A word about meal planning...

When I talked about couponing before, I briefly mentioned that to save money you no longer make a list based on what you "need" to go to the grocery store.  Instead, you base what you buy, on what is on sale.

So what does this do to your meal planning? and What if you are making a certain recipe?

These are the first reactions I get when I talk about my grocery strategy.  But this grocery strategy really works for us and probably for most other people.  The way it works for me is I sit down on the weekend and take a look at the food we already have, along with what is on sale this week at the store.  Using those I come up with a schedule of what we will eat each night for the next week.  Lunch is based on leftovers, and other things that are stock piled or were on sale this week.  We even buy produce by what is in season.  There are certain things we buy every week like organic milk and lettuce.  This saves us money and is a fairly simple system.

Now I admittedly am not a future food network star, nor strive to be.  I don't long to cook elaborate recipes.  But I do find myself getting better at improvising as a cook.  If I want to make something, I figure out how to make it with what we have, or I am willing to wait until the ingredients go on sale.

Today I was able to make this curry grape chicken salad (my favorite:)) without getting anything from the store!

Give it a try... meal planning this way makes a difference in your budget and your family :)!