Meal Planning

Meal planning is time consuming, sometimes frustrating and pretty boring. Then you have to go buy the stuff. Then you have to COOK IT! I tell my husband that it is a strange feeling for me to not make money and only be spending it, but I try very hard to save our family money by cooking most of the time {even though I don't enjoy it. Not one bit.}. I have found that taking the time to plan ahead, as obnoxious as it may be, really saves us money and makes my daily life easier. Everyone is different. Isn't that wonderful? This, usually, is how I go about feeding our family. Take a deep breath...Exhale. Now, let's dive in.

I shop at Kroger the vast majority of the time. The main reason is because it is close to our house. They also have several different size carts, which really only matters if you have three small people along with you for the trip. They have a good selection of organic food. That's pretty low on my priority list at this point, but sometimes the organic foods end up being less expensive for one reason or another, so it's nice to have that option. They have fuel points. They have really good sales occasionally. They have eCoupons. Our store is less than 4 years old, so it is nice and new. They also have a Starbucks in my store and I have treated myself a few times.

I try my very best to go to Kroger once every two weeks. If I'm not in the store, I'm not buying stuff. Unless it's Amazon, of course, which is sometimes waaaay too convenient. We do end up usually needing produce before the two weeks is over, so I will stop in Aldi or Sprouts (similar to Whole Foods) when we are in need of non-mushy bananas.

First off, I keep a small magnetic notepad on the fridge where I write down things we will need as I think of them throughout the week.

I have used several different things to actually write the meals down. This magnetic pad was at Walgreen's for 50 cents a while back, so I picked up a couple. It has been very helpful.

Sometimes, someone else fills in the pages before I get a chance..

There are lots of free printables out there, though, and I have printed something out in the past to write on. Of course, you don't need a pretty piece of paper, but it  does make the whole process a little more pleasant. Here are some cute options:

http://www.tipjunkie.com/post/meal-planner/

You will quickly realize that my meals are incredibly basic and I do plan for ordering pizza or going out to dinner on special occasions. I also plan breakfast, lunch and dinner because we eat at home all of those meals so I need to buy them when I'm at the store. I also write in ballgames or other things we have going on as an attempt to try and not forget something, and it helps me decide what type of food to make. Casseroles that I can make earlier in the day are easier for nights with church or practices, and I save things like pancakes for when they can be fresh.

While planning the meals, I write down the ingredients I'll need. I first transfer the items from the list on the fridge onto this paper. Then I look through my pantry, fridge and freezer to see what all we already have that I don't need to duplicate. Then I write down the other things we'll need. I write beside each item if I have a coupon. This helps me compare generic brands to those that I have a coupon for pretty easily. This is list number one. I don't like cooking. I do like making lists.

Once I have written down all the things I need to pick up at the store, I rewrite the list in an order that makes sense to me as I walk through the store. Don't make fun, ok? Once I'm in there, things can get dicey with two boys in tow and I am on a straight up Mission. This keeps me from getting to one side of the store and looking halfway down the list to find one thing that's all the way on the other side. It's helpful and I need all the help I can get!

The final step is clipping my ecoupon list, shopping list and coupons together. I make sure to have a pen to mark off as I go.

When there are children with you, try to plan around their schedules. I usually do all this planning ahead in the evening while the kids are sleeping, then RIGHT after breakfast, about 8am is the best time for us to go. Sometimes they stay in their pajamas. Who cares?

No one is hungry or sleepy and the store is empty. 

I also keep dumdums in my purse. Always.

Happy shopping!