We’re continuing our series on reducing our mental labor. For the next couple of weeks, we’ll focus on shopping and meal planning. Last week we discussed grocery pickup or delivery services.
Some of you may want to avoid paying anything extra for groceries. I get it. As winter was approaching a couple of years ago, my husband John and I started looking at ways for us to cut costs. His business slowed down dramatically at that time each year.
I shop at Aldi, which has incredibly low prices for good quality food, and I am able to get 75 percent of what we need there each week. Even though it’s wonderful, this store can’t provide everything that a typical household needs.
I used to order the remainder of our groceries online and have them delivered, but as I mentioned, it was a bit more expensive. So, John volunteered to go to Meijer every week for us since he wasn’t working as much. It was such a time saver and a relief for me to not have to go to two grocery stores.
Sharing the grocery shopping responsibilities with a partner or taking turns can be a huge help along using with the occasional delivery or grocery pick up option. But what about meal planning and cooking in general? This certainly requires some mental labor, but I personally don’t mind it at all.
I’ve always enjoyed cooking and have a variety of dinners that I rotate. I plan out easy meals that don’t require a lot of time for weekdays – or ones where I can throw things in the crockpot and let them cook all day – and more elaborate ones for weekends. And we give ourselves a break each week by making Friday our date (dinner out) night.
I realize that meal planning and cooking, especially for dinner, can be a burden for others. Although I haven’t tried them, I’ve heard great things about meal planning services.
These range from services like Plan to Eat, which provides a grocery list for you based on recipes you drag and drop online, to eMeals offering a huge variety of menus. You can go all the way up to places like Home Chef that deliver recipes and ingredients right to your door.
You can find information on these and other meal plans on doughroller.net. In a 2019 article, the site states “If your normal weeknight dinner plans involve dining out or scrounging around the fridge for leftovers, meal planning could be exactly what you need. A great meal plan can help you eat well while saving money.”
It goes on to share information about 10 meal planning services so you can figure out what might work best for you and your family’s needs and budget.
Another great tip is to make dinners ahead of time and freeze them. You can create your own meal plans and do the shopping for these or use one of the services mentioned earlier.
I have friends who love doing this every Sunday, every other Sunday, or the first Sunday of the month. It’s a relief for them to come home after a busy workday and throw something in the oven or on the stove.
You obviously need a lot of freezer space for this option, but it works well for many families and cuts down on the mental load of meal planning and preparation.
To help me with ideas for various meals, I now have a “Meal Ideas” section on our dry erase board that’s stuck to the front of our refrigerator. When anyone in the family is craving a certain dish, they simply write it on the board to help me with my planning.
Rifle Paper Company offers a farm fresh weekly meal planning pad on anthropologist.com that keeps a week’s menu in one place. It also comes with a tear away shopping list you can add to as needed.
Amy Shankland is a writer and fundraising professional living in Noblesville with her husband John, two sons, two dogs and a cat. You can reach her via email at amys@greenavenue.info.