Meal Planning 2014 - it makes sense to plan!

Why meal plan?


Well, because life is so much simpler when you know what you are cooking each day in advance; it eliminates a lot of waste  and, after last week's 'I am skint so will be relying on reduced/special offers and therefore cannot plan' plan, I can honestly say it really does save you money!

Meal Planning 2014 - A lean week...

After last week taking stock and getting excited about doing a 'larder' shop using the Tesco vouchers found whilst tidying up the kitchen, this week I am in a different place.

Meal Planning 2014 - Taking Stock

Last week was half term - we spent half of it at my mums being fed very well and the rest of it on freezer food, McDonalds (after a half term treat cinema trip) and pizza...

Meal Planning 2014 - Aduki Bean Pie recipe

We are into our second month of meal planning now and things are starting to get a bit more tricky. Most of the nice munchy food pressies we got over Christmas (tins of biscuits/chocolates/sweets) have gone and the store cupboards and freezer stores are starting the thin down as I am using things up and not able to replace them instantly.  I guess it's only going to get harder from here.

On the bright side the Aduki beans from last week are going down well - I will be using the other half of the pie filling this week for one meal.  Here is the recipe I promised to share...

Meal Planning 2014 - Slow Cooker Beans

The whole point of meal planning for me is, for the most part, to reduce the cost of our weekly shop. Developments this week mean that this is even more important now (I won't go into it but I'm sure if I say 'Thanks a bunch Tax Credits' you'll get the idea...)

Finding frugal ways to ensure we eat properly is up most in my mind and as we can't really afford very much meat and fish I am looking at other ways to get our protein in!  As a recovering former vegetarian I know the value of beans and pulses and this week I have been experimenting with cooking dried beans in bulk for the freezer so they are ready to use for meals whenever I need them. It's a lot more economical to buy beans dried than pre-cooked in tins but having to cook them for hours on the stove, keeping an eye on water levels so they don't boil dry often puts people off.

But did you know you can cook them in a slow cooker?

Nope me neither until recently. What a revelation!!

It's so easy - you can soak the beans overnight if you want (this reduces cooking time by an hour or two) then just rinse them, pour them into your slow cooker, cover with water with a couple of inches of water above the bean level and cook on high for 4-6 hours.
*please note that while most beans can be cooked in this manner Red Kidney beans contain toxins in their skins that must be boiled off before you slow cook the beans - place the beans in a large pan full of water and bring to the boil. Rapid boil- that is keep it bubbling furiously -  for 10 mins before draining, rinsing and continuing in slow cooker as above.

That's it!

I used a 500g pack of Aduki beans from my local health food shop for less than £2 and this cooked up the equivalent of nearly 6 drained cans of beans, which would cost double that at least!  I packed my cooked beans into freezer bags, about 250g per bag. This is a little more than the drained weight of an average 400g can of beans so when a recipe calls for a tin of drained aduki beans all I need to do is take one of these bags out of the freezer!


I used the equivalent of two cans (approx 450g of cooked beans) to make a supremely tasty Aduki Bean Pie (recipe to be blogged very soon) which cost me about £2.50 to make and would comfortably feed four. There was enough pie filling to freeze half for another meal too!

This is truly frugal, and healthy, food!

You may have noticed by the way that I didn't do a meal planning post last week - this was for various reasons, the main one being it was my birthday and we ate out one night and had pizza on another and freezer food pretty much kept us going the rest of the week. On the down side I experienced that minor 'what are we going to have for tea' panic a couple of times last week - it truly made me appreciate just how helpful meal planning is! On the upside I was well under budget last week which is good as I seem to have run out of EVERYTHING this week!

So here's this week's meal plan - it's pretty basic again as much of this weeks budget will be going on those other non-food necessities - washing up liquid, toilet roll and washing powder!

Saturday

Homemade Pizza

Sunday

Toad in the Hole with roast potatoes, carrots, peas and gravy

Monday

Pasta with veggie sauce and garlic bread

Tuesday

Homemade Soup and crusty bread

Wednesday

Something from the freezer (Roo has tea at his nan's today)

Thursday

Chicken and Vegetable Curry and Rice

Friday

Veggie Sausage Casserole and mashed potato

ps. you may have noticed I have changed my meal plan order from Saturday to Friday (instead of Monday to Sunday) this is because I normally do a big (ish) shop on Friday or Saturday so it makes more sense for me to plan from there.

Meal Planning 2014 - Lunchbox Stars!

Well last week didn't go quite as well as week before. If there is one thing I am learning it's that it's important to be flexible with the meal planning! Roo was invited to his friend's house for tea on Tuesday so rather than cook the meal I had planned for the two of us I opted for a tea and toast supper and cooked Tuesday's meal on Friday. And we ended up having Wednesday's soup two night running as Roo loved it so much...
 
Despite this I still went £2.04 over budget - although to be fair at least two meals this week will be made from Sunday's roast dinner left overs so potential to make up for over spend there...

Roo's school packed lunch is still proving tricky.  Every day this week his lunch bag has come home with about 75% of his lunch in a squished up mess at the bottom of it, so not only is he not eating it at school, I can't even make him eat it when he gets home hungry...
It doesn't seem to make much difference whether I put his favourite sandwiches (minus crusts) and snacks in or not - he rarely eats more than half of it.
We talked about it and I asked him what he would really like in his lunch bag and he said 'pasta and tuna or some soup'  This week we are going to try just a bowl of pasta salad and some of these fab little cheesy star snack biscuits (recipe below).  Less stuff to chose from will hopefully mean he eats more of what he is given and I won't have to keep throwing food away!


This week's meal plan...

Monday 

Cauliflower and Other veg cheese, made with Sunday dinner leftovers!

Tuesday 

Chicken, Sweetcorn and Noodle Soup - again made with Sunday's left over roast chicken

Wednesday

Roo going to his Nonny's house after school so probably cheesy beans on toast for me! (or left over left overs...)

Thursday

Lentil and Carrot soup with homemade rustic bread

Friday

Aduki Bean pie

Saturday

Homemade pizza

Sunday

Toad in the Hole with mash and veg

Easy Cheesy Lunchbox Stars recipe

Ingredients

4oz/125g plain flour
2oz/60g butter
2ox/60g finely grated cheese (a mature cheddar gives a better flavour)
1tsp paprika
splash of cold milk
1 egg yolk

Method

Sift the flour and paprika into a large bowl.  Rub in the butter until mixture resembles fine breadcrumbs, mix in the cheese then make a well in the centre. Add the egg yolk and a splash of milk (go easy, you can always add a little more if need be) and mix together to form a soft dough.
Roll out the the dough on a floured surface - about 3-5mm thick is enough as the biscuits puff up a bit when cooked.  Cut out your biscuits and place on a greased/lined baking tray and cook at top of a moderate oven (180c/gas 4) for about 10 minutes or until golden. Allow to cool on a wire rack then store in an airtight container.

They should stay fresh for five or six days.

They may not actually stay uneaten for that long though...

The paprika is entirely optional but adds a subtle kick. Leave it out if you don't think your kids will like it. Try dried herbs instead if you want or add some poppy seeds to the mix with the cheese.
Try using different shaped cookie cutters too - I have dinosaur ones that went down particularly well or you could try mini gingerbread men cutters, hearts, flowers, or just plain rounds.

These snacks are incredibly easy and cheap to make - not to mention very moreish - so enjoy experimenting with different seasonings and shapes and make your kids lunchboxes more fun!

ps - I have submitted this post to #mealplanningmonday over on At Home with Mrs M - there's loads of other meal planning ideas linked up too so do go and take a look!

Meal Planning 2014 - week 2

Last week I began meal planning in earnest on a pretty limited budget of £5 a day for the three of us. Working around the limitations of a very picky partner and a 5 year old whose likes and dislikes change with the wind; the fact that we have none of the 'Big 5' supermarkets within walking distance and my pledge to shop locally and utilise local butchers, bakers and grocers wherever possible.

My first week went ok - many of you warned me that no matter how well I planned it was pretty much a given that all would NOT go to plan and this proved to be the case. (Want to see what I planned? It's here )
Roo decided that he didn't like the chowder on Monday because it was too creamy (?!) and also turned his nose up at the home made veggie burgers (which he has had and enjoyed before...) Luckily vegetable soup always goes down well and I made enough for two meals (Wednesday & Friday) with crusty bread and cheese.

Saturday night takeaway for the Other Half's birthday was paid for by his parents (thank you!) and the cake went down a treat. Plus there is still half of it left for pudding today - and, as it was so rich, probably tomorrow too!
Sticking to the list proved easier than expected - although I did buy a couple of extras that had been reduced for the freezer - these have been incorprated into this weeks plan so still saving me money over all.
The best bit of all? I actually had a couple of pounds left over at the end of the week. This has been stashed away - as will any left over food budget each week - so we can treat ourselves occasionally.

I have decided not to bother listing the Other Half's meals for the week - to be honest they are pretty much the same each week. If he's happy with that (and he is) then so am I...

What me and Roo are eating this week...

Monday

Fish fingers or vegetable fingers, potato wedges, mushy peas

Tuesday

Chicken, rice and peas

Wednesday

Leek and Potato soup with cheesy rolls

Thursday

Shepherds pie and veg

Friday 

Tagliatelle with homemade veggie pasta sauce

Saturday

Creamy cheese and tomato pasta bake with garlic bread (we ALL eat this meal!)

Sunday

Roast chicken with roast potatoes, cauliflower cheese, peas, carrots and stuffing
(we all eat this meal too, although some of us eat more components than others ;-) )

A rough tot up of ingredients needed for these meals and the OH's is approximately £25 which leaves me £10 for bread, milk and other sundries for the week.

I will spend a fair chunk of my budget on Sunday's roast chicken as I like to get either free range or at least higher welfare (no 3 for a tenner stuff here) BUT left overs will be made into at least one more meal next week and I shall probably sneak a chicken, stuffing and coleslaw sarnie as next Monday's lunch too...


Are you meal planning your way through 2014? How's it going so far?

Frugal Food - Meal planning

As you have probably all worked out money has been very tight here for a while now and things are not looking much better this year. The cost of living just keeps going up and our income is resolutely stuck at the same level it has been for years (although my Forest Flower Designs business is slowly growing and I have some exciting plans to grow it further in 2014!)
I have been quite sporadic with meal planning over the years but this year I am pledging to take a much more committed approach to meal planning and shopping.

Proper meal planning can be beneficial in so many ways when you have a very small food budget.

• making a list and STICKING TO IT saves money
• stops last minute 'what shall we have for tea' panic
• Roo is getting older and has a far bigger appetite these days so healthy meals that fill his tummy are essential!
• reduces waste to an absolute minimum

I have to mention here that the Other Half is the ultimate fussy eater and has a very limited range of foods he likes that consists mainly of breakfast cereal, bread, cheese, beans, tomato soup, pizza, pasta, minced beef, potatoes and sausages. Over the years I have given up trying to change his eating habits - if he doesn't want to eat healthily then there is very little I can do about it. I do try and slip the odd bit of fruit and veg in where I can. He does like apple pie or crumble and I can add carrots, onions and peppers to a basic tomato pasta sauce - pureed, obviously. ( Honestly it's like feeding a baby! )

To be fair it could be worse, he could be one of those people who insists on meat and two veg and a proper pudding every day or a wannabe gourmet which would definitely be a challenge on the £5 a day for the three of us that I have to spend*

Luckily, for now at least, Roo follows me when it comes to food and is happy eating most things (although he IS getting fussier as he gets older and I do have to scold daddy for belittling broccoli when I am trying to get Roo to finish his dinner!

After checking through my cupboards and freezer to see what we actually have I made this simple meal plan for next week...

Monday

OH - Left over Turkey pie and mash from Sunday 

Us  -  Haddock and Corn Chowder

Tuesday

OH - Cheesy Beans on Toast

Us  -  Homemade mini veggie burgers with salad/coleslaw

Wednesday

OH - Cream of Tomato soup and fresh bread rolls and cheese

Us -  Homemade vegetable soup with fresh bread rolls and cheese

Thursday

OH - Sausage, chips and beans

Us  -  Meatballs in tomato & veg sauce with pasta

Friday

OH - Pizza

Us  -  Scramble eggs with tomatoes and spring onions on toast with beans if we're hungry!

Saturday

Is OH's birthday so we will be getting a takeaway - this is not in the budget and will probably cost us around£15 but it's not your birthday everyday...

I will be making a chocolate birthday cake and that IS included in my budget

Sunday

Shepherds pie with baked beans for OH and carrots and peas for us

Lunches are mainly cheese and pickle sarnies for OH; tuna/cheese/peanut butter sarnies, yoghurt and a homemade muffin or some dried fruit for Roo's school lunchbox (except on Fridays when he has school dinners coz it's always fish and chips and I KNOW he'll eat it!) and left overs from the day before for me (exciting huh?) 

Breakfasts are simple - cereal or porridge and toast with orange juice (one of those 5 a day!)

I have made a shopping list and am planning on shopping locally every couple of days (again to eliminate waste).  Sticking to the list is the most important part of this exercise and the part I shall probably find the most challenging but I will let you know how I get on next week!

Do you plan your meals every week? How easy do you find sticking to the plan?

If you don't meal plan already, would you like to? Why not join me giving it a go in 2014 and see if it changes your attitude to food and shopping? You might be surprised by how much money you save or how much better you are eating!

*and yes that does include other essentials like toilet roll, washing liquid etc. These have to be factored in when planning weekly shopping list.