More Tips for Shopping/Cooking/Eating

The Great Fitness Experiment has an excellent post this morning called “Healthy Eating on a Budget (No Coupons Necessary!)”

Her first tip is my favorite because I, too, love themes and alliteration:

1. Make a month’s menu in advance. It’s really not as daunting as it sounds, especially when you consider that you eat the same 15 or so meals over and over again. Make a calendar and write down your dinner for that day. I like to add in some fun by making theme days like Fish Friday and Mexican Monday (we’re not Catholic or Mexican but I can’t resist a good alliteration!). I also have a crockpot day, a soup night and a vegetarian night where I shamelessly try to wean my family off their dependence on dead animals. Plus the kids each get to pick a meal each week that they choose, prep and help me cook.

I also like this one:

3. Cook more. So many things – but not everything! – are cheaper to make than to buy. While I totally suck at cooking, I do actually kind of enjoy it so it doesn’t feel like a burden to me to cook a lot. Out of the 21 meals we eat every week, I cook (and clean up, SIGH) 20 of them. My good friend Beth rescued a used bread maker for me and I use that thing almost daily. I also make our breakfast foods in big batches so I can freeze them and reheat them for quicker mornings….

The whole post is badass; go read it now!