Planning & Prepping Meals

I've had a few requests on how to prep and plan meals. We've been doing this for about two months now and have cut down on our grocery bill and love it!

Brandon and I prep meals every week. It got to where we were spending $180+ at Walmart EVERY WEEK on food. Uh.... ok. That had to stop. I was one of those shoppers... 'Oh we're out of spaghetti sauce, ok... I'll get two jars!' ...And then not eat spaghetti for two weeks because I had nothing else to go with it! I had read and seen tons of people that do 'Meal Planning'. I was intrigued and finally took the time to sit down and try it for a week. And what do ya know...we left Walmart the first week under $100 in groceries. 

On Saturday/Sunday we always go to Walmart. Before we go we sit down and figure out what we're going to eat during the week. Usually it looks something like this...

{Weekends are usually go, go, go, so we just eat whatever we have.}

Obviously, the chart would be completed. Once the chart is done, you grab a list, check and see what you already have on hand, and write a shopping list. I always like to write how much of what we're eating.. Example: Eggs & Chicken. We go through that like crazy! I keep the meal plan sheet with me through out the week so I can remember what we're having. I used to be one of those oh... hmm...what was this ground turkey for again? And then it ends up either going bad or being used for something different and having to go to Walmart again to get the ingredients for the new recipe. Same song and dance. Shoot me! Luckily, this plan has worked every since!

Prepping meals is just as easy..you just have to set aside the time to do it at least twice a week. I prep meals on Sunday nights and Wednesday nights. By prepping I mean: measuring out my yogurt into a tupperware containers and adding the fruit and honey and having a bag of granola in my desk at work. BAM! There's a meal. Same with my second meal. On Monday I take 3 bananas, a bag of almonds, and a jar of PB. Ta-da! It's pretty much the same for the rest of the week. Sometimes on Monday nights I'll cook a healthy casserole and then divide it out into tupperware containers for lunch. Then the next week I'll switch it up and get all the ingredients for a good salad, get some turkey deli meat, and have salads for lunch. It's really easy, so much cheaper, and you just have to make the time to write your list and then prep your meals. 

My favorite thing about prepping meals is we NEVER eat out for lunch. We never have that excuse of, 'Oh dang! I didn't have time to pack my lunch.' Do you know how expensive that gets eating lunch out? Yeah. I'd say the average lunch is what? $8? Well, 8x5=40. That's $40 a week. And that's just one person. If you're married, that's gonna double.

Eating healthy is expensive. When you live with a body builder...

He will eat your whole paycheck. Literally. Brandon eats 4-5 chicken breasts a day, 2 sweet potatoes, 1 1/2 cups of oatmeal, 8 egg whites and 2 whole eggs.... and that's just 1 day. Yeah, not cheap. This is the best fix for us to cut corners and save money on the grocery bill, but still be able to buy and eat healthy, delicious, fresh foods!

Happy Money Savings, Friends!