As part of my new year's resolutions to be more focused and frugal, I've been putting a bit more time into my meal planning. In practice, that means that I set basic menus about a week at a time — as opposed to walking in the door after work and trying to figure out what I can throw together from what I have on hand or having to make a last minute stop at the grocery store.

Here are some tips I've developed to make meal-planning easier and to save money:

• Look at your grocery store circular when planning meals. That way, you can take advantage of foods that are on special. For example, low priced asparagus might lead to roasted asparagus one night, asparagus risotto another night, and some cream of asparagus soup for the freezer — and no leftovers!
• Plan meals that let you cook once but use twice (or more!). A roast chicken or two on Sunday can become pulled chicken sandwiches or chicken salad or a chicken stir-fry or chicken enchiladas or chicken noodle soup. You've done the bulk of the cooking once, but you have multiple meals.
• If you generally have leftovers, make sure that your meal plan allows you to use them promptly.
• Take a look in your fridge, freezer, and pantry before planning meals. Make sure that your menu allows you to use food before it goes bad and that you are rotating your pantry goods. I like to make sure that the bulk of the food I prepare comes straight out of my stores. It saves money and space.

Last week, I ate for the week solely from food I had in my stores. Even my fabulous Sunday dinner allowed me to use up some food coming to the end of its useful life.

Putting a little bit of extra thought into your meal planning can save money, limit food waste, and reduce the stress at the end of the day since you don't have to decide what to cook. How's that for a triple threat?