Getting started with how to plan out your meals

Thanks to all you who have written me privately and expressed how excited you are to get some ideas on how to be better organized at meal planning, grocery shopping, and finding new meal ideas! I hope I do not let you down. This way of life for me has been such a wonderful routine that allows me not to stress out over what to cook for dinner every night or fret every morning on what I need to cook that night.

Before I begin I want you to go to your check book or bank statement and total up how much money you spend on eating out when you don't know what to make for dinner and how much money you spend on how many times you run to the grocery store in between paychecks and not to mention how much gas you are using every time you make a run to the grocery store, savings even there on gas. This is going to be an eye opener for most and a jaw dropper because most may be unaware how much money they are spending and how much they can be saving if only they planned out their meals ahead of time. If this is not a jaw dropper for you and it is reasonable then you have a set amount of dollars to work with for your family for purchasing groceries/toiletries. If you do not want to spend that much in between paychecks then there is some adjusting to be done.

Let's see getting started. In my previous entry, yesterday's, May 23, 2011, I had mentioned making a 2 week menu. Everyone is different and not everyone can handle 2 weeks of meals all at once and usually that is due to not having enough refrigerator and freezer space. If you have a big family I would suggest having a second fridge that you either keep in your garage or your basement, if you can afford one. I shop on Thursday's, the day before payday and I use my credit card that pays me cash back for using it. I am not saying pay for groceries with your credit card what I am saying is if you do, you automatically set the exact amount aside you just spent at the grocery store in your checking account and wait until it posts on your credit card statement and pay it as soon as it posts. Not only do you build your credit up but you also earn cash back, I have a card that pays 1% on all purchases. Ladies, if you can, get a credit card in your name, and use it that way for your grocery purchases, what it does is it shows you are using it and paying it off which shows good credit and builds your score. We all need to build our credit scores up because there could come a day when something happens and you need a good credit score to qualify for things in life or even to rent a home or an apartment.

Okay getting back to planning and making a menu, I shop the Thursday before the Friday payday. I find Thursday's in the early morning to be a wonderful and quiet shopping experience. The store is usually fully stocked from over night, the produce is being put out and is nice and fresh, the lines are not long either when it is time to check out, not to mention the temperature in your car is not as hot as an oven like it would be midday. When I plan out my grocery shopping list I first have to sit down and work on a 2 week menu. Now ladies, this is a homework assignment, it is not always fun and easy and you have to make time to do this, why I say that is you have to figure out your own family's schedule not to mention your schedule if you work and have other activities going on with the kids, what foods they like, what foods they hate, allergies, how long or how quick the meal will take to prepare, do you need leftovers, etc. I work on my 2 week dinner menu one week before I have to get groceries, I would rather give myself enough time for planning in case something comes up than rushing into it last minute and not planning properly. I make my menu the Friday basically one week before that following Thursday I have to shop. The days it covers is that Monday after that Thursday I shopped until that Sunday which is basically two weeks later. You have two Saturday's and two Sunday's in your menu. I don't worry about what I have or don't have in the house when I plan a menu, for me I plan on making a menu like I have nothing in the house to work with and go from there. I type all my meals in their places under the dates they will be eaten, then I open up another Word document and I then go from there making a grocery list. I shop with a plan in mind and the layout of the store I am shopping in. For example, Walmart, I start out on the side with the pharmacy, vitamins, shampoo's, and pet food and on my typed up grocery list I called those items MISC. ITEMS and I have it in bold and underlined and then all the items I need are typed underneath it. I get all that first because it is not perishable and I start out with only one shopping cart, I get to my second cart when I get to the produce department. Once I finish that side of the store I begin in the produce section of the store. On my grocery list I have PRODUCE typed and I include my deli lunch meats/cheeses in that section as well as any fresh bakery breads and of course all my needed produce. I then move onto DRY GROCERY as I list it on my list and I have the store's aisles memorized in my head so I can list all that I need in that order in that section and that is usually coffee, breads, peanut butter, pasta, canned veggies, etc. Walmart has all their paper items and cleaning supplies in the section of dry grocery leading up to frozen so I also include those items under the heading DRY GROCERY. From there I shop in the FROZEN foods section, hurry up and get through there because it always freezes me. I then have DAIRY listed next on my list and that is self-explanatory there. My final heading on my list is MEATS, I get those last and go straight to the register. You may be thinking that is a lot of stuff to buy and how can you fit it all in one shopping cart? You can't. I tether my two shopping carts together. I use the seat belt and I back one cart up the the front of the other, kind of like when they are going to force the two carts into one another to put them away in that long line of carts. I fold up the seat in the front cart and take the seat belt and connect it to the front in the middle of the other cart and I pull the two like a train. I park my cart at the end of each aisle and walk down each aisle and get what I need specifically on that aisle, don't look at it as work, look at it as exercise ladies and we all need it, it is good for the heart. It is so much easier maneuvering between people and their carts when it is just your body going up and down the aisles. If you have a child with you, I do not recommend that way of tethering the carts because you do not want to leave your child unattended and oh, please do not leave your purse in your shopping cart either unattended. I have seen many a lady walk away from their shopping carts with their purse open and in the child's seat, that is a no-no!

Now the great thing about shopping this way is, 1. you have a list, 2. you only get what is on the list, 3. you shop faster because you are not standing there and looking at stuff saying should I get this? how should I prepare it? No you are getting what you need, quickly and you are saving money, how are you saving money? Well you are not guessing on what you need and buying what you don't need. You are buying what you planned out in a list and you are sticking to it. As for sales at other grocery stores, I get my ads on Wednesday in the mail for the sales, now you have to use the ads for the sales that come out the week you are shopping, not the previous week, those will be expired. After I print up my grocery list I go through my store ads and I note next to the items I am buying if they are on sale, what their price is, what store they are on sale at, and then I bring those ads with me to Walmart because they price match. You need proof the items are on sale to show the cashier when you check out. Now if you don't have a Walmart by you and you shop according to sales then I suggest you note on your grocery list the difference in stores for the items you will be purchasing.

I got the menu planning and shopping list part down, now I keep a note pad in the central part of my home and everyone can write on it during those two weeks when I am not shopping and they write down what they need as it runs out, for example, one of my children may run out of shampoo and conditioner, they will write that on the list. I may be in the middle of cooking something and use up a spice, I will write that on my note pad to add to my grocery list for the next time I go grocery shopping.

One thing I am going to suggest to you all is buy a binder, I have two, make it a 3-ring, 2-inch binder, buy those clear top-loading sheets, and get dividers, enough for both binders.I have taken pictures of mine for example. I have one binder labeled main dish recipes and the tabs are labeled: Beef, Chicken/Turkey, Fish/Seafood, Pork, Vegan or Vegetarian. My second binder is more for desserts: the tabs are: Desserts, Appetizers, Sides, Breads, Snacks. You are probably thinking oh no, I don't have any recipes for me to even have binders. If you don't then this is a good time to start looking on the internet, asking friends, asking family members to email you recipes you love and start printing them up and storing them in your binders under the right categories. What is so cool about making a binder cookbook is that you can take the recipe out of it if you hate and throw it out, how many cookbooks do you have that you only like a handful of recipes in? It is so much nicer to have a binder with only your favorites. Another nice thing about this binder cookbook is you can write notes on your recipes, make changes, and you can also wipe it off if you spill on top of the page. :)

My binder cookbooks

See the tabs, Beef, Chicken/Turkey, Fish/Seafood, Pork, Vegan or Vegetarian.

This binder is already bursting at its seams. Time to get another one.

A page out of my binder.

My grocery list coming up for this week's grocery trip.

My two week dinner menu. See how I wrote on it to pick up fresh items when needed for a meal?

This is 2 weeks of groceries, can you see how I have tethered the two carts together?

If you have any comments or questions on any of this, please feel free to post.