delivery you get. Had to stay late at work? No problem! Don’t have the energy to make dinner? Check the freezer!
If you are looking for a great muffin recipe for your next batch, these Pumpkin Muffins with Chocolate Chips freeze very well and are the perfect pack-and-go snack.
Stick to the Plan
Life gets busy, and it can be tempting to order delivery or take-out, but this can quickly increase your food budget. For this reason, it is important to plan ahead and pick easy meals that come together quickly for your busiest days and then stick to that menu. If you have a free day, you can prep some of your ingredients ahead of time to make meals come together faster. For example, wash and chop vegetables or measure ingredients into small containers for quick and easy cooking. Another great way to reduce cooking stress is to choose meals you know best for your busy days, so you don’t have to worry about following a recipe.
If you enjoy delivery or take-out meals, remember that you can always include these in your menu planning and budget.
By setting aside an hour each week (or two) to meal plan, you will begin to see the difference it can have on your budget.
Resources
- https://lovefoodhatewaste.ca/plan-it-out/plan-your-meal/#:~:text=Planning%20your%20meals%20and%20making,you%20need%20for%20your%20meals.
- https://lovefoodhatewaste.ca/about/food-waste/
Article contributed by Cheryl Anderson, dietetic intern and reviewed by Christina Iaboni, RD
