It has been awhile since my last entry. I have had quite a busy month and a half with work and other things which prevented me from blogging. But I am back and, hopefully, the entries would be more frequent and with substance.
Before I get to the main topic of this entry about stretching those hard-earned moolah, let me give you a glimpse of one of the awesome summer days I had these year:
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| My First Trip to S.O.'s Dad's place |
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| Roaster/Smoker. Lechon Baboy (Roasted Pig) ala Canadiana. |
We had a pig roast, corn, salads, cake, adult drinks and plenty of good times and laughter. I would post more pictures but I need to ask the photographed people's permissions first out of respect for people's privacy. We also had a big bonfire. . .
And slept under the stars in a tent. It was my first time sleeping in a tent and it was a little bit unsettling as S.O. kept shoving me out of our air mattress. But it's something I would venture trying again sometime.
I had a get-together for my Chica Bonita's birthday where I taught her how to make bread and fed her my first time chili which she raved about and wanted to learn how to make as well. Unfortunately, I had such an amazing time that it never occurred to me to document the events. At least, this entry would serve as a reminder of that day.
Anyhoo, on to our main topic for this entry: Money Saving!
I was never any good in money and, unfortunately, due to some bad choices have a limited amount of resource. Due to this fact, every dollar I earn needs to be stretched as much as possible. As I am in charge of taking care of groceries, I have to make smart and healthy decisions for our meals. S.O. works in a physically-demanding field and needs to be fed nutritionally adequate meals. Unfortunately for both S.O. and I, our work schedules are literally day and night. And meal prep can sometimes be a hassle which brought me to browse around the net on how I can make preparing economical meals in an easy-almost-hassle-free way. Viola! Menu Planning!
I've read a lot of single/two family/mommy blogs swearing by menu planning. I tried it a couple of times and each time it helped me budget things and track my grocery spending. And I think I'll try my hardest to keep with this thing and, hopefully, save money.
I have had some experience that I have picked up from my old life in the restaurant business but it is very different making my own menu. When I used to plan menus for our restaurant, I had a consultant with me building the menu that would be approved by either my mom or my dad. I am used to other people telling me what to do and I guess you could say, I am quite a little bit overwhelmed by the many possibilities of food that I can make with a little budget and with me having the last say on the menu.
And so, this is how I started building my menu. First, it is based on what S.O. and I like to eat. We are meat-eating people. Yes, we love our meat. We love steak, pork chops, chicken, shrimps, venison, etc. We like them grilled, baked, roasted, braised, stew, etc. Second, it is also based on what we hardly eat: veggies. As we are not getting any younger, I am trying to put more colour into our meals and adding essential vitamins that our body needs. Third, what is on sale. Meat, fruits, veggies, cold-cuts, etc. If it's on sale, I'll try to incorporate it into our menu. The only thing, I don't buy on sale is bread as I make my own.
Keeping these three things in mind, I have built a two-week menu which consists less of frozen entrees and more of soups, salads, stir-fries to the next-level Kraft Dinners. Here's a picture of my hand-written menu:
I find that on the weeks that I make menus, I actually follow through with it and it helps S.O. know what he'll be getting for dinner. I also notice that I keep the impulsive grocery trips down to a minimum. Making the menu also gives S.O. and I time to spend with each other.
On the weeks that I make menus, I typically spend around $160-180 for a two week planned meal. Without the menu, our food bill would probably be at least $120 per week as S.O. and I (mostly S.O.) would buy prepared food or order in.
I will try to continue this new menu planning kick and hopefully be able to save a little bit of money to be used for entertainment or maybe a new kitchen gadget! ^_^
Anyhoo, I have bored you long enough with my ramblings. . . Goodnight and happy Menu planning! ^_^
P.S.
Since I'm making quite a number of new meals, look forward for more posts in the coming weeks. . .
And slept under the stars in a tent. It was my first time sleeping in a tent and it was a little bit unsettling as S.O. kept shoving me out of our air mattress. But it's something I would venture trying again sometime.
I had a get-together for my Chica Bonita's birthday where I taught her how to make bread and fed her my first time chili which she raved about and wanted to learn how to make as well. Unfortunately, I had such an amazing time that it never occurred to me to document the events. At least, this entry would serve as a reminder of that day.
Anyhoo, on to our main topic for this entry: Money Saving!
I was never any good in money and, unfortunately, due to some bad choices have a limited amount of resource. Due to this fact, every dollar I earn needs to be stretched as much as possible. As I am in charge of taking care of groceries, I have to make smart and healthy decisions for our meals. S.O. works in a physically-demanding field and needs to be fed nutritionally adequate meals. Unfortunately for both S.O. and I, our work schedules are literally day and night. And meal prep can sometimes be a hassle which brought me to browse around the net on how I can make preparing economical meals in an easy-almost-hassle-free way. Viola! Menu Planning!
I've read a lot of single/two family/mommy blogs swearing by menu planning. I tried it a couple of times and each time it helped me budget things and track my grocery spending. And I think I'll try my hardest to keep with this thing and, hopefully, save money.
I have had some experience that I have picked up from my old life in the restaurant business but it is very different making my own menu. When I used to plan menus for our restaurant, I had a consultant with me building the menu that would be approved by either my mom or my dad. I am used to other people telling me what to do and I guess you could say, I am quite a little bit overwhelmed by the many possibilities of food that I can make with a little budget and with me having the last say on the menu.
And so, this is how I started building my menu. First, it is based on what S.O. and I like to eat. We are meat-eating people. Yes, we love our meat. We love steak, pork chops, chicken, shrimps, venison, etc. We like them grilled, baked, roasted, braised, stew, etc. Second, it is also based on what we hardly eat: veggies. As we are not getting any younger, I am trying to put more colour into our meals and adding essential vitamins that our body needs. Third, what is on sale. Meat, fruits, veggies, cold-cuts, etc. If it's on sale, I'll try to incorporate it into our menu. The only thing, I don't buy on sale is bread as I make my own.
Keeping these three things in mind, I have built a two-week menu which consists less of frozen entrees and more of soups, salads, stir-fries to the next-level Kraft Dinners. Here's a picture of my hand-written menu:
 |
| 09.24.2012 - 10.05.2012 |
On the weeks that I make menus, I typically spend around $160-180 for a two week planned meal. Without the menu, our food bill would probably be at least $120 per week as S.O. and I (mostly S.O.) would buy prepared food or order in.
I will try to continue this new menu planning kick and hopefully be able to save a little bit of money to be used for entertainment or maybe a new kitchen gadget! ^_^
Anyhoo, I have bored you long enough with my ramblings. . . Goodnight and happy Menu planning! ^_^
P.S.
Since I'm making quite a number of new meals, look forward for more posts in the coming weeks. . .
