Meals are mandatory and specific food we eat at different times of the day. They provide us with energy, nutrients and joy to carry on activities for the day. Like in all endeavors, we need to plan our meals ahead of time for so many reasons. It will help us to save time, economize, take advantage of ingredients in season and assure that there is enough for everyone to eat.
Here is a list of 6 points to guide you manage your food.
1. Design a menu
Find some time to design a menu. A menu helps you to plan ahead so w can provide the ingredients. By sticking to a menu, you are able to have an accurate forecast of your budget needs.
2. Take advantage of the season
Develop a menu that draws its food from ingredients that are in season because they are cheap and fresh.
3. Stock food
Try to keep as much non perishable food in store as possible. They save you money and assure availability of input for meals.
4. Stick to simple meals
Keep to food which require simple ingredients for they are inexpensive. Such meals don’t burden budgets because you dont need to search extensively for them.
5. Constantly find out how much food you have
Find out how what ingredients are remaining so you can replenish before an acute shortage occurs. Any level of scarcity may disturb your budget because it may force you to make unplanned purchases.
6. Set a food budget for a period
Everything you buy must be planned in advance. Budgetary allocations must not be exceeded and efforts must be made to optimize the things you buy so as to leave some savings. The budget must however take into consideration any unexpected increase which will be catered for under the contingencies section but a repetitive higher spending than budgeted would also mean the budget may have not have been optimally drawn.
So here are ways to plan your meals anytime. A well balanced budget helps you stay in control of your feeding finances and also assure adequate stocking in the pantry for cooking.
