Kat’s Money Corner: Summer meal planning
I’ve set a new goal for myself this summer – I want to plan and make healthy, budget-friendly meals for my family. Part of this plan is to create a weekly meal chart, and display it in the kitchen so my family can see all the delish dishes in store for the week. My hope is that the chart gets my family excited and involved in the planning. This week I will share my top tips for planning your family meals this summer.
A Weekly Peek
Before you hit the grocery store, you should make a decision about how you’ll display your weekly menu. Work within your space to choose what’s best for you. If you have an empty wall, consider a large cork or magnet board. This way, you can easily switch meals around or make updates on the go (let’s face it, sometimes those dinners are just too good and there are no leftovers!). Or, if you've been looking for an excuse to use chalkboard paint, this is it! One idea I especially like is buying a picture frame and inserting nice scrapbook paper behind the glass. Then, use whiteboard markers to write in the menu for the week. http://www.mealplanningmagic.com/8-meal-planning-board-tutorials-pinterest-inspiration
In the Rotation
If you have younger children, you know how important routines are for everyone’s sanity. Why not extend that predictability into regular meals like Taco Tuesday and (make your own) Pizza Friday? You can mix it up with fillings or toppings so no one gets bored at the dinner table. At my house, we also rotate in other favorite meals like spaghetti (sometimes made with low-carb, low-cost spaghetti squash). Patio meals are always popular in the summer and, for me, if it can be cooked on a grill that means my hubby is making dinner!
http://www.100daysofrealfood.com/real-food-resources/#mealplan
Stretch Your Plate
An aspect of meal planning that I love is being able to create a few different meals out of a single ingredient. Not only does this save money, but you save a lot of time, too! Freezer meals make planning ahead easy. Buy your meat and veggies in bulk, along with some Ziploc bags, and you can set the menu for a whole month ahead! Of course, you can plan out inexpensive fresh meals, too.
https://onceamonthmeals.com/blog/recipe-roundups/101-summer-freezer-meals/
For instance, my brother-in law recently gave me a great tip about serving steak. Since these cuts of meat can get pricey when you’re feeding the whole family, he suggested buying it on sale and cutting the steak into strips after grilling. Most people welcome the idea of not having to finish an entire steak by themselves, especially the kiddos. We had a gathering of 10 people the other day and bought 6 steaks and cut them into strips.
Would you believe we even had a few strips left over? And, better yet, I had a delicious steak salad on the menu for the next day! All proving that meal planning is both financially smart and delicious – try it today!
Kat's Money Corner is posted on Dollars & Sense every Tuesday. Kat Hnatyshyn, when not blogging or caring for her little ones, is a manager with CommunityAmerica Credit Union. For more financial chatter, click http://twitter.com/savinmavens.
This story was originally published June 2, 2015 at 2:00 AM with the headline "Kat’s Money Corner: Summer meal planning."