You are a truly devoted wife. What does that mean exactly? Well, in part, it means that you take care of your man. How do you define taking care of your man?
For me, taking care of my man means making a comfortable, clean home for our family, making, managing, & spending money together, providing his most intimate needs, and yep, feeding him. Not necessarily in that order.
I understand that feeding a husband and a baby is a lot different from feeding half a dozen (in my case). So tweak this plan to fit your needs but at least it because I promise this method works. Take it from someone who learned the hard way. I’ve come a long way from spaghetti and tuna helper. Bleck!
Ok, I’m back from vomiting (no offense Betty Crocker). The main way to improve efficiently feeding your man is through planning. You may not like hearing that. Are you one of those that wants to jump in and dirty every dish in the house? Hang with me girl. Not only does planning help you take care of your man by feeding him but it also helps show respect to him because you’re not busting the budget.
Inventory What You Have
Before dreaming of seven course meals having friends over for a tex-mex dinner, I start by going through my freezers (yep, we have 2), pantry, and fridge to see what we have. Don’t worry about writing every. single. item. down. It’s more an overview. Here’s what mine looks like:
Check the sales flyers
Next, check out those sales! Go online to look for the weekly flyer for the grocery stores close to you. Then either print them should you be shopping at one store that will price match or make a list of the best prices per store.
WARNING: Not all sales are sales! You have to know your prices. And honestly, this just takes time. Save your receipts for a couple of months and then look back at the average price for things. If you’re really ambitious (and a bit more type A) you could even compare prices between apps like Walmart Grocery, Amazon pantry, or whatever is in your area.
I know a 5 lb of clementines for $3-4 is a good deal. Experience tells me BOGO meats are usually not saving me any money. A score for our fam is meat at 99 cents per pound. It just depends on how many you’re feeding and what your budget is. You may be looking at filet mignon but I’m trying to feed a herd of ankle biters and hormonal teens.
Know produce seasons
Citrus fruits are in season in the fall and winter months. Berries and melons are summer fruits. Why does this matter when we’re in the states and get anything at anytime? Prices. You’ll get the best prices if you’re purchasing the produce that’s in season. A quick Google search or this Seasonal Food Guide will help you figure out what’s in season when.
Make a Meal plan
Ok, now you know what you have and what’s on sale. NOW you can make a meal plan. Take the ingredients you have and the sale items and think of what you can make with that.
I usually end up with four lists – breakfast options, lunches, snacks, and dinners with sides. Even if you don’t have four kids eating 24/7, I recommend having a stock of snacks for those at home movie nights, when dinner is running a tad late, or when you all have the munchies.
For two weeks I plan ten dinners. Things happen and plans change. Leftovers get eaten or friends invite you out. Five options rotate for two weeks of breakfasts, lunches and snacks. Write them down in beautiful script on your fancy chalkboard. Or, download my template, fill it out, and stick that sucker on the fridge with a tacky magnet.
Have pasta, Italian sausage and cucumbers? Add marinara sauce and Italian dressing to your grocery list. Voila! You’ve got marinated cucumber slices and a variation of spaghetti (hey, it’s still spaghetti even if they’re elbow macaronis).
Want my master meal list?! Subscribe and check out what dinners I regularly make to feed my man.
Make a grocery list
Most of your grocery list will naturally accumulate simultaneously when making your meal plan but you’ll need to check your staples. Before heading out the door, check on the following:
- Toiletries
- Pet Items
- Dishwashing Supplies
- Laundry Supplies
- Trash bags
- Cleaning Supplies
- Wine
Prep Ahead of Time
I’ve started ordering my groceries online to save my time and energy. I can put together an online order while cooking that night’s dinner or changing laundry over while walking aisle by aisle takes up more time and wears me out.
All I have to do is pull up and sign for my order and drive back home. Then since I haven’t wasted my time and energy in the grocery store I actually have the energy to go ahead and prep a lot of the food for the week’s meals!! AHHHmazing!
Instead of fighting to weave between 718 other baskets in that two foot aisle, I’m cooking the ground beef and boiling the chicken that I need for that week’s soups and tacos. Rather than standing in the checkout line hunched over my cart for one second short of a full hour, I’m dividing the big bulk containers into the serving sizes that I actually need. Remember, I’m feeding a zoo at this point. These are my favorite containers because they stack easily, are easy to freeze and clean, and can easily hold the amounts we need to store.
If you’ve never done it and want to fall in love with grocery shopping (yes, that’s possible), email me your first and last name and email address and I can send you my referral. I haven’t referred anybody so far that wasn’t impressed with it.
It’s a Truly Devoted Task
Like anything of importance, feeding a family takes work. Whether a family of two or our herd of six, bringing the people we love together around the table with yummy food that nourishes bodies and satisfies hunger is a special task that truly devoted wives and mothers work hard to do well and reap many benefits from.
What gets in your way when trying to feed your fam? What struggles meet you head on in the kitchen? Leave me a comment. And if you’re fantastic at seasoning meat, hit me up and help a friend out! 😉
TTYL – off to go eat something.
To get to know me better, read about me & my saved love.
