What's your grocery/meal prep 'routine'?

Dharma_Bunny

Which shops, how often, what for, meal plan or look for whoopsies and offers first?
Do you prep all your veg and cook for the week, or decide what to eat each day?

I'm intrigued by Everyday Minimalist's kitchen routine - http://www.everydayminimalist.com/?p=3446

More inspiration from organised frugalistas would be great!

I'm so ad hoc it's embarrassing and wasteful, but I try and do a weekly online T*sco order and then pop into Ald* for bits and pieces, but I'm planning on doing all my veg shopping there when I'm up and about after baby is born and reducing the big online delivery to once a month for bulky stuff as I don't drive.
Meal planning seems to be a foreign language to me though.

Need2bthrifty

I have for the past month being doing the grocery challenge and eating from my store cupboard/freezer.

I have picked up lots of tips from the other OS'lers and radically changed my shopping habits, I used to be in the shops almost daily with the attitude of "what do I fancy tonight".

My fridge looks like the everyday minimalist. Menu planning I have found to be essential (like you something that was alien to me before) this means that I only buy what I need and checking out the Food Shopping and Grocery threads I plan my shopping around where I can get the best bargains. I never seem to have much luck in the "whoops" sections, the reductions only seem be down by 50p and its generally things that I wouldn't buy anyway.

I have noticed a significant turnaround in the amount of food wasted. My freezer has become my best mate as I now think about what I will need during the week then slice up and freeze the veg that wont be needed - no more black, wet and slimy veg in my fridge :j

MandM90

We've now moved in with my parents for the next year so I don't do any food shopping :j but my mum goes EVERY DAY rotating between Marks and Sparks, Waitrose, Morrisons and some farm shops so it's a bit mad. We take turns cooking so I write down what we need and it magically appears in the fridge.

Before we made possibly the most insane decision ever regarding our living arrangements, when I was super organised I'd make a meal plan every Sunday morning depending on what I have and then went shopping in the afternoon. When we were good we stuck to it really well, other weeks we ate out nearly every day and all that would be in our fridge is milk :rotfl:

When we move out again I will be DETERMINED to be strict with myself (and my girls!) so will peruse that link with interest.

katieowl_2

Almost embarrassed to admit it :rotfl: but I know the location of all the reduced shelves in every shop in a 30 mile radius (OK I'm in West Wales so there aren't THAT many!) I am physically incapable of passing close to a supermarket without checking for bargains

My strategy on the whole is that I buy ingredients when I spot them on offer (and pop them straight in the freezer if they are freezable) then meal plan in the morning using what else I have, maybe from the garden, and defrost accordingly. If I think I might make something with one of the bigger lumps of meat I take it out the night before. I've also got the "Armageddon Cupboard" which has tins and jars, and a cupboard in the kitchen I keep stocked with dried packets. I think I could keep going for a while...

I used to make a weekly menu, it was brilliant when the kids were small, but now we are all avoiding different foods for health reasons, there are so few 'dishes' we can all eat I tend to prepare available foods as simply as possible to maximise what everyone can eat, and they help themselves. Leftovers are usually eaten next day, or incorporated into another dish. Very, very rare that we throw any food away. We have dogs, and chickens as the next port of call, and then a compost heap. In the winter any fats knocking about get used to start the fire.

From time to time I make a list of what's in the freezer, which I keep on the fridge.

We've instigated a meal called 'nosh' which takes everything ready to eat out of the fridge and put on the sideboard, cold meat, cheese, salad, olives, leftover veggies, pickles and some bread, crackers and boiled potatoes, and everyone digs in. It's actually one of their favourite meals these days. Nosh was invented by someone on the Downsizer Forum, and we think it's brilliant! :T


Kate

Oliver14

Dharma_Bunny wrote: »

I'm intrigued by Everyday Minimalist's kitchen routine - http://www.everydayminimalist.com/?p=3446

I find that fridge rather scary. I also don't believe they can only buy what they eat and their frdge no way always looks like that.

What we do we see what we have remaning from the previous week. Then I check what I have in the freezer and what I have ready to eat in the Garden, I then write a meal menu for the week based on what is in season(as that is always cheaper and tastier). I write my list from the meal menu (the first time i did it it took ages but now i'm pretty quick)

I then do a list of what I am buying from the supermarket from the Butchers and from our local grocers.

In my food budget I also have an amount of money for any offers I see in the supermarket. I only buy offers on things I eat or use anyway and can store.

Also I make lists of tasks for each day in the kitchen for preparation for the meals.

As you can tell I like lists

Oh to add I have another list on my freezer as I note down everything in the freezer and mark it off when used.

I'm considering doing one for my larder but thats a bit more complicated.

rachbc

I'm sch a grocerry shopping nerd its embarrassing.

I plan all the main meals for the mont based on what I have in the freezer (generall stuff on offer/ reduced)

Each week I then plan breakfasts and lunches for the week and work out what I need to buy - check offer in the big supers on mysupermarket and then buy everytihng I need in aldi except what is cheaper on offer. Pop to the asda/ sains one evening to get the other stuff and check for reduced stuff which then goes on a list/ freezer inventory to be used the next month. I sometimes pop to Morrisons/ Waitrose on the way home from work as their reductions are good too. Once every couple of months I go the asian store and stock up on chicken, rice lentils etc. once a year I buy a whole lamb!

For lunches I plan according to what we have had the night before but also try and make a batch of soup/ veggie main dish a week to freeze. So if we have pasta - lunch wil be pasta salad, if we have rice I will take leftover rice plus a bag of frozen veg curry.

When I get a 25% off ocado code I stock the freezer with whatever meat/ other luxurys they have on offer - this month I got rump steaks and frozen king prans for about 50% of retail price using a voucher code, multi buys and offer combos. driver must have thought I was mental having nothing but steak, prawns and cat food delivered!!

We waste nothing and eat very well on £250 a month for 2 adults, 1 teen 1 littlie 3 chickens and 3 cats!

lizzyb1812

katieowl - I do that too but call it "picnic" :rotfl:

MandM90

I had a look at her fridge post and I'm not sure I like the look of eating the same thing every day and leaving food in the fridge for 7 days then eating it, esp. with things like chicken on the bone.

Also she only has one vegetable in each dish, and that same veg (or two, counting dinner I guess) every day. Can't be good for the diet to have that little variation or have veg that's cooked, left for 5+ days then reheated...little nutritional value left, surely.

The general theme of the blog is v. inspiring though. I could never be that minimalist; I am in awe!

MandM90

katieowl wrote: »

We've instigated a meal called 'nosh' which takes everything ready to eat out of the fridge and put on the sideboard, cold meat, cheese, salad, olives, leftover veggies, pickles and some bread, crackers and boiled potatoes, and everyone digs in. It's actually one of their favourite meals these days. Nosh was invented by someone on the Downsizer Forum, and we think it's brilliant! :T


Kate

We used to have this at the end of the week every week as a child. Often involved lots of bread, cheese, olives and leftover stews/cold meat. So yummy! We make a version now but call is mish mash tapas!

rachbc

love the idea of nosh/ mish mash tapas - think that might become our sunday lunch ( have our main meal in the evening) I'm a little hung up on things goign together (would never eat curry with potatoes rtaher than rice etc) and might be fun to loosen up!

Dharma_Bunny

We call the picnic/mish mash meal 'bits and bobs' and it's my favourite. :-D I'd eat buffet every day given the chance.

Yes, I was a bit dubious of her having Friday's cooked dinner in the fridge on a Sunday night, but if frozen it would be better.
It's the neatest and simplicity that really appeals to my scatter-brain.