Monthly Menu Plan

 Long before it became popular on YouTube, I began menu planning. With 2 (and later 3) kids, a husband, home and full time job, the last thing I wanted to worry about was what we would eat for dinner. We were never eating out kind of people. The only indulgence we had was our weekly Little Caesar's pizza, and even that was not always regular. We ate home cooked meals everyday. There had to be enough for dinner and leftovers for lunches the next day, so pre-planning was a must. On those occasions when I didn't meal plan, I was frazzled and stressed trying to put something together while figuring out if I had all the ingredients I needed. Meal planning help me keep my sanity.

Times have changed, seasons have passed. I no longer have little kids at home. I don't have a husband, and currently I don't have a job. Yet still, I meal plan. The reasons are simple: meal planning saves time, money, and gives me peace of mind. It helps me stay healthy because I decide what goes into each dish. We can have our favorites and still experiment and try new things. 

In the past I would menu plan for one to two weeks. I would shop my fridge and pantry first, then head out to the grocery store to pick up whatever else I needed. Then Covid hit, and we were quarantined. Everyone was told to stay indoors as much as possible, and social distance whenever it was necessary to go out. (I still wonder why it's called "social" distancing since keeping our distance doesn't make us very social). The first time I went to Aldi's whenever the quarantine hit, it was so uncomfortable. Not because of having to wear a mask (though yes, they are uncomfortable), but because of the obvious terror in people's eyes. The looks folks gave each other was evidence that everyone was terrified of this virus and believed everyone around them was a threat. I was afraid of getting close to people. Once on line to get into the store a lady in front of me told me I was standing too close to her and I needed to back away. Y'all, I wasn't even at arm's length, but that's what fear does to people. I decided to change my meal planning to once a month, so that I could buy most of my groceries at Aldi's at the end of the month for the following month and do fill in grocery stops in between. The results have been better than I expected. Not only have I been able to avoid unnecessary trips to the grocery store, I've also saved money at a time when prices have steadily gone up. 

Here's what I do. A week before the new month starts, I pull out my planner and start filling in meal ideas:

I don't fill in weekends because we usually have either leftovers, frozen pizza, or sandwiches. This helps keep the amount of wasted food to a minimum. I don't put the meals in the order that I will prepare them. In other words, just because September 29 says tacos doesn't mean that's when we will have tacos. As the cook I reserve the right to make changes as I see fit ;-). What I do here is simply come up with meal ideas so that from there I can create a shopping list.

Step one is to go through the pantry. I don't do this until a couple of days before I head out to the store so I have a better idea of what I need. I prepare a spreadsheet (because I'm type A) with all the meals, sides, and snacks that we'll have. I break down the meal by ingredients, then bundle the like ingredients so that I have a full shopping list. For example, if there's 4 meals on the menu containing 1 to 1 1/2 pounds of ground beef each, I count the amount needed in total, then put 5 pounds of ground beef on my shopping list. 

Step two is to transfer my shopping list from the spreadsheet to my phone. My daughter gave me an Alexa device a couple of years ago, which has made my life so much easier. I call out my shopping list to Alexa, who writes it down on the app. Then, whenever I get to the store, my list is handy and I can check off everything as I go. It's also convenient to have Alexa in the kitchen. Whenever I see that I'm running out of something, I just call out, "Alexa, add (fill in the blank) to my shopping list," and she takes care of that for me. 

This month, I began meal planning for September on August 22. I have my cookbooks, and a list of our favorite meals, plus the meal plans for the past few months that I can refer to as I decide what to make for the new month. As the days go by, I might adjust or add something to the list. I didn't prepare the shopping list till August 25. As I looked it over, I decided whether I would need certain ingredients or if I had enough to last through the month. Finally, grocery shopping day was August 27.

My first stop for my monthly grocery haul is Aldi's. I find that they have most everything I need at the best prices. Even Walmart can't compete with their quality and prices in my experience.

This is my fridge haul. We don't eat a lot of dairy so you won't see tons of cheeses or yogurt. There were also a lot of things I didn't need to buy, such as almond milk, because I already had enough to last me a couple of weeks.

My freezer haul was a bit bigger because I typically buy all or most of my meats from Aldi's. I bought 5 lbs. of ground beef, a 2.5 lb. bag of boneless skinless chicken breasts (I have chicken tenders in the freezer that didn't get eaten this month), burgers, pork chops, spare ribs, and bulk sausage for sausage gravy. I was able to find mixed vegetables but not frozen corn, which was strange. I did pick up some frozen sweet potatoes for my turkey chili (I have a 1.5 lbs. package of ground turkey in the freezer). Before putting the ground beef away I split it up into smaller packs:

I write down what's in the freezer bag, the amount and date. This makes it easier to pull out and defrost whenever I'm ready to use it.

I'm thankful for my nice roomy pantry, because I can fit all of this food in it without overcrowding. The bread and burger buns go into the freezer; I pull them out and defrost them whenever I'm ready to use them so they last longer. Bread can be frozen without any ill effects. Once they thaw out they are just as fresh as when I first bought them.

I also picked up some household items from Aldi's. The Tide detergent I believe was an Aldi's Find, meaning something they don't normally carry and will only be there for a limited time. I got this big jug for $8.94 which I thought was a good deal. Their Radiance brand is just as good as the name brand and I don't mind paying less.

Whenever I set everything out to be rung up by the cashier, I was sure the total was gonna be about $150 - right at my budget. There was a lot of meats, plus the laundry detergent and everything else. I was very pleasantly surprised to find my total was $123.93. That was a relief, because while I did find almost everything on my list, there were a few things that I didn't find and I'd have to get from Walmart. Thankfully my Walmart haul was much smaller.

My son doesn't like drinking water unless it's flavored, but he also doesn't like the saltier taste of some flavored waters like La Croix. I used to buy Winn Dixie brand flavored water, but I don't have a Winn Dixie very close to me anymore. I bought several different types of flavored waters, and every time he was disappointed. Then I heard a YouTuber talk about the Clear American brand at Walmart which supposedly tasted sweet. I bought a bottle of the mandarin orange for him to try. I heard him in the kitchen whenever he tasted it and he said, "Ooh, this is good!" Even he was surprised! He gave me some to taste, and I have to say I personally did not like it. It is beyond sweet. He loves it, though, and since it has no sugar, no calories, and is cheaper than the Winn Dixie flavored water, I don't mind it at all. He's tried several flavors since then and his favorites are the mandarin orange and black cherry. 

Aldi's didn't have bacon so I picked up what I could find at Walmart, which wasn't much of a selection either. Aldi's also didn't have paper towels; I hated paying $4.97 for this two pack at Walmart but my only other option would be Publix and that would be even more expensive. There was no frozen corn at Walmart either; I guess there's a shortage. I had to get fettuccine noodles, toothpaste and buttermilk from Walmart because Aldi's doesn't carry any of those. One of the few things I don't like from Aldi's is their popcorn so I picked up the Great Value brand. My Walmart total was $26.73.

That brought my total to $150.66. Now, this is not all I will buy for the month of September. I will usually stop at Walmart once a week or once every other week for produce, water, milk, and anything else I run out of that can't wait till the following month. I budget $400 a month for groceries with an additional $20 a month in case we do happen to go out to eat. I've been able to stick to my budget even though food prices went up dramatically in April and are only just starting to come down again. I remember I was paying $2.99/lb. for ground beef at Aldi's before the pandemic. It skyrocketed to $3.99/lb. and wasn't always available. Now it's down to $3.49/lb. and I'm hoping it'll continue the downward trend. 

That's a glimpse into my monthly meal plan. I always suggest everyone try meal planning at least once. I can almost guarantee your life will change for the better.