Anyone willing to share their shopping and food planning?

I don't have a set eating plan, I have a good mixture of healthy foods that I can afford to buy as I'm unemployed and have no money. I usually go for lots of fruit and frozen veggies, salad veggies, pulses like cous cous, nuts and dried fruit, dairy such as cottage cheese, natural low fat yogurt, meats like chicken and fish, pitta bread, oats.

You can look at member's diaries for inspiration too.

I am in no way an expert but I have been doing the family grocery shopping and meal planning for more than 20 years so I may be qualified to answer your question.

I always look through the sale ads to see what is on sale and then design our meals around that. I will plan lunches based on what I seem to be in the mood for that week. I try to vary things from sandwiches, salads and other things so I don't get bored. I will also plan one day a week when I allow myself to go out to lunch.

When planning dinners, I will try to de-emphasize the entree and concentrate more on the side dishes. I love to have sweet potatoes on hand so we can throw a couple on the grill to bake while we are preparing the rest of the meal. I will also find some quinoa, rice or other side dishes that can be spiced up by adding some veggies or spices.

Since I will grill year-round, I love to make some veggie aluminum foil packets with whatever we have on hand and cook those up. These are also good because they can be customized to each family member's preference (no onion for the picky eater, different veggies for another, etc.). Grilling is always a good meal because it doesn't take much extra effort to put a chicken breast on for me and my wife, a couple of brats or burgers for my sons or even a third meat if someone would like.

To get to your question:

I will grab a piece of fruit or a Fiber One 90 calorie bar for my morning/afternoon snacks and make sure that I drink lots of water throughout the day. I have picked up a couple of Mio water flavoring things that help break up the monotony of drinking plain water. I was never a big breakfast eater in the past but I have learned to have something in the morning that will not make me feel famished at lunchtime. Cereal is always quick and easy but I have also come to enjoy eating the flavored Egg Beaters on a Thomas bagel thin. Lunches can be a sandwich and a salad or a bunch of fresh veggies (carrot and celery sticks, broccoli and cauliflower, etc.). Like I mentioned above, my afternoon snack will be a piece of fruit or a Fiber One bar - that usually will hold me until dinner. If I do get the munchies before dinner, I will have a handful of nuts or some more veggies while I am preparing dinner so I don't overeat at dinner. Evening snacks have been my downfall at times but I will allow myself some frozen yogurt (or ice cream if I have the calories to spare), some chips and salsa or something similar.

The biggest thing is to focus on preparation so I don't have a lot of junk food around the house. Having fruit in a basket on the table reminds me that I can grab that if the mood hits me. Also having a plan before I start shopping prevents me from picking up stuff that I really don't need and would buy on impulse or because it looks like a good deal.

Ask the rest of the family for dinner ideas and then find ways to customize it to your diet. If they want spaghetti or some other pasta dish, try to make a smaller portion for yourself with some of the higher fiber pasta or substitute ground turkey or chicken (or even omit the meat and have it as a side dish instead of the entree). Serve nutritious side dishes and a simple salad with the meal so you don't want a second helping of the entree too.

Hope I didn't ramble too much and I gave at least one tidbit that may help you.

Our store ads come out on Wednesday. I try to use a local store that shops and I can pick up my order the most. I base my menu's on the add and my budget. Our eating plan is something we have to be able to live with in all aspects. This week for instance we are having sandwiches, chips, pudding for lunches and cereal and/or eggs and toast for breakfast. Dinner is a variety of meets with fresh vegetables and potato or rice. I make a weekly meal plan based on the adds and recipes that I always have made or find at places like eating well. I hope this helps some.

I work really long days 4 days a week, so I cook on one of my days and plan my meals.

Breakfast typically includes:
Oatmeal or greek yogurt
Hard Boiled egg

Lunch:
Small thin cut pork chop (tastes great grilled, and marinade it with a little balsamic vinegar, rosemary, & thyme
Green beans

Dinner:
boneless/skinless chicken breast & broc

This is what I'm having today but some of my other meals or go to snacks include:

mixed nuts (I measure them and put them in little baggies ahead of time, grab & go)
String cheese or babybell cheese
hard boiled eggs
1 piece of bread with peanut butter

"fried rice" brown rice, egg, chicken or pork, veggies in a skillet, a tad bit of olive oil and low sodium soy sauce
lean meat with veggies and brown rice (turkey, chicken or thin pork-chops)
This time of the year-grilled corn is super good, no butter needed
Cucumber salad, salad with strawberries

Dessert-"fried plantain or banana"
on a non stick pay spray a little cooking spray or very small amount of butter, slice bananas in half long way, cook until they start getting a bit brown, add cinnamon and honey..

Fruit salads with greek yogurt

you can still make yummy food, do easy things like switching to skim milk, don't put as much butter in mashed potatoes, use olive oil, bake things instead of fry them, use wheat noodles

Good luck to you!

I usually end up with some of the same old meals, but am looking for new recipes.

Fruit
strawberries or grapes (so good frozen)
bananas

Veggies
varies
green beans
peas - love these
salad stuff
black olives
lettuce
raw spinach
avacodo
Salsa

Eggs - love them, make them so many different ways!

meats
ground turkey - almost always turkey burgers or taco salad
chicken - as you mentioned grilled
sometimes steak - small
tuna

Kinda boring, but this is what my groceries have looked like lately!

I'm not sure that sharing my exact shopping/food plan will help you but I can explain what I do. I always make the time to make a menu plan for the week and create the shopping list while making the plan. Do not toss those meal plans they might come in handy in the future. I keep a notebook with previous meal plans for future use. Breakfast is always some type of bread/cereal, fruit, and dairy. Lunch is generally leftovers from dinners, or salads, and/or occasionally sandwiches. I do not cook separate meals for lunches. Dinners are what I decide on the meal plan. Everyone gets the option of picking a meal. I chose whether or not to make the meal this week or next week. It has to fit into a somewhat healthy meal. Portion sizes are key. I really don't want to diet. I want to enjoy what I'm eating, and try new recipes on a weekly basis (i.e., find new favorites). Remember when you're making dinner for the guys, you are also making dinner for yourself. If you want to lighten it up, do it. Nothing says that you have to eat everything that you have fixed for them. If I decide to have grilled chicken and a salad for dinner, I might fix the guys baked potatoes and broccoli, too. This works for me. Hopes it a little helpful for you.