Cooking meals which are decided on a day to day basis is not only tiresome but can take its toll on your pocket book as well. Frequent trips to the grocery store and buying smaller, pre-made food items can cost you time as well as more money in gas and in the checkout line. By sitting down and planning your meals for the week you can shop smarter, save time and alleviate the stress of deciding what's for dinner every day.
Get Help from Your Favorite Cookbooks
Even those with very busy schedules can carve out 10 minutes on the weekend to plan seven meals. Dust off cookbooks containing some of your favorite meals and plan a complete menu for each day, side dishes included. Once you have your meal plan make a grocery list based on the food needed for the week.
A trick to make cooking meals on your busiest days of the week even easier is to intentionally plan meals for that day which require very little prep time. Meats that can be marinated over night and grilled quickly work well, as do one dish meals such as stir fries. Also, don't forget the handiest of kitchen appliances for those on a time crunch-the crock pot. Stews and other delicious meals can be prepped ahead of time and then left to simmer all day with very little effort on your part.
Save Money and Time by Shopping Wisely
Purchasing your food items in bulk not only saves you money but can, over time, lessen your trips to the grocery store. By building up a reserve of frequently used food items you can trim both the length of your grocery list and the fat from your grocery budget.
On the other hand, be mindful of the quantities you buy when purchasing foods with a short shelf life. Sure, that jumbo bag of salad may seem like a deal but if you find yourself throwing out half of it due to spoilage it wasn't much of a savings after all. If you do find you have to buy items that spoil quickly in bigger amounts, cooking meals requiring the same ingredient least twice in a one week to ten day period helps avoid waste.
Recycle Those Leftovers
Don't forget that many leftover meats can be revisited at a later date if frozen immediately. Items such as leftover post roast, chicken or even pork roast can be frozen and used as meats in a stew weeks from now. Cooking meals with leftover ingredients not only saves you money on that particular meal but means there's one less day to plan a meal for.
Double the Batch for Half the Work
A great trick for doubling your meal efforts while cutting down on the prep time of future meals is to make double batches whenever possible. Foods like lasagna, soups and even marinated meats can be made in two batches and frozen for a later dinner idea. When marinating meat simple pour the extra marinade in a freezer bag, add your raw meat and freeze. It's now ready for another dinner and makes cooking meals easier because you just cut out a huge chunk of prep time for that day.
As you can see cooking meals based on a weekly plan frees up time, money and energy for your busy life. Plan based on your week's activities, shop smart and cook in bulk when possible and you can finally say goodbye to the dread question, "What's for dinner? - 15359
Get Help from Your Favorite Cookbooks
Even those with very busy schedules can carve out 10 minutes on the weekend to plan seven meals. Dust off cookbooks containing some of your favorite meals and plan a complete menu for each day, side dishes included. Once you have your meal plan make a grocery list based on the food needed for the week.
A trick to make cooking meals on your busiest days of the week even easier is to intentionally plan meals for that day which require very little prep time. Meats that can be marinated over night and grilled quickly work well, as do one dish meals such as stir fries. Also, don't forget the handiest of kitchen appliances for those on a time crunch-the crock pot. Stews and other delicious meals can be prepped ahead of time and then left to simmer all day with very little effort on your part.
Save Money and Time by Shopping Wisely
Purchasing your food items in bulk not only saves you money but can, over time, lessen your trips to the grocery store. By building up a reserve of frequently used food items you can trim both the length of your grocery list and the fat from your grocery budget.
On the other hand, be mindful of the quantities you buy when purchasing foods with a short shelf life. Sure, that jumbo bag of salad may seem like a deal but if you find yourself throwing out half of it due to spoilage it wasn't much of a savings after all. If you do find you have to buy items that spoil quickly in bigger amounts, cooking meals requiring the same ingredient least twice in a one week to ten day period helps avoid waste.
Recycle Those Leftovers
Don't forget that many leftover meats can be revisited at a later date if frozen immediately. Items such as leftover post roast, chicken or even pork roast can be frozen and used as meats in a stew weeks from now. Cooking meals with leftover ingredients not only saves you money on that particular meal but means there's one less day to plan a meal for.
Double the Batch for Half the Work
A great trick for doubling your meal efforts while cutting down on the prep time of future meals is to make double batches whenever possible. Foods like lasagna, soups and even marinated meats can be made in two batches and frozen for a later dinner idea. When marinating meat simple pour the extra marinade in a freezer bag, add your raw meat and freeze. It's now ready for another dinner and makes cooking meals easier because you just cut out a huge chunk of prep time for that day.
As you can see cooking meals based on a weekly plan frees up time, money and energy for your busy life. Plan based on your week's activities, shop smart and cook in bulk when possible and you can finally say goodbye to the dread question, "What's for dinner? - 15359
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