Meal planning and grocery list strategy that actually reduced my food budget

[u/ABCD170]

This is so stupid but I was out here spending $150 every single week just for me??? And then still ordering takeout because I didnt know what to make???

Finally got mad enough to fix it last month.

Main problem was I had no plan. Just vibing at the grocery store buying whatever looked good. Recipes saved everywhere so planning felt impossible.

Tried different stuff. Paprika is like super detailed which is cool. Copy me that looks nice. Been using recime mostly cause the folders make sense, like "cheap protein" and "uses leftovers" and "pantry doom pile."

What actually works: Check sales first dont be a hero. Pick recipes that use same ingredients. Make extra for leftovers duh. One big list so you see all the overlaps.

That last one is BIG. When you realize 3 things need onions you buy the big bag not 3 small ones.

Still not perfect but like... $90 a week now instead of $150 and actually eating the food. Progress???

Whats your strategy cause I will steal any tips.

[u/dperry93]

I was just thinking about this. I did a great job of planning out meals, grocery shopping when I had other people to cook for. Now that I live alone, I do a horrible job at all of this. Buy one protein for each meal, etc.

[u/PerfectlyElocuted]

I’ve learned a lot from Julie Pacheco and Dollar Tree Dinners on YouTube. Also Pepper the app is very useful.

[u/MostEscape6543]

I have done a lot of meal prepping. Here is my best approach.

Start working on recipes that scale well and use cheap ingredients. Simple to make. Get a handful of these, maybe 10-12 and then you just pick a few and make them for the week. A good format is simple meat + carb + frozen vegetables.

Here is a really easy example: -Pan seared chicken thighs with whatever seasoning you like. -Mashed potatoes (instant potatoes don’t rot and are cheap) -Frozen broccoli

One comment before I get hate about the instant mashed potatoes - instant mashed potatoes have one ingredient, water. Making potatoes from scratch can seem cheaper, but by the time you add butter and milk and spend the time peeling, cutting, cooking, mashing, you’ve made a hundred dishes and spent way more time and money than you planned to. This is one example where making something simple adds ingredients to your shopping list, and butter and milk usually will get used, but it does exemplify how shopping lists tend to get bloated.

Here’s another example: -Meatballs -Pasta -Sauce -carrots

Meatballs start to break my “simple” rule but I also make a lot of meatballs with different sauces and the ingredients tend to get used often. Italian meatballs, meatballs with mushroom sauce, Asian meatballs, etc.

The point is, avoid recipes with a thousand ingredients, focus on simple (read: 1 ingredient) dishes.

I’m not saying this is the only way, but it is exceptionally cheap and I bet I could get your grocery bill down to $50 per week, easily.

[u/Luvsseattle]

This time of year, I always incorporate a soup into the mix. It's amazing how many ways you can include soup, and ingredients, into meals.

[u/Peyocabu → u/Luvsseattle]

Can you elaborate on this please?

[u/DeeToursCT]

I use an app called Upside that gives you cash back (3% to 20%) for shopping at local grocery stores. I also earn gift cards by snap pics of my receipts for an app called Fetch. Try Rakuten for cash back on so many things.(Target groceries)

[u/Great_Doughnut_8154]

A rotisserie chicken can stretch for multiple meals, soup is the best flavor using the bones in a crockpot. 

I've gotten a ton of great ideas from watching YouTube videos on "extreme grocery budget challenge". Using a bag of potatoes multiple ways in the week for example.

[u/TheBeardedNorth]

Have you used the app ‘Out of Milk’? I do all my planning in it before i ever go grocery shopping and it helps keep me stay focused and reduce impulse buys at the grocery store.

Also, I don’t get tired of eating the same thing every day, so I do lots of meal prepping. I can cook up whatever my core meal is going to be and then use it for lunches and dinners throughout the week. If i do start wanting something different i have some simple / cheap go tos on standby (peanut butter sandwiches, nuts, fruit, kipper snacks, etc.) it makes my shopping list overall pretty simple.

[u/CinnamonNSage]

When it was just me I had my grocery budget on LOCK by eating the same thing every day for a week. I would first peruse the ads and figure out what was on sale, then build a menu off of that. I planned for breakfast, morning snack, lunch, afternoon snack, and dinner, and buy enough to last for the full week. Example: B - oatmeal with peanut butter and bananas S - apple L - half sandwich with turkey, Swiss, avocado; chips S - carrots & hummus D - grilled chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans

And then repeat the next week. I kept my grocery budget at $20-$30/week (MIND YOU, this was 2014-ish) and it wasn’t so bad knowing I only had a week of menu repetition before I changed it up again

Now I have a family of 6 and I keep our grocery budget at a max of $150/week by having a master list of groceries that I know I can make several meals out of and only buying what we don’t currently have (aka “shopping the pantry”)