Tightening the Budget While Feeding the Belly

1. Tighter Food Budget. We’re now a 1-income family so its suddenly a little more important to stick to a food budget each month. Add to this the fact that we’re in temporary housing this month and its suddenly very important that I use what we have in the house before flitting out to the grocery store for a bunch of additional ingredients.
2. I’m pregnant. Not only am I ALWAYS hungry, but I’m also (usually) trying to feed the belly with nutritious stuff to help the baby (and the momma) stay healthy and strong. This means I’m not willing to compromise on ingredient quality….I’m still eating a wide range of fresh fruits and vegetables, choosing organic ingredients whenever possible and generally trying to get plenty of variety. When you’re prego, you also never want to be TOO full or TOO hungry (both are notorious for causing nausea), so I try to take in a steady stream of little bites throughout the day.
3. I’m home all day now. This means I feel extra pressure to munch on leftovers, graze from whatever is in the fridge and generally try to avoid running out to the grocery store or a quick-serve restaurant every 30 minutes just because I have time time (b/c we don’t necessarily have the money!). But as a food freak, I’m easily bored by leftovers and the idea of eating the exact same thing over and over again. If thats my only choice, I’m often tempted just to skip eating altogether which is not currently an option (see #2).

– Menu Planning: Yes I know, nothing terribly revolutionary here. But for me this required a major shift in logic. Instead of thinking…”Hmmm, what will I be craving on Tuesday that I can make in 30 minutes after I get home from that long client meeting?” I find myself thinking…”Hmm, what can I make on Tuesday that will use up those leftover chicken breasts I got on sale, plus the rest of that quinoa I bought last week AND that remaining 1/2 a mango in the fridge?”

To accomplish this, instead of turning to cookbooks, recipe sites and blogs for menu inspiration, I’ve found its easiest to start by taking an inventory of the pantry (by which I mean both the dry pantry and the fridge/freezer), either literally or mentally, and using that as the launch pad for creating your menu for the week. Once you know what you’ve got, its sort of like putting together a puzzle. So for example, so far this week has looked like this:

• Sunday: Grain salad with chicken, green beans, and corn
• Monday: Saigon Salad w/cabbage, green beans, red peppers & shrimp, w/pita bread on the side (already had the green beans, herbs and spices in the house. bought the shrimp (sale), cabbage and red pepper)
• Tuesday: Shrimp & spinach quesadillas w/black bean & corn salad (used leftover Monday shrimp, leftover Sunday corn, had the black beans and tortillas in the pantry)
• Wednesday: Quinoa, red pepper & mushroom veggie burgers in pita pockets with Asian coleslaw & baked sweet potatoes (had the quinoa and most of the other ingreds for the veggie burgers on-hand, also had the cabbage & other slaw ingredients on-hand; bought the sweet potatoes and burger toppings)

– Lunch Planning: In addition to working in all of the puzzle pieces for our dinner menus, I also try to think ahead about how I can “recycle” any leftovers into a creative lunch for me the following day. So, for example, that Saigon salad became a very delicious sandwich when I stuffed it INSIDE the pita bread (hence the photo for this post). And its just different enough from what I had the night before to trick my brain into thinking its new (sneaky).

– Snacks, snacks and more snacks: In the event that we don’t have any leftovers or (just as likely) I become hungry between actual mealtimes, I keep myself stocked with a variety of other items like Kashi granola bars (my lifesaver on so many occasions), yogurt, fresh fruit and mixed nuts (I really like Planters Nut-Trition mixes). Luckily, living in Miami, I’m also always within walking distance of a good smoothie.

So, those are my tips so far. We’ll see if I can keep it up in the long-term. What about you….do you have any tricks for healthful and creative menu planning on a budget?