Feeding a family can be stressful, especially when on a tight budget. Do you plan your meals before grocery shopping? Menu planning doesn’t have to be complicated! Planning meals ahead requires a small investment of time, but can reap great rewards:

• A menu plan saves money. A menu plan reduces impulse spending and helps you to stay within a food budget. Using leftovers efficiently cuts food waste and planned buying makes it easy to stockpile food at reduced prices.
• A menu plan saves time. There is no dash to the market for a missing ingredient or frantic searches through the freezer for something to thaw for dinner.
• A menu plan improves nutrition. You will have the food to prepare side dishes and salads to complement the main dish.

Follow these tips to put the power of menu and meal planning to work for you:

1. Get Ideas: Write down the main dish for meals currently eaten. Involve all the family members of the household. When the children are involved in the planning process, they’ll be more likely to eat what is prepared. Scan the food ads for specials and sales.

Next add foods (side dishes, salads, and desserts) served with that main dish. Having a balanced diet means eating all five food groups on a daily basis. Check to see if there is something from each food group (protein, fruits, vegetables, grain, and dairy.) Use MyPlate as a guide to creating a meal with all the different food groups. If not, make adjustments.

Consider theme days:

2. Consider Shortcuts: Ask yourself these questions: Could you combine fresh and convenience foods to make the meal faster? Would using frozen and canned food make the meal easier to prepare? Do you need a simple recipe for enchiladas or a quicker way to make lasagna?
3. Make A List: Look through store ads and plan for your week based on the foods that are on sale. If you need food items for the week that are not on sale, consider buying the store brand. List the ingredients and amounts needed to prepare these meals using a shopping list. Group the items according to the grocery store’s layout to save shopping time. Stick to the shopping list! Also, avoid shopping when you’re hungry, as you can be more likely to make impulse purchases on less nutritious items that cost more.
4. Last Step: Finally, check the pantry and refrigerator to see what may already be on hand, make adjustments to the list and take the list to the store. There’s no need to buy foods you already have at home.

Here are some additional tips that can help make your life simpler:

• Look ahead for extra-busy days and plan something quick for those days.
• During the week, plan simpler meals: one-pot meals, broiled or roasted meats, steamed vegetables, salads, fresh fruit desserts. Save new recipes, sauces, multi-step meals for weekends.
• Be flexible. The menu isn’t written in stone. Feel free to swap meals around.
• Recycle the menus. Reuse them later.
• Cooking tips:

– Foods that spoil quickly, like fish or fresh produce, should be eaten earlier in the  

   week.

– Brown extra ground beef to use in another dish, like tacos, later in the week.
– Cook extra chicken breasts or thighs and then cut some up for another meal, such

   as stir-fry with vegetables and brown rice.
– Cook extra rice, put it into a container, and refrigerate or freeze it. On a busy

   night, microwave it, occasionally stirring, until heated through, and then use it as

   you would fresh.
– Chop a whole onion, even if you only need part of it now. Store the rest for

   another meal.
– Grate extra cheese and store it in the freezer.

Like any new habit, menu planning gets easier with practice. Following these tips can help stretch your money farther when at the market and make it easier to feed your family healthy foods on a budget!

Written by Vicki Hayman, MS, University of Wyoming Extension Community Vitality and Health Educator

Sources:

• www.choosemyplate.org
• www.mealsmatter.org
• www.simplemom.net