Save money and lose the guilt

This month's new habit is menu planning. Now don't go running to the closet to hide. This is quite simple when you take just a few minutes each week to do this.

First I need to explain to you why menu planning is so important to us. You can't eat what you don't have in the house. Just the simple act of sitting down and thinking about what to fix for the next week, then going to the grocery store and purchasing the food will give you more freedom than almost anything. This will save you time and money and put good food in your pantry. When you have nutritious food in your home you will feel better about what you and your family are eating.

With the extra cost of heating our homes and driving our cars, we have to find a way to save a few bucks here and there. The easiest place to do this is with our food budgets. Oh, you don't have a budget. You have been doing whatever it takes to get food down your family's throats. When we are in a hurry the first thing that comes to mind is the closest fast food joint or picking up the phone to order pizza once again. A little menu plan and a clean kitchen can go a long way toward feeding your family and saving money at the same time.

Now we are heading into a busy and expensive holiday season. We want to help you use your time and your money in an efficient way to feed your family and at the same time release the guilt. Menu planning will do this.

Now I am not just talking about dinner time. We have to eat snacks, breakfasts and lunches, too. This has to be in our menu planning and on our grocery list. When I first started dealing head-on with my health issues, Leanne helped me to develop a pantry for feeding myself good food. We all have to do this, too.

It started with the first meal of the day. I am not a breakfast person unless it is a full blown meal eaten out. I don't feel like eating in the morning. But in order to get fuel my body, I needed to have good food in my home. I have learned that I have to eat to live and I no longer live to eat. I couldn't starve myself all day and then pig out for dinner. Leanne helped me put together a list of foods that are perpetually on my grocery list. I always have them in my refrigerator and my pantry. For me these are high-protein snacky type foods — yogurt, cottage cheese, cheese, almonds, deli ham and eggs. You have to adapt this list for your family and your dietary needs.

Then you have lunches. If you take your lunch, then you will need items that can easily pack or use Leanne's Web site  to produce glorious leftovers that your co-workers will beg you for. Put these things on your perpetual grocery list. Keep your pantry and refrigerator stocked so you will not have spend extra money that we don't have right now to eat out.