Welcome to the next part of the Almost Lost Domestic Arts Series. In an earlier segment of this series I shared my experience learning to cook from scratch. Let’s just say it wasn’t an automatic thing for me. Learning to cook was great but planning to cook is another thing entirely.
Intending to cook from scratch is all well and good but if you don’t plan what you’re going to make and have the ingredients in your house then you are going to end up frustrated every night and throwing another frozen pizza in the oven. The same conversation will inevitably plague you:
“What should I make for supper?”
“I don’t care.”
“How about ______ ?”
“No, not that.”
- enter frozen pizza in oven -
That’s pretty much how it would play out here. Frustrating. I’ve only been a stay-at-home mom for a little over a year. For the first 5 years of our marriage we both worked outside our home full time. We’d get home at 5:30 or so and have the conversation above. It got old. I got annoyed. I needed a new plan.
Menu Planning
I don’t particularly care for choosing which meals my family eats. I don’t mind making the meal at all. I enjoy cooking. I just don’t feel very creative when it comes to choosing meals. My mind goes blank. Hoping to be inspired, I’d wander around the grocery store waiting for something to say, “I’ll be cheap, easy and nutritious!” Yeah, it didn’t work. I needed an easier way to choose meals.
My solution: Meal cards. When I try a new meal that we end up liking I make a meal card for it. Meal cards are similar to recipe cards but they are easier. It’s an index card with the recipe name at the top, the ingredients listed below and an easy description of where to find the recipe (if needed). So when I sit down to make my weekly menu and I’m feeling uninspired I pull out my meal cards.
I plan 7 days of meals at a time and I grocery shop every Monday night. Monday afternoon I open the sale flyer for my one and only grocery store and compare that with my coupons and meal cards. My menu comes from that. My weekly menu goes something like this:
Tuesday: Something easy to clean up
Wednesday: Something more involved
Thursday: Something quick
Friday: Something fun
Saturday: Something easy
Sunday: Spaghetti for lunch, leftovers for supper
Monday: Something more involved
This probably seems pretty vague to you but it works for me. I plan our meals around our lifestyle. The nights we are busy I make less complicated meals. My crock pot helps with this a lot.
Grocery Shopping
Once I’ve made my menu and my shopping list I’m ready to go shopping. I love that I have a planned time to go every week. On Monday nights David cleans up after supper and gives Chloe her bath while I shop. There are a few great things about having a planned day/time.
- I don’t feel rushed
- I had a chance to plan, so I don’t waste time
- I can go alone – YAY!
- The store is quieter and I can think
I have a grocery shopping budget that both David and I agree on. It’s a tight budget so I don’t just toss things in the cart. Here are the things I do to ensure the most successful shopping trip.
- Carry a calculator. I keep a running total so I know how close I am to my spending limit. This helps me prioritize. Snacks don’t enter the cart until all meal items are purchased.
- Have a full stomach. I’ll be less inclined to buy snack foods if I’m not hungry. It also helps me to chew gum.
- Go alone. Nothing will blow my budget like a nagging child. It makes me feel rushed and flustered.
- Stick to the list. I don’t buy extra things until the list is purchased.
- Buy meat/dry goods in bulk. I only buy meat when it is on sale, which is a huge money-saver. Non-perishables that we use frequently are the same.
Having a plan helps take a lot of the stress out of our evening meals. I already know what I’m going to make each night and I plan accordingly. It doesn’t always go perfectly but it has brought a much smoother rhythm to my week.
How about you? How does meal planning and grocery shopping work in your home? I’d love to add some tips to the conversation!
Check out the whole series!
January 7 – Sewing
January 14 – Knitting & Crocheting
January 21 – Cooking From Scratch
January 28 - Growing and Preserving Produce
February 4 - Purposeful Menu Planning and Grocery Shopping
February 11 - Being Your Children’s First Teacher
February 18 – Home-making
Why I do what I do ~ At the library today Chloe told me she didn’t want to go up the stairs, she wanted the eldervator.
photo credit: ellievanhoutte
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Being able to go to the grocery store alone is like going on a date night. I love it and I can actually take the time to look around and find some good deals. I love my kids, but so many questions when we shop and they are always hungry or tired. Boy, now that I think of it, going to the grocery store by myself is like a vacation:)
The Passive Dad’s last blog post..California Tax Refund Could Be Paid Via IOU
I was divorced / single parent when my daughter was a toddler. I also worked full-time.
I rarely took her to the grocery store with me. It just wasn’t worth the grief when I had to pay close attention to everything I spent.
I worked 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. so I would book the sitter or day care until 4 p.m. Then I’d get the groceries BEFORE picking up the daughter.
She couldn’t ask for what she didn’t see.
And I didn’t have distractions when I was doing coupon math and looking for dinner ingredients.
Monroe on a Budget’s last blog post..Menu planning tips from Domestic Cents
Great post! I spend less when I go alone and this year my goal is to use coupons (they take a lot of work)
Planning your meals are great because then you have all the ingredients and I am less likely to say lets eat out!
Thanks for the post! What a great idea with the meal cards! I usually have the same problem…I never know what to make! I will definately be trying this trick!
Kate’s last blog post..Stitched “Love” Valentine
great stuff! ¡muchas gracias!
Once upon I time we used too do that – we’d figure out our meals for the week, get the things we needed, and hey presto everything was good. Then we sort of fell out of the habit (when it got difficult for my wife to go shopping with me – she has arthritis in her ankles) and the grocery budget has been suffering ever since
I do like your idea of the meal cards – I’ll have to give that a go.
Jason’s last blog post..Where’s My Money Going!?! Month
i want to start buying grocery and domestic items for my people in my county buy give my some tips.