I had a great trip to the Public Market on Saturday, so I’m planning most of my meals around that.

Don’t forget to get your FREE printable Meal Planner (pictured above)!

Monday: Veggie Meatloaf w/ homemade rolls

Tuesday: Grilled Chicken with avocado salad and quinoa

Wednesday: Beef with Broccoli Stir Fry and sticky rice

Thursday: Grilled chicken with green beans

Friday: Applegate Farms hot dogs and Cascadian Farms Tater Tots with carrot and bell pepper sticks

Saturday: Leftover Day!

Sunday: Meal with family

What’s for dinner at your house this week? 

Head over to orgjunkie.com to see more meal plans!

Meal planning saves money and time. One of my key strategies is to “shop your pantry” for meal ideas. But in order for it to work, you have to have a moderate supply of pantry staples built up.

Pantry staples are basic, whole food items that cold be included in a variety of meals. Pantry Staples can also be bought in bulk to save money.

You can download this free, printable list of what I consider to be essential staples to have on hand all the time.

How to Save Money on Pantry Staples:

• Check the International Section of your Grocery store for staples like rice, soy sauce, and spices like cumin, cinnamon, and garlic powder. I recently found jasmine specialty rice in the regular grocery aisle for $2.33/lb. I looked in the international aisle, and found the exact same jasmine rice for just $1.25/lb. I typically purchase at least 10 pounds of rice at a time, so this is a significant savings!
• Stock up on canned goods when they are on sale at Amazon or with coupons at the grocery store. I buy my Eden Organics Canned Beans from Amazon using Subscribe & Save.
• Use coupons for organic frozen vegetables and fruit. Coupons for frozen items come out cyclically, so when you see them, that is the time to stock up. For example, brands like Woodstock Farms and Cascadian Farms often have coupons that you can use on their frozen produce. You can search my coupon database to see what is available.
• Save money on organic meat by buying in bulk locally. You can find a local farmer by searching localharvest.org. I get grass-fed, local ground beef for $3.15 per pound this way. You can also check out my series: How to Save Money on Meat.

 What are YOUR strategies for saving money on pantry staples?

Nothing — but nothing — is more infuriating to me than hearing this question from my husband, usually around 4:30 pm: “So, what are you thinking about for dinner?”

Just So.Many.Levels. of wrong. Of course, I generally retort, “I don’t know, what are you making.” But that’s probably not the best thing to say.

In all seriousness, aside from making your evenings free of marital discord, meal planning is the Number One tip I give people when they ask, “How can I shave dollars off my grocery bill?”

Meal Planning. That’s it.

It’s so simple, but so hard!  Having an idea of what you are going to feed your family at least 5 days a week will pay you back huge dividends when shopping for the week.

1. There will be no need for extra trips. Every time you step in the store, you are bombarded by millions of dollars of marketing efforts designed for the sole purpose of yanking your hard-earned dollars out of your wallet. Less trips to the store= more money in your pocket.

2. You can shop based on what you already have in your pantry. No more having 5 jars of capers in your fridge.

3.  You won’t have to bang your head against the wall over the perennial: “What’s for dinner??”

I’ve used Food on the Table Meal Planning service to jump-start my meal planning ideas. You can try it here.

Have I convinced you that meal planning is a good idea yet? Once you get in the habit, it takes only a few minutes a week, and it saves a world of aggravation!

I’m starting a series on Meal Planning 101 — next time we’ll learn about how to start putting a meal plan together.

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