In case some of you are needing some assistance in saving money, staying healthier, and/or having more family time, I have some helpful tips to share with you. These are all tried and true practices that have greatly helped our family accomplish all these and more!
Thawed Meat
Keep thawed meat in the fridge! I promise you--this one tip will save you when you are at the end of the day and you know, HEY I have ground beef in there and I know how to use it!
Challenge Yourself
Give you and your family challenges like “No fast food for a month," or even “no McDonald's for a year" (we did this one!) If you get your family on board, it makes it more like a fun game that you all are in on and you're more likely to succeed.
Favorites Lists
Have a list somewhere like the fridge or your notes app with your FAVORITE meals so you are ready with options when your brain goes…blank. It really does help.
Look Online
One good thing about the internet is that there are endless ideas. That can also be a bad thing, BUT the algorithm can get really good at helping you find content that works for you. For me, that's healthy, easy, cheap, tasty!
Meal Share with Friends
Have fun with this! You can all work on soups or casseroles, then get together and exchange them. You go home with four different meals for the week (and so do they!) You could also meet up and cook together or give each other meals ready to be cooked--so many options.
Cook Once for Twice
While you already have the ingredients out and ready, cook twice as much as you need and you can freeze or even just refrigerate for another meal that week or next month. So helpful.
Keep a Schedule
Don't feel bad sticking to a regular food schedule: Mondays are a rice dish, Tuesdays tacos, Wednesdays pizzas, etc. No need to overcomplicate it!
Plan 2 Weeks
If you take just one hour, you can plan the next two weeks and seriously save yourself so much stress (and money!) later. Breakfast, lunch, snacks, dinners, desserts planned out. This is so helpful for kids, too!
Work Toward a Stocked Pantry
This is ongoing, but so helpful. If your pantry is stocked, you don't have to run to a store so much. This will save money and time; you can just go to the pantry and come up with what sounds good today!
Make Eating Out Special Again!
It used to be a treat to go out to eat, but our culture has shifted. If you work to make the culture in your home one where eating out is special, it's such a fun treat to go out instead of something you take for granted and feel guilty about.
I hope some of these are helpful to you and your family! You can do it!
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