Customizing your weekly meal plan (E-MEALZ)

It's no secret that I use and love E-mealz!  Today I wanted to share with you exactly HOW I use it in conjunction with my couponing and money saving efforts.

First things first--what IS E-mealz?  E-mealz is a meal planning service.  You sign up for a subscription based on store, diet, family preference, etc.... Then each week you log on and download your 7-day meal plan with complete instructions and suggestions for sides.  You also get a grocery list--conveniently divided by sections of the store--that you can take when you go shopping. Check it out and see ALL the meal plans they have for different stores and diet preferences (including organic and gluten-free meal plans!!) 

Today I want to share with you my FIVE steps for customizing my weekly E-mealz meal plan for our family.  It takes about 10 minutes TOTAL, but helps me make it work best for our family and save me some more money in the process.

1. Print your list and decide your meals

Some weeks I make all 7 meals, while other weeks I may scale it back to 4 or 5 depending on what we have going on that week (or what leftovers we still have in the fridge.)  You can see this week I am cooking 4 of the meals on the list.

2. Cross off ingredients

Next I work off my grocery list and cross off any ingredients from the meals I am NOT making (in this case meals 1, 2 and 3) so I don't have to search through the entire list while at the store.  I also cross off the staples list at the bottom for the meals I am not cooking that week.

3. Shop your stockpile

As a couponer, I have a stockpile in my pantry, freezer and fridge, so that is my first "shopping trip!"  I consult the remaining ingredients and cross off any I already have in my stockpile.  I also make any necessary changes to quantities.  For example, if I originally needed 2 onions for my meals, but I have one already, then I change that quantity on my list to just 1 onion.  

I also use this opportunity to decide what substitutions I can make.  If one of the meals pairs the Tilapia with some brown rice, but I have a box of Rice-a-roni in the pantry, I make a note of that on my weekly menu.  Then I cross the brown rice off my grocery list.

By simply shopping my stockpile I am using what I have and reducing my out of pocket expenses when I go shopping.

4. Highlight purchases

Next, I go through my list with a highlighter and mark what I will be purchasing at the store. Although this isn't a ground breaking step, it certainly helps you to shop quickly when you have two cranky toddlers with you right before lunch time!  Plus I ensure that I don't miss anything when I am at the store.  This is just one little thing, but it has really made a big difference in my time in the store!

5. Search for coupons

Finally, I look at my list of highlighted ingredients and I search for coupons.  The easiest way I find to do this is by using a Coupon Database that you will most likely find on your favorite coupon matchup website.  

For example you can see from my list that one of my ingredients is Keebler Townhouse crackers and the E-mealz team has noted it is on a BOGO sale at my store this week.  So I will go to the coupon database and search for those crackers to find any coupons that I can use to go with that sale.  You can also simply search the term "Crackers" if you aren't brand specific to also find coupons that way.  The coupon database will tell you WHERE to find the coupons--either in a past insert, or in printable form.  I love taking just a few minutes to check some of the ingredients with this database as I find I can usually shave another $5 off my total weekly grocery bill for this meal plan.

Here is an example searching for cream cheese coupons:

After I have all that done, I do some quick math to add up what my total should be (pre tax) after coupons and sales.  You can see from my list that I am going to be able to get my 4 meals this week for just $35!  That is under $10 a meal that will feed us and leave some left overs for our "left over" night we have every week.

Not bad!

This really does make my life so simple and I am never left to wonder what we are going to do for dinner!  I usually go shopping over the weekend in a separate trip from my weekly "couponing shopping trip." This is my Monday- Friday menu, so I want to pick up the necessary items, along with the fresh ingredients, only a few days before I use them.

I hope you will give E-mealz a try!  They have been so so kind and given my readers an EXCLUSIVE code to save 15% off your subscription. Click any of the E-mealz icons to get your subscription started!   I ask that you become a follower here and on Facebook in order to use this code and save 15%: MOMUMENTAL.

Using your stockpile: Clear the Pantry Taco Soup

I made this Uh-MAY-ZING soup last week while trying to use up some stuff in the pantry!  I think there are several variations on this same recipe and I just tried to remember from memory what it was (and threw in a few extra ingredients I"m sure).  In any case, it turned out FABULOUS!

Check it out:

Cook 1-1.5 lbs of ground beef and 1/2 cup sweet onion in skillet until meat is no longer pink.  Drain.
Combine the following in a 5-6 quart slow cooker:
Meat mixture
Taco seasoning packet
Ranch dressing packet
2 cans of Ranch style beans (you can also use pinto and black beans or any combination--I'm sure all would be great!)
2 cans whole kernel corn--I drained one and not the other
2 cans of diced chili-style tomatoes--undrained
Water (maybe 1 cup? I didn't measure!)
3/4 of a can of light beer

Then cover and cook on low 5-6 hours!  That's it!

I sprinkled sharp cheddar cheese on the top and served it with tortilla chips.  You could also garnish with sour cream.

I like to scoop and eat with the chips.  Yummers.

I didn't take a picture because my family literally DEVOURED it.

It makes ALOT so if you have a smaller family, freeze the rest!  I couldn't re-freeze because my ground beef had been previously frozen.  (You can't re-freeze meat once it has been thawed--Yucky).

So that is how you can make use of some of your stockpile pantry items!!!  I would love to hear from you if you make the soup!  This was a GREAT "rainy day" meal!!

Coupon Institute: OAMC Part 2

The second method of OAMC is for the more brave.  It requires more planning, an entire day to cook and (maybe) someone hired to watch your kids.  I like to enlist help also!

2.  Once a Month Cooking Day:
I start about two weeks in advance by searching through my recipe books for menus. I try to find things I know my family will eat AND that will freeze well.  I will give you some resources for this later, but I have always just used my own cookbooks (I am partial to Southern Living!)

After I have finalized my recipes, I make a master ingredient list that I will later use as my shopping list.  I go through the ingredient list and cross out items I have already or adjust amounts accordingly (maybe I have 2 cups of shredded cheese already, but my recipes call for 6 cups).

Then I start looking through the weekly grocery circulars to find as many of the items as I can on sale.  Inevitably, there will be things that I do not have a coupon for, or that are not on sale.  In those cases I buy the store brand (which is usually cheapest).  It is rare that a name-brand can of diced tomatoes has a coupon--the store brand was $.39/can, and really, can you tell a difference in CANNED tomatoes?  Overall, I try to keep my budget to $100-$150 (including meats) and I will generally be able to make 10-12 recipes.
Once your shopping is done and help enlisted, prep any OAMC items the night before-chop, shred, dice veggies, etc....this will help your day to go faster.  Get up early and get started!  If you have crock pot meals, start them first so they can cook all day while you are cooking other things.

I don't use anything special for freezing--just my Tupperware or Gladware containers, freezer bags or aluminum foil (for meatloafs, etc...)  What you MUST do, though, is LABEL everything.  I label the item with it's name and the date it was frozen.  This is very important if you make, say, a Chili and a Spicy Black Bean Soup.  Once frozen, you won't know which one is which!

I have condensed it here, but I cannot stress enough the importance of PLANNING.  As with couponing, organization is the key to being successful.  My last cooking day I even finished earlier than anticipated!

3.  Resources and tips
Here are some great websites for OAMC/Freezer meals:
Once a Month Mom: gives you everything you need including menus, shopping lists, cooking order and even printable labels.  Click on Cooking.
MomsBudget: gives you downloadable forms for planning your cooking day
MomsbyHeart: has a nice OAMC tutorial

Recipe books I love:

I use this one ALL THE TIME

Another favorite!



Frozen Assets--there is an entire series of these books.  They are considered the "Bible" of freezer cooking.

Tips:

• I split my recipes to get more for my $!  Since we have little kids and most recipes serve 6-8 people, I will freeze them in two parts to get two meals out of one recipe.  For soups and stews I can sometimes get THREE meals out of the recipe.
• These are great "take to work" options as well.  Those items that are precooked, but just need reheating the day of eating it, take them out of the freezer the night before.  In the morning, throw them in your lunch bag and reheat them at work.  I love this for my husband (and no cooking for me!!)
• I keep a list on my fridge of the items I have in the freezer as well as how many servings I have of it.  As I cook them I cross them off my list!  
• Although this is called OAMC, I often get 45-60 days worth of food.  Between leftovers, eating out twice a month and the occasional McDonald's treat, these meals last us.  
• I make breakfasts and lunches as well as dinners.  Don't limit yourself to dinners!

Week 2 Lesson 2: Once a Month Cooking

Once a Month Cooking (OAMC) is a concept that you cook one day of the month and have meals for the rest of the month.  I first tried this idea when I went to Dream Dinners a few years ago.  After we moved, I could not find a meal prep-type place around here, so I thought, "Why not try it myself?"  Upon researching the topic there is a multitude of information available out there for it, but it's most basic concept is this: pick out your recipes, buy your ingredients, cook your meals, then freeze them.  Really.   That's it.
I am going to give you two methods, followed by some web resources and tips.

1. For beginners: Cook-once-eat-10-times method
When your meat goes on sale at your "stock up price" (which you will know if you are tracking the sales and keeping a price book) buy it and cook it.  I like Moneywisemoms series of posts on cooking her meats this way.
For 10lbs of Groundbeef I would divide it this way:
4 baggies of meatballs (4lbs)
8-10 hamburger patties--child and adult sizes (3-4lbs)
2-3 bags of pre-cooked meatmix (2-3 lbs)
The meatmix can be thrown into a boxed dinner, spaghetti sauce, used for tacos, etc... you get the idea.  You know the step in the recipe that requires you to first "brown meat and drain"?  Well, now you'll have that covered.

For 5lbs+ of Chicken I would divide it this way:
3 baggies of pre-cooked, chopped chicken (3lbs)
2lbs of raw chicken breast, frozen
Depending on the recipes I have in mind, I might chop and cook all of it!
Both of these methods take about an hour each, so if you want the Try Me version of OAMC, this is it.

Coupon Institute Week 2 Lesson 1+Giveaway

{edited--Giveaway is now closed}
Using the grocery sales trends to predict your meals
Every grocery store has a 12 week sales trend, which means this: if paper towels are on sale this week, they may not go on sale again for 12 more weeks.  This is the reason for stockpiling--to get your through those 12 weeks!
For meal planning, sales trends can predict your meals.  If Hamburger Helper is on sale this week, and your family eats alot of it, stockpile it so that you can make it through the 12 week cycle until it goes on sale again.  For us, that just might mean our stockpile of HH is 3 boxes.  You have to determine what is right for your family.

Another way sales trends can predict your meals is to see what meats and produce are on sale. If lettuce and tomatoes are on sale this week, maybe we have tacos on Tuesday and fajitas with salad on Friday.
Before I would start couponing I would make my meal plan, then go through the coupons I had and pull the ones I would need for my ingredients.  Little did I know, I was going about this ENTIRELY WRONG.  Now I sit down, see what is on sale and what areas of my pantry/freezer is empty THEN make my menu for the week.

This is my Menu for this week:
Monday: Steak and potatoes left over from the weekend
Tuesday: Creamy chicken Divan
Wednesday: Pantry meal (maybe Hamburger Helper!)
Thursday: Leftovers
Friday: Pizza (always pizza on Fridays!)
Saturday: Chicken a la King
The two chicken meals come from my freezer that I made during my last Once a Month Cooking session.

I actually do not need very much from the grocery store, so I used this week to stock up on Gatorades for my hubby, Toaster Strudel for my daughter and wipes and diapers for the babies.  There was more food at another grocery store that was on a pretty good sale, but I am taking my own advice and letting some deals go!  Some weeks it is easier than others to make it to all my stores.  This week's grocery bill was only $50 INCLUDING two packs of diapers a 720 ct. box of wipes and stocking up on the drinks and breakfast pastries.

So now you have a homework assignment: Look at your grocery's weekly circular and do two things:
1. Find out when the circulars come out and when sales are valid (this will help you in weeks 3-5 too).  For me the new grocery sales ad comes out on Tuesdays and are valid Wednesday-the next Tuesday.  CVS, Target, Walgreens and Walmart ads typically run Sunday-Saturday.
2. Looking at your grocery circular, make a meal plan.  It can be for this week or next week, but make it based ONLY ON what you see in the ad+what you have on hand.
When we combine this skill with using coupons, you will be AMAZED at what you will save.

Coupon Institute Week 1 Check up+Week 2 details

 I still have to get you pictures of my coupon binder and files!  Those are coming!  But I want to hear from you about how this journey is going for you so far.  REMEMBER you are students here, so in the comments section, answer a few questions for me, would ya?  ;-)
Week 1 Check up:

1. How are those organizational methods coming?  What method did you think would work best for you?  Have you tried any of them yet?

2. What was the first week's lessons like for you?  Suggestions for me going forward?

3. What did you do this weekend that was frugal AND fun?

This week's lessons will focus on Meal Planning.  I know you are thinking, WHEN ARE WE GOING TO GET TO THE DEALS?  But really Couponing and saving money encompasses so much more than just clipping the coupons and using them. Once we have laid the groundwork of organization and planning you will have a clearer idea about how you want to proceed with your coupons!

Here is what you can expect from this week's lessons.

Week 2: Meal Planning

Lesson 1: Sales trends predict your meals--Tuesday 10/13

Lesson 2: Once a Month Cooking to save time and money--Thursday 10/15