One of my unsung heroines is Marnie Swedberg. She lives in Warroad, Minnesota (population 1700), but who's counting?
The reason she is a heroine is she taught me how to manage my meals. Now, this may not mean much to you, but when every penny counts and you love good food, it matters to me!
The plan is simple....you can do it on a laptop or as she does in a three-ring binder.
There are four components.... a master shopping list, a master price list, recipe roster and daily food diary.
You inventory the items in your pantry, refrigerator and freezer. Then itemize the frequently used foods in the standard repetoire of recipes. Then look over past grocery lists or grocery receipts for what you frequently buy on those many trips to the store.
Now, conceivably, if you can keep track of the sales and clip a couple of coupons here and there, as I do, you have it all together. I can shop sales, and buy as I did recently four pounds of butter at half-price.
And when the insignificant other asked me why we had four pounds of butter, I replied, sweetly, "Well, dear, it was half-price, keeps nearly forever, but not when I make those killer chocolate-chip cookies that you love so much. Even Paula Deene would have been jealous.
Now, when you find a great recipe you want to try...no more checking to see if you have the Cajun seasoning you need....or the bread crumbs. Your list will let you know....and you can stock up on the sales when they do happen by.
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