Meal planning on the cheap

ThriftyKitchen.com takes coupon clipping to the next level. Lisa Leete, who runs the subscription site, plans a week's worth of dinners around items that are on sale with recipes and directions for each night. She promises to feed a family of four for about $60 a week. Six dinners are included, but no lunch or breakfast. Joining costs $10 a month and you can get a free one-month trial here.

The sample menu looks appealing, with ginger glazed Mahi Mahi on one night and chicken with a spicy Chicago rub on another night. Each dinner includes a starch and vegetable or salad.

Looking over her sample menu, however, I see she cuts a few corners to bring the weekly price down. Above the week's grocery list, which lists each item's approximate cost, Leete lists dozens of "pantry items" that are not factored into the $60. The sample menu "pantry items" include six cans of chicken broth, eggs, milk, oil and spices. That really adds up.

I'm also curious how she got 2 pounds of Mahi Mahi for $1.49 or 1 pound of russet potatoes for 68 cents. Perhaps she is buying in bulk then calculating the cost of each meal's portion. That would make sense.

Other than that, the site carries out a cool idea in an easy to use way. Thrifty Kitchen is geared towards Vons and Albertsons shoppers in Southern California but Leete has a "shop anywhere" plan for other subscribers. It may not be a bad idea to join for a month or two and test it out.