PrairieLady

The seasons of grocery budgets and menus........

I must admit I enjoy reading other postings on menus and grocery budget ideas.   I love to look for new ways to boost our meals around here.   Trying to decide on what to serve can be a difficult decision for me at times.   I like to have a good variety but also need to stay within our budget.   Several years ago I began to explore ways to cut our budget, and serve healthy meals.   As look back on the progress of our 'eating' around here I can see patterns or seasons.   We have had seasons of extreme bare bones budgets,   ultra healthy eating, and  seasons of only from scratch cooking.   If I were to describe our 'season' right now I would call it.........little bit of all three worlds.   I have found for us with our busy lifestyle that I need 'quick  meals' these meals tend to be less healthy,  I also have times I want to cook the grand all from scratch meals, all the while I am mindful of our nutritional needs and eating healthy.  

I have tried several ways of planning out our meals.....very structured weekly menus....no planning at all (not a good idea :^o..)  and finally I have come up with a workable plan for us.  I shop for the main part of our groceries once a month.   Ususally my sweet husband and I go do the mega shopping at the end of the month when we get paid.   As for my menu.....I plan out everything we will eat for the next month.....breakfast, lunches, dinners, Sunday meals and snacks.   I do not set what day we are to eat them though.   I just make a list of each section , then review what I have on hand and make out a mega shopping list.   I then usually end up at the grocery store a couple times throughout the month picking up forgotten items, fresh milk , fruits and veggies, and finally any unexpected needs.   We are able to stay on our planned grocery budget this way......this is a plan that works for us.   I think that  menus and grocery budgets are unique to each family.   I enjoy visiting a message board that has a board just for grocery budgets.   I have even joined in the monthly challenges but I soon realized our family dynamics was not the same as the usual postings.   We have a family of six boys......the current ages of our boys are  4-9-11-13-15-18.   My boys love to eat and the four oldest eat as much as my husband, so when I plan a meal I plan for 5 man size portions and 3 regular portions.   My husband has a very stressful, active job each day, he works long hours to provide for his family.   I appreciate all that he does for us and I know how much he enjoys a good meal so I try really hard to have a nice big meal for him to enjoy when he comes home at night.   We stay on a modest grocery budget and I am very careful of what I spend, but I do not cut it back to the bare bones.......we have a few little extras.   I guess this is a small splurge for us.   I will make a another post sometime with a sample of our monthly menu list.  I hope others will continue to post their menus and budget ideas.........I know I want to see ideas and hopefully learn something new.

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02:26, Tuesday, October 23, 2007 .. Posted by mommaofmany

I hope that my recipes can be of some help in planning your menus! I hope to showcase one of my favorite ways to boost the grocery budget later today. We'll see how the day works out!

Blessings,
Momma

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09:41, Thursday, October 25, 2007 .. Posted by HandsNHearts

I agree shopping by the seat of your pants without a plan isn't a good idea!! Oh the money I've spent on spur-of-the-moment purchases :o(

We shop every other week, sometimes stretching it to monthly, as well. And we tend to have what some families consider a full blown meal...meat, often 2 veggies, potatoes or some other starch, breads...my mom laughs that we have a "Thanksgiving meal every week" for Sunday dinner.

Where I might need to cut a bit of meat, I add more veggies, a salad, maybe even a light soup....sort of making a 5-course meal out of a regular meal. Husband is a big meat and taters kind of guy, though, so cutting back with meat isn't something we do often!

I'd love to see more menus from the ladies on the blogs. And do share your meal ideas and recipes at the forum too!

Deanna

Menu planning...

09:10, Thursday, December 13, 2007 .. Posted by mamaof2andtwins

I agree! No, plan is the worst plan. I have tried that before and found it to be VERY stressful. I know it has been a while since you have posted. I hope all is well.
Blessings,
Jennie