Lunch can be the most challenging part of a healthy family meal planning because different family members go in different directions. It is also a great area to save more money because unplanned lunch purchases can be nearly eliminated with a family menu plan.
Pack a Quick Lunch to Save More Money
One of the fastest ways to save more money on food is to stop dining out for lunch today. Instead of relying on fast food or restaurant meals, having everyone pack lunch or eat at home could save money over the course of the month. Start by brainstorming a list of favorite family lunches. Continue adding ideas to the list so there are many options to pick from when drawing up a healthy meal plan.
How to Make a Family Menu Plan for Lunch
After drawing up a list of ideas for lunch, it is time to draw up a family menu plan. It is important to be realistic with the lunch plan. It doesn’t make sense to buy a ton of food to pack lunch for a spouse who is required to attend professional lunches. Likewise, if a child in the home is receiving free or reduced school lunch it might not be possible to purchase groceries for the week for less than the cost of school lunch.
Where it is possible however, cut back on restaurant and school lunches to save money. Try to have everyone pack lunch that is similar, if possible. For example, everyone might have an orange and potato chips with their choice of sandwich one day or a few family members might share a family-size can of soup. If there are often small leftover portions from dinner, it might make sense to buy freezer containers for food and use these leftovers for a quick lunch.
Effective & Healthy Family Meal Planning
Healthy family meal planning must take into account the family calendar in order to be effective. If a spouse who usually takes a pack lunch has a business meeting, cut back on spending for lunch items. If a weekend outing is planned for the family, consider bringing a pack lunch and snacks for the trip in a cooler to save more money. Even adding a few extra snacks for the car to grocery store lists could save money over purchasing fast food for the family. Also consider packing a cooler when running errands with children. For the cost of a fast food meal or snack, several boxes of granola bars and a package of juice boxes could have been purchased.
Creating Grocery Store Lists
When the weekly meal plan is complete, add the items that need to be purchased to the household grocery list. If there is a spouse who takes care of his or her own lunch, be sure to add those items to the household grocery list instead of adding them to the cart at the store without a plan. Finished grocery store lists that include items for a healthy lunch plan may look large and expensive.
Going from spending money at several different restaurants over several days to spending it all at once at the grocery store can be a real shock. Try saving receipts from a week prior to using a healthy lunch plan in order to get a feel for how much was being spent on lunch. Compare the total of the receipts to the amount spent on lunch items for the family at the grocery store. It will almost certainly be less and will definitely include many more healthy lunch options.
Although healthy family meal planning can be a challenge, using a family menu plan is one of the best ways to save money. Using a family menu plan can drastically reduce expenses and could save money by eliminating unplanned food purchases.
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