Week 4 Menu (and $43.37 under budget!!!)

So here is Week 4's menu plus some golden rules to help when grocery shopping and sticking to a budget!  I've even put a little plug in here encouraging you to establish your own vegetable garden and maybe get some hens!  This week's Dinner Planner features:

• Monday night: Camembert Pies & Salad (many of my friends saw that I made these last week via social media and I know many of you are desperate for the recipe!  I promise to upload this later today.)
• Tuesday night: Mushroom & Pea Risotto with Pork & Fennel Sausages (plus I'll give you my tips on how I make a delicious stock!)
• Wednesday night: Nachos
• Thursday night: fend for yourself here....takeaways for our household
• Friday night: Roti Chenai
• Saturday night: American Hot Dogs with Gherkins (this is a great little number to whip up when you seriously can't be bothered cooking and the kids will wolf it down!)
• Sunday night: Corn Fritter Stacks with Bacon, Salsa & Salad
• Baking: Raspberry & Apple Cinnamon Muffins plus Kui's Orange Slice (this slice is an adaption of my sister Marcia's recipe that my mother has now tampered with...It is seriously to die for!)

This week's groceries came to a total of $206.63 New Zealand dollars - that's  $43.37 less than my budget and even includes FIVE Camembert cheeses and a gas refill for my Soda Stream...So I transfer this savings from my groceries automatically into my 'Entertainment' account which I use for treating my kids to meals out at restaurants or cafés.  No matter how small the saving each week, this is a really good habit to get into!

It has got me thinking that maybe I should post a shopping list each week to help people plan their meals.  But I thought I'd give you all an insight into some of my golden tips for grocery shopping in order to stick to your budget:

1. Always write a list before you head to the supermarket.  Cross everything off as it goes into your trolley.
2. Have a basic idea of what your meal plan is for the week and make sure you buy all the ingredients there and then.  Don't make several trips to and from the supermarket during the week as this is where you end up spending money unnecessarily on additional items and fuel (plus it's a waste of your time!)
3. Never, ever go to the supermarket hungry....
4. Don't impulse buy unless something on your list is on special and you save some money by buying a larger quantity and it is something that can be stored.  Sometimes, it's cheaper to buy the quantity you need rather than a 'bulk buy' if it's something that can't be stored long term like fresh fruit and vegetables.  It's really important to do this so you don't end up throwing things out at the end of the week.
5. Weigh your fruit and vegetables so you know the total cost rather than 'guestimating'.
6. Try and keep a running tally of what you are spending as you shop.  Until you get into the habit of memorising prices like me, it's a good way to keep tabs on what you are spending!
7. Write your shopping list in the order of the supermarket layout.  I know this seems really pedantic, but it's a great way to stick to a route and prevent you from impulse buying.
8. Write things on your list during the week as you use up household items/run out of things and then buy them on your regular shopping day (encourage members of your family to do this too!)  This really helps to prevent unnecessary trips to the supermarket during the week.
9. Look at what you have in the pantry - don't just keep buying things for the sake of it.  Use it up!  Don't leave packets of open pasta etc sitting around.  And don't be afraid to use your leftovers up for lunch or freeze them to use in pies at a later date (this is a great thing to do with left-over nacho mince or curries).
10. Buy bread and freeze it.  Just take the necessary amounts out of the freezer as required rather than defrosting the whole loaf.  This really helps save on wastage.  I never skimp on bread and the bread I buy is around $4.89 per loaf.  Sometimes they have great specials and I'll buy extra that week.  If it's at full price, I only buy what our requirement is for that week.
11. Buy all your milk for the week at once and I ensure that I purchase milk that has a 'use by date' at least 10 days from the day of purchase.  We have a second fridge and store the milk in there.
12. Buy things such as nuts, dried fruit and dried legumes from the bulk bins.  If I know I'm going to use pine nuts for example, I plan ahead and just buy about 100g over the course of a fortnight or until I have sufficient for a future recipe.  They're $94.50 per kilogram at my supermarket and I always keep them at hand.  By buying a little at a time, it means that I am not using a huge portion of my budget up on things like this!
13. When buying canned goods, look for the specials (especially with things like tinned tomatoes).  I write the dates on the cans when I buy them so I always use up the older cans in my pantry first.  If you know you're going to be under budget - then buy a few extra staples.  For example, I always have a supply of red kidney beans, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, lentils, cannelini beans, spaghetti, baked beans, baby cut-corn, creamed sweet corn, condensed milk and tomato sauce refills in my pantry.  If I use a tin, I write it up on my list and wait for these items to go on special.  I never buy them full price.
14. We have an emergency survival kit filled with food for my family in case of a natural disaster.  I have a spreadsheet with all the expiry dates listed for all the items and I try and incorporate these into our meal planners as they expire and replace them so the food is always 'in date' in our emergency kit.
15. Freeze, freeze, freeze!  If I can buy meat in bulk such as mince, I split it up into smaller quantities and freeze it.
16. If making a chicken stock, freeze it in smaller portions to use in recipes as required.  I make stock using a whole chicken as the flavour of the stock is more intense that way.  I then ensure that I use the boiled chicken in a future meal within a couple of days.
17. Only buy fresh fruit and vegetables that you NEED.  I have read alarming statistics about the amount of food that New Zealanders discard each year from their homes. 
18. Eat seasonal - don't buy courgettes/zucchini in the middle of winter or summer fruits in the middle of winter!  This costs way too much.  Plan your meals accordingly based on seasonal supply/availability. 
19. Invest in good quality CLEAR storage containers for dried goods such as flour, sugar etc so that you can see what quantities you have available and what items you have in your pantry.
20. Invest in good quality CLEAR storage containers for left-overs or part portions of refrigerated items such as cheese etc.  That way you can always see what you have in the fridge and use things up!
21. Go vegetarian a couple of times a week.  This not only makes a difference to your budget by not purchasing meat, but also to your waistline and the planet.
22. Although this doesn't really make a difference to your budget, I have very strong ethical morals  pertaining to the environment when it comes to making my grocery buying decisions.  I try wherever possible to only buy food that is in either recyclable or reusable packaging.  Given we have to pay for council rubbish bags, it means that we have very little rubbish in our household and only have to put out our rubbish every three weeks or so.  This is a huge saving for us.
23. I always ensure I have a good back-up supply stored of staples like flour, rolled oats, pasta, paper towels, tissues, sanitary requirements, toiletries such as deodorant, shampoo etc (buy these on special and always keep spares in your bathroom!), toilet paper, panadol, toothpaste etc.
24. Believe it or not.......I also donate a minimum of two items to a food bank each week.  I look for things that are on special like pasta or tinned tomatoes - even toothbrushes!  And other things that food banks are always desperate to receive.  These donations are included in my weekly grocery budget.  I really feel it's important to pay it forward and help out others who are less fortunate than me.
25. Although I don't provide a meal planner for lunches, think about what you have on hand for lunches - especially on the weekends.  This is a great opportunity to use up things in the fridge like left-over cold meats especially.
26. Think ahead for school holidays etc - I stock up on all sorts of things in the month leading up to holidays so my kids have plenty of options for lunches as opposed to their normal packed school lunches.
27. Grow your own vegetables (from seed).  This saves us on average $50 - $60 per week (and sometimes more) at the height of summer.  What is more, this is a fabulous thing to get children involved in and FANTASTIC for your mental health, let alone the health benefits of eating your own home grown organic veges.  Lack of time is not an excuse.  I'm incredibly busy as a mother, business owner, volunteer for two organisations....and I find time...Start small - plant a herb garden.
28. Get some chickens!  We got three hens at the start of the year who supply us with 3 fresh eggs every day (12 dozen over a 7 week period).  We buy a special mash for them which lasts for approximately 7 weeks and costs $40.  We used to only purchase free range eggs which were $6.99 a dozen.  So we save $43.88 per 7 week period once you take out the hen feed.  If you look at this from an annual perspective, we save $526.56 per year (but we had the initial cost of the actual hens which we purchased as pullets plus their chicken coop, so this year we will save roughly $200 as they don't lay all year round).  It's a small savings but does mean that our kids also have some useful pets!  Their poop is great for the compost too!