How do you plan groceries/meal plan for the week?

alondrakayy

I simply walk by every isle at the store and grab what I feel like eating for that week. I want to get smarter about it though and maybe save a few $$$.

So I want to see how everyone else does it!

rdevol

I struggle with the same issue, OP - good question! Bumping so I can mooch the insights you receive!

showjumper

On Sunday morning i sit down with a cup of coffee, the flyers and 2 pieces of paper..... one is the grocery list and the other is made up of 7 or 14 squares (depending on how far away payday is) I add what meals I want to make on what night and create the shopping list from there.

Need2Exerc1se

We have many staples that we always have on hand and those are replaced as needed. Non-staples are chosen by what's on sale or freshest that week. We don't plan meals ahead very often, but we keep a well stocked pantry and 2 large freezers, plus the root cellar so we always have plenty of options to choose from.

janejellyroll

On Sundays I pull out my cookbooks and plan my dinners for the week, making a note of the ingredients that I need to buy. I'll also check for anything in the pantry or fridge that I'm running low on and want to replace. Then I'll take my list and go shopping Sunday evening.

Planning my meals in advance lets me plan to use up anything I might have (if I'm making a meal that uses some spinach, I can plan another recipe with spinach later in the week so I use it all).

apullum

I don't do anything fancy. I have a grocery list in my note-taking app, and my dinner plan for the week is at the bottom of the list. That makes it easy to see my meal plan while I'm shopping. If I'm making something that has a lot of leftovers, I make it early in the week since we don't usually eat leftovers on weekends. I pre-log food a day or two in advance, but I've been logging long enough that I already know what dinners fit my plan.

TavistockToad

I make a menu for the week and write a shopping list as I do it.

H_Ock12

I look at the sale papers to see what meat is on sale. Then I plan around the meat and pair it with frozen veggies and either a roll or potatoes. Sometimes I'll plan to make a multi-ingredient meal early in the week, but most of the time it's meat and veggies. I supplement with Stouffer's and a local pre-made meal company for hubby's breakfast and days we don't have leftovers for his lunch.

kommodevaran

I have to plan in order to have balanced and varied meals I really want to eat, and avoid waste. It works because my life is pretty predictable and I need and like predictability (I'm single and "retired"). Meal planning and cooking and eating is fun - I think so anyway - with just a little bit of effort.

My method looks kind of complicated in writing, but it's really easy and automatic in practice. I keep a running inventory of pantry, fridge and freezer, check sales, then make up a rough menu for the next days or week, partly or completely. I write shopping list based on what I've decided to make/eat, minus what I already have. Some items are specific (i.e butter, frozen mackerel filets, rice noodles, potatoes), others are generic (i.e fresh fruit, munching vegetables). I usually do my shopping twice per week, and I make sure I get enough fresh foods (fruit, vegs, milk) to last until next trip. I pick the lowest number of stores to fill my needs, and I focus on my list to minimize temptation and to remember everything (does not always succeed though).

When I'm in the store, I weigh price against quality, and usually pick the cheapest item that has acceptable quality. Luxury items only occasionally. But I also pick different things every time, or as often as possible, so I still eat very varied. I look for the price per pound, but weigh it up against storability and perishability. I actively ignore health claims and appeals to the busy, hip and modern consumer; I look for especially for cheap, store brand, single food ingredients.

EHollander89

I usually do my grocery shopping and most of my food prep on Sunday. I'll pick out a few recipes of what I plan to eat for the week for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. I'll make a shopping list with the items I need, and I'll check to see if I'm running low on any of my staples in the pantry. Once I get to the grocery store, I try to stick to my list as close as possible to reduce impulse buys of things that I don't really need. If something is on sale that I use all the time, I might go ahead and buy it, but I definitely try to limit putting things in my basket that are not on the list. After I've purchased my items, I'll prep as much as I can at home. This might be putting items in the crock pot and then portioning out into containers when it's done. I might bake some chicken and prepare some rice and veggies while the chicken is baking. I might chop veggies or fruit and portion out for snacks or to have ready for meals later in the week. I keep a small set of post it notes and a pen next to my food scale so that it is easy to record what I'm putting in each container. I also recommend using the recipe builder in MFP.

purplepadres

I mostly use the subscription service Real Plans. I have a couple of add-ons from my favorite cookbook authors, and I have some flexibility to add in other recipes that I want to try. My favorite part of the Real Plans site is that once you've selected your recipes for the week, it makes your shopping list for you. I do try to stick to items that are in season to keep costs down, and always throw in a soup recipe to make sure I have a quick/easy veggie source throughout the week.

toxikon

I look up a recipe I want to try, write down the ingredients, and buy enough to make a big portion that will last me and my fiance a few days. I only buy enough ingredients to make the meal - plus a few staples (eggs, bacon, almond milk, Mio, cheese, apples, bananas), so I don't end up wasting food.

Lounmoun

I sit down and write a list of 28 dinners that I divide into 4 groups of 7.
Sometimes I will have themes in mind so I just have to choose 4 of that type of thing and plug it into each week. So one night each week is pasta and another is soup for example.
If we are having a pork roast I have planned how I will use the leftover meat another day. Same with something like cabbage where I might not use all of it in one meal.
I post my meal list in my kitchen. I choose what I will have each day and cross things off as I have them.
I don't generally plan breakfast, lunches or snacks because I eat a limited amount of items for those and just have to keep stocked up.

I have a paper list in my kitchen that I add things to as we run out and a grocery list saved on my computer that I update. I buy some things every single week like fruit, milk or peppers. I look at my meal plan and add what I need to the grocery list once a week and then shop.

I do look at store ads or sales but it doesn't impact my shopping much. I might buy 2 packages of chicken when they are on sale because we use chicken a lot but I'm not going to buy something just because it is on sale and then try to figure out how to use it.
I do try to stick closely to my list while shopping. I do require that my family and myself think about what we want that week before we shop. If they want chips they had better get it on the list by shopping day.

jemhh

I think of what we have going on each evening and plan around that. Example from this week:

Monday - daughter has GS at 6:30 and husband is home so he can pick up a rotisserie chicken and make everything else early enough that we can eat as a family and still get her there in time
Tuesday - no commitments but had chicken the day before (husband/daughter don't like it 2 days in a row) so hamburgers will be good
Wednesday - husband works until 7 and i want something that can bake in the oven while I workout so it's homemade pretzel chicken and baked fries
Thursday - always pizza night so daughter can take it to school for lunch Friday
Friday - end of the week, don't want to take a long time to make dinner, we'll put a roast, potatoes, carrots in the crockpot in the morning and eat it that night

lucys1225

I get my meat from a local farm and butcher box. On Thursdays I look through the freezer and see what meat I feel like eating and decide the preparation. On Saturdays, I go the the store to get all the things I need, usually just vegetables. Since I don't buy my meat at the grocery store, sales don't mean too much to me. I just buy seasonal produce, better quality, better price.

nutmegoreo

I don't plan my week too much. I have basics that I eat regularly. To save money, I have been shopping what's inexpensive and then plan my meals based on what I have in the house. Some great tools to help with this:

Flipp - an app that has store fliers, you can use them to "clip" and make a shopping list

Myfridgefood.com - website where you can input what you have available in the house, and it will give you recipes.

madwells1

I buy around protein. I try to eat grass fed no-hormone meat which is expensive, so I buy whatever is on sale on the weekend and focus around that.

Many times I have staples in the house, so with the protein, I can change the sides up by simply buying some fresh produce (if needed). I also try to repurpose everything...if I roast a chicken, I try to make different things with it so i don't get bored (soup, empanadas, hash, etc.).

rainbow198

I jot things down that I run out of during the week on a dry-erase board on the fridge so I don't forget.

Hubby and I search the flyers and see what's on sale and where.

Grocery shopping is done once a week. I get most of my items from the farmers market, he stocks up on meat from the butcher about once every 3 weeks.

Regarding meal planning we come up with a dinner list together for the week ahead. I'm always trying something new so I look at recipes online for inspiration and put my own spin on things. Also I plan my breakfast and lunch the night before for the next day in my food journal.

With the info above I write what we need on paper and I keep the order by separating by stores.

Almost every Friday evening we go out for yummy gourmet pizza. This is usually the only time I have a meal that I don't cook myself all week.

Sundays is my food-prepping day. Depending on what's on my list for the week I would make things like veggie burgers and freeze, boil eggs, make a couple of batches of steel cut oatmeal, make homemade protein bars etc.

Having a plan with my meals has helped me a great deal with staying on track and keeping the weight off. Plus it saves time overall and money.

avskk

I scout recipes pretty much every day (I read Buzzfeed, the NY Times cooking section, etc. every morning) and bookmark any that look good by month and year (so if something looks good but is out of season I bookmark it in the appropriate upcoming month). On Tuesday or Wednesday I go through this month's bookmarks and choose 3-5 recipes that look good, depending on the quantities of each, and create my shopping list from those recipes. After that it's just a matter of rounding out the list with breakfast and lunch stuff!

At the end of each season I archive bookmarks -- I just move, say, September, October, and November 2017 into a group titled "Autumn 2017" in case I want to revisit any recipes. Some months I add a sub-folder (like in November 2017 I had a sub-folder for Thanksgiving recipes). It all sounds ridiculous when I type it out, but the key points are 1) regularly scouting/saving recipes, 2) making a realistic weekly plan from them, and 3) creating a shopping list directly from said recipes so nothing is overlooked.

nic_27_grassisgreener

I have an app on my phone for my grocery list. Whenever I run out of a staple it goes on the list.

I read the flyer and add produce items that are on sale to my list. I also add additional fruits/vegs that are generally low cost (and in season). I pick out what I want to make, check if I have any of the ingredients already, if not onto the list it goes. (Or, often this process is reverse, if I have something I need to use I plan a meal around it).

I try to pick some produce that will last longer in the fridge so I don't need to go shopping more than once per week. Examples are apples, potatoes, carrots, pears.

I don't specifically decide ahead of time what days I will cook specific meals. I try to have a few that depend on frozen veggies or pantry items, so that if something comes up my food won't go bad.

alondrakayy

Thank you, all! I have prepared my meals for the week, wrote down ingredients, and we'll see how today's shopping goes. Also following all the tips (sales, what's in season, quantity, etc.) you guys suggested.

OldHobo

alondrakayy wrote: »

I simply walk by every isle at the store and grab what I feel like eating for that week. I want to get smarter about it though and maybe save a few $$$.

So I want to see how everyone else does it!

I really admire people who can make a menu for a week and stick to it. I'm not one of them and, if I'm honest with myself, I don't want to be. I like staring into the fridge, pondering what to make.

I keep staples on hand. Most come from the produce, meat & fish, and dairy departments. There a couple-few dozen staples in the center aisles but they're limited and I stick to the list on those. Haven't just walked up and down aisles in a very long time. There are aisles in the store I use most often over the last few years that I've never walked down.

A lot of the time, dinner is determined by what's in the fridge that needs to be used up. Like beans or a home-made stock, or sauce.

sgt1372

I buy in bulk and stock up and, except for fresh fruit and veggies, have enough food in the frig/freezer and pantry to last me for months. So, I usually just eat/cook what I want each day with what's on hand.

I start w/logging breakfast and then plan lunch and dinner as necessary to meet my cal/macro goals by pre-logging those meals based on what I feel like eating/cooking

If I want to eat/cook something but find that I don't have all the ingredients on hand to cook it, I put the ingredients that I need on my grocery list and delay cooking that dish until I buy what I need to make it.

I usually hit the supermarket or grocery store 1x a week to buy fruit and veggies. Usually know exactly what I need/want and spend very little time wandering the aisles. I only wander thru the meat/poultry/seafood depts to look for bulk deals there.

ritzvin

Need2Exerc1se wrote: »

We have many staples that we always have on hand and those are replaced as needed. Non-staples are chosen by what's on sale or freshest that week. We don't plan meals ahead very often, but we keep a well stocked pantry...

pretty much this here too. I buy what I'm running low on. If low on meat, then its whatever I'm in the mood for/what's on sale.

cwolfman13

We make a shopping list every Saturday...most items on that list are staple items that we can use in a variety of recipes...we pretty much go through the pantry, fridge, and freezer and determine what staple items we are out of or running low on and add them to the list.

Beyond that, we go through what recipes we're going to make during the week and figure out if there are any ingredients that we need that may not be staple items and we add those to the list. Usually while we're shopping we will come across something that sounds good that wasn't on the list...like last weekend we were shopping and came across a package of vacuum packed beets that were already roasted and peeled...we love beets, so we through them in the cart.

We usually shop on Sunday morning.

mcglothinm

It kind of depends on how busy I am. If I have a lot of time to sit down and plan then I will. I usually start on Friday night and finish it up Saturday morning. I tend to plan ahead for at least a week. I've tried doing two weeks at a time before, but it doesn't work for me because I always run out of produce before then. First I look through the fridge on what's in there, and get rid of anything that is going bad. Check the freezer and see what meat is available. I almost always stock up on meat when it is on sale, so I forget what's in there pretty easily. Then I look at my schedule for the week and figure out which nights I'm going to be home long enough to cook, or what can be thrown in quickly on nights where I get home late. Then I figure out what I want to make for the week and make a list of what ingredients I need at the store. I can also clip coupons before I go, if I start early.

If I am pressed for time I do most of my planning at the store. I hit up the produce and meat departments first and figure out what is on sale, then I plan out what I am going to make while at the store and get what I think I need. These days, I tend to use this process the most, but I dislike it because I end up guessing on if I have the things I need or not, and then I end up with multiple similar products that don't get used right away. I also don't always find the coupons I could've used and don't save as much money this way either.

ahoy_m8

OP, you don't mention how many are eating in your household. More people means more food (and if they are teenagers, more uncertainty), but it also can mean more help. I don't shop without a list. Candidly, I rather dislike shopping and a list helps me get it done fast. Wandering the aisles and making it up on the fly makes me crazy!

Pantry items: There's a running list in the kitchen that everyone contributes to. If you use the last of something (butter, laundry detergent, whatever), you better put it on the list or I will get after you when we run out.

Breakfasts, lunches, snacks: Everyone has their own regulars (rotation of 3-4 things) for breakfast & lunch (only one kid makes her lunch for school). I stock what is requested. If it's not on the list, it doesn't get purchased.

Dinners: I do plan these for the week based on how who is expected each night. With teenagers, things change, so I stay flexible and can easily swap the meals planned on different nights, but having a basic plan from which to improvise ensures we have enough to feed everyone (including unexpected friends now and then).

It also helps to cook meats in quantities that can be used for several subsequent meals. E.g. we smoke a chicken every week. Chicken leftovers can make literally dozens of other dishes. Very versatile and cost effective. If chicken breasts are on sale, I buy a bunch -- enough to eat a couple dishes that week and freeze some for emergencies. Pounding them to an even thickness and wrapping individually helps them defrost & cook evenly. Pulled pork shoulder, pork loin, beef -- they all can be used in a huge variety of ways to avoid leftover monotony. Sea food is the only thing I cook in the quantity we plan to eat that night.

I group text the family on Thursday for their best guess on who will be eating what nights and plan what people like for the nights they will be there. I check sales online (especially meat), plan Thursday and shop Friday. That gives me the most flexibility on weekends when we need it the most. It also means we're doing more cooking on the weekend & using time-saving leftovers during the week.

Sitting with a cup of coffee and making a plan (and list based on the plan) is worth the few minutes it takes once a week. Good luck, OP!

koslowkj

For context, I'm a grad student cooking for two.

Toward the end of every week, I look at the ads to see what is on sale. I try to plan meals around that. If there's a particularly good deal, I buy extra and freeze it. I have a weekly list of meals that gets put on the fridge so I see it every day. Personally, I hate cooking small meals, so I always plan a few days a week for leftovers. I typically shop at Kroger - their app lets you make a list and organize it by aisle, so I can actively avoid areas of the store I don't need anything from (like bags of chips or cookies).

Hope there's something useful for you in there!

inertiastrength

Sunday me and my bf mealprep for the week and we both eat the exact same thing for lunch every day because we really don't mind. I make 2.7kg ground beef into a thick ragu, we boil potatoes and package that up for about 25$/week lunches. Dinners I do whatever because I just got an Instant Pot and everything is super fast anyhow haha

SPeffer1

I use the plantoeat.com website. I check to see what I have in the house, search for recipes including those foods, and plan the week using their database. Then it makes a shopping list for me, and I typically stick to that.

paganhippie

I don't buy my groceries (live with my parents) so I tend to have to try and convince them to buy healthy things like fruits and veggies when they go shopping and then I usually plan my entire day's meals the night before. I'm slowly getting them to buy healthier options so my choice of food expands.

Generally speaking, planning a week (or two if that's easier) in advanced is the best way to go and then only buying the foods you need, except for certain staples like milk, eggs, etc that you know you will eat and last longer than a week.