Grocery Shopping

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TaintedVampyre
TaintedVampyre Posts: 1,428 Member
in Food and Nutrition
Do you plan all your meals before or just buy a whole bunch of staple ingredients and throw things together as you go with some kind of general idea of what you want to make eventually?

Follow up: How often do you do groceries?
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Replies

  • misskerouac
    misskerouac Posts: 2,242 Member
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    because of intolerances there are only certain foods I can eat anyways so I usually buy the same things but we make different things out of them, but they all usually have the same ingredients.
  • dzvinka82
    dzvinka82 Posts: 33
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    I am in the same boat as misskerouac.
  • Tropical_Turtle
    Tropical_Turtle Posts: 2,236 Member
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    I usually toss in my basket all sorts of stuff I can do many things with. I find if I plan meals ahead, more often than not, I am not wanting it anymore.
  • imthelobster
    imthelobster Posts: 179 Member
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    I tend to just throw in a bunch of basic ingredients. I agree with the above poster, if I plan meals ahead of time, most of the time I don't feel like it later.
  • jldunn713
    jldunn713 Posts: 41 Member
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    I feel like I save more money if I just go buy staples and things that are cheap that week and then I create interesting meals with whatever I have.
  • shaynak112
    shaynak112 Posts: 751 Member
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    We eat similar things from week to week so we always buy the basics. If I'm going to make something different that week, I add those items to my list. Usually I only need a couple new items anyway though.
  • sazzyp1973
    sazzyp1973 Posts: 517 Member
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    yeah I get the usuals in and then try and be creative with them! If I decide to make something in particular then I will get the ingredients for that meal if don't have them. I don't often plan too far ahead as I am likely to change my mind!
  • cramernh
    cramernh Posts: 3,335 Member
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    Im an on-the-fly kind of person. I have my usual list of fresh produce, herbs, spices and meats that I purchase but I enjoy my meal planning on a day to day basis.

    No different than working in a professional kitchen.. I love it!
  • norabeth
    norabeth Posts: 176 Member
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    I make my grocery list off of my dinner menu
  • SithZombie
    SithZombie Posts: 165 Member
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    I always plan a full week of meals and put it on the fridge then make my grocery list based off of that :3
  • AZKristi
    AZKristi Posts: 1,801 Member
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    My husband and I are on a budget so I plan pretty carefully. I start by perusing the adds to see what's on sale and taking a look to see what I have on hand. Then I use a spreadsheet where i plan Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner for each day and then a few things to have on hand for snacks. Then I figure out what I need to buy to make that happen. My spreadsheet has a column for the different stores we shop (Target, Kroger, Costco & Sprouts) and I note what I need to buy at each store and estimate how much I'll spend on each item. Then, I make sure my estimated total spending is within our budget before I go shopping. Works well for me!
  • BeyondThePixels
    BeyondThePixels Posts: 91 Member
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    I get the usual and whatever is on sale.

    I try to have the essentials stocked all time, spices, can tuna, low calorie munchies, plain popcorn, whole wheat pastas. I wish I could learn to plan my meals, but I don't know what I'm going to eat until I get hungry. :p
  • da1128
    da1128 Posts: 212 Member
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    We eat similar things from week to week so we always buy the basics. If I'm going to make something different that week, I add those items to my list. Usually I only need a couple new items anyway though.

    Pretty much the same thing here!
  • imaginaryplaces
    imaginaryplaces Posts: 123 Member
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    We plan out most of our meals for the week. When we don't do this, we are more likely to make poor food choices (like eating out), since at the end of a work day, neither of us feels like making decisions.

    Having said that, when shopping if I see a good deal or something that looks really good, I will change my plans on the fly. That's especially the case now that so much great produce is in season here.
  • don666car
    don666car Posts: 167 Member
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    i hate to shop except on ebay lol
  • MFPBrandy
    MFPBrandy Posts: 564 Member
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    Both. I have an agenda in mind -- what large batch(es) am I going to make to freeze? I like to have lots of 2-cup Pyrex bowls of soup or other dishes rich in veggies and beans waiting in the freezer so I can always have something healthy & delicious to take to work for lunch, or if I don't feel like cooking (which is often). I'll also usually have some new Pinterest find I want to make. But I also wait for inspiration to strike at the farmers market or the grocery store.
  • cathiaflock
    cathiaflock Posts: 112 Member
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    I have done both planning and spure of the moment. I like menu planning and would love to try to prepare meals ahead of time. So far if we make a dish the night before we make a lot of it and I take small portions for lunch's throughout the week. I just made a grocery list for this friday. Going to try to put in some spices to begin a spice rack. Bought a low fat/low cholesterol cookbooks because my dr suggested these type of meals.
  • nataliexxxx
    nataliexxxx Posts: 262
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    I usually buy the same things every week usually things for a salad and rice
  • carolebville
    carolebville Posts: 140 Member
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    I purchase frozen food items from Schwan's Food. It's a little pricey for most; but I'm single and the pre-portioned items with calories, etc. on the package help factor what I can and want to eat each day. I normally stick to the Live Smart options. When I go grocery shopping, I normally pick up fresh fruit, veggies, and almond/coconut milk and organic dry goods to mix into my menus. I don't go down the chip, cookie, frozen pizza aisles, or the deli items (too many preservatives)...gotta watch the ingredients on what you're buying.
  • lyttlewon
    lyttlewon Posts: 1,118 Member
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    I grocery shop once a week and plan every dinner. I randomly pick which day to cook said meal. I don't make a list of the things I buy every time, like lunch meat, but I have to make a list for dinner ingredients. If I don't do this I am less likely to cook, I hate looking in the fridge and making up dinner, and I am more likely to eat out.

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