deputycoz
03-30-2006, 04:30 PM
I totally suck at food shopping and figuring out what we are having for dinner each night. Most days I am running to the food store during lunch to pick up stuff for that evenings dinner, or we end up ordering out, total waste of money.
So this is what I did, I sat down and just wrote out a list of the meals that my family likes, I came up with a basic 25 meals. Then I took each meal and broke it down into the ingredients needed to make it, including everything from the meat to the side dish and the kind of veggie we like with it. On an index card I wrote out the meal and the ingredients list, so now I have 25 index cards with meals and the ingredient list. I also wrote out (actually typed it on my computer but you get the gist) a basic shopping list of staples I need each week like milk, bread, eggs, etc. etc. and I printed out about 10 copies of the basic list.
So now each week I pick out 6 meals from my index cards, copy the ingredients lists which are conveniently right there in front of me onto my basic shopping list, this way when I shop I know I will get everything needed for 6 nights worth of meals, 7th night is leftover night, and I always make enough so there is plenty for me to bring to work for lunches too.
We were getting into a rut of eating the same things, but I think a rotation of 25 different meals is good and I can always make a special meal on a Sunday if I want to.
If you can understand all of the above, and want to try it out, I hope it works for you as well as it is working for me.
So this is what I did, I sat down and just wrote out a list of the meals that my family likes, I came up with a basic 25 meals. Then I took each meal and broke it down into the ingredients needed to make it, including everything from the meat to the side dish and the kind of veggie we like with it. On an index card I wrote out the meal and the ingredients list, so now I have 25 index cards with meals and the ingredient list. I also wrote out (actually typed it on my computer but you get the gist) a basic shopping list of staples I need each week like milk, bread, eggs, etc. etc. and I printed out about 10 copies of the basic list.
So now each week I pick out 6 meals from my index cards, copy the ingredients lists which are conveniently right there in front of me onto my basic shopping list, this way when I shop I know I will get everything needed for 6 nights worth of meals, 7th night is leftover night, and I always make enough so there is plenty for me to bring to work for lunches too.
We were getting into a rut of eating the same things, but I think a rotation of 25 different meals is good and I can always make a special meal on a Sunday if I want to.
If you can understand all of the above, and want to try it out, I hope it works for you as well as it is working for me.