Meal Planning: Buying Large Quantities

Another great way to save money and help fill your pantry, fridge or freezer with good healthy foods is to buy in large quantities.  I’m lucky enough to have a Costco near my house so I really get to take advantage of doing this.

In my most recent trip to Costco I really went all out with fruits and vegetables.  Jacob and I go through a lot of these so these big quantities really works for us.

What I bought:

Organic gala apples
Navel oranges
Lean ground turkey
Organic baby spinach
Crimini mushrooms
Asparagus
Tri-color bell peppers
D’Anjo pears
Bananas
5 dozen eggs
Hummus
Multigrain chips

I make sure to put the ground turkey in individual freezer bags then in the freezer.  That way all I have to do is thaw out a pack and I’ve got a great lean protein to add to my meal.  We eat a lot of eggs, and mainly egg whites so those 5 dozen are gone in just couple of weeks.

How do I make all that fruit a good purchase before it goes bad?  Well the pears needed to ripen so I couldn’t start eating those for a few days, the bananas can be frozen to add to my oatmeal, smoothies or baked goods once they get too yellow,and  the oranges last quite a long time in the fridge.  They will be good for 1-2  months in the fridge for sure.  The apples… well an apple a day keeps the doctor away right?  They’ll be gone in a week or so.

You can always chop up your fruit and put it in the freezer for later use in smoothies or to be baked with.  Unless it has bad spots on it, freeze it!  Same with the vegetables.  Instead of buying already frozen veggies, you can freeze your own!  Either chop the veggies fresh and put it in a freezer bag, or you can blanch them for a minute, let it cool and then freeze for later use.

Having a well stocked kitchen can help with meal planning and save money you some money too because the price is usually better when you buy in big quantities.