Hi Friends. Happy Saturday. I don't usually do weekend posts but my house is quiet; everyone is asleep including the dog and cat so I have a few minutes to hop on and talk to y'all this morning. Last Friday I wrote How To Have An Inspired and Productive Week where one of my tips was to meal plan and grocery shop.
For me, having a meal plan in place and all the ingredients on hand takes a huge stress off me during the week. I don't necessarily plan that Monday we'll eat steaks with baked potatoes, Tuesday we'll eat italian beef sandwiches but I do plan out 5-6 meals and write them on a magnetic notepad and stick it to the side of my refrigerator that way, every morning, I can look at my meal plan for the week and decide what I want that night. I usually begin preparations around 11 in the morning so that everything is thawed and I can place anything in the crock pot that needs to be in there to slow cook for a couple hours.
You might be wondering why I only plan 5-6 meals a week?
Because one night we eat out and another night is usually left overs night and some nights we eat with my parents.
Let's talk about meal planning and grocery shopping.
This looks like a tornado hit for me. I sit down with my lap top, pen, and two pads or pieces of paper to make two lists; one is my meal plan and the other is my shopping list. I tend to need space to work this magic. Haha. I'll scroll on Pinterest for recipes that I want to make and I pin them to a board called Dinner At Leslie's. This board changes regularly so if you follow me, just a little FYI. (I do post our favorite Pinterest recipes to Yum-O:Soto Family Approved though).
As I pin a recipe I want to make, I also write it down on my meal plan list then I look at the ingredients and write a grocery list of the things I know I need for that recipe. If there's something i'm not sure if I have then I write it off to the side to check on. I always start with my main course then go back and add sides in because some sides go better with some main courses than others. Once i've completed that process, I check my pantry and refrigerator for that list of things I wasn't sure if I had and mark them off or add them to the grocery list. After I do that I like to take my lists and re-do them. Organization at it's finest, y'all. I take my meal plan and pair my main course with a couple sides (I'll share my meal plan in a minute). I also take my grocery list and organize it by where things are located in the store. This is a little harder as my husband and I just moved and we're shopping at a different grocery store where the lay out is totally different than the one we used to shop at, so i'm still learning the layout of this store but I still know that all the dairy products are together, etc. After that i'm ready to head out the door with my grocery list in hand.
Grocery List
This week's list is not as big as some because i'm not having to do the bulk shopping (detergents, paper goods, etc) this week BUT not everything on my list pertains to the meal plan either because i'm a believer in getting all my shopping done at once and with a husband, a teenager, a cat and a dog we all need different things.
Here's whats on this week's grocery list:
+ steaks
+ roast
+ ground beef
+ chicken
+ lemonade
+ water
+ yogurt
+ eggs
+ paper plates
+ ziplocks
+ cat litter
+ dry cat food
+ oats
+ sugar
+ sesame oil
+ coconut oil
+ olive oil
+ buns
+ mayo
+ vinegar
+ italian dressing
+ fresh produce (this varies depending on what looks good)
Meal Plan
+ Steaks with baked potatoes and mixed veggies
+ Meatloaf with mashed potatoes and green beans
+ Italian beef sandwiches
+ Sausage, chicken, sweet potato and green bean foil packets
+ Chicken 'n Dumplins
That's how I plan my meals and grocery list. Do you have any tips?
That reminds me: Always eat before you go to the grocery store or you'll end up grabbing all the junk things. I know I make really bad decisions when i'm hungry at the grocery store.
I'm hopping off here to go eat and get ready to go get my grocery shopping done now but don't forget to share your tips.
