1. Spaghetti – It’s easy to quickly boil noodles and simmer some spaghetti sauce. Spaghetti has so many add-ins your family will enjoy: Italian sausage, hamburger, diced vegetables and a variety of herbs and seasonings. For a low calorie meal, use spaghetti squash in place of traditional noodles.

2. Tacos – Olay! If your family likes Mexican food, whip up a batch of tacos for dinner. Use hard and soft shells for variety. For family menu planning, dice the fixin’s ahead of time so you can just pull them out on taco night.

3. Macaroni and cheese – What kid doesn’t like this as a dinner main dish? Spice it up with diced tomatoes, crumbled bacon, sliced hot dogs or hamburger.

4. Pizza – This is not the store-bought or the delivery. Keep several prepared pizza crusts on hand (like Boboli for instance). On pizza night, let the entire family choose which toppings they want on their pizza. Prep time is fun so it doesn’t last long and it takes about 20 minutes or so to bake.

5. Skewers – you can create tasty chicken, pork, seafood or beef kebobs quickly. Skewer the meat and your favorite vegetables and place them in a sealed container until meal day. This is the benefit of meal planning – getting prep work done early. Cook your tasty kebobs on a gas grill or use a grill pan indoors.

6. Hot dogs – Nothing could be easier than throwing them in a pot of boiling water or grilling them up. For the health-conscious family, use light franks or turkey franks by Oscar Mayer or Ballpark.

7. Chef salad – Salads are always quick to fix but they usually lack something in the taste department. With a chef salad you get your portion of protein from lean ham or turkey. The taste comes from the add-ins: bacon crumbles parmesan cheese, tomatoes, shredded cheese, black beans and cucumbers. Use others that your family likes.

8. Grilled cheese sandwich – Dinner doesn’t need to be a four-course meal. For a new taste, add deli meat or a juicy tomato.

9. Tortilla wraps – Create delicious quick sandwiches with your favorite flavor of tortilla. Glaze with mustard or low calorie mayonnaise. Add crunchy veggies and diced chicken, pork or beef.

10. Leftover creations– Use leftovers to create salads, casseroles, sandwiches and soups. Don’t let anything go to waste if it can be used for new meals.

Let these ideas spark your interest in having a great meal with your family.

Instead of dishing out loads of money for little in return, here’s a healthy muffin recipe that will not only taste good, it’s good for the whole family.

List of Ingredients:

1 medium apple, grated
2 egg whites
1 cup of buttermilk
1 cup of rolled oats
1 cup of wholewheat flour
½ cup of raisins
¼ cup of honey
1 ½ teaspoons of baking powder
1 ½ teaspoons of cinnamon
½ teaspoon of salt

Cooking Instructions:

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the buttermilk, oats, and raisins.

In a separate bowl, blend the wholewheat flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt.

Add the egg whites and honey to the oat mix, and blend thoroughly.

Blend the two mixtures together, then fold in the grated apple.

Spray muffin pan with non-stick cooking spray. Add muffin papers for easy removal. Fill the muffin cups to almost full.

Bake 350°F (175°C) for about 20-25 minutes. Cooked when you can insert a screwer and it comes out clean.

Cool the muffins in a pan for about 10 minutes for to allow for easier removal. Can be stored for 2-4 days. (If they last that long!)

Now we have the dollar stores which are a little misleading even though some things sell for a dollar or less but others multiples of a dollar.  They sell things such as cleaning supplies, toys, pet food, ironing boards, garden tools, candy and food that’s in a can.

Most products are sold for less than at a general retail store but it’s best to know your prices before you go in.  Some products are generic or private label brand made specifically for that business. 

Other merchandise is purchased from another store that has had an overstock or closing-down sale.  You might find items that were manufactured for a particular campaign or event and are now out of date or sales have slowed too much to keep it in stock.

Wouldn’t it be nice if a dollar store sold fresh food?  Enter the 99 cents only stores where nothing is over 99 cents…ever.  Well, that’s what they say.  This chain was founded in 1982 and now boasts more than 260 stores in California, Nevada, Arizona and Texas.  Their total sales for fiscal year 2006 totaled one billion dollars.

They claim to be the oldest single price retail chain in the country offering deep discounts on primarily new name brand merchandise. The good news is some of their sales include fresh produce, a deli, frozen foods and occasionally fresh meat. 

The deli features mostly cold cuts.  This is in addition to canned goods and other basic grocery items, plus health and beauty aids.  The inventory varies and not everything is name brand.

Recent ads for produce include cantaloupe for 99 cents, pound and a half of plums for 99 cents, dozen eggs 99 cents, milk 32 ounces for 99 cents and five pounds of potatoes for 99 cents.  Even a large watermelon for, yes, 99 cents.  By the way, the ad didn’t say what size the eggs were.  And, some wine snobs are enjoying their 99 cent wine.

These kinds of stores, until recently, were thought of as being in low income areas and shopped by low income people who didn’t mind some off brand goods if they could save money.  If that were ever true, that’s changed with the spiraling cost of food and gasoline.  Now, we’re all looking for a bargain.

The 99 cents only stores pride themselves on having a clean store with friendly, personal service.  Shelves are fully and neatly stocked, aisles are wide and the total environment is fresh and pleasant. 

They even offer more help with a 99 cent only recipe book:  gourmet recipes at discount prices. If you live in one of the above four states and are trying to trim your food budget it might be worth your gas to shop and see what all you can get for 99 cents.

I’m not talking about clipping coupons – there’s more to it than that.  It will take a bit of work, but more than that, it’s about planning. 

Here are a few tips to help you save money with your grocery shopping:

Make a list and stick to it.  Check to see what you already have in your pantry before you go. that way you won’t come home with duplicate items that may go to waste or could have been put off until another time.

Shop by yourself.  Those extra helpers, be it kids or partner, can add additional items to the basket that are not wanted and not on your shopping list.

Never shop on an empty stomach.  When you’re hungry everything looks good and you’ll find yourself straying from the list.  It’s a good idea to have a small snack before you shop to avoid what I call ‘hunger shopping’.

Buy bulk when appropriate. Compare the unit price and buy a larger size if it works out cheaper to buy that way.  You can split your items into smaller packages when you get home. 

Premium and higher priced items are usually placed at eye level so look up or down for lower priced (i.e. store brand) foods.  More costly items are generally on the high traffic aisles so make it a point to wander off the beaten path.

Do your own slicing and dicing.  Those pre sliced, pre packaged meats and cheeses are convenient, but usually much more expensive.  Buying in bulk packs usually brings the price down because there’s less packaging and handling involved.  Buying a whole chicken is much cheaper than buying chicken pieces. Save money and cut the chicken up yourself.  You can also freeze what you don’t need right away, PROVIDED the chicken hasn’t already been frozen by the store. (Never refreeze chicken once it’s been thawed.)  Less tender cuts of meat are cheaper and if cooked correctly can be just as delicious.

The same goes for breakfast cereal.  Those small one-person servings cost more so buy the larger boxes instead.  Hot cereals (such as oats) are usually cheaper per serving than the ready to eat variety.

Bake from scratch instead of buying the prepared mixes.  You pay way more for already prepared cake and cookie mixes. Prepared foods will always cost more so do a little more work and save. At first glance you may think there’s a lot more work involved in using prepared foods, but the reality is it’s not much more at all.

Buy plain pasta.  Although not a huge expense anyway, using plain pasta instead of the more upmarket pastas will cut down the cost.

Look for bargains.  You can often find foods that are near to their ‘use by’ dates.  In many cases there is nothing wrong with the product in question, but because the expiry dates are approaching, the store wants to clear them out.

Try to find out what day of the week fresh meat is reduced. A great money saver can be found by being at the store on ‘mark down’ day then freezing your purchases immediately.  Provided the meat is still within the date specified, freezing immediately extends their use by date considerably.

Check the receipt for mistakes.  Stores don’t do this intentionally but it happens frequently.  It could be that a special price has not been updated, the price has been entered incorrectly, or the checker may even enter an incorrect price manually.  Always check your receipt immediately – preferably before you leave the checkout after paying. Don’t be shy about getting it fixed – after all it is your money, and the mistake is theirs not yours.  Most stores will be very apologetic and give you a refund.

Menu planning.  Work out your menu for at least several days, if not a week ahead. Keep your recipes simple, and this in turn will keep your meals down to a more affordable price.  It will also help reduce impulse buying because you will know exactly what you need to buy. 

Shop during low traffic times.  Find out when the shops are the least busy, and shop during those times.  Avoiding crowds often means a more relaxed trip for you, which in turn means you have time to make better choices. 

Plan your shopping day.  Plan ahead and avoid repeated trips to the store. This not only saves times, but it will also save money on petrol costs. 

Utilizing these tips into your weekly shopping trips will help you save money on your grocery bill.