Once a Month Cooking: How to Get Started

How many times have you come home from work, or from a busy day of running errands, incredibly tired, only to realize there's nothing for dinner?

If you're like me, this has happened to you countless times. And, if you're on a tight budget like me, it isn't always as simple as digging in the phone book to have a pizza or Chinese delivered to your door.

When this happens, I usually get up, deal with the tiredness and throw something together, but; sometimes I realize that it requires another trip to the grocery store... and that only perpetuates the misery.

This has led me to the wonderful world of Once a Month Cooking, which is not as awful as it may seem. Once a Month Cooking (OAMC), Once a Week Cooking, Cooking ahead, Freezer cooking, whatever name you decide to give it, helps you save time and money and avoids those aforementioned chaotic scenarios. Cooking everything you need for a month's worth of dinner at one time sounds crazy, but I promise it's not that bad! If you're short on time, or too timid to try a month right off the bat, cooking for a week at a time is a great way to get started.

The key to success with this endeavor is planning. If you plan every detail, it will run much more smoothly than running into it blindly. First, plan your meals. Look for things that freeze easily, and compactly. I will give tips for this later. Also, look for recipes that have ingredients in common, as you will save money with buying in bulk. After you plan your meals, plan your grocery list. For recipes that share ingredients, just update quantities as you move along through the meals. This is an essential step that you want to be through with, because the last thing you want is to be in the middle of cooking and have to run to the store for an absolutely necessary ingredient. And finally, look at your schedule. Plan your shopping day a few days in advance to your cooking day. Both of these days need to be free from excessive tasks other than the one at hand. A whole day devoted to shopping means that you have time to focus on getting everything you need, and comparing prices from store to store gives you a better chance at saving money.