Aldi Haul + Budget + Meal Plan

Do you guys like these Aldi posts? Back when I started writing them, Aldi wasn't as much a thing as it is now. I feel like whenever I'm there, it's so crowded lately. It's a good and bad thing. I love sharing the good news . . . yet, I want it all to myself.

Here's this week's haul:

Closer up:

DETAILS

So, the total was $93.67.

AVOCADOS WERE .49 CENTS EACH!!!

Some of this includes sugar bought specifically for Stephen's kombucha making. He splits these costs three ways with some friends. Basically, Stephen makes the kombucha and they drink it at work all month. I can get into that whole thing in another post.

EXTRAS

I also bought some things specifically for the Super Bowl:


Overall, I stuck to my list and only got a couple extras. I still need to pick up bananas, Earth Balance, tofu, and maybe a couple other produce items, like ginger, at Wegmans. I wrote last week about re-doing our grocery budget. I have landed on $125/week for the time being. With cooking everything at home and still trying to keep it interesting, I feel this number should work, but I'll report back.

MEAL PLAN

Last but not least, here's our meal plan for dinners this week:

1. Monday: Mac + Cheese with veggies (kids) // Veggie burgers + onion rings (parents)
2. Tuesday: Slow cooker chili + garlic knots
3. Wednesday: Spaghetti and faux "meat" balls with veggies
4. Thursday: Breakfast for dinner -- eggs, toast, veggies, etc.
5. Friday: Homemade pizza night
6. Saturday: Veggie-loaded quesadillas (kids) // Slow cooker Indian + paneer + naan (parents)
7. Sunday: Slow cooker bean + mushroom stew + biscuits + Super Bowl snacks

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Meal Plan, Takeout Fatigue, etc.

Before I get into the meal plan for this week, I don’t check Facebook all that often anymore. However, someone added me to a group that I do find quite interesting. It’s called the Non-Consumer Advocate. It’s all about finding ways to do things without necessarily spending money or otherwise consuming. Or if you do spend money, how to be smart about it. If you’re interested in that sort of thing, I highly recommend joining!

So, you’ve seen our $98 Aldi haul for this week. Our meal plan this week is nothing shocking or particularly interesting. I am trying to use up the things we have left over from vacation. (PS: Want more meal planning? Here’s the last time I wrote about this subject. And here’s all my posts on it.)

I’ll just be giving you the dinners we’re eating. Breakfasts are usually eggs and toast for Stephen, a protein smoothie for me, cereal + fruit for Ada, and waffles for Eloise. Lunch has been quite random as well this summer. I’m still trying to eat raw once a day, by the way. Should I do an update on that? Let me know in the comments!

Also: I’m trying to get Ada into more diversified eating, so I’ll try to touch on this subject another day. Snacks are things like Greek yogurt mixed with peanut butter, popcorn, carrot sticks, homemade granola bars, etc.

DINNERS

• Coconut Curry Tofu w/ Freezer Veggies + rice
• Veggie Burgers (bulk + frozen), onion rings
• Veggie Quesadillas with greek yogurt + salsa
• Pizza Night
• Hummus, homemade pita, and Greek salad
• Omelettes + homemade kale chips
• Mexican Quinoa Salad

The girls will eat the veggie burgers, quesadillas, pizza, hummus, omelets, and Mexican quinoa dish with us. Or at least try. We also have some staples on hand for them, like mac and cheese or pierogis, if we think they won’t enjoy a meal (or if we’re eating at different times).

Thoughts on Eating Out

We definitely have takeout fatigue. I loved sampling cuisine from our favorite restaurants while on vacation. That said, it was mega-expensive (regrettably so!). And you know what? I missed cooking. I think we may even make better meals than some we get out. While a good meal out can certainly be a nice indulgence -- even a regular one -- I think we’re going to skip for a while. Even with my birthday coming up, a home-cooked meal seems much more pleasurable than anything else right now.

You get a lot of facts and figures if you look up how much the average family spends going out to eat each year. I estimate that we probably spend around $50 a week on an average week getting a mix of takeout, dining out, etc. That’s figured into our “entertainment” budget category. So, if we stopped doing that . . . that’s $2,600 a year. I only took the time to figure this out just now.

And now I feel a bit sick to my stomach. Do you know how many places that money could go? Holy moly.

What’s your policy on going out to eat? I doubt we’ll stop doing it altogether. But I’d like to save it for only special occasions. Maybe once a month? That sounds like cutting to the bone, but I think it’s doable. 

Recipe Liberation

Here’s my parting idea for the day . . . and it’s something I’ve neglected to mention on the blog. I rarely follow recipes (even my own) exactly. Well, if I have everything on hand, yes. But if I’m missing ginger for a stir-fry, for example, I’ll skip it. Of course, it’d be nice to get the extra flavor, but usually there are other spices + things that will do enough of the heavy lifting. If the ingredient is non-essential, like peppers for veggie quesadillas, I’ll leave it out, too. (This rule doesn’t apply with baking usually. Especially with things like baking powder, baking soda, etc.)

Anyway, I guess what I’m trying to explain is that cooking can be flexible. I am sure many of you know that. But I think some others think we must follow recipes exactly. Not the case at all! You can make all sorts of substitutions, swaps, and omissions. Heck, you can add things, too. It takes time to get cooking right. You’ll make missteps along the way. But you may even make something particularly delicious -- accidentally.

I’ll be back soon with a recipe for Greek salad, homemade granola bars, and some notes on getting back to from-scratch cooking and baking. Feels good.

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Our Week's Meal Plan

Do you have a favorite cookbook? I do. Well, I actually have several. I'm a big fan of the Martha Stewart Baking Handbook. It's where I learned how to make anything from bagels to ciabatta to English muffins. Lately, I'm digging the Fit-It and Forget-It Vegetarian Cookbook. The recipes are really easy to make, and you can easily search by ingredient to find the ones that will use up what you have in the fridge and pantry.

Anyway, I thought I'd share my meal plan for the week. We started getting our CSA recently, so there will be a great injection of fresh, local produce into our lives. Sometimes I don't know what to do with all of it! But that's part of the fun.

I go back and forth on the going-out-to-eat line in our budget. On one hand, it's an obvious thing to cut out to save money. On the other, going to restaurants is fun. You get to try new things. How I feel about it right now -- today -- is that I'd like to save it for special events. As a result, I've been spending a bit more on our weekly groceries so I can make satisfying meals Monday through Sunday.

Meals:

MONDAY

Roasted asparagus with BBQ tofu (from the book) sandwiches

TUESDAY

 

Beans + Greens (from the book) and yogurt biscuits.

WEDNESDAY

Veggie burgers with kohlrabi slaw and baked sweet potato fries.

THURSDAY

Summer Risotto (from the book) with eggs +  sauteed Swiss chard on the side.

FRIDAY

Homemade grilled pizza topped with whatever veggies we're in the mood for.

SATURDAY

Coconut yellow curry tofu + veggies with 5-minute naan.

SUNDAY

Sloppy lentil Joes with side California Salad (from the book).

Frugal tip:

I have been buying supplemental veggies in the freezer section. I sometimes even get the fancy stuff, like bags of cauliflower rice or marinated mushrooms. (And, yes, I have to go to Wegmans for this a lot of the time. Aldi doesn't have the same cool stuff you'd find at Trader Joe's. You lucky people with Trader Joe's!) While the price point may not seem smart compared to fresh in some instances, I find we actually save money having ingredients on hand that cook up fast versus submitting to takeout.

More good stuff:

• Here's a typical rundown of food costs in our house.
• Here's more about my shopping with Aldi. 
• Here's more good stuff about meal planning. 
• And here's some good info on once-a-month grocery shopping.

What's on your menu this week?

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Vegetarian Meal Plan // What's In My Fridge + Pantry

It's that time again -- MEAL PLANNING time. Yup. Today is March 1, so that mean we are getting more cash out of the bank to do the envelope system. And along with getting cash, I'm going grocery shopping for the entire month. Doing both of these things helped tremendously with our budget, and I plan to write a lot more about each.

Today, let's take a look into what food we are starting the month with:

DINNER PLANNING

This month's meals are split into the following categories:

• 20 weeknight meals
• 4 Friday pizza nights
• 4 Saturday sandwich nights
• 4 meals using up what we have

From there, I came up with what we'll eat:

• Veggie Bean Burgers FREEZER x 4 nights 
• Chickpea Curry DUMP x 2 nights 
• Pasta w/ tofu meatballs x 2 nights 
• Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas x 3 nights 
• Sloppy Lentil Sandwich DUMP x 2 nights 
• Breakfast for dinner x 3 nights 
• Ethiopian Slow Cooker Peanut Stew DUMP x 2 nights  
• Udon Noodle Tofu Stir-Fry w/ Frozen veggies x 2 nights

DUMP means that I plan to put all ingredients in a freezer bag, label it, and then pull it out + cook it the day we're eating it. I find when I cook ahead and then freeze, I never want to eat the meals. So, I'm thinking if it's made the day of, that might improve.

SHOPPING LIST

And for those of you who are interested, this is how my shopping list is shaping up. This isn't absolutely everything, but it accounts for everything we'll need to make the dinners above (along with a few other staples for the month).

• 3, 5-pound bags carrots
• 1 large head cauliflower
• 6 large sweet potatoes 
• 2 packages celery 
• 2 tubs baby spinach
• Garlic 
• Bag onions
• Pizza sauce x 2 
• Pasta sauce x 2  
• Olives x 3
• 4 cans black beans
• 12 cans chickpeas
• 4 28-ounce diced tomatoes
• 2 cans coconut milk 
• 1 can tomato sauce
• 2 large peanut butters
• 2 jelly (grape, strawberry) 
• Tortillas x 2 
• Hot sauce  
• Udon noodles x 2 
• Asian freezer veggies x 2 
• Tofu x 1 three pack 
• Large bag walnuts
• Quality bread flour
• Sugar
• Chocolate chips
• Package bread crumbs 
• Large container Goldfish
• Bag lentils      
• Curry powder
• Garam masala  
• Mustard powder
• 4 assorted non-dairy milks
• 6 tubs Greek yogurt 
• 4 packages sliced cheese
• 4 blocks cheese  
• Large pack cheese sticks
• 4 loaves seed bread
• 1 tub of oats
• 6 dozen eggs    

I am shopping at Aldi and Wegmans this month, and I'll be sure to share how I fare with the budget getting all this stuff. I'll also be back soon talking about the other meals we'll be eating this month (breakfasts, lunches, etc.), as well as some handy tips to make school lunches really fast + cheap.

PS: Don't forget to subscribe to my YouTube channel!

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Weekly Meals + Cost

I’m back again with more about our grocery bill and eats for this week. (Don’t miss last week’s post about our fresh start for the new year.) The grand total we spent at Aldi was $60. At Wegmans, we spent $48, bringing our total grocery bill to $108. Here’s more about what ingredients we bought and how we’re using them.

PS: You can follow my cooking on Instagram at #nhmweeklymeals!

The List

Aldi:

• Shredded wheat cereal
• Hazelnut spread
• Sleeve Kumato tomatoes
• Bag sweet potatoes
• Goldfish crackers (Ada’s choice)
• La Croix 8-pack
• 6 avocados
• 4 pounds bananas
• Bag carrots
• Package green peppers
• Bag local apples
• 2 packages block cheese
• Deli sliced cheese
• Cocoa powder
• Bag Mandarin oranges
• Package zucchini
• 6 cans organic beans (still on sale)
• Tub Greek yogurt
• Pickles (Stephen and Ada love them!)
• Peanut butter
• Local BBQ Sauce
• Can crushed tomatoes
• Olive oil 
• 1/2 gallon 2% milk

Wegmans:

• Tempeh
• Tempeh bacon
• Jar of yeast
• Kefir
• 18 pack Eggland eggs
• Frozen Tex-Mex veggies
• Bulk bag sweet potato fries
• Roasted Mate tea
• Tub tahini
• Tub organic arugula
• Large tub organic super greens mix

The Plan

Since breakfasts and lunches have stayed relatively consistent since last week, I’ll skip over them in list form. We eat a lot of oatmeal and cereal for breakfast with green smoothies. For lunch, it’s crazy big salads (for Stephen) and PBJ or grilled cheese for Ada. I like homemade hummus melts or egg salad.

Dinners

M: Leftover Pumpkin Chili with homemade biscuits

T: Veggie Burgers (made them in bulk) with sweet potato fries on homemade buns

W: Eggs, roasted sweet potatoes, and PPK Banana + Zucchini Bread

R: Carrot + Chickpea Tagine dinner (made by Stephen)

F: Family Pizza Night, pumpkin dough w/ olives, peppers, onions, zucchini

S: Homemade ciabatta bread sandwiches with orange-glazed tempeh* 

S: Pasta with homemade pesto + faux meatballs

Dessert + Snacks

Mix of quinoa energy bars (we bought it in a school fundraiser)

Crock Pot Applesauce

Chocolate Chip + Pecan Cookies

* This is the one night we don’t do family dinner. Ada usually eats freezer leftovers. This week she’ll be having some frozen stuffed shells (she loves them!).

Highlights

//1: We wasted basically no food last week. I even froze the leftover pizza sauce to save for this week’s pie! It feels really good to look in my refrigerator at the end of the week and see that it’s almost empty. There are some ingredients that are hearty and can last longer, so if we’re nearing the weekend and more fragile ingredients are getting droopy -- we’ll make a plan to use them up and save the carrots, oranges, potatoes, etc. for next week.

//2: We also shifted our shopping to Saturday mornings. I didn’t know this would make a difference, and we didn’t even do it on purpose -- it just worked out that way. But WOW. Talk about a great way to combat weekend takeout! Our pantry and fridge are full of food so we don’t have as much temptation to grab a takeout menu.

Making food at home has become this huge part of our weekend activities now. So, it’s also serving as a source of entertainment (trying new recipes is really fun!), saving us even more money.

//3: We’re trying to avoid eating the same meal over and over again, so I will start doing more freezer cooking as the weeks roll on. The veggie burgers I made (24 in all) will last a good while. That being said, it does take some energy to make sure that all our meals are utilizing similar ingredients. My trick is having a “breakfast for dinner” night where I can just roast a good number of veggies that need to be used up.

//4: We’re trying to stick below $100 total for food each week. This is a big improvement because I estimate that we were spending about $130 at Wegmans PLUS at least (at LEAST!) $50 on takeout per week in recent months. That’s an $80 savings per week we’re striving toward, all while eating healthy foods and connecting better as a family. I do think we’ll spend much less at the store this week, but time will tell.

//5: Oh, and we’re also going to occasionally try “no buy” weeks where we dig deep into the cupboards and freezer drawers to use up what we already have. Of course, we’ll need to get basics -- but I think it’s a great way to save in a pinch.

Looking for more tasty inspiration? 

• Here’s our Clean Eating Guide with affordable meal options.
• Here’s a bunch of Sunday Meal Prep Ideas from the archives.
• Here’s more great meals (and savings!) you can make with Aldi food.
• Here’s our Recipe Archive full of great vegetarian and vegan meal ideas.

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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On Planning Meals (Again)

Meal planning is an area that totally fell off the radar last year. I don’t even want to know how much money we spent on food. There was just the regular everyday food. Then the comfort foods (so many of them). The many, many nights of takeout. And, of course, the ever-changing list of foods I could and could not eat during two different first trimester morning sickness phases. Ugh.

In other words, we spent hundreds more on food each month than we normally do. I didn’t lift a pen to plan a week of meals maybe the whole year. We stopped shopping smart. We stopped hitting up stores like Aldi for better deals. And, yes, despite the money suck -- it was sort of awesome to just eat whatever, whenever we felt like it. 

BUT for the first time in forever, I wrote out a plan for the first week of the new year. I wrote up a grocery list and headed to Aldi. I even grabbed a few things that weren’t on my list (including a major stock of organic beans that were on sale!) and still spent only $97 for a hulking cart of food!

Why, why, why did I ever stop doing this? I had a smile from ear to ear the rest of the day. It definitely helps that I’m now 15 weeks pregnant and can actually enter my kitchen again without gagging.

The List

Stephen tossed our receipt (I’ll save them in the future), but here’s approximately what we bought. The list will look weird, but it’s the order in which I picked everything up at the store. Oh, and shopping took maybe 15 minutes from entering to exiting the store. Score.

• Organic teddy graham snacks
• 2 jars medium salsa
• Strawberry jam
• Organic honey
• Large tub rolled oats
• Steel cut oats
• Organic honey toasted oats cereal
• Aldi version of Lucky Charms (I know, I know...)
• Organic dark roast coffee
• Block cheddar cheese
• Block Jack cheese
• Block pepper Jack cheese 
• Ball mozzarella cheese
• Bag shredded mozzarella
• Organic string cheese
• 2 packages (10 each) whole wheat tortillas
• Sea salt grinder
• 4 cans organic black beans
• 4 cans organic chickpeas
• 4 cans organic pinto beans
• 4 cans organic kidney beans
• 2 cans organic fire roasted tomatoes
• 2 cans pumpkin puree
• Zucchini
• Garlic
• Bag of onions
• Bag of local apples
• Bag of Meyer lemons
• Bunch bananas
• Sleeve Kumato brown tomatoes
• Organic baby kale
• Organic arugula
• 2% milk for Ada
• Eggs
• Plain Greek yogurt
• Loaf sprouted grain bread
• Jar pizza sauce

I swear I’m forgetting several things. But that’s the gist. Like I said, we hadn’t been to Aldi in a long while. I was sort of astounded at all the new organic and natural food offerings. Especially the sprouted bread!

The Plan:

Breakfast

Slow Cooker Steel Cut Oats

Cold cereal or muesli 

Mango Lassi Smoothie w/ kefir + kale

(Egg + toast for Stephen)

Lunch 

Hardboiled eggs

Hummus

Greens

Wraps + bread

(PB+J or grilled cheese for Ada)

Dinner

M: Lentil loaf* with mashed potatoes

T: Leftovers 

W: Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas 

R: Leftovers 

F: Pizza night using Pumpkin Dough

S: Homemade Ciabatta sandwiches w/ fries

S: Pumpkin Chili w/ Greens + Cheddar Biscuits 

* Recipe soon

Dessert

Pumpkin + Pecan Apple Crisp 

Pecan Chocolate Chippers

Looking for more tasty inspiration? 

• Here’s a bunch of Sunday Meal Prep Ideas from the archives.
• Here’s more great meals (and savings!) you can make with Aldi food.
• Here’s our Recipe Archive full of great vegetarian and vegan meal ideas.
• Check out #nhmweeklymeals for Instagrams of my progress!

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Sunday Meal Prep Ideas

Like many of you, I like to do a load of meal-prep on Sunday afternoons. Since I've been doing so many grocery posts, I thought it'd be helpful to show you the sorts of make-ahead items I'm creating these days specifically.

Many of them utilize all Aldi ingredients and some require additional foods (chickpeas, quinoa, herbal tea, canned pumpkin, etc.).

Here we go!

// HARDBOILED EGGS

We always make a dozen hardboiled eggs to split between the two of us all week (Ada doesn't like them at all!). I mostly just eat them plain, but sometimes we'll mix them into Avocado Egg Salad or Mayo-Less Egg Salad. Other times I'll slice in half and make quick deviled eggs with lots of smoky paprika.


// MINIMALIST CHICKPEA SPREAD

This word combo sounds like the equivalent of "conscious uncoupling" just for tahini-free hummus. I don't think I've ever shared my go-to hummus recipe on the blog. Combine 1 can drained chickpeas, around 1/4+ cup water, a teaspoon of spice (I like paprika or even curry!), a clove of garlic, pinch of salt, and that's it. Use for snacking + veggies, sandwiches (Hummus Melts!), etc.


// SLOW COOKER SOUP

Are you getting tired of this one yet? Not me. It's getting warmer, but I'm still a crockpot fiend. If you haven't seen all my tips yet, here's 10 tips for how to make the perfect slow cooker soup with whatever you happen to have on hand, every single freakin' time.


// ROASTED VEGGIES

Whether it's carrots, broccoli, onions, zucchini, cauliflower, sweet potatoes, or whatever else -- just chop up a pan-full of them and roast until browned. Then keep in your fridge to us in Veggie Burgers, Veggie-Loaded Quesadillas, delicious soups, and even as a simple side to other dinners.


// QUICK BREAD OR MUFFINS

Breakfast prep can be just as helpful as the work is for lunch and dinner. Usually I don't go too overboard with my morning meal, but a nice Banana Bread (Nutella Banana Bread!) or Zesty Orange-Ricotta Muffin does the trick every time! And if you'd like to use up your juice pulp -- try these One Bowl Juice Pulp Muffins, simple and delicious for the week!



// RICE OR QUINOA

During the week it can be a pain to make a grain to go along with dinner. So, we like to make a large batch on the weekend and refrigerate + reheat for mid-week enjoyment. I like brown rice and quinoa best, but I think making ahead works alright with most like-ingredients. Particularly helpful if you enjoy making veggie burgers and need to toss in a grain.


// PESTO

Seriously. You will be happy you took time to pulse together this simple, satisfying spread. I have tons of easy recipes -- and most of them don't require any fuss. Just use raw greens!

Pesto + Avocado Sauce (Video)
Pumpkin Pesto Rolls
Garlic Scape + Swiss Chard Pesto, 2 Ways
Steamed Pesto Dumplings
Pesto Pizza Dough
Baby Kale Pesto
Walnut Basil Pesto
Basil-Pesto French Toast
Pesto French Toast, II -- with Avocado Butter
Pesto Quiche with Oatmeal Crust
Pesto Garlic Knots
Pesto Portabella Sandwiches
(Pesto) Smothered Mother


// HERBAL TEA

I like drinking cool tea (not iced), so I'll often steep a few bags of my favorite fruity variety over the weekend and pour into a pitcher to cool in the fridge. A nicer option for a zero calorie flavored beverage than all those weird water squirts I keep seeing at different grocery stores. I usually make a pot with around 4-6 bags and go from there.


// PIZZA DOUGH

It's on the menu every week: pizza or garlic knots. Our go-to recipe continues to be the Pumpkin Pizza Dough we made way back when. But sometimes we substitute in other pureed vegetables (beets, cauliflower, carrots, etc.) and just adjust the liquid level depending on the consistency of the dough. I find that pizza dough turns out better if it's given a full night to rise and then refrigerated. Could just be my preferences, but who knows!


What's on your weekly meal-prep list these days?



And don't miss our 90 healthiest recipes of 2013! Lots of delicious, wholesome foods for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and beyond. Includes both vegan and vegetarian recipes to please the entire family -- even toddlers!




Like what you just read? Browse more of our posts + recipes on Pinterest. You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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Automatic (Healthy) Eating // Tip 3

I used to sit down with cookbooks or my recipe archives and set out to make all these amazing meals each week. Even back when I worked outside the house full time, I made meal planning + cooking a huge priority. I'd go through and meticulously write out the ingredients needed, write up my list, and take lots of time each day preparing food.

But just as setting unrealistic fitness goals can be overwhelming and defeating, so too can being overly ambitious in the kitchen. Even the best plans can be super organized, easy to follow, and even frugal. If they're too labor intensive, you'll likely fail -- and what's at stake isn't your ego, it's your health.

Or at least that's how it worked for me.

// TIP 3: Create Simple, Go-To Meals

Simple meals don't need to be boring. Instead, they need to be easy + fast to prepare AND feature healthy ingredients. That being said, if you're not used to assembling meals without recipes, it can take some practice to get into a good groove.

Mastering a few key recipes can be a fantastic use of your time. Focusing on a few to start is helpful if you're learning, but can get somewhat boring. Good news: Before too long, you'll gain more confidence and independence from books + blogs and be able to make your own no-fuss meals like a pro.

A well-stocked pantry is all you need. And maybe a few ideas . . .

BREAKFAST:

Oatmeal
Smoothies
Eggs + Toast
Banana Scramble
Breakfast Burrito
Homemade Freezer Waffles

LUNCH:

Avocado Egg Salad
Tofu Avocado Salad
Couscous Salad
Hummus Melts
Apple Melt
Other Salads
5-Minute Bruschetta Toast

DINNER:

Veggie Stir-Fries
Veggie Chili
Whole Wheat Pasta + 10-Minute Tomato Sauce
Anything with frozen veggies!
Stuffed Peppers
Slow Cooker Soups + Stews
Roasted Veggies w/ Baked Tofu


What these meals have in common is that they use relatively few ingredients and rely mostly on spices and seasonings to give them flair. I love roasting vegetables as a side for dinners because most just require preheating the oven to 400 degrees F, chopping, and drizzling with olive oil (and adding salt + pepper to taste). After roasting around 30 minutes, tossing every 10 minutes or so, they should be golden.

I like to keep beans on hand for hummus and soups. I use my slow cooker every Sunday to effortlessly simmer a delicious lunch chili. A little prep ahead of time -- hard boiling -- can make work-week egg salad a breeze. And when in doubt, we cook up tofu or tempeh and toss with some frozen or fresh veggies stir-fried with soy sauce and sesame oil.

Using ingredients in their most basic form + seasoning is the way to go.

What are your go-to meals? How do you make them healthy?

(If you're catching up, check out tip #1: stock up on frozen veggies + tip #2: buy greens and actually USE them.)

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

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(Another) Vegetarian Freezer Month?

For obvious reasons, I didn't attempt making a month of freezer foods for our October consumption. But now that we're nearing another fresh start, I'm toying with the whole idea again. I first want to review the pros and cons of what I did for September, as well as provide some details about what I would modify going forward.

• I prepared a variety of meals -- from vegan lasagna to veggie burgers -- but planned on eating each once a week. Overall, I didn't get as bored with the food as I thought I would, but there were certainly times I felt I'd rather cook fresh because I love cooking.
• Without using a microwave, which we've banished to the basement for more counter space, reheating the foods took a long time -- and if I didn't think enough ahead (which there's no excuse -- but it still happened, multiple times), dinner would only be lukewarm when we were starving. 
• It was nice to have meals already portioned out, and I think it helped us conserve our food resources ($$$) instead of just carving away piece by piece at what could be leftovers.
• I'd have to say the taste of the food was good, but some was lost in freezing and reheating. I don't know if this is entirely avoidable or if I just don't use much salt (though I'm not willing to load stuff for taste). Maybe trying new, spicier recipes is in order?
• However, speaking of spicy recipes -- this Indian stew looked vibrant and tasty when we made it . . . but after freezing was a complete mess. Cook and learn, I guess.

If I freeze foods for November, I think I'll likely change the following:

• I'd only make freezer dinners for 2 or 3 nights each week, decreasing the BIG COOK intensity, but also giving me an opportunity to make fresh meals when I feel like it.
• I'd still meal plan for the entire month -- fresh cooking included -- and attempt to buy the bulk of the month's groceries in a massive shop to save money.
• I'd plan to make very simple fresh meals that have only few ingredients or prepare easily in the crock pot or in one bake dish by roasting, etc.
• I'd use a lot of local and seasonal squash because it's inexpensive, readily available, hearty (doesn't spoil easily), and versatile. Another batch of Delicata Mac 'n Cheese, anyone?
• And with the fresh foods I do make, it'd be nice to plan for leftovers and then remix them for the following day (lunch) or night (dinner).
• I might also like to make freezer bagels or breads this month -- the baking bug has bitten me. And this month I will make time for a batch of Homemade Freezer Waffles.
• I'd also like to keep a closer watch on the budget for what I spend the weeks after the big shop. When stuff got crazy last month, I honestly stopped caring about that piece -- but I plan a full budget analysis and see how it compares to just regular cooking.

So that's where I am with planning for next month. I'll be sure to share the recipes I intend on making (some new stuff -- hooray!) soon. The freezer lasagna was a big hit, and I'd love suggestions for tried-and-true recipes you know freeze really well.

Anyone else doing freezer meals?

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Every Other Week Shopping Guide

When I go grocery shopping for two weeks, I focus on basic staples that can be turned into a variety of dishes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. (I was hoping to just take a snapshot of our latest receipt, but I can't find it!)

I've discovered a lot. For example, oats can be used in almost everything.

Here's a sample shopping list.

• 10 pounds potatoes 
• 8 pounds apples
• 5 pounds carrots
• 2 bulbs garlic
• Bag cooking onions
• 4 broccoli heads
• 2 containers tofu
• 2-pack almond milk
• 2 containers veggie broth
• Large container rolled oats (42 ounces)
• Bag of bread flour
• 2 containers (32 ounce) plain low-fat yogurt
• 2 large cans (28 ounce) whole tomatoes 
• 2 large cans (28 ounce) kidney beans
• 2 regular cans chickpeas
• Large bag of frozen peas
• 2 bags shredded mozzarella
• 2 small cans tomato paste
• Large carton (18) eggs
• Large box of Kix cereal (treat for all of us!)
• Bag of chocolate chips for cookie-making!

$$$ + MEAL PLANNING

With this type of list, the total generally comes in around $80, leaving me $30 for the following week's haul if we're sticking to a $60 budget. As I mentioned in my last post, we have $100/week total for groceries AND entertainment, so sometimes we spend it all on food, other times not. It's just good to flex it that way. Generally we are able to stay within around $65 a week average for food.

I look at meal-planning in a two-week stretch. The meals are repetitive, but don't necessarily need to be. It's just easier that way when getting used to buying large quantities of the same ingredients.


Here's what we are eating this week and likely next.

BREAKFAST

• Muffins for breakfasts -- latest recipe tomorrow
• Egg + 1/2 banana for Ada's breakfast everyday
• Ashley + Stephen eats eggs w/muffins or oatmeal + banana

SNACKS/LUNCH
 

• Sourdough bread or other loaf of bread, sometimes 2 loaves
• Applesauce, lasts the whole week for a side-dish/baby food
• Tahini-free hummus (just chickpeas pureed with water and lemon juice + salt/pepper)
• Crock pot veggie soup, lunches Monday through Thursday
• Ada eats veggies strained out of the soup w/ applesauce + cheese or tofu
• Dinner leftovers to accompany lunch
• Stephen gets a sandwich with a coworker one day a week for lunch
• On that day, Ashley picks at what we can find in the fridge

DINNER/ETC.

• Veggie burgers + oven-baked fries + 5-minute naan for "buns" -- 2 nights
• Breakfast for dinner night (eggs + potatoes + side veggie)
• Tofu Stir-Fry Dinner w/ Broccoli + Onions + Rice
• Pizza Thursday -- we started making our own, we have lots of recipes, saves like $15
• Ada eats beans, tofu, peas, bits of our dinner, etc.
• Misc. Night for dinner depending on leftover ingredients.
• We usually make a special dinner or go out one night a week
• I also make dessert 2-3x/week. A half dozen cookies, usually -- I have been using olive oil lately versus Earth Balance

I do most of the meal prepping on Sunday afternoon for week 1 and will do the same for week 2. It's fun to watch a gigantic bag of potatoes get used up with each and every recipe. Almost like a challenge to see just how many ways I can use them.


SOME TIPS

// Stock up on items that don't go bad in a week's time.

Broccoli is hearty, green peppers are, too, and both last the full two weeks. On the other hand, squash can be iffy and go limp. Carrots are robust for longer than two weeks typically. Mushrooms -- not on your life. It's all experimentation.

// Have a plan for what you buy. 

I can't stress enough the importance of meal planning. Once you get more used to it, you just know in your head what meals work + what foods you'll need to make them. But until it becomes second nature -- write it out on a piece of paper and write you list from it.Try to choose meals that utilize the same ingredients, like how we have potatoes for fries AND put them in our veggie stew AND use them for a side on breakfast-for-dinner night.

// Invest in a good spice collection.

I don't know what we'd do without our spices. They can make two completely same meals taste entirely different. Our favorites are curry powder, cayenne pepper, paprika, thyme, dill, fenugreek, rosemary, and -- oh, who am I kidding? -- we like them all!


// Consider making your own bread. 

Sometimes I joke with Stephen that I feel like we have to mill our own grain for everything we eat. We make virtually everything from scratch, which sounds exhausting and possibly insane -- but it really pays off for us. Plus, it doesn't take nearly as long as it sounds. We have a basic 5-minute naan recipe that we use to make bread to accompany meals on-demand, and this way there isn't any waste -- moldy bread -- at the end of the week.

// Keep it in sight. 

The tendency I have with buying things in larger quantities is to put them in the back of the cupboard. Forget they are there. I have done it more times than I'd like to admit, even when I have had the best intentions. It can be helpful to write out a pantry list somewhere in your kitchen and cross off items as they dwindle -- because you'll also see what you still have!

// Freeze meals ahead. 

If you're worried something won't keep, make it into a soup or other meal you can freeze and reheat the next week or more into the future. I also think freezing might help us save even more money AND time -- because shopping every three weeks or even monthly for the big stuff could then be possible. This is something I'm currently working on and hope to write more about soon. We love our upright freezer. One of the best purchases we've made.

// Learn how to substitute ingredients.

This tip can be handy if you have more of something left over than you thought you would. In muffins, you can use applesauce in place of eggs or oil, for example. You can also swap ingredients out of veggie burgers like crazy to fit your taste and available ingredients. I will try to write a post specifically on swapping sometime soon. It's one of the most useful skills you can develop in the kitchen. An easy way to start is stick with similar ingredients (garbanzos for canelli beans) in similar rations.

// If you have babies + toddlers, skip the kid-specific stuff.

We got roped into buying the special yogurts and snacks for a while, but we have resisted since the beginning of the new year. IT IS SO EXPENSIVE! Ada eats what we eat generally, though I do try to make some meals more kid-friendly and appealing to her. And while we occasionally keep around a few packets of baby food, we are considering buying reusable pouches to fill with our own purees when we're out and about.


A couple of you have asked us about our organics-buying policy. We actually covered it on Writing Chapter Three around this time last year. Here's that series of posts:

Buying Organic: Weighing the Costs
Organic Grocery Haul: $112.72
Organics: Responding to Reader Comments
Organics: Moving Forward

If you have any other questions or suggestions, let me know! I also wanted to share a few things from the comments section in the last post.

• Allison shared: Why You Should Shop with a Cart, Not a Basket
• Kristina suggested "to boost frugalness, make stock instead of buying it. I usually make mine out of trimmings-- a few weeks' worth of saved carrot peels, potato skins, parsley stems, celery leaves (I save them in the freezer) plus leek greens or an onion or two, a teaspoon of peppercorns, some thyme and a bay leaf. Fill up your biggest pot with water, throw everything in, and simmer gently for about an hour. Then strain and freeze. It's essentially free this way, which is awesome."
• Shannan shared: "I usually make a big list of meal options and then make a grocery list of what we need in order to make those meals. That way, when we get home from work, we don't have to try and think of something to make. I pull out the list and we decide what to eat from there!"
• Kim added: "Usually the second week becomes a clean out the fridge, freezer and pantry week. I make a few big meals that I can freeze like pasta fagoli. Pasta is so cheap that is makes for good fill in meals. I also keep baked cookies and breakfast foods in the fridge and freezer all the time so we aren't tempted to buy many snacks."

Thanks as always for all your tips + tricks!

MORE RELATED POSTS

Shop for TWO Weeks
Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

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Read more...

Grocery Savings: Shop for Two Weeks

Confession: We fell -- hard -- off the wagon with regard to budgeting for food. We were doing better than we thought financially through the last half of 2012, so we didn't feel the pressure to pinch pennies. We were also busy with the holidays + traveling, so stuffing our faces with whatever tasted good was just . . . easy and comforting.

I'd say we were spending around $90 a week at the store.

Still "good" by most definitions. But now that we have to buy a new-to-us car, I'm back on the budget wagon. I have allotted $100 a week for groceries/entertainment with $65 going toward food and $35 otherwise. But, of course, these numbers can flex as necessary. Things are tight, but that doesn't mean we can't eat healthy, filling foods -- and even be creative with them!

It's taken me quite some time to put some of the grocery savings techniques you guys/gals gave me into practice. But now that I have some experience, I thought I'd tell the world: Shopping two weeks at a time is where it's AT for saving with grocery budget and wasting less food.

It's a trial I had been meaning to test myself with for months years . . . and finally got around to it in the last month, month + a half. And now I'm a convert and would like to try shopping for an entire month in the near future!

Shopping two weeks at a time (and possibly for longer periods) can be tricky, though. It requires meal-planning, awareness (to avoid wastefulness), and some serious practice. It's well worth the effort. Not only do we save money this way -- our last weekly bill figured to be $60 -- meal preparation is so much easier!

Some examples of items we buy in 2-week quantity . . .

• Vegetable stock, 32 ounce carton x 2 -- sale
• Plain low-fat yogurt, the 32 ounce container x 2 -- sale
• Whole tomatoes, 28 ounce can x 2
• Apples (comes in a gigantic 8 pound bag)
• Carrots (another gigantic bag)
• Onions (yup -- big bag)
• Potatoes + sweet potatoes (same thing)
• Cabbage
• Beets
• Almond milk x 2 cartons
• Shredded mozzarella x 2 packages -- sale
• Tofu x 2 packages -- sale
• Peanut butter, 2 pack (lasts us longer than 2 weeks)
• Bag wheat flour 
• Bag bread flour
• Frozen peas, bulk bag
• Frozen strawberries, bulk bag
• Beans, lots of beans

There are several items we do like to buy fresh each week. Bananas, for example, get pretty funky after a week in my experience -- but they are a staple for us year round. Spinach, kale, and other salad greens are also difficult to store for long periods of time.

And no matter how many eggs we buy, we always seem to be running out.


Here's where it gets confusing: Shopping two weeks at a time doesn't necessarily mean we won't go to the grocery store again next weekend. I know that sounds like it's defeating the purpose, but I assure you -- it isn't. It's just our happy compromise.

We go back armed with ONE of those baskets versus a cart and stick to the list. I also write down how much we have "left over" from the budget so I don't feel tempted to buy extras. Sometimes I write it in gigantic numbers colored in with bright markers. Whatever works, right?

Having meals prepped ahead of time is the key here -- because when I go back to the aisles, I have our stores fresh in my mind. I know, for instance, that I have some awesome pizza dough + everything we need to make it great already at home.

So, I keep walking past the temptations.


To make shopping every other week work for you:

• Make your list. Identify which foods you normally buy and which ones would work with this method. Canned foods and dry goods are an obvious choice; produce can take some experimentation.
• Simplify your shopping list in the process. Which foods are nutritional necessities and which are bonus?
• Get creative. Try to find a multitude of ways to use the same foods. If you buy 8 pounds of apples, for example, you need to know how you're going to use them ahead of time. I'll be covering more about this in my next post either tomorrow or early next week.
• Remember your budget. Buying times two can save a lot -- that's for sure. But if you're not careful, you might over-buy or buy the wrong things. The worst is when you just can't use up everything -- but that doesn't typically happen if you have a plan and cook ahead of time.
• Make a 2-week meal plan + consider designating specific cook days. (That terminology makes me think of Breaking Bad.) I'll be writing more about this in my next post, too, but you could even go ahead as far as a whole month if you have the freezer space.
• Shop around. Consider checking out bulk stores, but don't obsess. In my experience, the prices at Sam's club/BJs/etc. aren't dramatically better on the whole -- for some things, yes, but for others certainly not. 
• Keep your eyes open. Instead, keep your eye on the sales at your grocery store. Often they have 2-for-less type deals, which is when we bulk up. Even better, figure out seasonal sales. My MIL recently scored a gazillion beans for us on the super cheap with a can sale.
• And be flexible. Sometimes we go with a list, but end up seeing something else is on sale -- a similar ingredient or one that I could easily swap, like chickpeas for kidney beans.

Buying two weeks at a time has allowed me to spend just $60/week on food. Not only that, we have spent far less time scrambling around every night for dinner. Lunches are grab-and-go -- which is especially helpful with a half-the-time-hungry pre-toddler running around the house.

In my next post on this topic, I'll give you a sample of my two-week meal plan, as well as a specific shopping list, to show you how it all works. I'll even link to some of my favorite recipes. It may seem overwhelming, but meal prepping on the weekend is awesome.

Do you shop every other week?
Or even less frequently? 
How do you make it work?

RESOURCES

Grocery Produce that Lasts the Longest on Forbes
Buying in Bulk on Huffington Post
Two Week Grocery Plan on The Vanilla Tulip
Vegan Shopping Guide on PETA

MORE RELATED POSTS

Ongoing Grocery Saga + YOUR Tips
How Low can we Go?
$60 Sweet Spot
Eating Well Need Not Cost a Fortune
Grocery Bills: Progress
Grocery Bills: Even More Progress
Grocery Bills: What's Up Now?
Slashing Grocery Bills: We're Going Strong
Grocery Bills: Major Fail!
How to Store Bulk Foods
Cooking and Baking on a Budget: How To
How to Bake It Vegan: Common Substitutions

Like what you just read? You can subscribe to the feed of these posts or follow us on Twitter or Facebook to be the first to know what the (never home)makers are up to. And we’ll love you forever!

Read more...