Keep a Food Journal:
One thing that took me a little bit of time to learn was which meals would keep me full and satisfied and where to put them in my meal plan. For example, I used to always put my Shakeology for breakfast, but then I struggled with cravings and busy schedule at lunch time. So I moved my Shakeology to lunch and I have noticed a huge improvement!My days all look the same with the exception of dinner, and the reason I do this is because I know exactly what I need when I go to the grocery story. Keep a food journal, remember what kept you full, when you were hungry and if you bought too much or not enough of something. Then tweek your list each time!
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| Feeding a family of 4 (and yes, this included paper products and those lovely fresh flowers!) for 2 weeks on 150$ budget takes practice. I had to learn what worked, where to buy, and how much we really needed for 2 weeks! Typically now I shop weekly because I love farmer markets, but in the winter I will go back to every 2 weeks. You will see that the first week I eat a lot of fresh foods, and the second weeks more frozen or fruits and veggies with a longer shelf life like apples and carrots! |
The Beauty is in Simplicity:
When meal planning, I try to keep things as simple as possible. If I had to cook or prepare 3-5 meals a day, I would never stick with it. So my meal plans are simple, but that is what works for me. Once I changed my state of mind about food and looked at it more as a way to fuel my body, the repetition became less of an issue for me. 21 Day Fix approved foods that are very budget friendly are potatoes, brown rice, broccoli, apples, bananas and carrots
Meal Plan:
I usually meal plan on Sundays with the ads. I don't coupon, because most of the foods I buy don't usually have coupons! If strawberries are on sale, then they are my fruit of the week - simple as that! I will see what meats, fresh produce and paper products are on sale and generate my meal plan and shopping list from that. I cut out most processed snacks for my girls - there are a waste of money and calories... they didn't even notice and are happy to trade it for sweet fruit and yogurt!
Don't buy anything that isn't on your list:
Not much to explain here, don't do it! It is a trap... leave the kiddos at home if you can as well!Frozen and Generic are A-Okay!
When I am planning out my meals, I start with dinner. Figure out what ingredients I need and write a list. I then use the leftover ingredients from dinner to use for snacks during the week. For example, if I have chicken tacos - I am using peppers. So I will have peppers for a snack! Also remember that frozen is OKAY! Frozen, especially in the winter months is a great alternative to fresh! These are often cheaper, and obviously have a long shelf life - so the risk of wasting food is decreased!Figure out and experiment with what generic foods you are willing to substitute. I can buy generic bread, rice, noodles - but don't mess with my peanut butter or greek yogurt ;) I also buy what I use a lot of in bulk.... Skip the tiny containers of yogurt and buy a larger container to scoop out of, simple way to save some cash!
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