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jenny_islander · 11-19-2007, 11:23 PM

My method:

1. Have a collection of cheap old home-cooking-type cookbooks (garage sales yay!) and links to home-cooking recipe sites.

2, Shop once a week.

3. The day before shopping day, go through the food on hand. What staples do we need? What meals can I make with what I have? Can I expect leftovers from any of them? What can I use the leftovers for? Are there any mealtimes this week when I definitely won't be cooking and what are we going to eat then? How many meals do I need to buy for? I jot down the week's menu on a sheet of paper.

4. Check the current sales flyers and my coupon file. Write down the best deals per serving on protein ingredients I know the family will eat. (We eat protein at every meal for reasons not germane to this thread.) Fill in the gaps on the menu using these ingredients, allowing for leftovers. Also look for deals on fruits and veggies that I know I can use up before they spoil. The price and quality of frozen veggies or juice-canned fruit (or canned tomatoes) may be better than fresh and they sidestep the spoilage problem. Also jot down a couple of backups in case they're out of what I'm looking for.

5. Shop with a list and coupons in hand and DON'T shop hungry! If possible, take a minute to jot down unit prices on things I'm not buying THIS week, but may want to keep in mind. (Before my computer had an aneurysm, I actually kept unit prices at different stores in an Excel file. I could tell when a sale at one store really did beat the regular price at another--and also see how our weekly bill went up about $25 whenever we shopped hungry. But I can't open Excel files anymore.)

11-19-2007, 11:23 PM	#41
jenny_islander Rose Trellis Join Date: Mar 2007 Posts: 3,362	Re: Can someone teach me how to meal plan? My method: 1. Have a collection of cheap old home-cooking-type cookbooks (garage sales yay!) and links to home-cooking recipe sites. 2, Shop once a week. 3. The day before shopping day, go through the food on hand. What staples do we need? What meals can I make with what I have? Can I expect leftovers from any of them? What can I use the leftovers for? Are there any mealtimes this week when I definitely won't be cooking and what are we going to eat then? How many meals do I need to buy for? I jot down the week's menu on a sheet of paper. 4. Check the current sales flyers and my coupon file. Write down the best deals per serving on protein ingredients I know the family will eat. (We eat protein at every meal for reasons not germane to this thread.) Fill in the gaps on the menu using these ingredients, allowing for leftovers. Also look for deals on fruits and veggies that I know I can use up before they spoil. The price and quality of frozen veggies or juice-canned fruit (or canned tomatoes) may be better than fresh and they sidestep the spoilage problem. Also jot down a couple of backups in case they're out of what I'm looking for. 5. Shop with a list and coupons in hand and DON'T shop hungry! If possible, take a minute to jot down unit prices on things I'm not buying THIS week, but may want to keep in mind. (Before my computer had an aneurysm, I actually kept unit prices at different stores in an Excel file. I could tell when a sale at one store really did beat the regular price at another--and also see how our weekly bill went up about $25 whenever we shopped hungry. But I can't open Excel files anymore.) __________________ Wife to John, December 18, 1999 ~ Mother to Sophia, March 13, 2004 ~ Mother to Eva, June 10, 2006 ~ Mother to Matthew, December 21, 2009 ~ Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will lift me up.

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