Meal planning for your family can be hard. It’s so easy to go pick up your favourite take-out because you don’t have to plan, grocery shop, or cook anything. You just order and it arrives at your front door, ready to eat.
There are a few problems with feeding our brood this way though. It is not very healthy, and it will blow any family’s budget. So, what do you do? You are going to have to put pencil to paper and come up with a budget and meal plan that works with your finances. Fortunately, it’s possible to have great, healthy meals that are cheap.
Let’s put together a strategy for a one-week meal plan that will work for your family and budget.
Buy Bulk
This may seem like a no-brainer, but it makes great sense. Plan your meals weekly but shop monthly. This way you can buy bulk and save. Things like meat and potatoes will last all month. Frozen items will last even longer.
You need a plan to make sure you bring out stuff from the freezer a day before you prepare it so that’s where your weekly meal plan comes into play. Some items you will still have to buy every week or more. Fresh produce won’t keep as long, so restock as needed.
Prepare Food
I’m not talking about cooking the whole week’s menu on Sunday and freezing it. A good strategy is to cook food that has leftovers to be utilized in the next day’s meals. This works very well with proteins because they can be enjoyed in different dishes.
Start by cooking a chicken or small turkey dinner on Sunday. It’s a great family meal with all the fixings. Add all your favourite veg and enjoy. There will be leftovers for days and can be used in sandwiches for lunch all week. Make a second dinner with your leftover protein in a stir fry or with rice.
Speaking of rice, this is another great food item you can make in bulk. It will last in the fridge and can be used as a side for a few days. It even makes a yummy dessert. You can make lots of food that are to be utilized for different meals throughout the week.
Meal Delivery Services
As planned out as you try to be, busy lives get in the way. With all the different directions your family is going in, there may not be time to prepare dinner on time every night. In this case, you can go for meal plan delivery in dubai which provides food that includes all the nutrients that the body needs to stay healthy. Sometimes, there’s a small window between getting home from work and heading out to baseball practice or trumpet lessons.
There is a great, affordable solution you can adopt for your busy life. Using a meal delivery service is a great idea. They prepare healthy, balanced meals for your family to enjoy once or twice a week as you need them. They can even help you with all your meals.
Companies have dieticians and professional chefs that prepare exciting menus the whole family will love. This can ease your burden at home while making sure your family is still eating healthy and you are staying on budget.
Homemade Snacks
Nothing blows a budget faster than snacks and treats. On the way to work, you want to have something quick. When the kids get home from school, they need food fast. On your way shuffling kids to activities, you require speedy food items to keep you nourished. Plus, your movie nights must have some goodies for the entire family!
Don’t cave in and buy take-out or store-bought treats. Buy baking ingredients instead. Get the whole family involved on the weekend and make up muffins and cookies for the week. You can even make fancier items if you like. Have popcorn seeds on hand for a quick snack and mixed nuts.
Fresh fruit is a healthy option when you need to grab and go so keep those replenished on the counter for everyone. This is an important way to stop the budget from bursting.
Shop for Deals
Making a weekly meal plan is half the battle. You also want to buy what is cheapest. It pays to look for deals at your local grocery stores. Check out their online flyers and buy items when they go on sale. This can also be for bulk buying but what you are really after is getting the best price on meal items. Your local store needs to move product and will put on sales all the time.
Even if you are not planning on making certain dishes that week, it pays to buy discounted items when you can. You should use these sales to build up an inventory in your pantry. After a while, you can open your cupboards to do the shopping. As you get more food items in stock at home, meal planning can center around what you have. Then, it’s cheaper to shop for what’s missing.
You decide what you want to feed your family. Use the strategies above to plan your menu and you will have cheap, healthy meals to keep your family fed all week.
