Conquering the Weekly Grocery List

One of the weekly tasks that gave me the most trouble when I first started to meal plan was the weekly grocery list. My goal is always 1 trip a week, but when I first started I was making 3+ a week. Too much time in the store. After working through other systems and having them fail me, I landed on my current system that works well for me.

The first thing I do is create a weekly menu. Breakfast, lunch, dinner and any snacks we want that week. (I’ll post more about this later) Once that is created, I write down what I need each day to make those meals. If I’m making avocado toast with an egg for breakfast, Italian roll-ups with strawberries, carrots and banana bread for lunch and goulash for dinner I’m going to need a lot of ingredients.

Meal Plan!

First I’ll write Friday- Thursday on my paper. Leaving plenty of space in-between. Once I’ve labeled my paper I start pulling up my recipes and writing what I need.

Initial list

Finished List

Everything made it on the list

Once this is finished, I compile it all into one list. I put everything in order of my trip through the store. I start in produce (or go to the Farmers Market when it’s in season) then make my way to meats, packaged food, dairy, and finally any household needs beyond food. As I make my list I keep track of quantities so I know if I need the big block of cheese or the smaller one and cross everything off as I write it on the list. In the end, I have a simple, easy to follow grocery list. This makes my 1 trip to the store doable and helps ensure that I get everything I need for the week’s meals in that one trip!

Comment below with any thoughts or examples of how you make your list!

 

Want to know more? Contact me, I’m happy to help.

4 Reasons I Meal Plan

I love to cook. It’s relaxing for me. That being said there are some nights I come home and just want to order a pizza for dinner and our lunches the next day. I know this isn’t the healthiest or most budget friendly option so instead, I plan out our meals to be healthier and stick to our budget.

1. Budget friendly

Before I started to meal plan I would just go to the store and pick up food to make dinner. I had no concept of how much I was spending each week. When I started to meal plan, I was able to create a budget and stick to it each week.

2. Healthier

Instead of ordering a pizza or just grabbing something that’s full of preservatives, planning our meals has allowed me to make healthier choices. If I know that I’m going to be making grilled cheese Thursday for dinner, I can fire up the old bread machine before I go to work in the morning creating fresh, inexpensive, and preservative free bread for our dinner. I buy more pantry basics like rice and dried beans and know when to prep them for our meals. It also allows me to plan more vegetables and fruit into our meals. Since I have time to sit down and look over our meals for the week, I can see if we are eating too much or too little of something. I adjust and make healthier choices.

3. Simplicity

I hate running to the store every day. I hate trying to fit it into my day and then dodging carts and cars in the parking lot, dealing with people who walk like snails through the aisles and waiting an extra 5 mins in the checkout line. Planning our meals for the week allows me to go shopping once a week. I get everything I need and can choose a less busy time to shop. It’s also such a routine to come home and know what I’ll be making for dinner. I can plan to make a crockpot meal if I know it’s a packed day or plan a special Sunday dinner. My husband also loves knowing what we’re having each day.

4. Make good use of my Pinterest boards

I LOVE Pinterest. I have 163 boards and almost 10,000 pins. About 1/3 of these are about food or drink. Planning our meals allows me to actually make the recipes I spend hours of my life pinning.

Anything that can save me time and make my life better is great to me. Meal planning has allowed us to eat healthier, spend less time in the store, and be more creative in the kitchen. It’s a win all around!