Proper meal planning is a great way to ensure you stay on a healthy diet while on a budget. By planning ahead, you'll know exactly what you need to buy and reduce the probability of making impulse purchases or overspending on take-out meals when you are pressed for time. Remember to include healthy snack items.
Step 1
Determine the amount of money you have to spend on all food necessary to feed everyone in your household for one week. This will be your basic weekly food budget.
Step 2
Take stock of what you have in your kitchen. Plan as many meals as possible around current supplies to reduce your overall spending needs for the week, suggests foodandhealth.com. Reducing the amount you need to spend each week will free up money in your budget to purchase stock items for future weeks, thereby stretching your food budget.
Step 3
Gather sales flyers from your local grocery stores to help you determine what sale items can be worked into your meal plan.
Step 4
Plan your meals, keeping your current stock as well as sale items in mind. Include meals that use inexpensive ingredients, such as rice, beans or noodles. You should also plan to prepare extra servings or double batches to have leftovers on hand for quick lunches or a fast dinner when time is tight. Having leftovers on hand to reheat for dinner can cut back on eating out, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
Step 5
Create a shopping list based on your meal plan.
Step 6
Buy from your list when you shop. Allow some flexibility, however, if you find a great deal on products you often use. You may be able to find reduced meats and breads that are close to their expiration dates, but which will freeze well to use for future meal planning, suggests the University of California at Riverside.
Step 7
Stock up on cheap ingredients that store well if you have leftover money in your budget. Grains, noodles, frozen vegetables and jarred herbs and spices have a long shelf life and will come in handy for future meal planning.
Tips and Warnings
- You may find it useful to create a folder with several inexpensive and healthy meals you know your family will enjoy. You can consult your recipe folder when you are hard-pressed to come up with ideas for your menu plan. Consider shopping at farmer's markets when they are in season, to find fresh fruits or vegetables more cheaply than they may be found at the grocery store.
- Only buy perishable items in amounts you can use before they spoil. Store frozen or refrigerated items as soon as you get home from shopping to reduce spoilage.
Things You'll Need
- Pen
- Paper
- Grocery store sale flyers
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