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I can't cook. I go grocery shopping and spend $280 and come one with one meal I can make for 4..
Try to stick with items that are on sale and skip past the saffron and Iranian beluga caviar
Today I bought 6 NY Strip steaks for about $20 (4.5lb total)... season with salt and olive oil, grill on the bbq... serve alongside some salad (eg romaine lettuce and ranch dressing) and you're good to go
all of the grocery chains have specials, find them online by looking at/searching for their weekly ad
I can't cook. I go grocery shopping and spend $280 and come one with one meal I can make for 4.
Obviously I am doing something wrong! How do some of you plan your meals when you go shopping and much per week do you spend on groceries.
the first thing we usually do, or I should say, I do is: look for the ads and try and plan meals around what is on sale. I also have a freezer, so when meat goes on sale or other things I can freeze I stock up, plus we do Sam's run about once a month.
After I do my shopping, I come home and make a menu for the following week. Do I always stick to it? Of course not, but at least it gives me a good basis. I don't make a menu of what we are going to have for lunch or breakfast, just dinner, always having a main dish, it might be a casserole, it might be a crock pot dish or it might be just a wonderful steak on the grill. We usually have fresh veggies, year around, but I do use some frozen ones and we add a salad plus maybe a carb, depending on the main dish. I would suggest you get one of the many cook books designed for inexperienced cooks and cooking on a budget. Also, if you are buying snacks like chips, etc. try to reduce that down some. The family will live without all the yummies they are used to having.
How much do I spend per week? Well there are only 2 of us, so not as much as most: I spend about 80.00 a week including paper products and pet food. I spend about $50.00 at the store and another $125 once a month at Sams. I might spend a little more than that. Also, if you have Aldi's you might want to give them a shot. We usually save about 10 to 20% at least by shopping there every so often. I noticed someone suggested Costco, both Sams and Costco are great places for non perishables and even meats. Not all areas offer a choice, we used to belong to both, but ended up dropping Costco. Then we moved here and we have no choice.
I can't cook. I go grocery shopping and spend $280 and come one with one meal I can make for 4.
Obviously I am doing something wrong! How do some of you plan your meals when you go shopping and much per week do you spend on groceries.
Think up the meals you want to make for the week. Look up the recipe and write down what you will need that you don't already have in the house. From there write out the rest of your list of weekly things you get like bread and milk, eggs etc.
We tend to eat the same things most of the time, with the occasional new recipe thrown in. I usually shop the meat section first, and see what is on special. I always have the following things in the freezer to choose from: Pork chops, a steak, boneless chicken breasts or thighs, a ham slice, bacon, sausage, ground beef and a chuck or round roast for pot roast. Sometimes I'll get a corned beef, smoked sausage or some fresh fish. I also keep a bag of crispy fish fillets and a PF Chang frozen stir fry in the freezer for a quick dinner.
So then, if I know I'm having those meats, I know I will need potatoes, for either mashed, potato salad, oven fried, or scalloped potatoes. I will keep 4-5 bags of frozen vegetables and a bag of carrots on hand. I'll always have canned crushed tomatoes, diced tomatoes, for pasta dishes, kidney beans for chili and baked beans. I'll have applesauce for the pork.
Several pounds of spaghetti and other pasta.
Salad makings and condiments.
Bread, milk, eggs.
Deli meat and cheese for lunches.
There are only two of us, so I don't buy a lot in bulk. I think we spend about $300-$400 a month, and although I'm careful, I buy whatever I want. I stay away from convenience foods, because that is where money gets wasted.
Get a basic cookbook for main dishes--basic with simple ingredients and start there. Then just jot down on the grocery list what you need. I always shop by list and follow it exactly except for 1-2 things I might add in there.
One thing that helps me a lot is a weekly inventory of what I already have in my pantry/fridge/freezer. You'll be amazed at what you'll find. I also try to keep my fridge/freezer/pantry as organized as possible -- my fridge and freezer are on the small side, and disarray can quickly lead to chaos.
After I've done the inventory, I make a quick outline as to meals I'd like for the week and figure out what I have already and what needs to be bought. I do clip coupons, but I am very careful about them -- I don't cook with a lot of canned/frozen convenience food, so most coupons are worthless to me, but I do find some good winners AND my regular grocery store sends me their own coupons for produce, meats, cheeses and bread.
I stock up where I can, in as much as my space allows -- if my favorite frozen shrimp goes on sale, I'll get a few 2lb bags, that sort of thing. I can't do much, since I don't have a separate dedicated freezer, but that's where the organization helps out a lot. I cook ahead in limited quantities and keep a few meals waiting in the freezer for busy nights -- I use a lot of Hefty freezer bags to store food flat and save space.
We have about 10 dinners that I rotate around depending on our mood and inventory, and I'm also a big fan of the "every person for themselves" nights where the husband and I are responsible for our own dinner among whatever is in the fridge/freezer.
Also, if your husband is so picky and doesn't like anything you cook, it's not unreasonable to put him in charge of a meal or two per week.
he is hard to cook for. he is meat and potatos, pizza and burgers kind of guy. He likes fajitas also.
When I look at recipes, they often contain an ingredient he wont eat. ie.. mayo, sour cream, cream cheese, mushrooms, mustard, any veggie etc...
If you can, you should both look over cookbooks at the bookstore and come to an agreement what looks good etc. There are tons of "meat and potatoes" cookbooks that would be perfect.
Then choose for the entire week's night worth of meals from the cookbook and buy just those things. That way you have everything you need to make that's week worth of meals. You will see that you will have stuff leftover for the next week's worth of recipes and shop again for stuff you don't have. Pretty soon you will have a stocked pantry and your grocery bill will go lower.
If choosing a cookbook together isn't feasible. Then choose simple meals. Meatloaf and potatoes, steaks and potatoes. Pork chops and rice. Chicken and rice etc. Google for one that isn't fussy and simple and print them out for the week. Then shop. etc.
Cooking is overated. What I do,I buy 99 cent tv dinners from Walmart.
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