Shopping lists and menu planning

Little_Miss_Saver

Hi ya

I keep a memo pad on my fridge and add items I've run out of or going to run out of throughout the week. On a Friday or Sat, I'll meal plan for the week and then add to my list all the ingredients I'm going to need to make them (omitting anything I may have), then I add on my "normal" stuff ie bread, milk, O-Juice, fruit etc.

I do a list for the supermarket and lists for other shops/market.

Its not as complex as that when I do it!!

LMS xx

lavandergirl_2

Hello guys. Do you keep a shopping list when you shop and stick with it? I would like to keep a list but I keep procrastinating! Hence, when I shop for bread and milk, I have also bought items that I didnt plan to buy!

If you have a list please free to post it.

Pink.

Hi lavandergirl,

There's an earlier thread that may help so I've added your question to it to keep the replies together.

Pink

pollyanna24

mineallmine wrote: »

Hia, I produced a list on word. It basically matches, more or less the way my favourite store is laid out. So fruit and veg at the start, then usually into meat products, then tinned stuff etc etc. It's always useful to flag up the basics, sounds obvious but stuff like cat/dog food, washing powder etc as well as milk/bread etc. Hope this helps.

Cor, you sound just like me. I have a word document with everything on it. Print it out once a month and work from it going round the house checking what we need. There are sometimes different things if I'm making something completely different. I have a spare shelf in my larder for duplicates of things that keep. That way if stuff like caster sugar or gravy granules run out, I always have another in the shelf below and then just buy another the next month.

We do a big shop once a month which bf hates, but I only shop online when we have vouchers for it. If there is anything bogof, I buy if it is something that I know I will use, and I usually stock up on handwash, shampoo, that type of thing. Bf does stick things in the trolley, but I let him off (sometimes).


Mince
Whole Chicken
Chicken pieces
Chicken breasts
Pizzas
Braising beef steak
Casserole lamb steak
Gammon rounds
Gammon joint (check price)
Brisket steak
Pork for roasting
Pork chops
Sausages
Bacon rashers
Cordon Bleu
Hotdogs
Freezer quick meals
Something different from meat section
Onions
Garlic
Potatoes
Potato waffles
Garlic bread
Carrots
Parsnips
Lettuce
Cucumber
Tomatoes
Frozen vegetables
Fruit
Fizzy Drink
Ice Tea
Juices
Cheese triangles
Cheese slices
Cheese
Pate
Part Baked Baguettes
Bread
Tortilla Wraps
Bread flour
Milk Powder
Yeast
Pineapple rings
Salami
Milk
Eggs
Butter
Baking margarine
Cereal
Rolled oats/porridge
Rice
Pasta
Salt
Pepper
Mixed herbs
Spray oil
Extra virgin olive oil
Oil
Balsamic vinegar
Pasta sauces
Sausage Casserole Sauces
Chicken Tonight Sauces
Other cooking sauces
Coffee
Tea Bags
Sugar
Caster sugar
Ovatine
Gravy granules
Cheese sauce granules
White sauce granules
Ketchup
Salad cream
Mustard
Soy sauce
Lemon juice
Beef oxo cubes
Worcestershire sauce
Tinned chopped tomatoes
Tinned kidney beans
Cumin
Coriander
Curry Powder
Tomato Puree
Jam/Marmalade/Nutella
Golden syrup
Mixed Fruit
Mixed Nuts
Fruit squash
Tinned spaghetti
Yoghurts
Crisps
Biscuits
Plain flour
Self raising flour
Antiseptic spray
All purpose cleaner
Bleach
Cloths
Sponges
Washing powder
Fabric softener
Dishwasher cleaner
Dishwasher tablets
Washing up liquid
Plug in air freshners
Air freshener spray
Air freshener for bathroom
Pot pourri
Toilet paper
Toilet duck
Bloo Block
Toilet rim cleaners
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Handwash
Moisturiser
Toothbrush
Toothpaste
Mouthwash
Dental floss
Razors
Shaving foam
Contact lens solution
Sudocrem
Baby wipes
Deodorants
Shower gels
Lipsyl
Hairbands
Bonjela
Headache pills
Cold/flu remedy
Kitchen roll
Silver foil
Cling film
Greaseproof paper
Wet cat food
Cat Biscuits
Dog Tins
Dog Dry Biscuits
Shapes
Knotted Bones
Sardines

I am also thinking of updating this with prices per kilo besides the meat bits, so that when I go out somewhere and see meat for sale, I will be able to compare the price of it.

I also buy stuff like milk, ham, fruit as and when we need it.

Scenic_Route

Hi there,

This is how I do it (prepare to be bored!:o )

Nearing the end of the month I do a stock take of the store cupboard, freezer and fridge. I have an excel spreadsheet with the next months breakfast lunch and dinner laid out per week and put down the meals I will have and how many people I am cooking for each day. I then work out what else I need to get in from Asda and the meat shop to add to what is already in the house. I get a veg box delivered every fortnight so that takes care of the freah veg.

Then I shop from asda online and it usually costs over £50 for the month so I use a free delivery e-voucher to get them to deliver it:j . On pay day I pop to the meat hop and get the meat I need to make the meals. Then I have a cooking day where I make soups, chilli, spag bog and lasanges and stuff the freezer. I normally get bread from asda for the month and split it into portions and freeze it to. I allow myself a small amount of money per week to get milk, extra eggs, any choccy bars etc.:D (ahhh chocolate!)

I feel like a right sad case having to meal plan like that but it does mean I keep control of things financially. I have stopped getting take-aways and any events where I may be eating out needs to be planned for in my personal "entertainment" budget. I always have food to take to work for lunch and before I leave in the morning I always lift out that nights dinner.

I don't necessarily stick to the meal plan in so far as I will have what I feel like for dinner from the freezer but I do cross things off so I know whats been eaten and what is still available basically I juggle the meal plan up to suit my daily food-mood.;)

Timewise it takes me about 2 hours (yawn!) a month to sit down and meal-plan and put the Asda order thru (mysupermarket) which if any of the other stores turn out to be cheaper then I would use them.

I then avoid shops like the plague for the rest of the month. If I do stop into one I head to the woopsie aisle and depending on whats available I may spend some cash.

I like knowing whats gone in my food and so cooking from scratch is not so much of a chore tho I'm going to be chaning my meal-plan next month cos variety is the spice of life!;)

Good luck

SR

jaxw

I started doing a monthly shop about a year ago, after I went on a time management course with work & realised I was spending a lot of time popping into the supermarket for things most days, & picking up "bargains" that I didn't really need. Now I check all the cupboards, fridge & freezer, bathroom & cleaning cupboard and make a big list once a month & go to which ever of the cheaper supermarkets I am going to near with work anyway. I reckon Asda & Morrisons are cheaper than Somerfield & Tesco, & if I get the chance I go to Lidl. (I only go to one supermarket a month) Other than that I buy milk as we need it & use my breadmaker a lot. This seems to be saving me not just time but money as well - if we have run out of something I tell the family they will have to eat an alternative that we do have,(e.g. we have run out of peanut butter so you'll just have to have jam on your toast, we have lots of that) which also means we have used up a lot of the things that lie at the back of the cupboard & we have much less food waste, because I am not buying bargains and then binning them because they have gone off before we can eat them.(False economy, but easy to be tempted!). I also do an online fruit & veg order each week from a local supplier who does free delivery. I find the quality is much better than the supermarket & again my philosophy of eating what we have til next delivery is saving money & waste. I am amazed how much less we spend on food now and how well the family have adapted.

ceridwen

I guess the way one plans depends on what way you shop. I personally do the "little and often" approach to shops - as I am near loads of them anyway this suits me.

For this - I just always have a list of what to buy in my handbag with me at all times - and break that down into sections (ie Tesco, Sainsburys, grainshop, Health Food store "chain" shop, etc). I number these sections according to the route I am walking round town - if I'm going to be near Tesco first then it gets numbered 1. and so on.

I rewrite this list each time I've bought anything from it (ie several times a week) - but its only a shortie list anyway, so no problem there.

How I figure out what to put on the list in the first place? The second I use something up - then I write whatever-it-is on the list straight away. I then add anything else I intend to buy.

What I've now done is to stock-up in the first place with everything I require regularly (and spares). I am basically working on a rule of 4 for things I use a lot of and rule of 2 for other goods. My "rule of 4" being used, for instance, for canned tomatoes (as they are frequently used chez ceridwen) - ie I always have 4 cans of canned tomatoes in - when I use the first one in line I add to my list that I need a can of tomatoes. The new can gets put at the back of the line in the cupboard (ie automatic stock rotation).

thriftlady_2

This is my basic list. I keep all these things in and buy seasonal fresh fruit & veg from a farmshop (I get milk there too £1.20 for 4 pints), meat from the butcher and fish from the fishmonger.

Baking supplies
Flour – bread, plain, self-raising (wholemeal and white)
Yeast, baking powder, bicarb, salt
Sugar – granulated, Demerara, soft brown
Golden syrup
Oats
Raisins, sultanas, apricots
Coconut, sunflower seeds
Cocoa
Chocolate
Cornflour
Suet

Staples
Potatoes
Rice- long grain, brown, pudding
Pasta – spaghetti, penne/macaroni
Barley
Lentils (red and green/brown)
Soup mix
Beans – mung (for sprouting), kidney, white beans, chickpeas
Popcorn
Crispbreads and oatcakes


Tins and cartons
Baked beansSardines/tuna/mackerel
Peaches/pineapple/mandarins
Passata, tomato puree, chopped tomatoesOrange juice, apple juice
Coffee, tea
UHT milk & dried milk for yogurt

Bottles and jars
Olive oil, sunflower oil
Wine vinegar
Sherry, vermouth, brandy
Soy sauce
Worcester sauce
Marmite
Mustard
mayonnaise
Honey
Jams, jellies, chutneys (homemade)
Spices - a variety


Fridge
Milk
Yogurt (homemade)
Cream
Butter
Cheese
Eggs
Bacon
Ham

Freezer
Peas, sweetcorn
Berries and fruit purees- picked in season
Loaves and rolls (homemade)
Stock (homemade)
Tomato sauce (homemade)
Vegetable hash (onion, garlic, celery, red pepper, carrot)
Chickens
Mince
Sausages
Fish fillets- salmon and white fish


Fruit and veg
Onions, garlic
Carrots
Lemons
Apples, bananas, oranges
Seasonal, locally grown stuff

HTH:)