“Mom, what’s for dinner?”
Let me paint a picture for you. It’s 4pm, you just walked in the door from picking up your kids at school. All of your kids are talking at the same time, telling you about their day, as well as throwing all the papers from their backpacks at you. It’s at that moment that you realize you forgot to set out anything for dinner. While you try to focus on helping your kids with homework, you can’t stop thinking about what to make for dinner.
If I were in “super-mom” mode, I would have planned my dinner for that day and had the meat defrosting by 10am. When I’m in “super-duper-mom” mode I wouldn’t even have to think about what I’m having for dinner because I would have planned that over the weekend before I did my grocery shopping. I would know, down to the day, exactly what I was having for dinner for the full week. I try to have my menu planned each week before the week begins, but let’s be honest, I’m a super busy mom and sometimes my “super-duper-mom” cape goes missing for weeks on end.
When I’ve neglected to plan, that means it’s time to go shopping in my own pantry! The great thing about being a 
couponer is that I usually have a well-stocked pantry. Not only have I purchased stockpile items at rock bottom prices, but now I can literally go shopping in my own pantry to create a very inexpensive meal for my family! While this can seem daunting, it’s actually quite fun to see how creative I can be with whatever we have on hand. It’s also a great way to save money! Rather than running to the store to pick up a few items that would create a meal for that evening, I’m saving money by putting in a little extra effort to be creative and use what I have.
Honestly, I enjoy the challenge. I don’t know that everyone would, but for me, it kicks the chore of cooking dinner up a notch! I challenge you, beginning Monday of next week, to dig through your pantry and try to create a week’s worth of meals. Plan it out ahead of time, and only go to the store if absolutely necessary – and if you do go to the store, go only ONCE – pick up all the little filler items you need to complete your meals and then make it work! If you can shop from your own pantry for a full week every couple months, just think of how much money you would save! This next year I’m going to try to do this every few months!
I’ll let you know how it goes and I’d love to know if you already do this and if you have any tips for me?!
Happy cooking! Happy Saving!
