Today I have a smug look on my face. You know, even the simplest little things are worth celebrating. For me, I am smiling because we have saved quite a bit of money. How? By not going food shopping three weeks in a row! Of course, we have had to be quite creative and some of the meals we created were simply amazing if I must say so myself. I don’t know about you, but I always find that some of our tastiest meals are created when the kitchen cupboards and fridge/freezer are almost bare.
Here’s how we got on this week
Firstly, I must say that we will go shopping on Sunday or Monday as the cupboards are looking too bare now. Some of the meals we prepared with what we had left include:
- Fish soup
- Turned cornmeal (polenta)
- Steamed courgette with salted cod
- Pasta with cheese sauce
- Spicy chickpea curry and homemade chapatis
- Seasoned rice
We have looked into doing this more often (shopping less often for food). There are a number of factors which helped us to be able to manage this for so long. These include:
- Always having reusable plastic containers in which to store leftovers
- Always add a few extra tins of foodstuff each time we go grocery shopping
- Having a stand-alone freezer in which to store portions of leftover food, surplus fruits, and veg etc.
- Buying yellow stickered items that can be used up in meals
- Doing a freezer clearout every now and then as it shows us sometimes foodstuff we had forgotten about.
- Being willing to experiment with ingredients and being creative in the kitchen
What are we proudest about?
- Cutting down on food waste
- Saving money which can be used to pay off debt or go on holiday
- Our cooking skills (Thanks to Home Economics lessons and a poor mom when we were growing up)
- Being able to share some of what we have planted and reaped with our friends
- Sharing this meal planning linky each week with Katy Kicker and others and learning so much
We hope you have been inspired by something in this post and do better with your finances, get creative in the kitchen and enjoy living the frugal lifestyle.
Have a great week.
You deserve that smug look on your face! I’m terrible at planning menus. We end up having a salad with some chicken most weeknights. You are an inspiration!
That smug look! You’ll have it too, as soon as you start saving money with meal planning. Thanks for stopping by.
I’m always searching for ways to save money for traveling and this one is article is just what I needed to read! We can save so much money with meal planning! Thank you so much for sharing your knowledge!
We enjoy meal planning and sharing these ideas with other too. Thanks so much for stopping by.
Love these tips! Great job!
Great post! I would love to know what turned cornmeal is though! I have some polenta in the cupboard and little inspiration about how to use it, apart from in a gluten free lemon cake.
I try to only do one shop a week. The only problem is with the amount of bread my boys eat and sometimes with more fruit. Your spicy chickpea curry sounds lovely #mealplanningmonday
I have just started meal planning and my two biggest goals are to reduce food waste and getting better at cooking!
Wow! You are going to enjoy the journey. It is honestly, one of the best things we have done to save money.
You’ve done amazing – well done ladies!
You are right. The tastiest meals are always when the fridge and cupboards are nearly bare. Simple meals win!
Great meal plan. I love the sound of the Spicy chickpea curry. x
wow great work and i love cheesy pasta as do my children. So you should look smug xx #mealplanninglinky
Hello! I would like to be added to your Pinterest Group Board “Frugal/thrifty 101”. Would this be possible?
My pinterest ID is:www.pinterest.com/debtandcupcakes
Thanks!!
Great post, totally agree with you that cutting down on food waste and saving money are the proudest things when doing meal prep. I’m not as lucky as you are to have a standalone freezer, but still, meal prep for the win!
I love to be a contributor for your Pinterest group board “Frugal/thrifty 101”, we blog on very similar topics. My Pinterest profile can be found at: https://www.pinterest.com/thecentstofreedom/
Thanks for your consideration!
I am so glad you are a meal prep girl too! Do what you can until you are able to get a free-standing freezer which will give you some more space to store food. On another note, I have added you to the board as requested. Please remember to pin out as much as you put in. Happy pinning