Money-saving meal planning tips from a dietician mom of seven

As grocery store prices continue to rise, Kate's Creative Kitchen is sharing tips on how to save at the checkout.

Kate Peterson is a mom of seven and a dietician.

"I find people waste a lot of money without a list -- I call it kind of like your weapon,” Peterson said.

The 2022 annual food pricing report estimated an average family of four spent more than $15,000, over $1,000 per month, on groceries.

By that estimate, Kate's family of nine would have been expected to spend over $30,000 on food last year.

"So just by meal planning alone, buying with intention, having my plan ready when I go to the grocery store, I was able to feed my entire family of nine people on $15,000,” she said.

While prices continue to rise, Kate has six tips for saving at the grocery store:

1. Use a recipe collection
2. Check what you have at home
3. Check the sales
4. Put it on paper
5. Write it down for people to see
6. Create your grocery list

Shopping for what's in season is also key.

"I have created two recipe collections,” Peterson said. “I have one I rotate through in the spring and summer and one for fall and winter, and on each one of those is about forty meals that we rotate through.”

She says it's also important to get creative with your cooking.

"Use things like canned beans, couscous, lentils, and you just add those in to any ground meat as you make your spaghetti sauces, lasagnas, tacos, meatloaf,” she said. “Anything like that, that you can add, is going to help stretch that and fill bellies better.”

It’s not a perfect science. Peterson says some families could benefit by simplifying things.

"They do try to make their meal plan too elaborate,” she said. “They don't take into account busy days or days where there's a lot of activity, so the prep for those meals is very tedious or long and they're just like, ‘Forget it! I don't have time to make that.’”

Sound advice from a meal-planning genius. More of Petersons tips are accessible on social media at Kate’s Creative Kitchen.