First on the agenda is to report on how our eMeals planning is going. I mentioned last week what our grocery bill came out that week. It was a little higher than I would've liked, but we also got some items from this week's list. This week our groceries came out to $39 (plus $4 for a bad-day Ben and Jerry's remediation). Bringing our average total to about $60 per week. Not bad! I'd say those eMeals are working. :)
Now onto today's topic: "Sell By" and "Best By" Dates
Expiration dates are a huge key for those who need to get the most out of their money. If we don't pay attention to when food goes bad, we could end up wasting money, and wasting money goes against everything this blog stands for. But "Sell By" and "Best By" dates aren't expiration dates...are they?
"Best By" dates are merely for the the grocery stores to keep rotating their stock (and to help them know what items sell and at what rate). They are also the suggestions of manufactures stating the item will have their guaranteed flavor up until that specified date. Eating items after their "Best Buy" date usually isn't dangerous and sometimes you won't even notice a taste difference.
"Sell By" dates, however, that are found on dairy and meat products are good for guidance when discerning how long an item will be good for. The item will be good PAST the sell by date, but for how long depends on which item.
My favorite resource on this topic is a website called Still Tasty. On this site you can search just about any food item cooked/uncooked. It will then supply you with optimum storage conditions (will it freeze well? will it survive humidity?) as well as estimates for how long an item will last based on where you store it (pantry, fridge, freezer). It even mentions the temperatures it assumes your freezer and fridge are set to in order to provide proper estimates. Not only is it detailed and user friendly, Still Tasty states the sources it uses to bring you these estimates (many of which are government certified sources).
Along with the website they have an iPhone app, for $2, that will even alert you when your food is going bad based on when you bought it. For now, my husband and I have it fairly under control with our meal plans, so I didn't buy it but I could see how it would be very useful if you don't have each food item assigned to a meal (though I recommend that you do).
Either way, if you're ever unsure about an item in your pantry/fridge/freezer, or if you're looking to properly store items...Still Tasty is the best and most reliable resource I know.
Dinner: Time Saving Tips
While this blog is about money saving tips, there is also the need for time saving tips. In our day and age "time is money" can seem like a very applicable statement so in light of this, let me offer some tips that are working out well in our household:
Last week I mentioned that we would actually begin using eMeals, and we have. We've been using their Family Plan meal plan and making it stretch over a two week span, rather than their 2 person meal plan. We only shop for half of the meals on the eMeals list this week, and next week we finish the others. Three to four different meals per week, leftovers the other times. This is an attempt to save time, more than to save money because we only have to cook half the time. Normally I would freeze the leftovers so we could cook one week and relax the week after, however my husband is not a fan of the freezing leftovers concept. So, we have reached a compromise.
So far we have been cooking one night, and eating the leftovers the very next day. Some people may not like the repetition being right in a row, but it works for us. Since our dishwasher still hasn't been installed yet it's been working out to cook one day, wash dishes the next. And may i say, if you don't have a dishwasher I so HIGHLY recommend this system. Dishes no longer pile up like crazy, nor do we feel like dinner prep/eat/cleanup time lasts forever.
Last night, for example, was our 'wash the dishes' night because Wednesdays are our busy nights. However the recipe for our dinner tonight called for marinating the chicken overnight. Instead of having to have cooked two meals in one night, my husband washed the dishes while I cooked the chicken and made the marinade. And tonight, we get a free lazy day. How wonderful!
Other eMeals Benefits:
-every meal plan comes with 7 dinner menus (sides included) and recipes, as well as a grocery list ordered by store department...saving time even in the grocery store
- not only do you have a meal plan but you also have the recipe available to anyone so either my husband or I can cook dinner, depending on who gets home first. (whereas when I made the meal plan, I cooked because I knew where the recipes were)
-the meals a wonderfully planned to make use of all the items you buy. For instance one recipe only calls for half a pineapple...good thing recipe number 7 calls for the other half of that pineapple!
I can't comment on the saving money part as we're only on the first week of the month, but I can say we spent only $75 this week on groceries, and about $15 of that was for groceries that will last us the month or will go towards next week's grocery list. To us, that's right about on target with our budget...I'll let you know how it goes come the end of the month.
All in all, eMeals is so much easier. It may take the joy and accomplishment from coming up with your own recipe or meal plan, but there's always room for tweaking it to feel accomplished, and room for making your own ingredients (dressings, marinade, sauces...) instead of just buying it because it's on the grocery list. Basically, it leaves the creativity up to what time you have available, and for me...the best creativity comes when I do it because I want to, not because I feel like I have to. :)
Last week I mentioned that we would actually begin using eMeals, and we have. We've been using their Family Plan meal plan and making it stretch over a two week span, rather than their 2 person meal plan. We only shop for half of the meals on the eMeals list this week, and next week we finish the others. Three to four different meals per week, leftovers the other times. This is an attempt to save time, more than to save money because we only have to cook half the time. Normally I would freeze the leftovers so we could cook one week and relax the week after, however my husband is not a fan of the freezing leftovers concept. So, we have reached a compromise.
So far we have been cooking one night, and eating the leftovers the very next day. Some people may not like the repetition being right in a row, but it works for us. Since our dishwasher still hasn't been installed yet it's been working out to cook one day, wash dishes the next. And may i say, if you don't have a dishwasher I so HIGHLY recommend this system. Dishes no longer pile up like crazy, nor do we feel like dinner prep/eat/cleanup time lasts forever.
Last night, for example, was our 'wash the dishes' night because Wednesdays are our busy nights. However the recipe for our dinner tonight called for marinating the chicken overnight. Instead of having to have cooked two meals in one night, my husband washed the dishes while I cooked the chicken and made the marinade. And tonight, we get a free lazy day. How wonderful!
Other eMeals Benefits:
-every meal plan comes with 7 dinner menus (sides included) and recipes, as well as a grocery list ordered by store department...saving time even in the grocery store
- not only do you have a meal plan but you also have the recipe available to anyone so either my husband or I can cook dinner, depending on who gets home first. (whereas when I made the meal plan, I cooked because I knew where the recipes were)
-the meals a wonderfully planned to make use of all the items you buy. For instance one recipe only calls for half a pineapple...good thing recipe number 7 calls for the other half of that pineapple!
I can't comment on the saving money part as we're only on the first week of the month, but I can say we spent only $75 this week on groceries, and about $15 of that was for groceries that will last us the month or will go towards next week's grocery list. To us, that's right about on target with our budget...I'll let you know how it goes come the end of the month.
All in all, eMeals is so much easier. It may take the joy and accomplishment from coming up with your own recipe or meal plan, but there's always room for tweaking it to feel accomplished, and room for making your own ingredients (dressings, marinade, sauces...) instead of just buying it because it's on the grocery list. Basically, it leaves the creativity up to what time you have available, and for me...the best creativity comes when I do it because I want to, not because I feel like I have to. :)
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