Meal Planning

My first attempt at smart food shopping and budgeting... It's very, very difficult for me. I like quality ingredients and will usually pay for them, but when I start noticing the decline in my bank account, I realize something must change. Well, I did it tonight. I have planned and shopped for four meals for $24. Some of the ingredients are already on-hand, but here you go:

Meals

Carrot soup and salad

Baked Lemon Pasta

Cucumber sandwiches

Balsamic Brown Butter Veggies with Spaghetti Squash
(recipe to come this week--my own delicious creation)

Totals

carrot soup and salad ... $3.21 (many ingredients already on-hand)

1 lb carrots ... 1.69

3 red potatoes ... 1.00

1 onion ... .77

arugula ... 1.75 (halved the cost because we won't eat all of it in one sitting)

1 roma tomato ... .82

baked lemon pasta ... $2.64

sour cream ... 1.79

lemon ... .50

parsley ... .35 (halved the cost because half will be used for cucumber sandwiches)

cucumber sandwiches ... $3.66

english cucumber ... 2.49

parsley ... .35 (other half)

1 roma tomato ... .82

balsamic brown butter veggies with spaghetti squash ... $7.62

orange bell pepper ... 2.49

1 roma tomato ... .82

red onion ... .52

spaghetti squash ... 3.79

I don't know about you, but I've enjoyed this quick little exercise. It's kind of liberating to see how much I can save when I actually think about the meals I am preparing.

Try it; I dare you. Let me know how it works out for you.