Grocery shopping, going to the market, or store-whatever you fancy calling it, it's a job that needs to get done. To have your meals and grocery list accessible when you shop is helpful, unless you're a seasoned pro shopper like my mom who doesn't need a list and can buy a whole week of groceries off the cuff. It has gotten easier the more I have been able to do it, which I am thankful for! I am still nowhere near my mom status, but it is a lot less stressful than it used to be.
If you are new to meal planning and don't have a lot of experience cooking meals regularly, my humble and nonprofessional advice would be to find a few easy recipes and stick to them! Once you get a little more comfortable with those, start adding new ones.
I find I am less likely to go with a recipe if it requires 243 ingredients.
I like my ingredients the way I like my outfits, simple and repetitive.
Once you start memorizing recipes and start getting more comfortable making them it becomes easier!
I tried to come up with a meal planning/ prep list that was simple and made grocery shopping easier to navigate.
First, write out all your meals! You can divide them however you want; I did favorite dishes for each person and then soups and stews and finally easy meals- for those nights I need an easy meal to make!
(Can we just all pretend the paper is not wrinkly, Haha)
Here are some meals made in our home, if you need any ideas!
Asada tacos (made by husband, holla!)
Burger + fries
BLTA
Meatloaf + mash potatoes with side of veggie and sauteed mushrooms
Hotdogs + fries
Turkey + quinoa bowls w/ bell pepper
Irish Stew
Gumbo
Salmon + mash potatoes
Chicken enchilada w/ green sauce
Shepherd's pie (or cottage pie)
Chicken quesadilla w/ chips + guac
Next, add any and every grocery item you need it doesn't have to be in order, but it just needs to be written down!
For example, If I was going to make Irish stew I would add:
Beef chuck
celery
carrots
onion
potatoes
and then on the next page I would sort everything in the right category!
Once you have made your master list, start sorting each item into the category it belongs.
Produce, Meat, Fridge, Freezer + Pantry
and for Household is everything nonfood related items!
cleaning supplies, toiletries, etc.
If you organize your list in the way the store is set up, you won't have to run back and forth but will hopefully be able to get all the items in each category and move on to the next!
Here is the printable version!
I hope this can inspire you to make a new meal or maybe give you a little motivation to get the shopping done! We all need a little encouragement from time to time to get the not necessarily fun, but needed work done!
Let me know your best meal plan or grocery list making tips!
Happy (grocery) shopping!