Making meals ahead of time

Howdy Y'all!!

So last week we talked about planning our meals before we go to the grocery store to help prevent buying junk food! Well here is another money saving technique I found that works for busy people!

So you have planned your meals for the week and have already bought the ingredients to make these meals. By this time your probably tired and just want to put the food away and relax. But remember, all that meat you just bought is defrosted and if you throw it into the freezer your going to have to defrost later on in the week for the meal you have planned. This takes time which means you will have to take more time later that you could be relaxing to prepare something you could have ahead of time.

My family goes grocery shopping on the weekend. Sometimes I go by myself around 8 or 9 so I do not have to carry the baby around and I can have time the rest of the day to spend with my family. That being said sometimes we go on Sunday after lunch to make it a family trip. As soon as we get back from the grocery store I make sure to go ahead and divide all the meat into the portion sizes I need for each meal.

This makes it easier to defrost and I do not have to worry about getting the cutting board dirty every day due to cutting raw meat. I typically do this for days that we are really busy or if its late in the evening. It isn't to extreme but it helps with the meals later on in the week with killing time. Its easier to defrost a lb of beef rather than 5lbs when I only need a lb.

For days I have more time or the energy I go ahead and make all or most of the meals for the week. I will cut up the meat I need and set them aside in the fridge while I prepare each meal. I like to keep meals that need to be cooked at the same temperature together so that I can just leave the meal on and go from there. There are some meals I cook ahead of time so that even if I am having a busy day or not feeling well my husband can put in the oven and just warm it back up.

Pasta and softer dishes I do not cook ahead of time because when you reheat them you run into the chances of making them hard or over cooking. Crockpot meals or stews I put the ingredients together into an air tight container and place in the fridge or freezer depending on how soon I am going to make the meal. This is so it limits the space needed as well as makes it easier to grab what I need instead of hunting for each individual item.

If I am making tacos or anything that just requires cooked meat I will go ahead and cook that. I find it easier to already have the ground beef cooked and just add the sloppy joe or taco seasoning to the ground beef later on. Same with baked chicken. If I am making chicken Alfredo I bake the chicken ahead of time and then when I go to cook the Alfredo I am ready to just throw the meat in without the worry of over cooking the pasta.

Think of the time you will save if you go ahead and prepare or cook all your meals when you have the free time. You do not have to do it as soon as you get home from grocery store. You can do it when ever you have free time.


Thank you for reading and let me know if you have any other suggestions or questions comment below!

Planning the meals before the store

Howdy Y'all!

I do not know about you but when I go into my local grocery store I can't help but sigh at the end of each transaction. It is so expensive when it comes to buying food that will last about a week. And if I go into the store hungry or tired I am more tempted to buy junk food that may last me one night.

We go to the grocery store once a week for milk, bread, and other small items that our son manages to devour. It gets crazy between gas and time spent at the store. So I have learned through trial and error the best thing to do, at least for us, is to plan our meals ahead of time.

I plan for 8 days worth of meals. And yes, I know there is only 7 days in a week but with that extra day it saves me in case we do not feel like having a certain meal or if something happens where I can not go to the store. I plan for meals of all different cuisines and meats.

I also make sure to look at all sale items. We go through a LOT of meat and dairy products so I make sure to always go into the clearance sections for the best deals. Currently we have enough meat to last us a month but that was because it was on sale. I also make sure to get can goods on sale because they have a longer expiration date and I can find recipes to match what ever canned good I have.

If you also plan ahead you know what coupons to get to save even more money. ( I plan to go over coupons in a future post!)

Make sure to always go to the grocery store after you have a meal and well rested. If you go hungry your more likely to let your cravings take over and buy things you do not need. If you can buy things that you can use for multiple meals that will help as well.

For instance; my son eats eggs almost every morning so I just need to make sure to have a huge carton of eggs for his breakfast. I also make sure to make plenty of the other meals so we have left overs. Left overs are a great way to make sure you have snack food, late night snack, or back up in case you do not feel like cooking one day!

People are more likely to go out to eat when they do not feel like cooking so if you can make sure you have left overs in the house you are less likely to go out to eat for that reason.

Stay tuned for other meal budget topics and make sure to comment below to give me some feedback!!

Thank you!