I love the idea of Sunday soup night, especially using the crockpot. We love ethnic foods, esp. Mexican, and have that twice or more each week. I am not the primary cook around here, and I've tried to make a menu but the "cooks" won't follow it, lol. All great ideas, I'm going to print out and post to delicious for future reference. Thanks!
Seven Money Saving Menu Strategies for Every Day of the Week
Photo: Wili Hybrid
Need some ideas for saving money on your meal menus? Hey, life gets crazy and having a few standby ideas that can be implemented simply and affordably is critical to maintaining budget discipline. Here are seven streamlined suggestions. One for every day of the week.
Have a “big night in”.
Everyone knows it's cheaper to eat at home. But for at least one night a week, make it a big deal. Pretend you're having a party, even if you're not. Your family will dig it. Pick something fantastic to serve and go for the appetizers, full dessert, bar items and mocktails for the kids. Even a fifties diner style dinner would be fun for families. Think topping options for your burgers and homemade milkshakes and fries.
Sunday soup night.
Incorporating soup at least one night a week is a good idea in its own right, but doing it on Sunday just might be inspired. It's a day when many people are wanting to relax more with family anyway, and you can even pre-prep it the night before and have the crock pot standing by. Get some discounted whole grain dinner rolls to store in the freezer and toss a few in the toaster oven for a frugal healthy side. Gather a few nifty options for soup garnishes, and you'll feel like you're eating at a café for sure. Some really great news? Chronicle Books has a new title on this very subject featuring a gazillion and one ideas for tasty nourishing soups. (I've already requested a review copy from my publicist colleague there, so stay tuned.)
Meatless Mondays.
For some people, this won't be difficult to incorporate. For those who are tasked with cooking for serious meat and potato lovers though, some additional creativity may be in order. Never fear. We have an article or two on Wise Bread that will help get you started.
One dish wonders.
Pick a night of the week to do a meal that's more or less presented in one dish. This doesn't have to be super boring. Think breakfast rice, pizza, carbonara or stuffed pumpkin. Of course there's nothing wrong with hash or a killer casserole.
Frugal family favorite night.
ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW
ADVERTISEMENT
At our house, it's Wednesday pasta night. A full blown spaghetti dinner, or some variation of it will always be on the menu mid-week in our little corner of the world. At your house, it could be falafel, tacos, fish sticks, meatball subs with veggie sticks or even chili-topped potatoes with shredded cheese. The idea is to find something super affordable that everybody loves and make it a tradition. You'll have at least one night a week that you don't have to plan for and be able to skip the finicky eater arguments all together. If it's a recipe you can assembly cook ahead, all the better. You can also build in some flexibility with this strategy by having several frugal favorites to choose from. For example, breakfast for dinner, or not being able to pick one absolute favorite could be addressed this way. Just make sure you include the yum factor as well as the cost.
Experiment with ethnic.
I'm certainly not the first on Wise Bread to recommend this. Others have gone before me, for certain. But I am going to go on record as suggesting you incorporate something ethnic and frugal at least one night every week. With the unbelievable variety out there, you can guarantee that whatever night you routinely pick to do this won't be at risk of becoming the “hum-drum” night. No groans here. Who knows, you might even find a new frugal family favorite.
Quick and convenient.
We all have at least one night a week that's busier than all the rest. Pick that one to indulge in those slightly pricier convenience meals that have been calling your name. It's way better than dropping a hundred bucks on a dinner for two. A few suggestions? Frozen pizzas and lasagnas with a pre-washed salad mix, rotisserie chicken with rice and a simple side, or one of several money saving restaurant articles by Julie, Xin and Debbie. You might also enjoy the happy hour and mantinee combo suggestion in Eight Cheap Dates, or some of these sandwich ideas.
I chose these seven for several reasons. They are streamlined enough to fit a busy lifestyle, flexible enough to accommodate food boredom and affordably implemented across a variety of income levels. If you have another strategy, or a slamming recipe suggestion that fits into any of these categories, by all means share the love. Looking forward to hearing from you.
Best of Wise Bread
Mrs. Accountability, thanks for stopping by! And thanks as well for helping to spread the word. I'm really digging the idea for Sunday soup night as well, and am looking forward to the book review. I think picking something lower key and crock pot based will help me enjoy Sundays more, and I can save the special sit down dinner for another night, like Friday. During the hotter months, I may bump to kabobs and rice, but I'm kind of digging the possibilities of less to do on that particular day of the week.
My boyfriend always has hoagie rolls in the house because he makes turkey and cheese for his lunch everyday (pretty much never changes this up either!). Sometimes I'll break out something unusual for dinner on them. Variety has included quick tuna salad, sautéed chicken in a teriyaki sauce and lettuce, and hot, open faced subs with pizza toppings (pepperoni, cheese and marinara sauce). Yum!
Your meatless Monday suggestion reminds me that Catholic families used to have meatless Fridays all year round, for centuries. These days (I think since Vatican II), they're only required to forego meat on the Fridays during Lent. But my mom grew up when they never had meat on Fridays. Of course, back then fish was actually a cheap alternative to meat, which isn't really the case anymore. But she told me it was always egg salad sandwiches for lunch on Fridays. A meatless pasta dish would be an obvious go-to dish these days.
It's a good practice for many reasons I think. Frugality, smaller carbon footprint, etc.
Once a week we have C.O.R.N. It stands for clean out refrigerator night. As we have tried to eliminate eating out, it gives me a break and helps prevent food waste.
Another of our favorites is Must Go Soup. It's made from vegetables that are on the verge and need to be used quickly and any leftover meat whether from a roast or chicken. Spices and stock are decided by the main ingredient. Frozen vegetables and canned tomatoes can also be added. We haven't ever had a bad batch, the only downside is it is often quite hard to recreate.
is pizza night - make the dough in the morning (super simple), let it rise all day, make some sauce and add either fresh veg or jarred (olives, roasted peppers, etc), some provolone cheese and poof you're done! Plus leftovers for lunch the next day.
Great post Myscha. Its amazing at how much you can cut your food budget with a little planning and use of basic ingredients.
I love your idea about soup. We make extra soup and freeze smaller size portions. These are great for other nights when things are just too hectic and you need something quick for the family. Just plop one of these frozen soup servings in the microwave and you have an instant meal =)
These are all great ideas, especially with a family and it gives everyone something to look forward to.
I have been trying different ethnic foods. After the initial investment in sauces and spices, its a lot cheaper to eat Thai, Chinese or Mexican at home, and the leftovers are delicious!
We LOVE those pre-packaged Indian meals. The only downfall is the basmati rice cooking time (about a half hour). They are perfect for me because the majority of them are vegetarian, but they pack in the protein via tofu, cheese and beans. Many are spicy enough the satisfy the hubby, too. Of course, the spice factor isn't good for the kids, but it's just the two of us so it works.
Great article, Myscha!
You win my prize for coolest user name this week. My husband and I watch Life of Brian at least once or twice a year.
Greetings and thanks for this article - I've recently discovered WiseBread, it's such a great read, and you write so well! Love your frugal favourite night - in my experience, the key to making simple and cheap ingredients into something delicious is a lot of practice and playing with seasonings/proportions, so at some point you'll achieve the frugal favourite perfection, if you commit to use the same basic ingredients every week. The easiest way to save on food for me was to actually do some research on what's really cheap and then learn to cook it really well - for example, where I live lamb is one of the cheapest meats, and it's healthy too. Also, trying to eat vegetables that are in season helps to save if you try to eat organic at least occasionally
Wow Myscha, you've done it again. Great article and great suggestions. Rachel Ray and Martha Stewart don't hold a candle to you.
We are all over soup meals, but don't limit it to Sundays. We eat soup all the time, it's a easy and with some bread or rolls (we make our own, it's cheaper and we get to choose what goes in) and a green veggie, a complete meal. And kids love soup, at least most kids I've met.
Cheese is always a good way to make things more interesting, and eggs are always versatile. We usually make frittatas, but even if you just scramble them, throw them in tortilla with salsa and you've got burrito night, thus addressing the call for ethnic diversity.
BTW, we're drastically reducing our meat consumption and have found that it's been going over well with the kids, the biggest critics. Indian recipes have been popular, though they tend to be more involved, and again, don't forget the cheese.
Thanks so much everybody, for your support and comments as well as for joining in the frugal meal planning discussion.
We've been doing neighbor get-togethers every Thursday with munchies and wine. Since about mid-November, we starting doing soup night. It's easy to make a huge pot for 6 adults and 5 kids. Rolls or crackers and a dessert, of course. It used to be bring your own bowl, but I picked up a bunch of huge bowl-like mugs for 75 cents each, so we're set for life. Or until someone breaks a few mugs.
Great post--now I have some ideas for other nights!
*Saturday: I make a huge meal this night, usually a potroast or a chicken or something, and I try to make dessert this night as well.
*Sunday: varies
*Monday: leftovers from Saturday
*Tuesday: pasta night (I make a double batch so we have leftovers)
*Wednesday: pancake night
*Thursday: meatless night (usually Mexican food, veggie stirfry, or homemade pizza)
*Friday: leftover pasta from Tuesday
I need to incorporate soup night though......
I love the idea of getting neighbors in on the game. Fun. And I like how commenter number 17 worked in a "planned leftovers" strategy on two different days a week. Keep those ideas coming, everybody.
Great ideas! I always find that when I make mashed potatoes, I have a ton left over, so I turn them into potato pancakes. Add a side of applesauce and turkey bacon and it's great for breakfast or dinner.
I love these ideas -- especially how they save time as well as money. However, since I'm usually cooking for just one or two people, I tend to eat a lot of leftovers :)
One strategy I use is to share. I set aside a couple of meals for leftovers, freeze a little, and share with other single friends. I'm not looking for reciprocation, but I've found that "what goes around comes around." We've developed this culture of sharing where we don't feel awkward offering or accepting food, and we get to try some dishes we never make for ourselves.
Both cool ideas, and it's true about the pancakes being a breakfast or dinner thing. I'm going to have to remember that one.
