Lee's Summit Fast – Efficient – Budget Conscious Meals
09-19-09
Fast – Efficient – Budget Conscious Meals
By Mary Pechar
Tribune photo/Fred Poese
Are you tired of trying to come up with fresh nutritious meals, reduce the time you spend in the kitchen and not exceed your budget? What about those times you run to the store to pick up something quick for dinner and end up spending a lot, buying ridiculous things that you really don’t need? That’s where Janna Enyeart was.
Janna is a wife, mother of five and a full-time Commercial Insurance Specialist at Farmers Insurance Group, 100 SE 3rd Street, Suite B. She loves cooking and reads cookbooks in her spare time. A few years ago she was frustrated, exceeding her budget and spending unnecessary time on meal planning and preparation. Recognizing the need to streamline and make her life easier, she embarked on a journey to simplify mealtime and reduce her monthly food costs.
Today, Janna only shops every other week and spends an average of $300 to $350 each time on food. She feeds her family nutritious meals. She sends her three school age children (11, 9 & 7) to school with a lunch that receives rave reviews from them and appeals from their friends for Janna lunches. She has more time at night to spend with her kids and perhaps most importantly she is more relaxed.
Every two weeks, Janna grabs the Price Chopper and Hy Vee sale flyers, her favorite Kraft Food Family Cookbooks and plans her menus around them. She cross references her menu with the page number of the recipe and which cookbook, never using more than two different cookbooks in a two week plan. Each selected recipe is marked with a post-it note that indicates which day and meal it is being used for. She then makes her grocery list and is good to shop.
Janna focuses on lots of fresh produce so she plans her meal to ensure that it is all used while fresh. For instance, a head of lettuce may go to school as bacon, lettuce and tomato sandwiches one day, garnish taco’s that night and star in a salad the next day. While a particular food may appear in subsequent meals to avoid waste, but always in a different manner so that each meal is unique from the others.
Each morning, Janna checks the menu posted on her refrigerator and takes the necessary food out to thaw. When she gets home, everything is ready to prepare dinner. Each night one child helps with dinner giving them some one-on-one time with mom and preparing them to be independent, thriving young adults.
Check back next week for one of Janna’s meal plans and helpful tips.
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