Planning Groceries for a Budget

I’ve learned the hard way that if you want to keep your food budget under control AND eat healthy ingredients, you MUST do a meal plan and a corresponding grocery list. Whether it is broken down by a few days, or a week or longer (though I don’t recommend planning longer than a week - organic produce will expire) you should come up with a meal plan and shop specifically for it. Impulse grocery shopping in a health food store or a place like Whole Foods is fun, especially when you’ve developed a new obsession with a particular diet, but it can absolutely crash your bank account.

So, to keep it under control, my favourite guy and I decided to sit down each weekend to plan a meal list for each week. Then we calculate what we expect all of the ingredients to cost, and decide if we’re within a reasonable budget. You’ll notice that if you’re eating organic grass fed meat every night, your budget will be insane. But, if you incorporate the odd vegetarian dish, and rely on plant-based proteins more often, then your budget will thank you! The same trick applies to organic vegetables. Plan to buy organic veggies and fruits that are on the dirty dozen list, and when you want to save cash, plan recipes based on fruits and veggies found on the clean 15 list, because then you don’t need to buy organic.

This is an activity that I really enjoy because it encourages me to browse my favourite food blogs and cookbooks. I have a gigantic collection of holistic cookbooks and sometimes they just sit on the shelf. It’s nice to bring them down, browse the beautiful photos and pick out the recipes that call to me on that particular day. It’s definitely better than going straight to the grocery store with an empty belly looking for inspiration. That’s a dangerous game.

I recommend thinking about not just your dinners but also breakfast, lunches, snacks and any desserts. Consider any plans you have for the week that will involve eating out so that you don’t plan to cook that night. Remember that restaurant plans can come up out of the blue, so your meal plan may get thrown off a bit. Not to worry, just adjust accordingly. Even if it doesn’t work out perfectly, you will still find that your budget stays more or less under control with this method.

As an example, this week my man and I decided to include a few soups and stews (winter is coming), focusing on vegetables that are in-season. We added a few salads to enjoy with any leftover dinners that get packed into lunches, and I’ll be making some energy balls and healthy muffins for mid-day snacks.

Going to the grocery store with a list is a life saver, I promise you. You’ll feel a sense of control, and your trip will be a lot faster too because you won’t be asking yourself “do I need or want this?” every five minutes. You’ll just go for the things you need, and get out.

My last tip is to check your cupboards and fridge before you do up your meal plan to see what needs to be eaten. Often we have a few leftover carrots, or a package of pasta (in our house it’s typically a brown rice or chickpea based pasta) or a can of coconut milk that was half used in the fridge. Wasting food is horrible for the environment as well as your budget, so ensure that you pick meals that will use up all of those leftover scrap items!

Good luck grocery shopping!