Weight Loss on a Budget Tip #12: Plan Your Leftovers

Today’s Weight Loss on a Budget Tip will help you save money on your meals, especially when eating out in restaurants.  Tip #12: Plan Your Leftovers!  There are many reasons why leftovers are awesome when you are on a budget:

• Eating leftovers means that you are not purchasing or preparing new food for each meal. Eat what you’ve already prepared at home.  Have dinner leftovers for lunch, for example instead of buying your lunch while at work.  Save money and time.
• At restaurants, you can request in advance that they put half of your meal in a “to go” container so that you can take it with you.  This will help you to cut down on calories (serving size) and give you a restaurant quality meal to enjoy the next day that you’ve already paid for.  Sweet!
• Saving food for leftovers will help take you out of the mindset that you have to eat EVERYTHING or your plate.  Many people end up feeling bad about not eating their whole meal because we are taught, as children, to not waste food.  If you keep in mind that it’s ok to save some food for the next day, those thoughts of being wasteful won’t creep in.
• Weight Loss calls for most of us to make more meals at home.  Make sure that you consider how you will store the ingredients that you are prepping so that if you put your meal together it will last for a day or two.  For example, if you have to freeze elements or keep them separate in the fridge, you may want to keep that in mind.
• Find recipes that allow you to prepare large portions for a reasonable price.