Apple Podcasts
Google Podcasts
Spotify
StitcherIt doesn’t matter if you’re living alone or with your family, the most challenging question of the day is always what to eat for the next meal. If cooking isn’t your strong suit and you find yourself stressing about what to eat for the rest of the day, then this is for you. In this episode, Jen and Jill are joined by Mandy Klentz of PlandyMandy to share her tips on effectively planning your meals sustainably so you wouldn’t have to ask again what to cook for your next meal.
Make the time you spend in the kitchen count for multiple meals, and your future self with thank you.
Sponsors:
- Shaking things up. Who doesn’t love a fresh take, a little plot twist, a new perspective? It’s what we need when we’re in a food slump, and a little inspiration couldn’t hurt in other parts of our lives as well. Which is why we’ve written the friendletter, sent to your inbox for free 3 days a week with alerts of free food, ways to save money, and helpful perspectives on money. Get shook. Get The Friendletter.
Mandy Klentz is a stay at home mom who turned frugal grocery shopping for her own family into a platform that helps busy families all around the nation save money on groceries. She shares budgeting tips, systems, and recipes everyday on her instagram platform and is passionate about saving money that you already have so that you can afford to live more life.
How She Got Started
Mandy shares that there was a time when she was a young mom of three, struggling to make ends meet. With childcare costs making it impossible to work outside the home, she realized she had to get creative to improve their finances without increasing their income. That’s when she discovered that cooking and cutting down on the grocery budget were areas she could control, so she decided to focus on them.
The Six Steps to Simple & Budget Friendly Meal Plans
Mandy’s typical meal planning process follows six key steps. First, she starts tracking her spending to identify areas of improvement and overspending. Once done, she focuses on setting goals to improve those areas, whether cutting back on specific items or finding more affordable alternatives. Mandy uses systems like breakfast freezer stock and “cook once, eat twice” meal plans to maximize efficiency and minimize waste each week.
Next, she writes a detailed meal plan for 7-10 days, listing every meal, including breakfast, lunch, and dinner. This strategy helps her avoid impulse buys at the grocery store. A detailed plan also makes it easier to swap meals around if necessary since she already has all the specific ingredients. But for beginners, Mandy recommends starting small—tackling one thing at a time and gradually expanding your meal planning skills as you go.
Secret to Sustainable Meal Planning
For Mandy, the best way to approach sustainable meal planning is by making the time spent in the kitchen count for multiple meals. Since you’re already cooking, why not make extra portions that can be turned into future meals or snacks? This approach creates convenience, saving time and effort. Plus, your future self will thank you for it. Her tip is to keep it simple: when ingredients are basic, they’re cheap and easy to make and batch prep.
For reference, her routine takes about 30 minutes to an hour. She cooks every other night, preps breakfast in bulk three times a month, and keeps lunch simple by throwing together quick meals. By sticking to a system, Mandy minimizes effort while maximizing convenience and savings for her family.
How to Spark Your Creativity in the Kitchen
When Mandy needs to spark creativity in the kitchen, she goes to Pinterest for meal plan inspo and mixing up flavors is her secret to adding extra spice to her meals. And when it comes to ingredients, she loves using versatile ones that can work in multiple dishes throughout the week. She also values repurposing ingredients to keep ingredients flowing and reduce waste. This way, she makes the most of what she has and stretches those ingredients further.
What does your meal plan look like for this week?
Mandy’s meal plan includes Halloween-themed mummy calzones, carnitas burritos, ravioli bake, and mummy hot dogs. Jen is planning salads, leftovers, unstuffed peppers, sheet pan roasted chicken with veggies, spaghetti and meatballs, and roasted chicken apple kale salad. Meanwhile, Jill is enjoying meal kit deliveries as a reward from her trip.
Get more from Guest
Etsy: PlandyMandy
Instagram: @plandy.mandy
Use FRUGALFRIENDS30 for 30% off on plandymandy!
Bill of The Week
Thank you Mandy for sharing your friendsgiving bill!
Thanks so Much for Listening!
Thanks so much for listening. We love love love reading your kind reviews and we especially loved this one from:
✰✰✰✰✰
Funny and useful.
I enjoy listening to this show very much. The stories of folks who have paid off significant debt are inspiring. Shows about investing and financial planning are educational. The shows that discuss various strategies for saving money on everything from groceries to clothing provide lots of useful tips. All information is provided with big doses of humor.
If you want to check out our monthly challenge community head to frugalfriendspodcast.com/club to see what challenge we have coming up next.
And keep leaving us reviews on iTunes or Stitcher, and sending the screenshot to reviews@frugalfriendspodcast.com. And don’t forget to share your favorite quote from the episode by using the hashtag #FrugalFriendsNote. 
