Free Meal Planning Printables

I'm still plodding along in my living room.  Until I have something to show, here's a handy tool I whipped up that may be of use to my fellow meal planners.

I'm not a very good planner so this little project was a bit of a stretch for me.  I came up with this when I first started couponing.  I didn't want to fall into the trap of buying things just because they were a good deal.  These lists help me buy only what I need.  They also save me from having to run out and make special trips because I don't have an ingredient for a meal I decide to cook. 

First I look at what's on sale and what has the best coupon match ups and then I choose which meals I'm going to prepare for the week.

I made the list of meals because it always took me so long just to get ideas of what to cook.  Now I have all the old standbys in one place and plenty of room to add new meals.  The printable above is blank so meals can be filled in.  The PowerPoint printable which is below has the lists of meals that I cook a lot and it can be altered.

After I've picked which meals I'm going to make, I write down which meal I'm going to cook on which day. Then I scan the pantry and fridge to make sure I have all of the ingredients for each meal.  The items on the list are items that are needed for the meals I commonly make plus staples like olive oil, eggs and bread.

The process of meal planning takes me a  while, especially when I'm also couponing.  However, I've found that the time and effort is well worth the money that's saved.

I've uploaded two different copies of the meal planner.  One is a PowerPoint file and doesn't look that great, but it can be altered.  The other is a PDF file and it can't be altered, but it looks better.  Click the pictures above to download the PDFs or click here to get the PowerPoint version that can customized.

Happy meal planning!

Vintage Suitcase and Organic Burritos

Part II of my Saturday involved a trip to a thrift store and Kroger.  I haven't been thrifting in a long time because it is such a hassle to get a baby out of the car and into the stroller for what may turn out to be a quick look around the store to discover that they have nothing.  Since the thrift store we went to is so close to our house and they have some stuff with potential in the window, I decided to make a stop. 

I found a vintage suitcase for $9!  I'd been looking for one (or some) and the ones that I've seen have been way too expensive.

Hopefully I can find some more that are just as cheap.  I want to stack them underneath a console table, but first I have to sell a bookcase, buy a cheap console table and more suitcases....so it'll probably be a while before I get to use this blue beauty.

My next find was a wooden cheese plate to put under a glass dome that I already owned.  It cost a whopping $2 and it's the perfect size.

My fake little Ikea plant looks at home under there.

After tax I spent about $12 and I'll definitely be checking back on a regular basis.

When we were done at the thrift store it was off to Kroger to get a few things that Trader Joe's didn't have when we made our weekly trip.  Kroger's doing one of their mega events so I was able to get quite a few things for about $17.  With store deals and coupons I saved 53%!

I forgot to put the giant bunch of bananas I bought on the counter.

Lately we've been trying to buy organic, especially fruits, veggies and animal products, but I still use Kroger when they have great deals on things that don't need to be organic.  I use the Dirty Dozen and Clean 15 lists to know which items I should buy organic and which ones I shouldn't. 

Kroger also has a pretty wide selection of organic items, and there are usually some deals to be found even if they are not listed in the weekly ad.  This week I found PJ's organic burritos for $2.  That may seem like a lot, but when you consider that there is organic chicken in there, $2 is a steal. 

$17 on groceries and $12 on stuff for house.  Good Saturday!