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You are here: Home / Naturally Frugal Living / How to Create Meal Plans that Save Money and Use Up Leftovers

How to Create Meal Plans that Save Money and Use Up Leftovers

January 4, 2024 by Alea Milham 4 Comments

This post may contain affiliate links. Read our disclosure policy here.
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lady making a meal plan while she looks at what she has on hand in the refrigerator.

My menu plans have changed a lot over the years; primarily to meet the needs of my family and our changing schedules.

lady making a meal plan while she looks at what she has on hand in the refrigerator.

Meal Plan Techniques I have used:

1. Once a month planning and cooking.

2. A bimonthly rotation of our family’s 14 favorite recipes. I used this method when the kids were young and picky eaters.

3. A detailed weekly plan that included breakfast and lunch. Now I meal prep breakfasts and lunches on the weekend and everyone fends for themselves.

4. A very loose plan where we had certain themed nights (i.e. Italian, Mexican, Pizza, salad, etc.), but I winged the meals at the last minute.

I now plan my menus based on what I have in my pantry, freezer, garden, and what was on sale the last time I went shopping. On some nights I cook, so that I won’t have leftovers: When I make the Ahi Tuna, I will cook a one-pound filet and there will not be any remaining at the end of the meal. Other nights I intentionally make extra, so that I can use the leftovers as a base for another meal.

How to Create Meal Plans that Save Money, Time, and Use Up Leftovers:

1. Look at your schedule and determine how many people will be home and decide how many meals you will need to prepare. I usually plan to cook dinner from scratch 4 days a week, use leftovers as the base of a meal 2 days a week, and take one day off from cooking altogether (YOYO Dinner = You’re On Your Own). Here are free printable meal plans and shopping lists that you can use if you wish.

2. Take a look in the freezer, refrigerator, and pantry to see what is available.

3. Decide what meals can be made from the ingredients you have on hand.

4. Decide what meals you have most of the ingredients for and start a shopping list for the ingredients you will need.

5. Check grocery store circulars to see if there are some great deals that you may want to use as a foundation for a meal.

6. Once you have your meals chosen decide what meals go at the beginning of the week based on how many of the ingredients you already have on hand, how fresh the items are, and if you need the leftovers to create another meal.

Make a Plan for Leftovers

When I am making my plans,  I look for easy ways to create “Premeditated Leftovers” by cooking extra of a dish so I can use the leftovers for a future meal. For example, if I am making tacos on Monday I will cook a large batch of taco meat and shred extra cheese so I can use the leftover taco fixings in a taco salad or enchiladas on Wednesday. If I am making chicken and rice, I can use the leftovers in chicken and rice soup.

YOYO Dinner Night

YOYO dinners are Leftover Buffets and are usually scheduled on Thursdays because I usually do our grocery shopping on Fridays. Often, I heat all the various leftovers and put them on the buffet. When I am tired, I just call out what is in the fridge as I put it on the counter and let everyone make their own plates and heat it themselves.

Meal Plans Are Just Guidelines

I make meal plans because it saves me time, money, and reduces our food waste.  It is important to remember that menu plans are more like guidelines than actual rules. Don’t feel bad if something comes up and you don’t/can’t follow your plan. If my husband decides to surprise us with Chinese food, I will say thank you and put whatever I was planning back in the fridge for the next evening. If we have unexpected guests, I will rearrange our menu to accommodate them. And if, like last week, my kids and I are sick, I am grateful for anything my husband makes!

Reducing Food Waste

With as expensive as food is right now, I don’t want to let any of it go to waste!

Make a plan for any leftovers. This can be as simple as dividing them between Pyrex containers to use as lunches. So if I have leftover lasagna I will cut it up and package it into individual servings, so I can drop that container in a lunch bag.

Keep a close eye on expiration dates and use by dates. Then plan accordingly. If meat needs to be cooked by a certain date make sure it is cooked or frozen by that date. Consider moving salads and vegetables that will soon expire to a shelf at eye level, so you don’t forget about them.

Can it be frozen? If you can’t use something up, can you freeze it now and use it in the future? If the rice you made isn’t being eaten as fast as you thought it would freeze it and add it to a soup or casserole later. The most important thing about freezing foods is labeling the containers with what is in them and when you put it in the freezer.

More Meal Planning Tips

Meal Planning Tips for Busy People

4 Easy Ways to Create a Weekly Meal Plan

Meal Planning in 6 Easy Steps

Healthy Meal Planning for Busy Lives

How to Create a Meal Plan with Batch Cooking

Do you create a meal plan?

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About Alea Milham

Alea Milham is the owner of Premeditated Leftovers and the author of Prep-Ahead Meals from Scatch. She shares her tips for saving money and time while reducing waste in her home. Her favorite hobby, gardening, is a frugal source of organic produce for her recipes. She believes it is possible to live fully and eat well while spending less.

Comments

  1. Candace Cantrell says

    January 3, 2014 at 6:40 pm

    Thanks so much for the tips! There is only myself, my husband and teenage son to feed now but I haven’t been able to get our food bill down. I would love to get some examples of economical dinner meals. Thanks again!

    Reply
  2. Pauline Wiles says

    February 13, 2013 at 9:33 pm

    I remember your YOYO meals – love that acronym!
    Yes, I’m generally a weekly planner, and always try to do at least one meal which generates leftovers. On running nights, when we need a quick meal, the plan might simply be to put something in the microwave… but at least it prevents me spending money on raw ingredients that don’t stand a chance of being cooked!

    Reply
  3. Annie says

    February 13, 2013 at 6:38 pm

    I am a meal planner. Like you, I’ve tried a variety of different methods, all of which worked to a degree, but were not perfect. Right now, we have lots of venison and pork in the freezer and quite a bit of fruit and veggies in the freezer or pantry (home-canned), so plan around what we have first, then fill in with purchases from the store. I always plan at least a week at a time, but I’m just as likely to plan for two weeks or a month at a time.

    I agree, a menu plan is guideline, not a mandate. Life happens and sometimes that means ordering pizza. 😉

    Reply
  4. Beth @Aunt B's kitchen says

    February 13, 2013 at 4:50 pm

    We don’t make a menu plan because we found that, with just two of us, it often resulted in too much food waste. Now plan our meals a day or so ahead of time, based upon what we have on hand. We find this allows us to make better use of our leftovers.

    Reply

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Welcome. I'm Alea!

On Premeditated Leftovers I share simple recipes made with whole foods, practical shopping tips, time saving techniques, and meal planning strategies. I also share tips for minimizing food waste, so more of the food that is purchased ends up on the table.

While volunteering as a budget counselor, I realized that food is the element of most people’s budgets where they have the greatest control. I set out to develop low-cost recipes from scratch to prove it’s possible to create delicious meals on a limited budget. Eating well while spending less is about more than just creating recipes using inexpensive ingredients; it’s about creatively combining ingredients so you don’t feel deprived and are inspired to stick to your budget.

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