How to save on food in a crisis: menu for the week

2024 Author: Isabella Gilson | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:14

The constant rise in food prices has led to the fact that in many families food has become the main item of expenditure. Moreover, many housewives are increasingly wondering how to carve out some money from the family budget for vacations, visiting children's circles and other joys of life. In fact, there is such a way, just save on food.

Surely there will be those who consider such an exit as a real punishment, because for many people food is considered to be a sin to hide, one of the main delights of life. However, this is not so scary, since saving on food does not mean eating only pasta and porridge on the water. If you approach solving the problem wisely, you can not only reduce food costs, but also improve your he alth. At the same time, the dishes will be quite tasty and varied.

What you can't save on

Before you join the fight to reduce costs, you need to clearly understand what you can and cannot refuse even in a crisis. You can save on food without harming your he alth. So, for the sake of financial savings, in no case should you buy stale products or products of dubious quality. Having saved 20-30 rubles, a person risks"earn" problems with the gastrointestinal tract and additional costs for drugs.

Another rule is variety in the diet. The presence of the same products in the daily menu negatively affects not only the state of the body, but also the mood of a person.

The basis of any savings is careful planning

Planning the financial cost of food is quite an important part of the answer to the question of how to save on food correctly. You should start work with an assessment of today's indicator. To do this, it is enough to sketch out a list of those products that a person buys regularly. It happens that the supply of chips or crackers does not run out in the kitchen cabinet, family members eat ice cream in kilograms or take carbonated drinks with enviable regularity. At first glance, such purchases seem like a trifle, however, having calculated the cash costs for the month, you can be very surprised at the amount received. In addition, the abuse of such products will sooner or later affect he alth.

When you decide to give up unnecessary products that damage your wallet, do not rush to exclude all goodies from your shopping list. It is worth leaving those products that a person is not ready to refuse. It may be expensive, but delicious coffee or high quality dairy products.

Another important detail of planning will be the list of products. Gathered to the store? Before that, you should check the contents of kitchen cabinets and the refrigerator and write out only those products that are really needed in the near future. However, listing is only a small step inright direction. It's much more important (and harder) to follow this list in the store.

How to learn to save on food? Here's a great example. Wanted a cake that looks so appetizing in the window? Take a look at the list, and if this item of expenditure is not there, feel free to pass by. At home, before the next trip to the store, you can add this cake to the list (if it seems very necessary).

Reduce shopping trips

How often do people go shopping? Many do it every other day or even daily. A leisurely walk with a cart through the rows of a modern hypermarket gives many people a real pleasure. In this state, most impulsive (rash) purchases are made. Awareness of the uselessness of things comes a few hours later. And the more often a person goes to the store, the more financial expenses he will make.

It is better to go to the store once a week, as it is easier to save money on food in this case. At the same time, armed with a list, you should buy everything you need to eat for the next 7 days, and not for a month.

Shop selection

Most people (especially those living in large cities) shop based on geographic location. In other words, they are bought in the supermarket that is closer to home. Indeed, after a working day, you don’t want to waste your time on a long trip to a store on the other side of the city.

Such a solution can be convenient in terms of the amount of time spent, but from the financial side it often happensunreasonable. It is no secret that all supermarket chains have their own system of prices, discounts and promotions. The task of the economical buyer is to find how to save on food, that is, to look for the best prices for frequently purchased products. In some cases, the difference in the price of similar products can be 10-50 rubles. In sum, this gives good savings.

Entrance to the store only full

Surely many have already noticed this feature: a person who runs into the store immediately after work will buy quite a lot of products, much more than required. This is explained by the fact that the feeling of hunger completely drowns out the voice of reason. Numerous marketing tricks contribute to this (the smell of fresh bread, mouth-watering cakes in the most visible place and much more).

To avoid temptation, you should only go to the store when you are full. It will be much easier to cut costs in this case, especially if you have a list of products.

Rejection of fast food and convenience foods

Any semi-finished product costs 1.5-2 times more than all the ingredients for its preparation. So, several cutlets in a package or a pack of dumplings will be more expensive than 0.5 kg of minced meat. A piece of meat at the same time will cost even less. For this reason, it is much more profitable to buy meat and cook from it the dish that the family prefers. This way we will spend less and save on food without losing quality.

Of course, someone who works full-time may well object to the convenience and rationality of this approach. Much after workit is more convenient to throw ready-made cutlets into the pan and have a quick dinner. However, there is a way out in this situation. So, having prepared cutlets or manti on a day off, they can be safely sent to the freezer. In the middle of the week, such a preparation is not inferior to store-bought semi-finished products in terms of cooking speed, and significantly surpasses them in taste.

What the buyer pays for

The cost of each finished product that hits the market or store depends on several components, and this is not only the price of raw materials and processing. Often, the price also includes a fee for the brand. Of course, advertised products are more convenient to buy for several reasons. Firstly, such products are easy to find in every store. Secondly, a well-known company cares about its reputation and tries to keep the quality up to par. Thirdly, bright packaging is simply pleasant to hold in your hands. However, for all this, the buyer has to overpay, and a considerable amount. And what to do in this case? How to save on food? The family budget will not suffer if you take a little more time to walk around the store. But without fanaticism! We remember: we buy only what we need.

So, having come to the supermarket in the right department, you should pay attention to the neighboring shelves. Most likely, there are similar products from another manufacturer. They can be just as good as an expensive product, and the price will be 10-30% lower.

Pay for purchases in cash

Many consumers prefer to pay in supermarkets with a card. One side,this is very convenient, as it allows you not to carry cash with you. However, this is precisely what prevents many people from saving on food. The fact is that when paying with a credit card or salary card, a person does not realize the amount of money spent. Handing over cash at the checkout is a completely different matter.

Those who doubt the strength of their character are advised to carry a strictly limited amount of money to the store. This will save you from unnecessary and unplanned expenses.

Why plan a menu for the week

Many housewives must have grimaced at the thought of planning a menu for the whole week. However, for those who want to know how to save on food and at the same time eat varied, this item is indispensable.

What is the point of planning?

1. Compiling a menu for the week will allow you to calculate in advance the amount of food needed to feed the family over the next 7 days. It is much easier to eliminate all unnecessary expenses in this way.
2. Sometimes it happens that the leftovers of certain products are unused, and after a while their expiration date expires. These are irrational expenses. Planning allows you to distribute the leftovers in time and use them in another dish.
3. The weekly menu makes it much easier to achieve dietary variety.

Menu planning features

When compiling the menu, one should take into account the peculiarities of nutrition and taste preferences of the family. However, do not forget that cooking takes a lot of time.time and effort, so menu planning can be adjusted to fit your needs.

1. Reveal how much time the hostess is willing to spend on cooking on weekdays and weekends. If you can spend a couple of hours in the kitchen on the weekend, then you can cook minced meat or fish and make semi-finished products from it in the form of cabbage rolls, cutlets, dumplings. On a working day, they can be quickly boiled or fried.
2. Cooking a dish for several days. If you cook a soup or a meat dish for a couple of days, it will not have time to get bored and at the same time save time and effort. For more variety, meat can be served with different side dishes.

Tips for Savings

Decided to save on food during the crisis? don't worry, the family won't have to eat the same way at all, it's just a matter of adopting some tricks.

1. The average Russian family rarely uses millet, pearl barley, corn grits in their diet. Meanwhile, they are very useful, suitable for cooking milk porridges, side dishes for meat, casseroles and soups.
2. It is more rational to replace sausages with meat or chicken. The cost of these products is the same, and the meat is more satisfying and he althy. Thanks to this, it turns out to save a lot on food. How to spend money on meat (and whether it is worth it) is another question.
3. Expensive pork or beef meat can be completely abandoned, replacing it with chicken or offal. For example, beef heart is very tasty and suitable for cooking a huge number of dishes. At the same time, its cost remains quite affordable.
4. In the preparation of cutlets, you can use fishground meat. If the fish is a little dry, you can add a little fat.

How to save on food: menu for the week

The proposed menu is suitable for a family with children of school age. This is just an approximate set of dishes - each family can change it according to their own taste preferences and habits. The most important thing is to remember about diversity in nutrition.

Monday

1. Breakfast - oatmeal, hard boiled eggs, tea or coffee.
2. Second breakfast (snack) - cottage cheese with fruit (it's better to choose seasonal local products, so we save on food, and the menu does not suffer from this).
3. Lunch - meatball soup, baked fish, vegetable stew.
4. Afternoon snack (snack). Cookies or sweet cake (easy to make yourself).
5. Dinner - chicken meatballs and vegetable salad.

Tuesday

1. Breakfast - scrambled eggs, tea.
2. Second breakfast (snack). Cookie or pie (from last night), fruit.
3. Lunch. Soup with meatballs (yesterday), chicken with buckwheat.
4. Snack. Yogurt or any other fermented milk product.
5. Dinner. Fish cutlets, vegetables. Vinaigrette is quite suitable for fish dishes.

Wednesday

1. Breakfast. A good solution is rice casserole.
2. Snack - nuts of various types (they are quite satisfying and high-calorie, so they are good as a second breakfast).
3. Lunch. Borscht with beans, cutlets with mashed potatoes.
4. Snack - syrniki with any drink.
5. Dinner - cabbage rolls.

Thursday

1. Breakfast - oatmeal (you can safely replace millet or any other)
2. Second breakfast. Fruit.
3. Lunch. Bean borscht (yesterday's), pasta with meat to your liking (chops or azu).
4. Afternoon snack (snack). Sandwich with liver pate. It is easy to make it at home with your own hands. The cost of the dish is cheap, and the taste is excellent.
5. Dinner. Braised cabbage with egg, fresh vegetable salad.

Friday

1. Breakfast. Apple fritters with sour cream.
2. Second breakfast. Apples or other seasonal fruits.
3. Lunch. Rassolnik, chicken cutlets with rice.
4. Snack. Any fermented milk product, such as yogurt.
5. Dinner. Fish casserole.

Saturday

1. Breakfast. Rice milk porridge (can be replaced with another).
2. Second breakfast (snack). A handful of any nuts.
3. Lunch. Soup with melted cheese. Olivier with meat or chicken.
4. Snack. Sweet cake, scones or homemade muffins with milk or tea.
5. Dinner. Beef stroganoff, vegetable stew.

Sunday

1. Breakfast. Lazy dumplings with sour cream.
2. Second breakfast. Cupcakes or pie (yesterday's).
3. Lunch. Shchi in chicken broth. Stewed chicken with mashed potatoes or millet porridge.
4. Snack. Fermented milk product (yogurt or kefir).
5. Dinner. Potato casserole with heart and onion, vegetable salad.

In fact, the solution to the question of how to save on food on the menu -not as difficult a task as it might seem at first glance. A little attention and effort, and in addition to he althy food, the family will receive tangible financial savings.