Simplify Meals

Meal planning is one of those things that I am always working on simplifying in our household.  Sometimes it can be difficult to cook for different people with different tastes as well as cook meals that eliminate certain foods like dairy or beef, etc.  Once I find something that we all like I tend to over make it and then we get sick of it.  It’s not an easy task to keep your grocery budget low, serve healthy food, and keep everyone happy.  Here are a few tips to help make it a little simpler:

1.  Buy local.  I have found that a fun thing to do with my daughter is take her to some local farms.  They are not too far out of town, so they are easy to get to.  Not only are you helping a local business, but you are getting the freshest (and usually organic) produce you can and it limits your menu based on what is in season.  It sort of forces you to make certain vegetables (as opposed to having a full grocery store produce section of choices).  We have discovered some new simple dishes by doing this.

2.  Plan ahead.  Look at your week and plan ahead as much as you can. I know that things change and sometimes what you planned for Monday’s meal doesn’t sound as good now that it’s Monday, but if you have a simple, but flexible plan this will help save you time and money.  Also allow for those nights when you know you’ll have leftovers and can eat those, or when you know you will not have time to cook or sit down to have a dinner together.  You can then make something ahead of time, or make wraps or something that can be easily transported.  For instance, I’ve made turkey and chicken wraps to take to one of our son’s baseball games when the game is early and there will be no time for a cooked dinner at home.

3.  Try to use the same ingredients in different meals.  This one is a little trickier, but it will definitely save you time and money if you can pull it off.  One of the easiest examples I can give you is when we have chicken fajitas I grill some extra chicken and then chop it and make chicken salad or toss it in a green salad the next day for lunch or dinner.  You could also make a big pot of spaghetti sauce and use it on homemade pizza one night and then use it for lasagna another night. You get the idea.

4.  Use what is on sale.  For meats and other grocery items watch what is on sale and try to incorporate that into your meals.  This not only saves you money, but also helps give you good ideas of what to make.

5.  Use your freezer. We have an outside fridge/freezer and I love it!  It allows me to make things ahead of time and put them in the fridge if I’m making them that night or the next, or I can freeze things for weeks.  When I make veggie lasagna, I usually take half of it and freeze it.  I even cut it up and put it in individual portion containers that way we can heat them up as needed.  This definitely saves time and money.

These are just a few things I do to help simplify my meal planning.  Some people have this down to a science and I’m very impressed by that.  I try not to stress myself out too much about it and just incorporate as many of these tips as I can.  Like anything, the more you do it the easier it gets.  Try these tips and you’ll probably discover even more ways to simplify on your own.

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