March Meals {Week of March 19/12}

Cooking.
Meal planning.
Budgeting.
Bleh!

Well, I think I have found my groove!

We using our bread maker almost every week, there is always the right ingredients in the cupboard and the kitchen is organized!

I am always trying to find ways to save money on food. First I thought I would do some research and see if anyone suggests how much I should be spending in the first place.  I have figured out two numbers.

1. Your weekly budget should be $3-$5 per person, per day.
2. You should expect to spend 11%-14% of your take home, families income.

What does that look like? (Yearly income) × .11 ÷ 52 = weekly food budget.

Right now we are spending about 11.5% and I think it would be awesome if I could manage 10%.
Now I just need to figure out how to do that!

I have slowly but surely figured out a few things.

1. No Frills will price match. This was the first week I tried this. I felt a little disorganized - I grabbed the wrong name brand of frozen corn, forgot to get grapes... but I know it will go better next time.
2. Make food from scratch.  This one is tough.  I remember working a 9 hour shift in Oakville and the 3 hour commute - there is no way I would have been able to make everything from scratch.  Now, I have a lot more opportunities.  I only work about 15 hours outside of the house and about 4 hours at home. Red is sleeping through the night.  I have a bread maker (even though it is technically my husbands!)
3. Buy in bulk.  I had to hyper-organize the kitchen to make this work.  I needed to have the room to store all that extra food. 
4. Buy when things are on sale (even if it isn't needed yet).  I don't seem to get a big benefit from this one. I am trying to eat clean so I don't food that is full of preservatives; that has a long shelf life.  Right now, this only seems to apply to my husbands shampoo, toothpaste, deodorant and toilet paper.
5. Cooking meals once a month and freezing them.  I have just discovered this amazing site that gives you detailed instructions on how to do this.  I just got all the ingredients for the March menu today.  Including our extra snacks, meats and dairy purchases I spent $175. I am hoping this will last us 2 weeks - with a little left over for milk and such in the second week.  Instead of using this menu as the site suggests (spreading out all the meals for the months), I am going to cram it all in for two weeks.
6. Participate in a Freezer exchange group. If you are on Facebook, there is fan page that explains the whole idea.

So, what's on the menu?

Breakfast:

• Apple Spice Oatmeal
• Peanut Butter and Banana Oatmeal
• Pumpkin and Nut Oatmeal
• Strawberry Rhubarb Muffins *
• Pumpkin Biscuits *
• Fruit Smoothies

Lunch:

• Mini Vegetarian Meatloaves *
• Broccoli Cheddar Biscuit Muffins *

Snacks:

• Mini Zucchini Muffins
• Pizza Dippers
• Rice Cakes
• Roasted Chickpeas
• Popcorn

Dinners:

• Salmon Frittata and Salad (2 meals)
• Veggie Pizza and Salad
• Zucchini/Meat Burgers, Spaghetti Squash and Broccoli *
• Asparagus and Mushroom Quesadillas *
• Broccoli Cheese Stromboli *
• Spinach Meatballs and Pasta *
• Chickpea patties and Veggies *
• Greek-Style Quinoa Burgers with Pitas and Veggies *

* www.onceamonthmom.com

Here's hoping this works!