Despite the title, this tip has nothing to do with Christmas. But it does have to do with lists. I had this huge problem for years with grocery shopping – what do I buy? I would make lists, but inevitably I would be stuck wondering what to cook for dinner, and always lacking one key ingredient from anything that came to mind. It resulted in more evenings of eating out than were really necessary.
I’m embarrassed to admit it’s taken me this long to figure this point out, but maybe it can help someone else in the same boat. I have begun to plan my meals in advance, and only purchase what I need for those meals.
First, I sit down and make a list of what we’ll eat for the next two weeks. I plan things I know we like – there are always two or three meals of pasta, because Jonathan loves that. Generally a stir fry early so the vegetables are still fresh, and a meal of fajitas make the list. If it’s going to be a busy time I plan crock pot meals, if I know I’ll have a little more time I can plan a meal that requires a little more preparation.
After I plan the menu, then I go through the fridge, freezers and cupboards and determine what I already have for those meals, and make a shopping list. I write beside each item how many meals in which that particular menu item will be used so that I know how much to purchase.
I put the menu into my PDA, so that I can look at the list on my way home from school at noon and know what I will need to look after for supper.
I’ve avoided that whole standing in front of the cupboard at shortly before supper thinking “I wonder what I feel like for supper” discussion. We’re eating out less. I’m enjoying cooking more, because I’m only planning things I enjoy cooking, and we’re saving money on groceries, because we’re only buying things we will actually use. So it works for me.
For more “Works For Me” visit Shannon at “Rocks in My Dryer.”
Britni said,
December 19, 2007 at 9:35 am
You should check out https://www.orgjunkie.org. She does Menu Plan Monday’s where everyone posts their menus (and sometimes recipes) for the week ahead. It’s been really helpful for me to have to plan the week’s meals!
Mommy, the Human Napkin said,
December 19, 2007 at 11:48 am
I do the exact same thing! My husband gets paid every two weeks, so I do all my grocery shopping right after payday so I don’t have to go back ten times (like I did before I started menu planning). I try to plan for at least one or two meals (pot roast, beef stew, that sort of thing) that will make enough for two nights, and then I freeze half for later on. This has worked out SO well for me! Glad it works for you, too!
Mommy, the Human Napkin said,
December 19, 2007 at 11:51 am
Oh, and I also keep a master list of tons of meals we like (and that I know how to cook) so I can just pick and choose. One of these days, I plan on listing all the ingredients for each meal on the master list to make menu planning and list making that much quicker. The goal is to eventually have about four two-week menu plans that I can just rotate. Print out the list for that particular plan and go shopping.
mom2fur said,
December 19, 2007 at 2:20 pm
Menu planning is a real life saver, isn’t it? The weeks I put it off are the harder ones. It’s so much easier to know what you’re having for dinner each night. It even lets you do some things ahead of time, like browning meat or cutting up vegetables.