Rescue Your Food! And Save Money too!

Over the years, I've gone through many different phases of how I eat my meals.  Even in college, surprisingly, I didn't live on a ramen diet and I ate the healthiest that I ever have.

However, especially since having gotten married, requiring me to purchase more food, I've needed to refine my methods due to the following problems.

Wasted food.
Wasted money.
Wasted time.

All of those things are quite important to me! Although not in that particular order. :)

So, if you have similar problems, here's my method of dealing with them! It's quite simple and in the end will save your sanity.

1.  Create a Weekly Meal Plan.  Knowing what you're going to be eating in the next several days is VERY helpful when avoiding the temptation to just eat out.  Include meals that are simple to make and, if possible, cook something ahead!  Usually, by the time I create my meal plan, I know what's happening the next week, too, so it's not difficult to plan easier meals on busier days.  Often times, I include a leftover night because by the end of the week, there are usually enough leftovers for me and my husband to eat on.

I used to create BI-weekly meal plans, until I realized that the food I bought would get old and go to waste. I also found that I missed more sale opportunities at the store, and actually spent MORE money on food I thought I would need.  Smaller, weekly shopping trips are actually saving me money.

For a fun idea on creating your weekly plan, see an easy craft my friend made. :)

2. Use the food that you already have FIRST.  I've found that I waste food because I tend to forget it's there, lurking in the dark corners of my fridge, freezer and pantry.  When you're creating your weekly plan, take stock of what you have and base as many of your meals around these foods as possible. Perishable, nonperishable, it doesn't matter. The older it is, the grosser it is! :O Eat that food first! :)  You don't have to use it ALL in one week--just prioritize those foods before you buy more!

(somehow we ended up with 5 peanut butters and 5 different jams... all bought at different times... how bizarre is that?!)

3.  Base your meals on what's on sale at the store. I shop at 2 different stores, since one has especially cheap, local produce, while the other has better deals on other products I buy.  I have signed up to receive notifications from these stores via email, so when I get the weekly flyer in my inbox, I look at them, compare what they have to offer, and create a grocery list.

HUGE money saving tip: do NOT veer from your shopping list! And do NOT shop hungry! :) I struggle with this personally, because being around all that delicious food makes me hungry! :D Eat a good snack before you grocery shop!

These 3 things will help reduce money wasted on food that spoils or on eating out.  They will help save you from wasting food that goes bad, which obviously ties to my previous statement. :)  And you'll save time by planning ahead and knowing what's for dinner each night.  Just takes some planning and discipline, and the homemade goodness is totally worth it!