Food Planning
Food Planning Why is it Important?
Food Planning is the best way to stay on top of this stressful side of life is a meal plan, food list, and food shop. It would work best if you did this once a week. We want to help you save time every day as you must decide what to cook daily. By helping in many ways, you can get the food out of the freezer in the morning, allowing it to dethrone all day or get out the night before if you cook in the morning.
You don’t need to waste power defrosting food when you return from work, and it will save you money on electricity.
Meal Plan
When planning meals for each day, you allocate the food you need for that week to the food list, so you only buy the required food. Preventing food waste saves money and time in the house.
Food Shopping
Sticking to your list is critical when going food shopping: no star buys, no deals or offers of the day. Only buy the Food on your list as planned for your week. It will save money, time, and food waste.
Shop around! Nowadays, we are less loyal to supermarkets as we want the best prices for food and cleaning products. It can be less convenient, but this can save you money. I have roughly three shops where I shop a week for all my food and cleaning products. Doing this decreases costs; some items can be 50p—£1 cheaper in different shops. My main aim is to try and keep them under my food budget for the week.
Let’s look into Food Planning in more depth
Meal Plan
Creating a meal plan once a week is a great idea when food planning or you could get yourself to a meal plan once a month. Over time, I have made this a 10-minute activity on a Sunday. Where the whole family comes and sits after dinner and decides what dinners we will have for the week. Involving the family, you are all happy with the dinners cooked for the week. Stopping, “I did not want that for dinner,” or I don’t like that dinner.” It also helps the children understand how to plan for the week. On leaving home, they will appreciate meal planning themselves and working to a budget. Showing the next generation the workings of the house, especially when they get a little bit older. Involving the children gives them a sense of value within the home.
Meal Planned seven dinners?
Pop them onto your planner. It can be on a planner board in the kitchen to display our dinners on certain days, a spreadsheet on the kitchen cupboard, or even in your diary planner. It’s a great way to know what you are cooking that day. Plus, the kids can see what is for dinner. Once the dinner board is complete, find 10 minutes to write down the food you need from the shops.
Many do not like food waste, so we only list enough food for a week. This will also save you money! A food budget is a great way to keep your food shop cheaper; only stick to the list.
Food Shop
Now, the dreaded food shop. Try to go to the shops alone or with one family member. As you want to stick to the list, as I found, things get popped into the trolly or “can we have!” when there are more of us. When I take my partner, we always go off the list. Saying no to one is better than saying no to the rest of the family, as you do not feel like you are being ganged up on. Budget the shopping as much as possible.
Why Is It Important To Budget Food Planning?
The average food shop in the UK for a family of 4 can vary from household to household, but on average, it is £130.00 per week. So, when it comes to food shopping within your home, figure out how much you want to spend. Remember to counter in Extras like milk and bread throughout the week.
For instance, your food budget is £200. In that, the extras cost £20. Try always to go under. For example, you spend £148.00 on groceries and £20.00 on extras. Your total weekly spending is £168.00, leaving you £32.00. A higher budget allows you to stay within it. At the end of the week, pop the extra money into a savings pot. If your shop were the same each week within a year, you would have saved £1,664.00. Just think what you could use with that!!! A holiday, a short break, or fantastic activities with the kids. Planning your money throughout the year will help you budget your money.
Being Organized In The Kitchen
Now your food shop is complete, being organized within the kitchen cupboards is critical. Organizing your food into labeled baskets will help you stay on track with how much food you have. Also, you are not doubling up on food brought, which will lead to less food waste. If you buy extra food items, point the older items to the front and use them first. Decant your food items; instead, they look nice. Second, you can see what items you are low on so you can pop them on your food list for the week after.
Food Planning Idea
Create snack baskets—this is an excellent idea for each kid. If they have their snack baskets, this can stop arguing, saying the other child has had more treats or they have eaten the snacks or treats and the other has not. You can make their baskets equal and fill them daily, and then you have control over how many snakes they have. Once they have gone that day, they have gone.
Saving Time At Dinner
We always try to save time in the kitchen to have more time for the family. Slogging over dinners can be stressful and take up a lot of time. We need to do dinner every night, so here are some hints to save time.
When planning the dinners for the week, I plan what days are the best for each dinner. So, on hectic days, we have more straightforward, quick dinners. On less busy days, we cook more detailed dinners. I love to cook and cook from starch when it comes to more detailed dinners.
Dinner from Scratch
We are making a detailed dinner, like Shepard’s pie. I will cook this in the morning so it is ready to put in the oven when the kids return from school. By doing this, you can cook in batches, which is an excellent way of getting another good meal without starting from scratch. It’s a beautiful way to cut shopping. You are spending less on shopping plus extra savings for the pot. Remember, you may pay more when buying extra on one week’s shopping bill as you double the amount you need to cook. If you have a busy week, it’s a great, easy way for dinner.
Batch cooking is a great way to save time and money. Just remember to get out in the morning to defrost. It’s a great way to get a good meal without all the preparation.
Save time
If it’s something like a chicken korma, I will do this about 2ish once I get home from work in the afternoon, so it is semi-cooked before the kids return from school. Then, finish off for dinner time. Plus, this gives time for dinner to cook down well and has more flavor. Another way is to prep in the morning and use the slow cooker. The more energy-efficient way of cooking is cooking all day. All you have to do later is prep the vegetables, which saves you time when you get in from work or get the children. On simple days, use the air fryer. It’s quick and easy and more energy efficient than the oven.
The Three Simple Steps
Meal plan:
Know what you are cooking for the week, and get the whole family involved. The responsibility should not just be on you. Get a planner board for the fridge or wall. You may not want it to show the world your dinner plan, so pop it on the back of the kitchen cupboard. Then, pop all your dinners on for the week, ensuring your dinners work with your plans for the day.
Food list:
Make a list before shopping, and only buy the food you need for the week. It will save you time at the shops and holding your pennies in the bank.
Food shop:
always work off the list. Do not get hooked on the star buys or the offers to make you spend more money. Also, shop around. Don’t just buy your stuff from one shop. You may find it cheaper in another shop. Limit who comes with you shopping so you don’t go off the list. Keep to your budget or challenge yourself and try not to spend the budget. Put the remaining money you saved into another pot and hold it for a meal with the family, or keep it for a year and have a real treat.
So why not get Food Planning today?