Recipes  

3 Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Bill with Meal Prep

“Eating well is expensive!” You’ve probably heard this before. It’s true that your grocery bill can easily go up. Preparing meals in advance, otherwise known as meal prep, can be a real help with that. With these few tricks, it’ll be easier for you to cook without neglecting quality and taste—or emptying your wallet!

1. Organize Your Meals

It’s not a question of asking for miracles: the better organized you are, the easier things will be! Preparing meals in advance allows you to figure out what ingredients you’ll really need and avoid unnecessary purchases. That way, you’ll tailor your shopping list to the dishes you’ll be cooking. Our new tool, My RICARDO+, offers an excellent way to organize your meals because it makes planning and prep easier.

Do you lack inspiration? Visit our weekday recipe section to fill up on ideas before you go shopping for groceries. Many dishes benefit from meal prep, starting with chicken drumsticks with tomatoes and lentils, Indian-spiced chili or ratatouille. We have plenty of great, inexpensive meals for you to prepare in advance. All you’ll have left to do is reheat and devour them!

2. Reduce Food Waste

When you purchase only what you need to prepare your meals in advance, you reduce waste. It also allows you to plan your grocery budget better. Unused food often ends up in the compost and that’s far from economical! Pasta leftovers can be delicious in stuffed bell peppers and two cups of cooked chicken are ideally used up in a meal-soup.

Leftover chicken broth, wine or pesto can be poured into ice cube trays and put in the freezer for later use. This allows you to have condiments on hand, ready to use, without having to buy more. It makes your meal prep more efficient and affordable.

In our zero-waste section, we offer many tips for you to maximize your food usage.

3. Cook Large Quantities

It’s always less expensive to cook for four people than to cook for two. Food sold in larger formats is often more affordable at the grocery store. When you prepare your meals in advance, you can plan for twice as many servings so that you can freeze some. That way, you reduce the price per serving and get lunches ready for the following week. It’s easy to incorporate this into your routine because it doesn’t require much additional effort and time.

When planning your menu, cook a whole piece of meat, such as pork shoulder for barbecued pulled pork in the slow cooker, beef blade roast for tamari-maple braised beef or a whole chicken for coq au vin that you can reheat before serving. These are all options to prepare large quantities of food and, at the same time, save money and vary your weekday meals.

In addition to being economical, meal prep simplifies your everyday life and preserves your wallet. Plus, it also prevents you from being tempted by the local pizzeria when you’re hungry and nothing is ready!

For budget-friendly recipe ideas, visit our recipe category section: