Meal Planning & Grocery Tips

A few months ago my friend came to visit and she asked how I stay so organized and on top of my meal planning, so I just wrote down an email for her that went through my process. I thought I would share that here in case anyone else needs a little encouragement or help! Meal planning for me isn't really as helpful for me as it probably is for a large family, but my Type-A-ness really appreciates order and organization, so I do it anyway. 

My meal plan for October

I use a calendar I made on Microsoft Publisher where I enter the names of meals for that dinner or if I know we will be gone on a day. It helps to have a visual for the week/month/however far in advance. Then on the side of each month I have a text box for grocery lists that I can update as needed. I use this list to make a list on my phone to take to the store. I also have a notepad on the refrigerator where Jess and I can add things as we use the last of it, not just groceries but household items as well. 

We use the entire page until it runs out, marking what
we've purchased with black permanent marker. 

The way I started meal planning so far in advance was compiling recipes that I liked or wanted to try and keeping them handy and in a list. Where I used to just pull straight from that list on a whim, I could now use that list to enter meals into the calendar and plan ahead. My list of recipes started at about 15-20 and now it has about 30-40ish, of course adding in the random Pinterest-find. I have a ton of cookbooks, recipe boxes, and note cards with recipes on them. 

One thing I've learned that helps with meal-planning AND healthy portion control is only making enough for the specific meal. How this helps with meal planning is it can give a direction for several days worth of dinners. For example: I bought one pound of ground beef, but that is too much for any recipe that I'd make for just Jess and I. So the first night we have meatloaf and the second night we will have tacos, each using 1/2 lb of beef. When you have to buy ingredients in larger portion sizes that will go bad (if you can't freeze it or store it in the pantry for very long) just try to make multiple meals in a row that use those ingredients. 

The essentials...rice, tortilla chips, and sriracha.

I know I have talked about grocery lists before, but I'm going to reiterate. I shop at least once, sometimes 2-3/week, depending on my schedule. I only buy things that are on my list. It takes a while at first, but once you get the hang of it it gets better. You learn to take a mental inventory of what you have in stock every day (rice, cheese, milk, that kind of thing) and on top of that get what you'll need for your 5-7 planned meals. But seriously, write down everything and ONLY buy what you have written down. Make a list BEFORE you go to the grocery store and BEFORE you are hungry. I make mine a few days in advance so I have time to edit/add if I forgot something. 

My stuffed-full cabinet..as all of them are when you
only have two cabinets...

Just with Jess and I's schedules, I always keep one to two nights free and unplanned in case something comes up or he wants to go out to eat. That way you can easily just bump Tuesday night's dinner to Wednesday or whatever needs done. But on the other side of that, if for some reason I don't have a specific meal planned and end up having to make dinner, I have a standby list of about 5 meals that can be made with things I keep on hand. These can be as simple as some packaged soup with grilled cheese or just baked chicken with rice. 

I typically always have frozen chicken, frozen tilapia, and an assortment
of vegetables in the freezer. 

If you use a lot of veggies (like me, I throw broccoli and carrots in basically everything), I suggest frozen. It's cheaper both in price and longevity (if you only need a cup you haven't wasted the rest if you don't eat it in a few days) and it is just as healthy as fresh. In fact, science has shown that frozen vegetables actually retain MORE vitamins than fresh because it is frozen immediately upon harvest instead of being transported right after, so: cool. 

So what have we learned here? 

1. Make an archive of recipes. 

2. Make a calendar.

3. Fill in said calendar with meals. 

4. Make grocery lists 1/2-1 week in advance. 

5. Only buy from grocery lists. 

6. Utilize ingredients for multiple meals. 

7. Splurge. 

My list for next week.

Feel free to ask any specific questions about how I can help with your schedule or needs; I love organization, food, and problem-solving!