The last several months I've really been trying to meal plan and then make out my grocery list accordingly.
I found these magnetic note pads that has a box for every day of the week. It is on this pad that I write out my meals for every day of the week, writing in special occasions whereas we might already have plans to go out, an event to attend, a night where a home cooked meal isn't required. I post that menu on the fridge and pretty much stick to it. Posting the weekly menu for the family to see does one of two things, they either are excited for dinner, or the complaining starts early in the day. And when I say complaining, it comes from the eight year old and younger age group in our house. LOL.
It's no secret that when a list is made, and you stick to the list, you're a better steward of your grocery money. As I plan out my meals, I make a second list of ingredients I need to make each meal, and I check the cupboards and freezer to see if I might already have some of the ingredients, etc. And if one meal isn't used for one reason or another (like spontaneous trips to Jose's), that meal gets moved to the next week.I've really been trying to not make the same thing two weeks in a row, mixing things up, trying new recipes and old favorites gone unmade for a while. When I am organized like this, I really enjoy grocery shopping and feel better prepared for dinner time!
3 comments:
Yes, it helps immensely, huh?!! Only I don't post mine for the whiners to see. :D I usually plan two weeks at a time since we live in the sticks and can't run up to WinCo whenever I need something.
A few months ago I started making my menu plan on the computer and then made up a shopping list to go with it. So now I have several menus/lists all made so if I don't get my menu planning done for some reason, I can use one of the old ones. It's been really helpful!
Yes! This is exactly what I do every week. And if you get really ambitious, you can pull out the local grocery flyers & see who's got things on sale that week & plan meals according to what's on sale. Some stores (like Walmart!) will match a competitor's ad price so you can just take your ads w/ you & when you reach the check out you tell them "ABC store has that same apple juice on sale for $2." & they'll give it to you for that price.
I kinda look at the mailer ads that come in the mail, but I don't run all over tarnation to save a little if I'm using gas to go out of my way, etc. I do enough running with getting the girls to and from school, that I usually shop the grocery store and Costco or Sams. LOL.
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