If your goals include preparing nutritious foods for your family and sticking to a budget, you’ll need two related items: a meal plan and a grocery list.
And as a bonus, before your next trip to the store, you can arm yourself with the below tips and suggestions – all from a team of health coaches who gathered in The Motherhood today for a live conversation to share their wisdom!
As Betsy Moore of B Moore Healthy pointed out, “In my opinion, planning our meals has so many benefits. It saves me time each week, it makes my trip to the grocery store more productive, it saves me money.”
Advice on Getting Started
“My #1 tip is at the beginning of the week, look at your calendar. See what you have going on and decide how many times you want to cook. Start there,” said Betsy of B Moore Healthy. “I shoot for 4 dinners with leftovers for lunch.”
“I shop 1 day a week and prep another,” said Angela Sydnes of Grow Inspired. “Get all the veggies cleaned and cut up, that way my family and I can reach in the fridge and have veggies ready to go for a snack or on the table as I get dinner ready.”
Added Lisa Miller of Lisa Miller Wellness, “I have a master list of dinners I make, so I don’t have to think of new ideas when I’m exhausted or in a rush. Just go to the list, pick 4-5 meals and go!”
Saving Time in the Kitchen
“Leftovers can always be added to a soup or chili!” suggested Gina Marie Hickman of Shore Healthy. “I love preparing more and having leftovers to recycle into other meals throughout the week. Saves a lot of time on busy nights running from school to sports.”
Betsy of B Moore Healthy asked, “Who plans to cook once and eat multiple times? I am a huge fan of this. Plan to make a big pot of quinoa or a bath of brown rice that we last us the week.”
Budget-Friendly Meal Stretching
Buy in bulk and freeze batches of prepared food for later. “In my kitchen I make batches of soup, rice, carob balls, sauces etc. I let the recipe cool and then I freeze it in baggies,” said Sara Ashe of Absolutely Holistic. “That way, if the hubby wants something for lunch any day, there is something there. The best part is that it cuts down on on canned foods and extra prep work.”
Angela of Grow Inspired agreed that budget shoppers can still “limit the amount of pre-packaged foods,” sharing an article on how to buy healthy, cheap food.
Betsy of B Moore Healthy also suggested, “Become familiar with prices at the stores. Since I don’t buy a ton of packaged foods, I don’t find too many coupons in the local paper. However, some websites have online coupons that totally rock.”
Keeping the Focus on Health
“Remember to shop the perimeter of the store,” said Gina of Shore Healthy. “Start at produce, wrap around the back to the meat/fish, and then out around the dairy/bread. I only go through to the middle for beans and rice.”
In some cases, you can avoid the grocery store altogether. ” I head to our farmers market to pick up my meat. It’s all local,” said Sara of Absolutely Holistic.
Meal Inspiration
Check out these tasty recipes for healthy, inexpensive meals.
Slow cooker chicken taco chili
For desserts on the healthier side, try these sites.
And try Betsy Moore’s recipe for Peanut Butter Chocolate Coconut Clusters!
Great Resources
Looking for more ideas? “I love to go to Food.com and sort through the recipes based on their ratings. If they’re healthy, look yummy and are at least 4 stars I’ll try them out,” said Lisa of Lisa Miller Wellness.
She also suggested Cookus Interruptus and Find Your Balance for meal ideas, and Emeals.com for planning.
Thanks to Betsy of B Moore Healthy and our co-hosts for the chat:
Angela Sydnes, Grow Inspired
Gina Marie Hickman, Shore Healthy
Lisa Miller, Lisa Miller Wellness
Sara Ashe, Absolutely Holistic
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