Welcome to the Greatest Tips/Hits Edition!
My best tip involves cooking (which is ironic since cooking is not my spiritual gift).
But I believe in cooking miracles. Or at least divine kitchen insight.
I dug thru my archives, looking for that life-changing tip and I found a post from just a few weeks ago where I asked for a Kitchen Aid (help planning family meals). I received so much valuable information in the comments that I have to share the greatest tip that has changed my stove top life!
Tip: When you go to the grocery store, take a grocery list of every ingredient you need for the weekly menu you have planned before you enter said store.
There are many ways to accomplish this. Those of you who have been gifted with The Cooking Gene can create your own fabulous menus from scratch and many of you organized ladies are already doing this! But for people like me, just the word menu gives me a rash.
So, I signed up for a menu helper. I know there are many great menu planning ideas available. I chose this one because I can choose from a list of grocery stores in my area:
E-mealz: For $1.25 per week, I download a grocery list from the local store of my choice. The grocery list corresponds with the type of menu I've chosen. I love this because the menu planning is based on the current sale ads at my local store. So, I'm preparing healthy meals at the best price.
I cannot tell you how efficient my meal shopping and preparation has gone the last couple of weeks! Plus I've cut my grocery bill by a third! (If you're interested in trying it out, you can click the button to the right. I am not a part of their affiliate program. I just really love this system!)
I'm also feeling very fancy because I've prepared meals like Cranberry Chicken with Apple and Cranberry Salad and Veggie burgers with homemade, yummy low-fat onion rings on the side!
I'm excited about this! Well, as excited as a non-cook can be. The (!) is for dramatic effect. But for the first time in eons, I haven't wandered up and down the grocery aisles, only to get home and discover that I'm missing 4 out of the 5 ingredients I need for dinner.
You can be an efficient meal shopper and planner without a program. It's a goal of mine! I'm keeping track of our family's favorite meals and saving the grocery lists for when I get my act together and don't need someone to do it for me.
Until then, my family would like to pause in a moment of silence for home cooking.
Amen.
{Thank you for joining me for WFMW! I'm so glad you're here. You can read the guidelines here. You will find they are exactly like Shannon's from Rocks in My Dryer. I'm excellent at copying and pasting. Some changes may occur in the future, but for now, the host is the only difference in this carnival.}
Have a Works-For-Me Wednesday tip you'd like to share? I'd love for you to join us! Please note that the links will close at 8 pm CST Wednesday night, in order to keep away the spammers!
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51 comments:
I'm gonna need to check out your e-Mealz link. We definitely need to do something like that. I'm so tired of the 5 meals we make and rotate...yes, boring but easy.
Excellent tip---I too often forget to put everything down on my grocery list, but when I do it this way, it works out great. Too funny, I was refreshing like crazy wanting to link in the top ten---I started at 9:30 ET...to a 30 second potty break and wound up 23 oh well. I hope my tip will be OK, it is a bit deep.
Menu planning is my downfall. I'll check this out...thanks!
Sounds like a neat program. I am going to see if they run specials for the commissary, that would be great!
Toni
Thanks for sharing that resource - sounds like it makes it so easy! I don't enjoy coming up with a menu and then making the grocery list. And I have not been good about planning my meals according to what's on sale. Good for you!!
Thanks for the good tip. You are doing a great job with this "legendary" carnival! Thanks for hosting this so we can all play along.
Interesting idea. I find that picnics are a great way to set up a new meal with the whole family involved.
I signed up for e-Mealz last week! This was the first week I've actually used it. Made grocery shopping and meal planning a breeze! Love it.
i love e-meals too!
Never heard of e-Mealz before. I just almost refuse to menu plan because I just never know what I'll be in the mood to make or eat. But maybe if I had a plan, that decision wouldn't be so hard. :)
Hmmm. Fun, new recipes... saving money... and stuff I can actually cook and enjoy.. all made easy?? Sign me up!
Okay, okay! I surrender!
You can come do all the cooking at my house, too.
[sigh] The things I do for my friends...
This sounds so organized that it's mind blowing!!! We have a weekly idea of what we are eating it give us something to aim for in the end of the day dash! But actual meal planning is well advanced down the organizational chain of life!
This is actually looking like it could change my life!
Thanks!
Thanks for hosting the WFMW carnival blog. How fun & helpful! This is my first time to participate & I hope I did everything correctly.
that's so cool!
The other day you mentioned on Twitter what you were making for dinner and I almost asked you if you were using E-mealz. We've been doing it for about 3 weeks now and I. love. it! It makes my life so much easier at dinner time!
Great ideas for meal planning.
sandy toe
Great link, I need to look into that.
Okay, I should know better than to type quickly while nursing and not proofread. Would you please remove #179 where I left the second l off of the word Small. Thanks!
Isn't it awesome how the internet and computers can organize us? They think we stay at home moms know nothing about technology except how to turn on the TV, but I think many of us are more wired than most people in the workplace!
Visit To Love, Honor and Vacuum today!
I definetly recommend this too. I am not so creative when it comes to cooking so this took the "what will I give them today" out of it. I also like that there's a lowcarb option as well as a store preference. It's worth the money because you do save money and you have almost no waste.
Great POST...I totally agree, having a detailed list before going to the store is VERY helpful!
Thanks for the EZ Meals link! That's a great resource.
My tip for meal planning is this: I brainstormed 30 meals that my family loves/ will eat. I broke them into categories, like Italian, Mexican, soup, crockpot, etc. to help me come up with ideas. I print out the list each week and keep it on my fridge. Then, I circle the seven dinners I plan to make the following week.
I also keep a pre-made shopping list on my fridge with all of the items that I buy on a regular basis. Then, I just go through and highlight the ones I need according to my meal plan.
I keep meaning to put these lists up on my blog so people can download them. For now, they are available in the planner that I sell online: http://everydaymomlife.blogspot.com.
I'm going to get involved in your WFMW one of these days, but just wanted to post this tip!
I say this over at another blog and wanted to play along. Mine is not on dinners but on my little one. Hope you have a wonderful day. Great idea.
Hi Everyone! My post is on some simple and inexpensive ways I help my two and half year old work on developing fine motor skills. Have a great day!
I goofed and linked the first time to my home page so I redid it, you can delete line 201 and sorry for the confusion, now I get it. Love this idea and so many inspiring posts! Thanks
Doesn't that sound like the most basic thing? "Make a list of every ingredient you need..." Yet its my achille's heel EVERY WEEK!
The weeks I can get my crap together and head to the store fully prepared are the weeks I stress *SO* much less about making meals!
Great tip!
I definitely have the problem that when I go to make something, one ingredient may be missing! E-Mealz sounds like a great resource.
This is my first time to post a Works for Me Wednesday post. I didn't have one in the archives, but created a new post. I have been enjoying reading your tips and those of other links listed on your site. Thanks!
Thanks for hosting this again. I love your menu planning tips. I'm not a natural born cook either, but I've actually grown to like it since I started menu planning. I get excited about trying new recipes when I've already planned for it and have all the ingredients.
This is great. Looks like cooking will become a fun experience through this. We busy moms need all the help we can get. Hope you cont. enjoy.
Happy shopping and cooking too!
Ginger
LOL - people who refuse to plan often insist that they don't like being locked into a menu several days ahead ("what if I don't feel like lasagne on Wednesday?").
They don't realize how freeing having a menu plan can be - know for absolute certain sure you not only have the ingredients on hand, but you are practicing frugality while feeding your family healthy meals!
I actually do this for my single-person household through my cookbook software - so very helpful on the nights I'm tempted to stop and pick something up to know there is food in the house to make something delicious.
Oh where have I been? Didn't realize this carnival moved - fun to find the new home - looking forward to meeting you all!
I signed up for E-Mealz a couple of weeks ago after I heard it on the Dave Ramsey show. I have been menu planning for 6 years and I thought 1.25 per week was a great price for all the time it would save me.
It's been really great so far. Do you do the low fat menu?
More often than not, "haphazzard cook" is my middle name. Thanks for this suggestion! I'm going to look into it. :)
I love this tip! I meal plan but I do all the dirty work myself. I'm going to go check out e-mealz - thanks!
BTW - I didn't write my WFMW tip FOR you.. but I certainly did think of you a time or two while I was. ;)
Man, that is the kind of program that I really wish I had thought of first :p
Great ideas! I'm gonna try to get better at meal planning this Spring :)
Thanks for hosting too!
Sorry - my first link messed up for some reason. :)
Jolanthe
Thanks, WATF, for hosting. Great tips all around!
All my best,
Broke Girl
great ideas! thank you so very much!
Your tips are great! If you're really into meal planning, you should check out the weekly meal planner at springpad - it's a great way to organize all your recipes and meal plans and I think you'd really like it!
Rachel @ springpad
Hi a friend of mine sent me here to have a look, what a great site. Pleanty of info to digest. My Wednesday tip is this. Always keep a bag of cubed hash browns in the freezer. They are great for a quick potato soup or sauteing off as an accompaniment with dinner. Saves on time - you don't have to stand and peel those potatoes...who has time for that!!
Hope this is helpful.
Electronic menu plans and recipes are a great idea.
I am going to have to try out that Ez-Meal planner. :-) Thanks for sharing the tip.
Farrah from Wife and Mom of 3
http://wifeandmomof3.net
Eat before you grocery shop, I really try to do this because a list won't mean a thing :)
I actually have been doing e-mealz and LOVE it!!! :-) That is awesome that you are "sharing the love". I especially like the part where you don't have to worry about forgetting to put something on your list b/c it is already there for you! This has saved me many times!!!
I have a friend who swears by E-mealz! She says it has saved her so much time every week. Guess I should quit procrastinating and sign up myself, huh!
I just subscribed! I very hopeful. If this works for me, I will be eternally grateful!
Kristen,
I am running one day late. I just posted my Works for Me Wednesday - I mean Thursday! Thanks for hosting.
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