What’s for dinner?
Sure, you could grab fast food or pizza, but if you want to save money and calories, there’s a smarter way: preparing your own food. While it takes a little planning and time to shop and cook, think of the time you’ll save in the gym later, not having work off those extra junk food pounds.
If you’re making most of your own meals, here are some tips:
1. Plan your week’s menu ahead of time. Look for coupons and sales in the newspaper, and make your list based on what’s marked down. Make sure it’s something you’ll actually eat, or it will just go to waste. See if there’s a food co-op in your town, where you can get food even cheaper. Farmer’s Markets often have choice selections of produce much cheaper than your local grocery store. For meal planning, my wife and I personally use E-Mealz.com and highly recommend it.
2. Buy in bulk if you have room and if you’ll actually use the items before they expire. Twelve rolls of toilet tissue—yes. Four loaves of bread for just you—no.
3. Make a recipe book of 15 no fail, easy recipes and rotate them over a three-week period. Look for ones that call for 5 ingredients or less, and that have some similar ingredients (i.e. pasta with a variety sauces). Recipe sites like allrecipes.com have tons of suggestions.
4. While being thrifty, don’t forget to stock up on fruits and vegetables. Although a bunch of bananas may be more expensive than a candy bar, it’s worth the nutritional investment.
5. When things get crazy, simplify: breakfast for dinner can be as easy as cereal, milk and fruit, or a peanut butter and banana sandwich on whole grain bread.
Try to fix dinner at least five nights a week. Both your wallet and your waistline will thank you.
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