Sunday, January 11, 2009
Grocery Shopping Lists
I would say grocery shopping is just below cleaning the shower on my list of least favorite things to do. I love to cook, but I hate all the prep work. However, planning a weekly (or monthly) menu is a huge time-saver and makes answering the "what's for dinner?" question easy. I sit down while my son naps every Monday and make a grocery list for the next week. I look through my recipe books or favorite cooking websites and find a meal for each night and then I create my shopping list as I go. It make makes my trip to the grocery store a little more bearable with my 16-month old and I spend less money. Always a bonus, right? If you are really organized, you can even group your list according the the layout of the store, such as all the produce items in a column. I also put a small "(c)" next to the items I have a coupon for so I remember to use the coupon.Do all of you like to grocery shop? Any tips you've found useful?
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I LOVE grocery shopping. I also hate to clean the shower though. I'm a fan of planning meals. Great idea about the c for coupon. I also put a FS next to food storage itms so I can remember to buy more if they're on sale. One thing we do for recipes is have theme weeks. Last week was thai food. It made shopping fun as I found new things to try out and exotic ingredients. I make sure I have a drink or snack for Breck to help keep him busy. I also involve him with shopping, like having him through apples in the bag or find the box with pancakes on it.
ReplyDeleteMy favorite tip is one you mentioned. Since I generally shop at the same store, I organize my grocery list in categories according to the layout of the store. I start at the front and weave my way back and I rarely miss an item. Saves a lot of time! Also, a great tip for grocery shopping is to get "rollover" items- things you use for more than one meal. If you're going to get a ham for a casserole, then plan on another ham dish during the week to use the rest up, etc.
ReplyDeleteI lve grocery shopping. One reason I love it so much is I am a huge couponer and love to see my savings equal more than what I spent (which almnost always happens.) I too make weekly lists and I have one coupon file holder that is divided into individual stores. When I make my list I put that coupon in that stores file and can just pull out the whole stack of coupons on my shoppin trip.
ReplyDeleteI forgot, also for all my favorite recipes I print them from my computer and slide them into those clear sleeves and put them in a binder. Then when I open the binder to get the recipe they are protected from things splashing and getting on the paper. Also, when I make my grocery list I put all of my recipes for that week in a file on the computer titled "this weeks recipes". Most of my recipes are on my computer and this way I don't have to refind them each night I cook.
ReplyDeleteI love all of your ideas! Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDeleteI generally am a bad meal planner...once upon a time I was good at it. I usually base a lot of our meals around weeks ads. I make separate lists for each store marking which items are on sale and what the price should be, so I make sure to grab the right items. I hate getting to the register and having an item be twice as expensive because I grabbed the wrong brand.
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