Eating well on any budget

Making the most of your pantry and fridge is a skill that can be mastered if you are willing to learn it.

You know that moment after a long day when you realize you didn't make a plan for dinner, you are out of energy and you have a family to feed? Yeah me too! It is for that specific moment that I learned how to master the odds and ends in the pantry and fridge. When most people would open that cold box and stare into it with a blank face disappointed that there is "nothing to eat", I found that in reality there is a treasure trove of delightful and fulfilling options. The problem is that after a long day you are really hoping to just open the fridge and have a magic fairy chef fly out with a beautiful plate of food for you to have a wonderful meal, without the added effort.

This is where I can help

There is a treasure trove of delightful and fulling options.

Though having a fairy chef would be awesome there are some things you can do to make meal time easy and super affordable, without sacrificing a ton of time or energy.

Planning ahead

I am not talking about dozens of Tupperware and mass producing meals in advance. I don't know anyone that can sustain that kind of prepping without massive burnout. I am talking about mise en place. French for everything in it's place. A term I learned in Culinary school to describe having everything prepped and ready before you start cooking so you cook with ease not with the chaos of running around finding ingredients while your chicken is burning on the hot stove. Preparation is the key to staying on budget, and having a peaceful week of family meals.

Preparation is the key.

By now you may be wondering what that looks like, but first we have to get clear on when the preparation has to take place. Your brain is like a battery, the more you use it the less energy or life there is left to make decisions later in the day so your will power to make good decisions dramatically decreases with each decision we make throughout the day. We see this in everything. This is why when you are trying to get healthy you might say yes to that healthy shake for breakfast, but by the time you get home from work you will eat ice cream right out of the container. I've been there! No judgement, I have no control after a long day if there is cookie dough or caramel filled dark chocolate anywhere in my house. The best time to prepare is first thing in the morning, for me it is after my coffee.

I am not talking about adding one more thing to your busy mornings. I know all too well the controlled chaos of weekday mornings of feeding kids, getting ready for work, making sure you signed the permission slips, ensuring you have the portfolio for your clients. Your weekday mornings are full enough. Food preparation needs to happen immediately after your grocery store trip. For me I plan that into my Sunday mornings along with church, rest and relaxation, but you know your schedule better than I do so you will have to determine the time that works best for you. Just remember that late at night will not work for you.

Preparation needs to happen immediately after your grocery store trip.

Planning to Plan

I know, I know, stick with me on this. You know what your family likes and dislikes, or can make a pretty good assessment one way or the other. Before you go to buy groceries I want you to make a list of all of their favorite meals, make a list of entrees, sides, drinks, and snacks. You can add things to the list if you want to try some new recipes too. After you make your list look through your fridge and pantry and make a grocery list of the ingredients you are missing to make them. Take special note of the items you have that don't go into any of these items, you can list them on the other side of your list for now. Determine how many meals you need to make that week (or two weeks depending on how often you want to go to the store. I go 2x per month.)

This is where the magic happens. I want you to maximize your list by asking 3 questions.

1. How much time do I want to spend making dinner each night? (this will determine how prepped each meal needs to be)

2. What is my grocery budget for the month? (we want to ensure you stay inside not outside the lines)

3. How much freezer space do I have? (This will determine how much you can prep ahead of time)

To be totally honest I am not that woman who plans her meals ahead of time knowing what we will eat on each day and how many leftovers there will be and so on. I have tried that and realized when my menu said burgers and I didn't feel like having burgers than my whole week was off and then it turns into a whole mess because your leftovers chart doesn't work and so on. It is a ripple effect of unnecessary torture.

I know that if dinner takes more then 30 mins from start to food in my mouth then I wont want to start it in the first place and everything starts to spin out of control. I know that my boyfriend comes home for lunch and has exactly 20 mins from walking in the door to walking out the door. I know that I have 3 mouths to feed and I can't spend more than $100 per person per month on groceries. I also know that I have a small freezer so we invested in a used one for our garage so we can make life easier in the long run. That is what I know about my family needs. Your situation may be different.

I know that if dinner takes more then 30 mins from start to food in my mouth than I wont want to start it in the first place

Planning to Shop

By now you should have a grocery list of basics needed to make a quick trip. And a list of items that you have no idea what to do with, but they sounded like a good idea when you bought them. Next I want you to look at your list and determine if there is anything on your list that you can bulk up on and have prepped for easier meals. Here is an example.

We dice chicken for things like salads, tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, and nachos. We make chunks of chicken for, stir fry, kebabs, breaded nuggets, and soups

and we use full chicken tenderloins and thighs for poached chicken and slow cooker meals. Knowing that, allows me to buy chicken in bulk so I can get a significant discount on it. So I will buy lots of chicken at the beginning of the month, then I dice and chunk it, separate it into one meal size portions and place it in a Ziplock as flat as I can make it (not in a pile at the bottom of a bag, but flat like a pancake) Label and date it, so anyone can pull it out and know what it is, and then it goes in the freezer. DO NOT get home and just put everything away. Spend the few mins of time now to save hours of time later.

Plus by doing this once for the whole month you only have to do the dishes once too (this is bonus enough in my mind), and you can reduce the time it takes to make each meal drastically.

By doing this once for the whole month you only have to do the dishes once too

You can do the same for veggies too. Cut them and portion them into Ziplocks with a paper towel to absorb the extra moisture. Store these in the fridge. Some veggies are great frozen, others are not. It will depend on how you want to prepare them, but that is a story for another day.

For now I will leave it there. I'll be back later with my actual grocery lists and pictures of how I maximize what is in my fridge and pantry.

Until then, enjoy another day in paradise!

Kelsey Saunders

Tell me in the comments. What are the 3 favorite meals on your list?