This is the last week of the month and the time when I sit down and do my menu planning for the next month and put together a shopping list for my big stocking-up grocery trip I take at the beginning of the new month. I'm not a huge fan of being in the grocery store and I've found the less I'm there the less I spend. I will be stopping at my favorite local discount chain to pick up salad items today to get us through the week but I haven't grocery shopped since March 3rd so I think I did mighty well this month.
I start with my cookbooks and cooking magazines and look at recipes I want to try and old favorites and then put together a pool of 30-31 dinner menus I can pick from for the month. I have a short list of what I call 'emergency' menus that I always have the ingredients on hand for if I need to use them as well. And I like to try at least 3 new recipes each month. Since school is in session I only need to plan lunch ideas for weekends, and breakfast is generally the same kind of thing (cold cereals or homemade muffins, toast, etc. during the week, a cooked breakfast on weekends). Once I have menus in place I make sure I list any ingredients I will need that I don't already have. Then I check out my deep freezer and my pantry to see what I have on hand and what might need to be stocked up on. Then I make out my big list according to what stores I will be going to. I regularly shop at three locations: BJ's Wholesale club, Aldi, and a local discounter called Marc's/Xpect. I make trips to Gordon Food Service ( a food service company that has an open to the public location) about every three months mostly for frozen veggies & fruits, local farmer's markets when in season, a local fruit farm also when in season, and the standard grocery store only for items I cannot get elsewhere. In April I will be going to GFS as well as my regular stops.
How does everyone else plan and shop?
I start with my cookbooks and cooking magazines and look at recipes I want to try and old favorites and then put together a pool of 30-31 dinner menus I can pick from for the month. I have a short list of what I call 'emergency' menus that I always have the ingredients on hand for if I need to use them as well. And I like to try at least 3 new recipes each month. Since school is in session I only need to plan lunch ideas for weekends, and breakfast is generally the same kind of thing (cold cereals or homemade muffins, toast, etc. during the week, a cooked breakfast on weekends). Once I have menus in place I make sure I list any ingredients I will need that I don't already have. Then I check out my deep freezer and my pantry to see what I have on hand and what might need to be stocked up on. Then I make out my big list according to what stores I will be going to. I regularly shop at three locations: BJ's Wholesale club, Aldi, and a local discounter called Marc's/Xpect. I make trips to Gordon Food Service ( a food service company that has an open to the public location) about every three months mostly for frozen veggies & fruits, local farmer's markets when in season, a local fruit farm also when in season, and the standard grocery store only for items I cannot get elsewhere. In April I will be going to GFS as well as my regular stops.
How does everyone else plan and shop?