Excerpt of the Day: "The Frugal Foodie Cookbook" by Lara Starr and Lynette Shirk

Eat better for less?  Sounds crazy, right? The Frugal Foodie Cookbook will help you do just that.  Lara Starr and Lynette Shirk have packed this book with hundreds of delicious recipes and expert advice to help you save both your wallet and your sanity.

Take a peek:

Cents-able Solutions:

Meal Planning 101

You can avoid both overshopping and undershopping by setting aside a few minutes over the weekend to plan out your meals for the week. There are countless benefits to meal planning. You won’t find yourself roaming the aisles desperate for inspiration for the evening’s meal, and you won’t be tempted by the expensive prepared foods in the in-store delis. And when you buy what you need for the week, you’ll save time and money on midweek trips to the store.

Dinners

On the day you do your shopping, make a list of the dinners you’ll have for the week, including the main dish and any veggies and sides. If you’re making a “big dish” like pasta or a roast, you can slot in “leftover night” as well. Then, make a grocery list of all of the items you’ll need to prepare the week’s menu. You’ll know exactly what you need and don’t.

Post the week’s menu on the fridge, and save them up for a few weeks—you’ll build a repertoire of your family’s favorite dishes.

Lunches

Most kids are happy to eat the same thing over and over again, but neither man nor child can live on peanut butter and jelly alone. Foods like pizza, quesadillas, and even homemade chicken nuggets are perfectly palatable to kids at room temperature and make great lunches.

To keep yourself sane and your kids healthy and happy, make a five-day menu that can be repeated week to week. Monday could be pizza day, Tuesday bagel and cream cheese day, etc. Supplement the main dish with fruit or cut-up veggies and something crunchy, like crackers, dry cereal, pretzels, or rice cakes. These “sides” keep well and are easy to grab if junior wants to dip into his lunchbox at recess.

Breakfasts

Weekday breakfasts are usually quick affairs. Save your big cooking guns for the weekend, when you can make waffles, pancakes, and quiches that can last for several meals. It takes only minimally more time and trouble to make two quiches than to make one, and you’ll have a hearty slice of eggy goodness ready for weekday breakfast.