Meal Planning 201

I always say that food you have already purchased is less expensive than food you have to buy. This is why I am a big advocate of looking into my freezer and pantry when planning my meals. This can take a little more work as what you have on hand might not work into what you are used to making.

Some tricks I have used to find recipes in the past is looking into websites of the brand of food I am using. For example, I had some Franks Hot Sauce that I got free using The Grocery Game. I have a great dip I like to use it with, but no occasion for the dip. So, I went out to the Franks website to get some ideas.

Another tip is going to websites that have ingredient searches to find recipes that you like. I used to use www.allrecipes.com a great deal. I still use it but I have found another website that you should check out if you are big into using food you already have on hand. www.supercook.com. You put in all the food you have on hand and it will search several different recipe sites to find recipes that you have all or most of the ingredients to make.

Meal planning using food that you have on hand, allows you to concentrate on sale items when you grocery shop. It also allows you use up food so that it doesn't go to waste before you get a chance to eat it. It is a great way to save money.

Next week, Meal Planning 301, an advanced class to make your grocery list easier to prepare.