What's for dinner? An easy method for planning food menus

What's for dinner? An easy method for planning food menus that are nutritious and save you money!

Going grocery shopping just isn't as fun as it used to be! Your wallet is feeling deflated and you may be feeling discouraged, trying to put tasty and nutritious food on the table every day. In our grandmother's day, you can bet that she had her food menus all planned out, to ensure well balanced meals made it to the table with the food budget intact at the end of the month. Of course, the pace of life was slower back then. Grandma may not even have worked outside the home and had plenty of time to nurture a back yard garden and spend hours preparing home cooked meals.

This is no longer the case. Today's home cook must rise to the occasion, with a new strategy to accomplish the goal. Well planned food menus, which take grocery sales, bulk buying, the good use of leftovers and seasonal produce into consideration are all money saving, smart moves. After all, we have technological advantages Grandma didn't enjoy. We've got supermarket resources beyond her wildest dreams. We've got free recipes online, menu planning software, do-ahead cook books and larger freezers. It's time for the tough to get going!

To make your food dollars really stretch, you need to start paying attention to all of your local grocery sale fliers. Those fliers can be confusing. Don't believe that everything advertised is a bargain. You've got to know your prices. Start assembling a price book of all the items you normally buy, such as coffee, eggs, milk and bread. You'll find price book templates online to get you started.

Find a grocer who sells in bulk. Grocers are quickly recognizing the shopper's dilemma and are accommodating you, with everything from dried fruits to pasta and herbs. Take advantage of bulk buying.

When you shop for produce, choose produce that's in season. You'll get a fresher, more nutritious product at a better price.

Now get out your calendar of food menus. Print out a copy of this month and start penciling in menu items that revolve around sales, bulk purchases and seasonal produce. Look through your repertoire of recipes and make adjustments that suit your wallet. For example, let's say that you've got a terrific recipe for a pasta recipe that calls for red bell peppers. Too bad it's the middle of winter! Why pay a premium price to indulge the recipe? What can you substitute at a better price, with the same nutritive value and taste appeal? Fire roasted red bell peppers from a jar may be a good alternative.

Take a look at your recipe cards and determine those which are family favorites. Let's say that spaghetti, pork chops and pot roast are the winning entries. You'll naturally want to include these favorites on your food menus. Go online and find variations on these favorites. Make chicken spaghetti and see how the family responds. Pound those pork chops silly, dredging them in flour for an exciting rendition of Wiener schnitzel. Season that pot roast with a delicious Medieval gravy, seasoned with cinnamon. Your food menus needn't be the same old, same old.

Once you've transformed a few standard recipes into new and exciting dishes, with just a few herbs and alternative techniques, your food menus start to fill out. Meatballs and spaghetti? A change of seasoning and sauce and you've got a brand new, Scandinavian dish of Swedish meatballs.

Even a simple garden salad becomes a chameleon of the seasons. Summer's tomatoes are replaced with winter broccoli. Alfalfa sprouts are available year 'round, as are canned, sliced olives. Successful and inexpensive food menus rely on your imagination and ingenuity.

Planning food menus well in advance can become an obsessive activity! There are so many ways to plan your nutritious and tasty meals. The freezer is your friend! When summer produce is readily and cheaply available, stock up and freeze these summer treasures. Slip portions into your food menus now and then, throughout the winter.

Always be on the lookout for seasonal foods that can be frozen. Stock up and pencil these foods into future food menus. Use your imagination. You'll be rewarded with a flock of new dishes you might never have included in your menus.