Meals for a Month

You know how annoying it is when you go to the grocery store just to get the egg that you need to finish the brownies that are currently sitting unfinished in the bowl on your kitchen counter then you go to check out and standing in the only lane that is open has a lady with a cart piled high - and I mean HIGH?  Groan!  Well, I must confess that once a month I am that annoying lady.

For the last few months, our family has been trying to stay organized, eat out less, and spend less money.  For us, we have found that means planning our meals for the month - yes, the entire 30 days.

And yes, it is difficult.  Some important lessons have been learned.  First, plan on two carts (i.e. two people) or wait for another day to buy the big box of diapers or take two trips out to the car.  Second, don't plan a meal for every single day.  There will inevitably be a day where left overs sound better than cooking or when drive-through is okay or when your mom invites you over for a grand kid fix.  For us that means four or five evening meals per week.  Finally, get to know your grocery store.  It sucks when you have to push around a heavy cart full of frozen stuff all over the store to find raisins.

As difficult as it is, the benefits are still greater (at least for us).  Not only does it actually help us stay organized, eat out less, and save money; there have been some unexpected benefits, too.  For example, I have been trying more new recipes.  Yummy ones, too.  It also has been good at keeping our fridge clean.  By the end of the month there isn't much left so it's easy to throw away whatever is left and make room for the big grocery load that is coming.  Lastly, and more importantly, it makes us talk about, and plan for, what is coming up for the month - who has a birthday, where we are headed for the weekends, which nights I'm on call, etc...  We have avoided a few "I-didn't-know-about-that" fights in our house.

Now, you may be curious.  So I thought I'd let you see what's coming up this month on our menu:

• BBQ chicken, corn on the cob, and cole slaw
• Tomato, basil pasta and french bread (with tomato and basil from our garden!)
• Breakfast pizza with peaches
• Orange pork stir fry
• BLTs with chips and left-over cole slaw
• Fish tacos with mango salsa and chips
• Shrimp spring rolls
• Chicken pesto pasta with sun-dried tomatoes and french bread (Everything, including the chicken, is in a can and it still sounds fancy.)
• Hamburgers with baked beans and sweet potato fries
• Quesadillas with chips & salsa
• Philly cheese steaks with corn and waffle fries
• Spinach & steak salad
• Grilled ham and cheese with sweet potato fries
• Tortellini with french bread
• Vegetable stir fry
• Sloppy joes with waffle fries and green beans
• Ravioli with salad
• PB&J with chips (Yes, peanut butter and jelly!)

And the grand total for this grocery trip (which also included soap, light bulbs, vitamins, etc...) was: $240-ish.  That's it.  I'd post my grocery list and store receipt except that seems like a little too much.  Sure we'll have to go back for milk, diapers, a few produce things later in the month, and I'm sure there's something I forgot; but those trips will be few and far between and short enough to haul in two little boys without much hassle.  So, for now, I apologize to the people behind me in line, but it's working.