S_Punk, be a princess and upload your 3 weeks meal plan here, so we can also follow at our home. It’s a great idea but I am too lazy to come up with 21 meals.
Incidentally, the first time.I'd ever heard of iced coffee was when I visited the states first. It was an alien concept to me before that. Still haven't quite wrapped my head around it haha.
Peppermint mocha for me. Or just plain cappuccino
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
Incidentally, the first time.I'd ever heard of iced coffee was when I visited the states first. It was an alien concept to me before that. Still haven't quite wrapped my head around it haha.
Peppermint mocha for me. Or just plain cappuccino
Hot coffee is good during the dead of winter...sure. But if it warms up to even about 40 degrees outside...I want my iced coffee!!!
Ok - mine is just a rough guide for dinner meals.. this works for me. I know people that have like calendars and notebooks dedicated to meal planning for bfast/lunch/dinner.. i'm not that dedicated lol. I'm gonna copy and paste it, cos i use the memo app on my phone, it's so basic. This is for the next 2 weeks.
Halal cart style chicken and rice
Teriyaki salmon
daal chawal
LO (w/ aloo tikkis)
Kerelay
Orange chicken and white rice
LO
Anday pyaz
masoor daal
LO
Bharta
Lobia daal
LO
Lasagna
So first off every week i get basic breakfast & lunch items (eggs, sandwich breads, diff fruits, milk etc).. and the pantry always has basics stocked (flour, sugar, salt, rice, desi mirchain). Since it's just 3 ppl in our household, i only check these pantry items like once every 1-2 months. If a few are low i add it to the weeks grocery. For lunch, we usually stick to sandwiches/veggies and fruits so that's also in our weekly groceries. I write down what i'm going to make for dinner and we also do at least 2 nights of leftovers per week. So each week according to what i'll be making for dinner i add groceries specific to that meal.
Another money and health tip which helped us - we used to get meat in bulk and then started having red meat and chicken like 4 nights out of the week... felt it was very unhealthy cos we gained weight and had zero veggie/healthier meals. Now, based on the week's menu i get meat per week from the butcher. We've started eating less meat and more veggies/daal/fish.
Anyway.. it's pretty basic and works for us. I think just having a rough idea of the next few days and what meals u'll make just makes life easier.
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
Thank you!!! ^
I think I'll try something like this out.
One last question if you don't mind...does this include a home made lunch? Like do you make separate home made lunches? Or are you using leftovers?
Yup, this includes homemade lunches. My husband isn't picky abt lunch, he usually just wants fruits and veggies.. typical lunch: i make some sort of sandwich (tuna/egg/chicken salad), 2 different fruits, and 2 diff veggies all cut up.
I've never tried using leftovers for lunch, cos usually it's salan and my husband doesn't like taking salan/roti to work.. but i'm sure it's doable, u could pack up a roti and leftover salan for lunch in stackable containers so it stays fresh.
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
Only do grocery 1 x pr week, u will save a ton!
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
I also plan my menu weekly, and both of us take home made lunch, usually leftovers. I've cut the caffeine so hardly buy coffee anymore and feel so much better for it. We only buy takeaway one night a week (if at all)
This week's menu is
Chicken and stir fry
Spagehtti with keema and veg
Roast beef and all the trimmings
Daal, rice and kebabs
home made burgers and chips
achari baigan
rajmah, rice
i tend end to keep kebabs in the freezer to bulk meals out as needed, or as a quick lunch option, with wraps.
As we eat leftovers for lunch we don't feel hungry enough to snack, so that helps keep costs low.
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
Homemade lunches/snacks are not only healthy they save $$$ and time.
For snacks, pay more attentions to fillers, vegetables and fruits. These things are healthy, cheap and you will start liking it anyway. For lunches, I/begum normally packs leftovers from dinner.
Snack ideas
- green salad
- Salsa/kachumber
- whole veggies (carrot, Persian cucumber etc etc)
- whole fruits (apple, banana, peaches, pine apple etc etc)
- fruit salad
- beans salad
blah blah blah
they my drawer also have some zip-lock full of dry fruits (almonds, walnuts, peanuts, roasted corn nuts, cranberries etc).
for my spice cravings, i have a pack of REALLY spicy chips…
some of my recent snacks/lunches. Fill tummy for cheap …and stay healthy too 
Other than workplace food, make a rough plan for whole week for dinner at home. Like a day of chicken dish, sea food, veggies, daal, beef or whatever and stick to it.
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Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
I love the visuals ^
I'll make a plan for next week and post it here for review.
Re: Money Saving Tips for a Foodie?!
I only splurge on food when its absolutely necessary for myself. Which I already feel like I have done a lot since the new year began so I am totally trying to cut it down. Like I got fresh squeezed OJ juice apnay liyae couple of times; got a bagel few weeks ago, normally I don’t even do that, I’m very strict about my budget and carb-intake. So I need to kick my butt and put myself in line 
When the school year started I bought to-go disposable coffee cups from Costco; so I make my chai/coffee from home. I only go to handful times to Starbucks in a year…But this year we have only been there 3 times (twice for coffee ONLY and I last week I got myself a frapp to enjoy it with a friend) So chai thing is taken care for my all year long.
Now the dinner part; What I do like to get for myself every few weeks is a shawarma wrap which costs me exactly $7, and that too I save it for friday night’s dinners. And that’s IT.
My kids really enjoy Popeyes chicken so I get it for them at least once every 2 weeks. I rather let them eat whatever they like but I only prefer my own ghar ka khanna on daily basis.
Oh and since I’m so popular; now n then I do get asked out by a friend or a few; she is buying me a chaat-papdri today…Mazay hi mazay alhamdulilah 
ps: I do agree with @redvelvet though; I rather buy clothes or makeup than to eat out.