Step 3 - With your list of meals, write down on a sheet of paper what
meals your family will eat for your time period. In my case, I write the
days of the week, since I shop weekly. If you do more than a week at a time,
you may want to write the actual dates. I also use my grocery store ads at
this time. If I noticed a great deal on chicken, I may purposely plan a dinner
with chicken -- and visa versa, if no chicken is one sale (and I don't have
any in my freezer) we will not be eating chicken that week. I also make sure
to not to serve any two "categories" of meals on two nights in a row (for
example, we will not eat tacos on Monday and Burritos on Tuesday).
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HINT: Be sure to look at your families calendar when deciding what
meals to prepare. On nights that I know we will be home late, I plan easy
meals or meals which I can prepare ahead of time.
Step 4 - Next to each meal I wrote, I list the ingredients that will
need to purchase for that meal. If we are having cheeseburgers, I will look
to see what I do have and then I will list everything else I don't have that
I need to buy.
Step 5 - Now that you have your meals listed with the ingredients
that you need to purchase, you are ready to go to the store. However, if
you shop for more than one week at a time, I recommend that you prepare yet
another list - on this list you will want to list your needed groceries under
heading such as produce, canned foods, frozen foods, etc.
By following these steps, you will be on your way to more organized meal
planning and grocery shopping. Now the trick is just to stick to it!
Easter is creeping up on us! Before you know it it'll be time for family get togethers, egg hunts, and other fun and festive activities! Visit our Easter section for fun crafts, great recipes, egg decorating ideas, you'll find it all here. Here are a few examples to get you started...