As anyone who has been to the supermarket lately can confirm, the price of groceries continues to soar.
Whether you grocery shop for just yourself, you and your partner, or for an entire family, it can challenging to do so while on a budget.
Luckily, 24-year-old Jenn Lueke is helping people learn how to shop, prepare, and cook budget-conscious, veggie-packed meals that won't break the bank over on her TikTok page, @jenneatsgoood.
The Massachusetts resident — who often posts easy recipe ideas on her TikTok and Instagram pages — recently posted a TikTok series called "Budget Groceries Series."
In the six-part series, Jenn shows how to make five balanced meals for two people — which comes to 10 meals in total. In each video, she posts the recipe and shows how to make everything from ginger, sweet potato, and kale chicken soup to curry chicken meatballs — using $75 worth of groceries from Trader Joe's.
Jenn lives in Boston — a city that is now considered the second most expensive US city to rent in — so she has to be strategic in how she approaches her grocery runs from a budget standpoint.
In her first video in the series, Jenn shared exactly which groceries she bought and how much of each. Then, each day after, she cooked a different recipe — with the details posted in the captions — using the original groceries she bought.
Jenn drew inspiration for the series based on her own food shopping and cooking experience. "I always sit down and plan four to five meals I’m going to make for the week, and write up a list of everything I need. My goal is to use up everything I buy so there is no food waste and so I save money," Jenn told BuzzFeed.
"This way, I can have meals on a budget without getting bored. It just takes a little bit of planning! I love that I can help people by giving them the list and showing them how to utilize their ingredients," Jenn told BuzzFeed."
In the comments of some of her videos in the series, people are sharing how helpful Jenn's budget meal planning ideas have been for them.
If you're someone who is intrigued by the idea of meal planning but isn't sure where to start — or even a little intimidated by it — Jenn shared a few helpful tips with BuzzFeed.
"As soon as you get home from the store, prep everything — chop your veggies and fruits and store them properly, portion out your proteins or freeze some of them, store your herbs correctly, and organize your fridge so you see everything. It’s worth your time and will prevent food waste, save you money, and leave you with options when you get busy during the week," Jenn said.
Jenn also advises to not overcomplicate meal planning.
