In reducing our grocery budget, there has been an essetntial starting point -- menu planning.
This isn't the "open up my fav cookbooks and choose what we'd like to eat" sort of menu planning, but "what do we, and will we, have on hand? And how can I make it interesting?" sort of menu planning.
For the last month, I have sat down at the kitchen table, on Monday mornings (usually while waiting for something to bake, laundry to finish the load, or dishwasher to finish the cycle), with pad of paper and pen in hand, and brainstormed meals. It really is an exercise in brainstorming. I want our meals to be interesting just as much as my family does.
So, I begin with what is both plentiful and inexpensive (or free) at the moment. I don't want to use up all of the more valuable, often-purchased, ingredients. I would like to spread them out over the course of the next several months.
For the mid-late summer weeks here, zucchini, foraged blackberries, and garden greens are found in abundance in my moderate-sized garden and surrounding areas. In the pantry, I have several types of dried beans, purchased from the restaurant supply (Cash and Carry, like Smart and Final, if you have that chain in your area), a lot of barley and oats, and some flours.
So, here's where I get creative. For dinners, I have a basic approach -- choose a cuisine (Italian, Mexican, Asian, Indian, American), and season my ingredients to reflect that cuisine.
(A note: I can't eat barley, and have just a small amount of brown rice left. When my family is served barley, I sub rice for myself, cooked and kept in small portions in the freezer.)
A sampling of menus from this past month:
Breakfasts
- Homemade granola (on baking day, I make a large batch of granola)
- Homemade yogurt (I make about 1 gallon at a time, and it keeps up to a month, if unopened)
- Homemade bread, toasted (I bake 5 loaves at a time, to keep frozen until needed)
- Quick breads, such as corn bread, zucchini bread, biscuits, scones, blueberry muffins, and rhubarb muffins (on baking day I choose one or two quick breads to make and freeze to have later in the week)
- Sweet and spicy yeast buns, for special weekend breakfasts (done on baking day with a portion of the sandwich bread)
- Microwave oatmeal with blackberries (I microwave oatmeal in a medium casserole dish. Any leftovers get put in the fridge to reheat later that week)
- Blueberry pancakes (special treat on a Saturday morning. We'll move on to blackberry and apple pancakes next.)
- microwave scrambled eggs, topped with garden veggies/herbs
- fresh fruit from foraging or the garden
- milk for kids (they're adults, but still "kids" to me), coffee/tea for parents
Lunches
weekdays
- My daughters take sandwiches (peanut butter, egg salad, bean spread), fresh or cooked fruit or veggies, cookie or quick bread M-TH. On Friday, their work puts on a BBQ for the employees.
- My son's office brings in lunch for their employees daily
- My husband keeps some basics at his office (oatmeal, peanut butter, etc), and takes in various leftovers, boiled eggs, sandwiches
- For myself, I find what looks good and needs eating in the garden (salads, fruit, smoothies), combined with bread, peanut butter and leftover soup
- water, iced/hot tea to drink
weekends
- Soups, breads, pasta salads, bean salads, bean spreads, homemade pizza, peanut butter sandwiches, frittatas -- never planned much in advance, but a "use up what's in the fridge" sort of lunch.
- water, iced/hot tea, cocoa to drink
Dinners (beverages are always milk or water)
Monday
Pinto beans and turkey Italian sausage, in a medley with zucchini, Swiss chard, garlic, veggie stock, tomato paste and Italian herbs. Served with a 1-egg strata of leftover bread cubes from the freezer, leftover Pad Thai (my son's friends brought some Pad Thai in over the weekend, and way over-ordered), garden green salad, and blackberry pie.
Tuesday
Marinated lentils in an Asian-style dressing (based on my chive blossom vinegar, garlic, soy sauce, oil and ginger), on lettuce bowls. Served with leftover strata, garden green beans, and leftover blackberry pie.
Wednesday
Refried beans on barley with home-canned salsa (made from canned tomatoes, in large batches). Served with grated summer squash sauteed in butter, garden salad with lettuce and tomatoes, peanut butter cookies for dessert.
Thursday
Small beef roast, simmered in liquid seasoned with chili powder, cumin, tomato paste, garlic and onion, over beds of barley. Served with Swiss chard sauteed with garlic, and a plum tart (plums from freezer of last summer's harvest).
Friday
Leftover shredded beef in homemade BBQ sauce (tomato paste, sweet pickle juice, garlic, soy sauce and ginger), on homemade buns. Served with cooked garden carrots, garden rhubarb sauce, and garden green salad.
Saturday
Lentil-vegetable soup (lentils, onions and assorted veggies from the garden, seasoned with savory, oregano, parsley, chives and garlic). Served with homemade bread and butter pickle sandwiches (bread, zucchini bread & butter pickles, and butter), a garden green salad with lettuce and carrot slices, fresh blackberries for dessert.
Sunday (cookout)
Hot dogs, in homemade buns, served with baked pinto beans, baked zucchini, lettuce and blackberry salad in raspberry vinaigrette (raspberry vinegar, pinch sugar, salt and oil), garden saute of kale, broccoli and garlic. S'mores for dessert with homemade graham crackers, dollar store marshmallows and clearance purchased chocolate candies (after Valentine's Day).
Monday
Leftover beans, garden salad with carrot slices and lettuce, zucchini frittata and beds of barley.
Tuesday
Mexican black bean soup (black beans, veggie broth, chicken stock, zucchini, tomato paste, carrots, Swiss chard, garlic, chives -- now out of onions here, chili powder and cumin), microwave cornbread, garden salad, rhubarb-cherry sauce (frozen cherries from our trees)
Wednesday
Marinated lentils in mustard-vinaigrette, with fresh veggies and herbs from garden (shallots, carrots, summer squash, thyme, and chive blossom vinegar). Served with Swiss chard saute and garden potatoes in parsley and butter.
Thursday
Bean burgers (made with an assortment of leftover cooked beans, bread crumbs, egg, chives, chili powder, tomato paste, garlic, shallots), fried zucchini, garden green salad, foraged blackberries, microwave brownies.
Friday
Lasagna made with a faux cheese filling (mashed tofu, garlic, lemon juice, salt, blended with grated carrots, broccoli and chopped kale all from garden), last of lasagna noodles, sauce of tomato paste, garlic, veggie stock, savory and oregano, topped with a bit of Parmesan cheese. Served with grated zucchini and summer squash saute, rhubarb sauce, and leftover brownies.
Saturday
Microwave baked pinto beans and turkey dog slices in homemade BBQ sauce, microwave cornbread, garden green and wax beans in a tomato and Italian herb sauce, cooked carrots, foraged blackberries.
Sunday (our annual dinner at the beach, fish and chips from a stand on the pier, eaten in front of the lapping waves -- I used a gift card given to me as a thank you for watching some children in May).
Monday
"Interesting Soup" I have to tell you about Interesting Soup. Once every couple of weeks, I go through the fridge and use up all the leftover bits, salad dressings, sauces, pickle juice, olive brine, etc, in a pot of soup. The response I have sometimes received is along these lines, "the flavor of the soup, tonight, is, um, interesting, Mom", hence the name Interesting Soup. It's always edible, and often tasty, but no one can quite put their finger on what the flavor is supposed to be.
Interesting Soup tonight had some sort of Asian salad dressing, leftover from a catered lunch at my husband's office, olive brine, chive blossom vinegar, a green pumpkin from the garden which was shriveling (I cut it off and brought it in to cook, the other pumpkins look fine, so far), grated zucchini and all it's liquid (leftover from the morning batch of zucchini bread), soup stock, liquids from cooking vegetables over the week, basil vinaigrette from bruschetta, chili powder, cumin, black beans and a large handful of chives. Served with bruschetta (garden tomatoes and basil in chive blossom vinegar , garlic and olive oil, on toasted slices of homemade French bread, topped with a it of cheese, Parm and mozza), salad of lettuce and blackberries in a raspberry vinaigrette (homemade raspberry vinegar, pinch sugar, salt and oil), and zucchini bread for dessert.
Tuesday
Microwave baked pinto beans with turkey dog pieces, microwave cornbread (a favorite of one of my daughters, so we have it often), kale and garlic saute, rhubarb-blackberry sauce.
Wednesday
Bean and rice burritos (homemade refried pinto beans, rice, seasonings in homemade flour tortillas), fried zucchini (no batter, just a dip in cornmeal, flour, salt, red pepper and garlic powder), garden salad and apple slices (from garden).
Thursday
Small beef roast, pot roasted (leftover meat frozen for sandwiches on Sunday). Served with barley, cooked carrots, Swiss chard saute, garden salad (with lettuce, tomatoes, minced rosemary in rosemary vinaigrette of last summer's rosemary-thyme vinegar), blackberry crisp.
Friday
Split pea soup (with Swiss chard, carrots, potatoes, parsley, chives, savory from garden), tossed salad with garden veggies in creamy vinaigrette (just a vinaigrette with mayo subbed for part of oil), garlic bread (homemade French bread from freezer, spread with home-grown garlic and parsley, in butter), leftover blackberry crisp.
Saturday
Split pea "neat balls", with garden veggies (zucchini, carrots, green and wax beans) in a tomato paste and Italian herb sauce. Served with roasted rosemary-garlic potatoes, and a garden salad. Cookies and blackberries for dessert.
Sunday
Leftover shredded beef in BBQ sauce sandwiches, on homemade buns (baked with Saturday's baking), medley of sauteed kale, broccoli and carrots from garden, raw zucchini sticks with dip (mayo, chives, parsley, garlic, salt), apple slices.
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These are humble, family meals. They take minimal time (that is for cooking and baking from scratch), and satisfy hunger and tastes in our family. I do blow-out, fantastic meals for birthdays, get-togethers with friends, holidays and celebrations.
These meals feature a lot of beans, about 4 to 5 nights per week. I have a whole turkey, a few chicken pieces, some turkey Italian sausage, and a small amount of beef left in the freezer. I use the meat sparingly throughout the week.
My garden is producing well, and I haven't needed to buy fruit or vegetables in a few months (with the exception of a watermelon or two, back in early July). I add fresh herbs to my cooking daily, often adding minced parsley (for vitamin C), minced rosemary and basil leaves to garden green salads.
So far, for August, I have bought eggs and milk, and nothing else, and spent about $11. In September, I will need vegetable oil, whole wheat flour, brown rice and another 25 lb sack of dried beans, for variety. I will also buy what I need for canning, seasonal items that find themselves at lowest price of the year, and more eggs and milk. We'll also make a visit to local farms some Saturday in early September, an annual trek for us.
My focus is always on whole foods cooking, using a lot of vegetables, and getting in a balance of nutrients every week. I look for adequate protein (in the form of meat, beans, eggs, milk, nuts/seeds), orange fruits/vegetables, red fruits/vegetables, leafy green veggies, cruciferous veggies, alliums (garlic, onions, chives, shallots), blue/purple fruits (plums, blackberries, blueberries, huckleberries), a source of vitamin C (strawberries, tomatoes, bell peppers, fresh broccoli/cabbage, kale, mustard greens, parsley, leaf lettuce, and citrus in fall/winter and early spring), and iron (dried beans, meat, leafy greens).
We are all on the lean to average side. I have one daughter who is trying to gain weight, so she eats a lot of peanut butter and cream cheese (bought on sale around Easter), and many snacks each day. I would say that our focus is very healthy eating. In my family, there is a history of diabetes, heart disease and cancer. My intention is to NOT invite these diseases into our bodies, by poor nutritional choices, and stave any eventualities off, as long as possible.
We don't buy packaged snack foods, like chips, but snack on fresh veggies, fruit, peanut butter and bread, homemade quick breads, and popped corn. (When I'm working outside, I often snack on green beans plucked off the plants, or baby zucchini snapped right off, or a fresh tomato or two).
I don't buy soda pop, except for special occasions/parties. I have never bought enhanced or plain water. We drink coffee at breakfast, iced tea (made from bags and garden tea herbs), filtered water from the tap, milk, homemade cocoa, and occasionally lemonade or rhubarb lemonade (bottled lemon juice in 1 gallon jugs). I have a few Koolaid packets in the pantry, but frankly, no one seems interested. I'll take them with us on vacation to flavor the tap water (So. California tap water can be off-tasting).
Many of our desserts feature fruit. I bake with whole grains. I buy very few canned or packaged convenience foods, not just because of cost, but due to food sensitivities/intolerances, and a desire to eat fresher foods. I bake all of our breads, cakes, cookies, pies from scratch.
We really don't eat much fish, and I'll keep trying on that front. I have digestive reactions to canned tuna and salmon, and am not sure why. But I'll keep trying, as the rest of my family really enjoys fish. I've been told to stick with fresh fish. So, I'll just have to work that into the budget, somehow. (BTW, none of us fish, and while clam digging is allowed during clamming season, I am desperately allergic to bivalves. My son is not allergic, but my daughters could be.)
I will tell you, though, all this cooking from scratch, and gardening on a large scale for a suburban lot with limited sunny spots, does take time. I spend a good part of each day procuring or preparing food for our family. That is a sizable portion of my "job" in the family. But it is a rewarding job. Knowing that I am doing my best for my family is satisfaction in itself. I serve the Lord, through serving my family. I feel God has provided well for us. I enlarged our garden this past spring, unaware that we would be needing more produce. But God knew, and he urged me to do this extra work. I can't take the credit, for being wise, or clever. I just follow His suggestions, as best as I can.
So, as I look at my supplies, budget, and menu plans, I am thinking that, yes, I can reduce our grocery spending, and still include all the foods that are important to us. But I won't know for sure, until I reach the first of 2014, and I see what's left on my pantry and freezer.
Sorry this was so long. If you made it this far, well, you deserve a medal for your perseverance!
