Grocery List

What I normally do is make a weekly menu for dinners. I look up recipes online or use current ones and make healthy swaps for recipes that aren't already the healthiest. www.eatbetteramerica.com has some GREAT recipes so does Taste of Homes Cooking Light. I write down the ingredients I need for those meals and get those.

For breakfast, I normally eat cold cereal so I make sure to get enough, Special K waffles are yummy too or oatmeal. But because I am also on a budget I don't buy a huge variety of things each week. Then I buy the kids' and hubbies cereals, they don't like my Special K Protein Plus!

Then I figure out lunches. I know my lunches are usually salads, soup or sandwiches with sandwich thins. So I make sure I get enough lettuce for at least 4 lunches a week plus I always eat a small side salad before dinner, that helps fill me up! A couple cans of soup. If a deli meat that I actually like is on sale, I get it..if not I don't. But I plan all this out ahead of time so I know exactly what to get. So aside from dinners my list usually looks like this

Apples
Bananas
Oranges
Grapes
Special K Protein Plus
Skim Milk
Romaine lettuce (usually get the 6 pack for $5 rather than the 3 pack for $3.59)
Grape Tomatoes
Cucumbers
Reduced Fat feta cheese (my fav for greek salads)
Red Onions
Chicken Breasts (Though I usually buy these in the 64 oz. bags)
Broccoli
Carrots
Cauliflower
Light Yogurt

These are just the basics that I normally eat for snacks and breakfast and lunches. I also normally buy a few bags of frozen broccoli so if the family is having something I can't really make too good of swaps for I have some veggies and a chicken breast.

I go through the ads. The store I shop at accepts competitor coupons, so usually I only have to stop one place. I go through the ads, clip the coupons, and create my list from those items. I add on the meat that is on sale (I usually stock up on what's on sale, buy extra for the freezer). I add in whatever fruits and veggies that are on sale, whether they are fresh or frozen. There's always some stuff that I get whether it's on sale or not, like salad fixings, side dishes, spices and other odds and ends. I shop for a family of 6 for about $200 every two weeks. I then plan my meals around what we have in the freezer.

My basics are veggies, fruits, dairy (mainly milk and yogurt), salmon, chicken and beans. You won't believe how many different meals you can make by experimenting with these ingredients! Every couple of days I go out and by a veggie or fruit I've never had before and add that into the mix. Just yesterday I created a cabbage & salmon salad and I absolutely love it.