Eat Well for Less

Speaking of saving money by cooking at home. Do you ever find yourself at grocery store on the way home from work or late in the afternoon in search for something for dinner? If you do, it's likely that you end up bringing home a quick meal with little nutritional content. That's what's easy, after all! So, what's the answer to to the dinner puzzle? Meal planning.

An article written by Cynthia Ewer for Organized Home offers great tips and advice for how to begin meal planning. Cynthia was absolutely right in stating that meal planning saves money, time, and improves nutrition! 

Thankfully, Cynthia also outlined a simple set of steps for how to begin meal planning:

1. Scan the food ads for specials and sales. Rough out a draft menu plan: seven dinner entrees that can be made from weekly specials, side dishes and salads.
2. Wander to pantry and refrigerator to check for any of last week's purchases that are languishing beneath wilting lettuce or hardening tortillas. Check for draft recipe ingredients. Review your shopping list and note needed items.
3. Ready, set, shop--but shop with an open mind. That 59-cent fryer won't look like such a bargain next to a marked-down mega-pack of boneless chicken breasts at 89 cents a pound. Be ready to substitute if you find a great deal.
4. Return from shopping. As you put away groceries, flesh out the menu plan. Match it up with the family's calendar, saving the oven roast for a lazy Sunday afternoon, the quick-fix pizza for soccer night.
5. Post the menu plan on the refrigerator door. Refer to it during the coming week as you prepare meals.

This article is a must-read if you're interested in meal planning. Beyond simple how-to's, it's full of great advice!

Get started with one of two free printable meal planning charts from The Project Girl!

Also, check out how four college roommates succeeded at meal planning here.