About home menu planning-:

Home menu planning is key in maintaining a proper diet and staying healthy. This is even more important when you have growing kids who have opinions on what they like and don't like to eat. Keep thing fun but also incorporate healthy foods into the diet.

With housewives and moms looking at ways and means to save money and expenditure, planning your menus weekly and well ahead has been very rewarding, and has also resulted in saving cost and time. By knowing the basics in planning your menus, it will further help you busy moms out there to have your day and week

organized. Here are some useful tips:

1. Plan out your week. Take note if you are having any guests over for dinner or if you intend having a get-together. If there are any special occasions such as anniversaries or birthdays in your family, make provisions for them in your meal plan.

2. Set aside money for a week, and stay within your budget. Look out for promotions and deals on offer at the supermarket; this is one great way to minimize your expenditure.

3. Decide on the menus. Take all events that you have noted down into consideration. Plan out the menus accordingly. Let there be a variety and make it interesting. Do not repeat the same menu the following day and try your best to add different combinations throughout the week.

4. Make a list. When shopping for your groceries or items that are in the list, decide where you intend purchasing them, so that you don’t waste time moving from one place to another. By having a grocery list, it saves you the bother of going back to the store for any items that you may have forgotten to purchase. Double check your list, and see if you have got all that you need in the list.

5. Stick to your grocery list. Do not load your cart with stuff that you have not planned to buy. All efforts to save time and money are lost, if you are not self-disciplined.

6. The likes, dislikes and preferences of all family members should be kept in mind when you plan your menus.

7. Plan out the main course first. If your main dish is rich and if it is a heavy meal, it is advisable that the accompanying dishes be lighter. Dessert could be decided as per the menu decided. All rich foods are not healthy, therefore, plan out your menu so that it will be a well balanced meal.

8. Seasoning, sauces, salsa, mayonnaise, and salad oils - stock your fridge with these essentials. They come in handy when you want to make your bland meal palatable and tastier.

9. Helpful hint: If you intend having a similar recipe or a dish during the course of the week according to your weekly menu plan, you can prepare both together and freeze a portion, thereby saving time, electricity and cost. It also takes away the burden of preparing food on that specific day, giving you some extra free time to relax and spend with your family.

With a little planning you can go a long way in improving your household budget. You can also limit your trips to the grocery store and restaurants, and most importantly eat healthy and stay healthy by avoiding too many takeaway meals.