Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping Badge

Transcription

1 Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping Badge Menu Planning Badge: 1. Plan a balanced menu for two weeks, including: breakfasts, lunches, snacks, dinners, and (optional) desserts. Incorporate at least 1 meal where you can use leftovers to create a second meal and at least one crock pot meal per week. For instance, on day 1 you might serve, Chili, and then for the second meal using some of your leftovers, you could create a Baked Potato bar using the chili as one of your toppings. Bake a whole chicken and eat the chicken on day 1, reserving about 1 cup of meat, and then boil the carcass to create a rich broth that will be a base for a homemade Chicken Noodle Soup on day Write out a grocery list for the menu. Make sure that it does not exceed the budgeted amount that you are allowed for the week. Try to spend less! 3. Go grocery shopping. 4. Create a set of Menu Planning Index cards. Grocery Shopping: 1. Compare grocery prices at two competing stores. 2. Learn to use a grocery sales bill so that you can determine which store has the lowest price on a product. 3. Create a price log where you can look at what you are paying for the same item over time.

2 Keepers at Home Meal Planning Worksheet Breakfasts, Lunches, & Snacks planned for the Week of: Sunday Monday Tuesday Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Wednesday Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Thursday Friday Saturday Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: Breakfast: Lunch: Snack: *Make use of leftovers for lunchtime. *Plan healthy snacks. *Try to limit prepared foods. This will save you money and allow for healthy, homemade favorites. *If you make pancakes on Saturday morning, plan to make a few extra and freeze them to make an instant breakfast with the help of your toaster. *After you have returned home from the grocery store, wash and slice all of your fruits and veggies all at once. You can place them in individual baggies and then snack time will be a cinch.

3 Keepers at Home Meal Planning Worksheet Evening Meals planned for the Week of: Sunday: Monday: Tuesday: Side: Veg: Side: Veg: Side: Veg: Wednesday: Side: Veg: Thursday: Friday: Saturday: Side: Veg: Side: Veg: Side: Veg: Special Dessert: Other: *Be sure to plan at least one meal where the left-overs can work to create a second meal. Cook once and eat twice. Put a star beside those meals so that you remember to save back a portion of the ingredients to use for your second entrée. *Remember to consider your schedule when planning your meals. Crock Pot Cooking is great for Sunday lunches and busy evenings. *Be thoughtful about cost. Use produce that is in season and make use of more affordable cuts of meat. Check the ads and incorporate store specials into your menu plan. *If you are going to be particularly busy during a week, be sure to plan simple meals that are ready in minutes or prepare entrees that can be frozen and reheated for later use.

4 Grocery Shopping List Produce Fresh Fruit and Veggies Refrigerated Items Butter, Cheese, Eggs, Milk Packaged & Frozen Foods Pastas, Cereal, Soups, Frozen Veg. Happy Shopping! Bread & Baking Fresh Bread, Flour, Sugar Miscellaneous Toothpaste, Kleenex, Hair Spray

5 How much does it cost to feed my family? Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Sunday TOTAL Price to Prepare Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Monday TOTAL Price to Prepare Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Tuesday TOTAL Price to Prepare Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Wednesday TOTAL Price to Prepare

6 How much does it cost to feed my family? Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Thursday TOTAL Price to Prepare Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Friday TOTAL Price to Prepare Are there any ways that you could have saved money in your menu? Meal Breakfast Lunch Snack Dinner Saturday TOTAL Price to Prepare What was the total cost for all of your meals this week? What was your budget? Did you spend more or less than your budget? Which day s menu was the thriftiest? How did you save extra money on that meal?

7 Keepers at Home Grocery Price Tracking Worksheet Item Include Brand & Variety Size Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price Example: Jif Reduced Fat Creamy Peanut Butter 40 oz. 1/14/10 Wal-mart $4.86

8 Keepers at Home Grocery Price Tracking Worksheet Item Include Brand & Variety Size Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price Date & Place Purchased Price

9 Compare Grocery Prices Item Size Price Date Compared Is this item a store special? Ground Beef 80% Lean 1 lb. pkg $2.98 1/27 No Yoplait Yogurt 6 oz. $0.50 1/27 Yes Sunbeam Texas Giant Sandwich Bread 24 oz. $2.49 1/27 No Motts Cinnamon Applesauce Snack Cups Six 4 oz. cups $1.83 1/27 No Minute Rice 28 oz. box $3.79 1/27 No Quaker Cinnamon Life Cereal 21 oz. $3.19 1/27 No Hunt s Traditional Spaghetti Sauce 26.5 oz. can $1.49 1/27 No Skinner Angel Hair Pasta 1 lb. box $1.09 1/27 No Granny Smith Apples Price/lb. $1.00 1/27 Yes Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese 14 oz. $1.86 1/27 No Borden Whole Milk 1 gal. $3.99 1/27 Yes Welch s 100% White Grape Juice 64 oz. $4.59 1/27 No Bone-In Pork Chops Price/lb. $3.49 1/27 No Campbell s Tomato Soup oz. $1.15 1/27 No

10 Store: Compare Grocery Prices Item Size Price Date Compared Is this item a store special? Ground Beef 80% Lean 1 lb. pkg. Yoplait Yogurt Sunbeam Texas Giant Sandwich Bread 6 oz. 24 oz. Motts Cinnamon Applesauce Snack Cups Minute Rice Quaker Cinnamon Life Cereal Hunt s Traditional Spaghetti Sauce Skinner Angel Hair Pasta Granny Smith Apples Kraft Deluxe Macaroni & Cheese Borden Whole Milk Welch s 100% White Grape Juice Bone-In Pork Chops Campbell s Tomato Soup Six 4 oz. cups 28 oz. box 21 oz oz. can 1 lb. box Price per lb. 14 oz. 1 gallon 64 oz. Price per lb oz. can

11 Comparing Grocery Store Prices Which store has the lowest price on the groceries that you buy? It is a very important thing to know if you are trying to make the most of your grocery budget. Take a trip to a food store near your home other than our example store of Kroger and write down the prices of the exact same items on your worksheet. When you have completed this task, answer the questions below. Which store had the lowest price on Sunbeam sandwich bread? Which store had the lowest price on 1 pound of ground beef? Which store had the lowest price on grape juice? Which store had the lowest price for 1 pound of Granny Smith apples? Which store had the most items on sale? What is the total of all of the groceries at Kroger? What is the total of all of the groceries at your comparison store? Which store has the lowest grocery total overall?

12 How does it all ad up? Find 3 sale bills advertising this week s grocery store specials and then answer the questions below. 1. I want to make an apple pie for dessert on Sunday. Where should I shop to get the best price on apples? 2. I have a special guest coming over to dinner on Tuesday night. Which meat should I plan to serve? Look at the prices on all cuts of meat and determine which one is the cheapest per pound. Type of meat: Price per pound: 3. My family always eats in a hurry on Wednesday nights. Is there a special from the deli that I should consider for dinner? Look at the deli prices and determine which meal is the most affordable to serve on Wednesday evening. Meal: Store: 4. I am sitting down to make my meal plan for the week. Which fruits and vegetables are on sale this week? List 3 of your favorites. Which fruit and which veggie is the cheapest overall? Veggies on sale: Thriftiest Veg: Fruit on sale: Thriftiest Fruit: 5. For my husband s birthday, I want to splurge and serve T-bone steaks for dinner. Where should I shop for the steaks to get the best price per pound on them?

13 Menu Planning Index Cards Menu Planning Index System Spring/Summer Meal Meals that use seasonal ingredients or are best eaten when it is warm outside Winter/Fall Meal Meals that are typically eaten when it is cold outside such as soups or stews Quick Fix Meals that can be prepared and ready to serve within 30 minutes Plan Ahead Meal Meals that require more time to prepare such as chopping ingredients or long cooking times First, sit down and think about some of your favorite meals family favorites, holiday treats and traditional dinners. It is also helpful to include the side dishes that you typically serve with the meal. Then, purchase a package of index cards. Cut out this information and then paste it to the front of your first card. You will analyze each meal idea that you have written down and decide which star it should have assigned to it. Some meals may match up with more than one star. Crock Pot Meal Meals that are readied using a slow cooker Spaghetti with Mozzarella Stuffed Meatballs Served with Garlic Bread Recipe from Mom s Best Recipes pg. 26 Mom s Best Meals Shopping List: Go through your list of meals. Write the name of each meal on the first line of your index card. Decide which star it matches up with and put that in the top right hand corner of the card. Include your side dishes if you have already planned them. On the next line, write down where you can find the complete recipe. Next, write down the ingredient list so that you can look at your cards and build a grocery list quickly and easily. 1/4 cup milk 2 slices white bread 1 lb. ground beef 1/2 med. onion 1 egg 1 Tbsp chopped garlic 1 Tbsp Italian seasoning 2 mozzarella cheese sticks Salt/Pepper Angel Hair pasta Spaghetti sauce 1/2 cup red wine Garlic bread

14 Grocery Saving Tips from Michelle Jones of Here's some of Michelle s general tips for saving money at the grocery store, I hope they will help you Save, Save, Save! Tip # 1 - Do not, I repeat, DO NOT shop without a list for exactly what you need! Then do your best to stick to it and get out as quickly as you can! Tip # 2 - As you go through the store pay attention to the helpful aisle banners above each row... avoid any row that doesn't have something on your list! Tip # 3 - This should really be RULE #1, do not shop while you're hungry! As a busy mother of 4, I often make this mistake - and I know better! It's just not good for the waist line (because you'll buy foods you shouldn't!), or the family budget. So don't do it! Tip # 4 - Avoid last minute impulse purchases at the checkout for things like magazines and candy bars, and whatever else they're trying to sell you... including nail clippers, camera film and batteries. Unless they're on sale, you'll always do better at the discount stores for those items! Tip # 5 - And if you have a magazine you tend to keep picking up each month (while you're at the GROCERY story), just subscribe to the darn thing and save yourself $20! (Try to limit yourself to just one or two subscriptions per year.) Tip # 6 - Do NOT be brand loyal, and try to buy only what's on sale. Sometimes a name brand can even be on sale for the same price as the store brand, or less... so read those price labels! Tip # 7 - Bigger does not always equal better! Be careful of big "value size" packages. Maybe it's because of sale items, but I often find that a smaller size product can be more cost effective than the larger size of the same product. Sometimes they are packaged for price value, but often they are simply packaged only for convenience. The store manufacturers must be thinking we'd rather save a trip to the store than save money... WRONG!! Tip # 8 - There is no need to make a special trip (especially with gas prices being so high), but as you're shopping around town pay attention to the prices of items you buy on a regular basis. I do this everywhere I go! (And have been doing it for 20 years!

15 Tip # 9 - Make a note! As a busy working mom of 4, I don't have time to keep a price log but I make a mental note of items that are much cheaper at particular stores. It's become such a habit that when we run out of something I know exactly which store I need to purchase it at for the best price. That is of course, if it's not on sale somewhere else! Tip # 10 - Grocery stores are becoming harder and harder to get out of quickly. With the addition of greeting cards, books, hardware, pet supplies and even fancy gifts to purchase! This tip goes along with my Tip #1 - shopping with a list and getting out quickly. If you KNOW before you even get there, that every non-food item the grocery store has can be purchased much cheaper elsewhere, then don't even look at those items! Just shop for the foods that are on your list and then get out!!! (Of course stopping at the checkout to pay for your groceries first! ;-) Tip # 11 - "While many people have their lists planned down to the ounce, often I find myself putting little extras in the cart as I shop. To avoid buying things that are not necessities, I always stop and survey my cart before I proceed to the check out. Does my family really need chips and pretzels this week? Three types of candy? I try to allow a treat or two every time I go to the grocery, but sometimes I get carried away if things are on sale. By reviewing what is in my cart before I get to the check out, I can eliminate items that are 'wants' rather than 'needs.' (Returning items to their proper place in the store.) This tip would probably help beginners rather than the experienced grocery budgeter, but it has saved me a lot!" - submitted by Katie Tip # 12 - Be careful when shopping at grocery stores that require a membership card to get items for their special 'SALE' price, which is just about most of them these days. I've never had a problem before now but twice in the last 6 weeks I've had to ask the cashier to refigure my bill because the card didn't go through and they charged me full price for everything! (This was especially bad since 75% or more of everything in my cart is usually on sale, not just one or two items.) And yes, it is inconvenient to ask for the refunds and wait for the total to be figured, but both trips resulted in a membership card credit of about $17.00 each! On the second trip, I had even asked the clerk to check the receipt because I saw an item wring up at full price, she checked it and said, "yes it's there." But when I got home (always check your receipt before leaving the store, which I usually do!), I put the groceries away and was looking at the receipt and saw I had been charged full price for everything. Back to the store I went, I tried to be really nice and so did the store manager but I could tell she was not thrilled at having to refigure the bill and give me a credit. I'll do whatever I can to make sure this doesn't happen again, and will never leave this particular grocery store without checking my receipt first, but good grief! Super Wal-mart is looking better and better to me all the time, and they take coupons too!!! Tip # 13 - Many people do not realize this (and the stores probably don't want everyone to know) but when a product is on sale, let's say for example "buy 4 for $10.00," you can almost always purchase just one of the items for the sale price (which in this case would be $2.50). In other words, you do NOT have to purchase 4 items to get the sale price! (However, if it's an item you use regularly it's a good idea to go ahead and purchase more than one, as long as you have the money to spare AND the room to store the extra items.)

16 Tip # 14 - This may be a surprise to you (it certainly was to me), but grocery clerks do not always know their own store's coupon guidelines! Recently, I had some special store coupons I wanted to use with matching manufacturer's coupons. Since I am fairly new to this store I stopped by the customer service desk first to make sure it was okay to do this. With no employees attending the desk, a cashier happened to be walking by and asked if I needed assistance. I asked her about the coupons and she said "No, you can only use one coupon per item!" Later, as another cashier was ringing up my groceries I mentioned it to her and told her I thought it was okay to use a store coupon with a manufacturer's coupon, and she said "Yes, it is!" And I would say in MOST cases it's going to be okay... a store coupon is not the same as a manufacturer's coupon, it's really just their own sale price! However, if you want to make sure your store will honor both coupons at the same time before you try it, just be sure you speak directly to the manager! Tip # 15 - Grocery stores must be REALLY working hard to compete with the discount store prices, or vice versa, and I'm impressed. They've fooled me a few times with this smart marketing tactic but I've decided to consider it a learning experience so there's no hard feelings, at least on my end. ;-) So anyhow, here's the scoop... let's say a certain product at the discount store costs $3.97. You know the price well because after all, you're a bargain shopper! But when you happen to be at another store (which shall remain nameless) and you see the same product (with the same brand name, same color, same approximate size, same flavor, scent, or whatever!) and the SAME PRICE, you go ahead and purchase such product because after all, they are the same! However, upon returning home and placing the new product beside the old product (which is waiting to be recycled) you discover that it was all a hoax! As it turns out, everything about the product is indeed the same, except the size and weight! They just made it appear to be the same product by pricing it exactly the same as the larger size that is available at the discount store! Tip # 16 - If you have time (or even if you don't) you can also create a price log in a small notebook to record the best price of your favorite products at each store, that way you'll always know if you're getting the same size or not! Tip # 17 - We often receive letters reminding us that stores like Wal-mart (since I evidently talk about them all the time, sorry, but I've been shopping at Wal-mart for over 20 years and I still love them!) not only do they take coupons but they also offer price matching as well. So, I finally decided it was time to make a note of it on the site! :o) And in fact, some of our readers even make a habit each week of taking all their sale flyers to a particular store and asking for the price matches (you guys rock!), but with the full load of groceries we buy for a family of 6 I think the cashiers would faint if I handed them a stack of store ads to match up! ;o) However, although I do not do this each week, I have price matched and it really does work. It's also a fantastic service to loyal customers that all stores should offer and can be a real gas saver too, especially if all of the stores are not close to your home. I price match all the time and to keep it simpler for the cashier (and myself as I am unloading and loading groceries with kids), I make a list of the items I am matching, the price and the store that advertised and hand it to the cashier at the checkout. This works well for me because I have my notebook with my list (the ad prices marked on my list so I don't have to carry all the ads with me) and I can just jot it down after I double check to see if store brands or the Wal-Mart price is not a better deal. If I am only matching a couple of things I just put a sticky note with the info right on the item."

17 Tip # 19 - One of the best ways to save money on groceries is to keep wasted food to a minimum. Use up leftovers quickly (keep a list on the fridge if necessary so you remember what s inside) or freeze them for later use. If you re cooking for just one or two, freeze leftovers in single-size portions, they ll make quick and easy dinners on nights when you re too busy or too tired to cook. Over the years, I ve learned that using clear see-through storage containers for leftovers and keeping them on a special self in the fridge works best for our family. You can also keep items that the children might like (especially healthy afterschool snacks like fruit, yogurt and cheese), on a lower shelf so they can reach them easily. Tip # 20 - When items are on a buy-2 for one-price sale, such as 2 boxes of cereal for $4.00, it is usually not necessary to buy two to get the sale price. If you use the item regularly and will need to buy more before they go on sale again (possibly in just a few weeks) go ahead and buy as many as you need. But if you only need one, then just buy one. The money you save by not purchasing that second item (just because it s on sale) may be needed for something else that you might need more, such as milk, bread, produce, chicken, fish or meat. Tip # 21 - If you're able to use coupons the same rule applies; sometimes it s better to just buy one sale item instead of the two or more the store is hoping you ll pick up. And if you have two coupons it s okay to use both on a buy-2 for one-price sale, because you are purchasing two items! It might even be worth purchasing an extra Sunday newspaper to get a duplicate set of coupons; if a certain week has a lot of great coupons for products that you use often! Tip # 22 - And speaking of coupons, double coupon offers are great but in our local area we currently have only one store that offers double coupons--and only up to 65 cents--and, they are also one of the more expensive grocery stores. The double coupons are nice, but then when you buy grocery items that generally do not have coupons (such as milk, bread, meat, produce, etc...) you will more than pay for that double coupon savings. So, if your "double coupon" store is similar to ours (i.e. on the high-end) use the coupons on their sale items when you have time and purchase everything else at a lower priced store of your choice. Tip # 23 - When grocery stores have a Grand Opening for a new location be sure to stop by and pick up their big sale items. They usually have some really LOW, LOW, prices during the first week, or even the first month. Also, register for prizes if they're being offered... I rarely ever win anything but I won $100 when my favorite store, Food Lion, opened up a new store! And with a family of 6 that was certainly a welcomed gift!!! :o) Tip # 24 - If you need a quick dinner for your family try your local grocery store for some great food instead of going to a restaurant. You'll save a ton of money (especially if you have a large family like we do) and probably calories too! Some quick ideas we've come up with include homemade deli sandwiches, spaghetti or other quick pasta dishes with your favorite jar of sauce, premade hamburger patties, and even broiled fish. You can literally make a quick trip to the store, pick up these items and have them on the table in less time than it takes to drive to a restaurant, order your food, wait for the food, eat the food, and then pay for the food (saving time and money!)