Easy Tips and Recipes to Plan Meals and Maximize Your Budget
Ready for school to start again? How about some quick and easy meal ideas that accommodate any budget?
The cost of sending your kids back to school can add up quickly. Here are four tips for meal planning and budgeting, along with a couple of easy meals.
Four Easy Meal Budgeting Tips
1. Plan Before You Shop
- When meals are planned in advance we tend to stick more closely to our budget. Make a list of ingredients and other items needed at the grocery store, and do your best to stick to it.
- Build your meals around sales items for that week. Coupons, ads, and online deals can help you save even more. Most importantly, stick to your plan, or you may be tempted to buy on-sale items you don't need.
2. Know Before You Go
- Check your pantry to see what you have before you go to the store. Sometimes, we forget what we have on hand and buy unnecessary duplicates.
- Frozen fruits and vegetables are an alternative to fresh and can be bought anytime throughout the year. The frozen produce locks in nutrients and, if you watch the ads, can often be less expensive and last longer than their fresh counterparts.
3. Cook more at home
- While drive-thru meals and prepackaged foods can save you time at the moment, they can be budget breakers.
- Consider making several meals one day a week, keeping in mind your budget and meal planning list. Making extra gives you leftover options for the rest of the week.
4. Keep meal planning, cooking, and shopping simple
- Meals don't have to be five courses. Keep them nutritionally balanced and simple, with fewer options and ingredients.
- Don't feel like cooking what you planned? Don't panic and run to the grocery store. Keep a one-page list of easy meals your family likes with ingredients you keep on hand.
Now that you have some ideas on how to keep the budget in-tact let's check out a few websites and recipes that can help make your meal planning simple:
LiveCraftEat provides easy access to free, printable weekly meal planners
BudgetBytes has budget-friendly weeknight meals
TasteofHome has "72 Cheap Dinner Ideas for Weeknight Meals"
Below are a couple of quick, easy, budget-friendly meals:
One-Pan Cheesy Chicken and Rice
- Ingredients: Chicken breasts, rice, veggies (frozen mixed veggies work great here!), and a can of condensed cream of something soup (chicken, mushroom, or broccoli are all good options).
- Method: Season with salt, pepper, and other spices you like. Bake it all in one pan at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes, then sprinkle with cheese and broil for a couple more minutes until bubbly.
Dairy-Free Chicken and Vegetable Stir-Fry:
- Ingredients: Chicken breast (or thighs), mixed vegetables (such as bell peppers, broccoli, snap peas), gluten-free soy sauce or tamari, garlic, ginger, vegetable oil, rice or noodles.
- Method: Slice chicken into strips and stir-fry in a hot pan with vegetable oil until cooked through. Add garlic, ginger, and mixed vegetables. Cook until vegetables are tender-crisp. Add gluten-free soy sauce (or tamari) and stir well. Serve over rice or gluten-free noodles.
Weeknight meals don't have to be stressful. Remember, plan your weekly meals before you shop. Know what is in your pantry and what is in season before you get to the store. Try cooking more at home and keep it simple! This will help you have fun with dinner while staying within budget.