#saveyourlunchmoney

[saveyourlunchmoneynz-blog]

Meal Planning & Cheap Grocery Shopping

How I Meal Plan... 4 EASY Steps

Write down a couple of lists.  I make lists under each heading: Dinners We Eat Regularly / Two New Dinner Recipes To Try / Baking For the Week / Baby Food / Snacks.

Look at what we already have in the pantry.

Make your shopping lists accordingly.  I make lists for each shop I go to: Pak’n’Save / Countdown / Vege King / Butcher / Green Patch Asian Grocery Store.  

Do your shopping.

Cheapest Way To Shop & Places To Shop In Hamilton NZ??? I’m a super nerd and grocery shopping is kind of fun for me…. and honestly, as a stay at home mom with a 1 year old, and being 8 months pregnant right now grocery shopping day is the highlight of my week!  Oh yeah… my life is wild!!  

I get my mom to babysit, I find a good podcast and spend a couple of hours by myself doing the shopping. Ahhhh alone time.

I find it cheapest to shop at multiple stores.  And it’s good to support local small businesses.

Fruit and Veg ALWAYS from Vege King on Heaphy Terrace - It’s soooo much cheaper and fresher than the supermarket.

Meat from the Butcher next door to Vege King - It’s great quality, cheaper, and the staff are so nice.

Green Patch Asian Grocery Store - Best place for things like dumpling wrappers, tofu, any Asian spices, sauces or foods!  Yum.

Pak’n’Save - Most of the groceries, including nappies and toiletries.  The only good thing about Pak’n’Save is that it is actually the cheapest supermarket in Hamilton.

Countdown for a couple of things I can’t get at or are too expensive at Pak’n’Save - Tortillas, La Morena Chipotle Sauce, Soy Baby Formula.

[saveyourlunchmoneynz-blog]

PROS + CONS + ADVICE

PROS:

Flexibility - It’s designed for you to tailor it to your own needs and budget. 

IT ACTUALLY WORKS!  We saved $80 in one week.

It’s healthy - We used the bulk of our $30 on fruit and veggies, and everything was homemade, so no pre-packaged, processed stuff.

Less wastage - We used up heaps of stuff from the pantry that maybe would never have used and would eventually just end up throwing out.

The challenge made me reflect on how much we spend on food every week vs how much we actually need.

CONS:

You have to have a pretty well-stocked pantry to begin with.  I did heaps of baking so lucky we had a massive bag of flour and lots of baking ingredients already.

I honestly don’t think you could do it here in NZ on just $21….maybe if you’re a single person doing it alone.  Food prices have gone up SO much since this book was published.

I had to be super super organised!  Plan out all of your meals and snacks.

It takes a lot of time.  Sometimes I felt like all I was doing was cooking and cleaning up… but it was totally worth it.

ADVICE:

Meal Plan & Meal Prep!!  Make sure you’re organised, plan the F out of your week!

Maybe spend a whole day ,meal prepping for the week so you don’t feel overwhelmed throughout the week.

Have HEAPS of snacks ready to roll!!!  Cut up carrots, veggies and fruit.  Lots of baking.  Use up dried fruit, nuts and seeds by making up your own little bags of trail mix.  Popcorn was a winner for us - old school, plain, made in a pot.

It’s easier if your family is behind you 100%  Their support does make a difference because it can be quite challenging trying to please everyone’s tastes.  My husband said half way through the week that we’ve never eaten better, that made me feel really good and helped keep up the momentum to finish the week out.