Free Frugal Menu Plan
If you're the type of person who likes to decide what to eat as soon as you get hungry, the idea of using a free frugal menu plan to save money may be less than appealing. However, this approach is a smart move for anyone trying to make the most of a tight budget.
About Meal Planning
Preparing three meals per day, seven days per week can be an overwhelming task for even the most ambitious cook. After all, that's 21 meals per week or 1,092 meals per year!
Menu planning is simply a tool to make the process of feeding your family a less stressful task. A menu plan typically includes the following components:
- Recipes you plan to make for breakfast, lunch, and dinner
- Snack ideas
- Ingredients you need to purchase when grocery shopping
Even though it does require a commitment to organization, menu planning offers many benefits. For example;
- You'll avoid the hassle of being halfway through preparing a meal before you realize you're out of the recipe's necessary ingredients.
- You can choose recipes that take advantage of seasonal produce, supermarket sales, or coupons.
- Since you're only purchasing items as they are needed, you'll reduce the chance of having to throw away spoiled or rotten food.
- If you get home from work at around the same time your children want to eat dinner, menu planning makes it easy to get meals on the table quickly.
- When you already know what you're having for each meal, there's less of a temptation to order pizza or fast food at the end of a stressful day.
Free Frugal Menu Plans Online
If you're looking for free frugal menu plans online, check out the following helpful websites:
- The United States Department of Agriculture has prepared a downloadable PDF booklet offering a selection of thrifty recipes, sample meal plans, and tips for stretching your grocery budget.
- Menus 4 Moms publishes weekly meal plans featuring affordable, yet kid-friendly meals.
- Hillbilly Housewife has an informative article on menu planning, plus two weeks worth of sample thrifty meal ideas.
- All Things Frugal offers tips for menu planning, as well as a sample five-week menu and shopping list available via e-mail.
- Living on a Dime has a short list of 13 budget-friendly meals. Although the list references recipes available in the Not Just Beans cookbook, most recipes could easily be found in a standard cookbook.
- Chatelaine has a number of sample free frugal menu plans that provide meal ideas for one week, plus printable shopping lists.
Customizing Your Meal Plan
Although using free frugal meal plans online is a convenient option, many cooks find these meal plans must be customized to fit their own needs. As you're deciding if a meal plan is right for your family, ask yourself the following questions:
- How many people do you need to feed?
- Does anyone in your family have food allergies or health problems that limit the type of food you can prepare?
- Do you have "picky" eaters in your family?
- What food do you have on hand that could be used in your meal plan?
- What sales and specials are available at your local grocery store?
- What is your total grocery budget for the week?
- How much time do you have to prepare each meal?
- If a recipe will make leftovers, will you freeze the extra food or use it for additional meals during the week?
If you find yourself in need of additional thrifty meal suggestions, consider the following ideas:
- Spaghetti
- Tacos
- Chili
- Grilled chicken with salad
- Grilled cheese sandwiches and tomato soup
- Black beans with rice
- Bean soup with cornbread
- Chicken pot pie
- Homemade macaroni and cheese
Remember, frozen fruits and vegatables are often as good as fresh produce, but are much cheaper and help you avoid wasteful spoilage. Add a side dish of produce to any of the above options for a healthful, cost-effective meal.
Check out LoveToKnow Recipes for more helpful meal solutions.
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