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

valk_scot

We have Nosh for quite a few of the lunches we're all at home for, except it's called Cold Lunch here. If I'm feeling energetic I might make some garlic bread or hot potato salad to go with it. Otherwise it's soup and bread. Breakfast is cereal or toast except on Sundays when we have some sort of brunch.

Which really only leaves me packed lunches and dinners to deal with. I do my main shopping on Monday & Wednesday evenings while DD is at swimming club so I don't really do a meal plan till after Monday nights and base it on any bargains I've bought. I know what I can get from the allotment at any one time and I'm good at keeping track of what's in the freezer so really though I seldom sit down and write out a rigid meal plan + shopping list, I've usually got a good idea of what the next week's meals are and anything I need to buy.

Flibsey

we have nosh quite often here, and have always called it a "bitty" lunch... but unfortunately the little britain team kind of ruined the name for us lol.

katieowl_2

Flibsey wrote: »

we have nosh quite often here, and have always called it a "bitty" lunch... but unfortunately the little britain team kind of ruined the name for us lol.

:rotfl:

Kate

tessie_bear

hi...we do the bits out the fridge thing and called it buffet night...great way to use stuff up

i go to lidl on a sat for the weekend offers if they are anygood....i then shop every monday...one of asda aldi ....i make a meal plan and list before i go but i often change meals if i see a good special offer/something reduced...on friday i go out and get some cash and will nip to a shop if i think we need anything but that isnt often

hth

Any

We don't meal plan per se.
But we always buy pretty much the same kind of meat, veg and staples and keep it in the house.

So one of us takes some meat out of the freezer in the morning, and I will have something to go with it.

ie chicken breast - chicken wrapped in bacon, chicken stir fry, chicken stuffed with Philadephia.. there will always be some of these things in the fridge as that is my staple shop.

Before I go to shop I make list of what is needed and usually think of a meal or two for which I need something that is not staple - like cream for stroganoff, basicaly to put something new on the menu.

I would say I do 1 big shop every 10-14 days and in between 1 smaller one. Or 1 big meat shop at Costco a month if I feel like going there and 4 small Tesco shops for other stuff.

Any

By the way my sister says my fridge is minimalist (she can never see how I can cook with what is in it...), but it looks nowhere near like the fridge in the photo!! That is freaky.

Mumof2_2

I have to meal plan otherwise I just stand staring at the cupboards/fridge/freezer and just can't think of what to do! I now do my plan on a Sunday and normally get it delivered by Mr T on a Monday or a Tuesday. I look what I have in the freezer and will often google recipes that use that item - i.e. some sort of chicken dish I've never done before and include that on the plan.

I would say I am much less wasteful than I was now and we are eating better as I'm not having to resort to the emergency 'fish fingers and chips' all the time! I have to say I don't like meal planning but much less than I hated standing gormlessly in the kitchen with no idea what to feed a hungry family!!!

Dharma_Bunny

This was the other 'food routine' I found that I found inspiring. Very Old Style! - http://simplybeingmum.com/2010/12/17/no-waste-tastes-great-17-december-2010/

LameWolf

I try to have a few days' meals planned, on a spreadsheet - but because of my health issues, it's not just as straight forward as that.

I plan for variety - we might have veggie bangers'n'mash on day 1, then mushroom risotto on day 2, then Quorn fillets in white wine sauce, and so on....

The plan is done in red. If a planned meal becomes definite, set in stone, won't change whatever happens, it turns to blue. This is often when Mr LW is doing his shifts - they are irregular, only given to him on a monthly basis, but always involve an "early" which is worked from home, followed by a "late", at the office, which finishes when all the required work is complete - ie he could still be there at 21:00. I should mention, he works in IT. On those occasions, I do a 2-day dish, usually lasagne or Shepherd Spy, which we have, as you'll guess, over 2 days. Then if he's 'orribly late, I can hot up my portion and eat before he gets in.

In fact we have the 2nd half of yesterday's lasagne tonight, as he's on a late shift.:D

I keep a rolling shopping list - when we start on the "spare" of packets, jars, etc I put it on the list. I have a spreadsheet with cupboard and freezer contents, and use this also to add to the shopping list. When there's enough to be worth a shopping trip AND I'm well enough to go, we shop. Often, Mr LW takes the list to work and goes to the Morrisons in Letchworth (where he works) at lunchtime - this doesn't work for frozens though, as there's nowhere at work to store them. Chilled stuff, he takes the cool box with him with ice packs and puts it in that.

We vary where we shop - Tesco is closest to home, although I don't like it much; Morrisons is handy for Mr LW's office; sometimes we visit Waitrose if we're going into Central MK anyway; and occasionally we'll have a foray down to Asda, although that's a bit of a distance, as is MK Morrisons.

To keep a check on what we're spending, I keep a spreadsheet with the grocery spend on it, and we generally manage to stay within budget, or if we're a bit over one month, we'll be under the next, so it averages out OK.

We do a fruit & veg run to Stony Stratford Market once a week, and get our fresh produce - often Mr LW does this on his own, with a list.:A

We consult the meal plan each night, and he preps anything I can't manage, eg peeling and cutting spuds for mash ready for the next day, and leaves them in water, so I just have to cook them. (I'm not safe with sharp knives).:A

We buy cheese monthly, at the Farmers Market - we use LOADS of that, as we don't have meat or fish.

It sounds all a bit complicated, but it works for us, and I can't remember the last time we threw any food away, as I keep an eagle eye on perishables, and our system is flexible enough to say "xyz needs using, lets have that tomorrow and shunt some of the planned meals down a day, or replace what was originally planned for tomorrow".

Oh, and I have Mr LW sit with me while we plan - he has to eat the food too, so I want his input; and if we know it's going to be a tough day for me (hospital appointment, for instance) we'll plan for something he can prepare and cook for us.:A

Mayflower10cat

About four months ago we had to reduce our outgoings drastically and as I'm mainly at home, I could see immediately how we could cut back without 'suffering' at all. Like so many here, I realised the value of weekly meal planning to cut waste and stop overbuying stuff we didn't need. Each weekend, husband and I sit with an enjoyable glass of something nice and we plan a 'meal wishlist'. We jot down everything we fancy eating purely as inspiration. Then, I go and do a stock check in the kitchen and freezer (I usually know what's in there, but doesn't hurt to double check) and come back with a list of homemade frozen dishes that are 'available' and also any foodstuffs that need to be eaten. We go though the 'we've got this and need to eat this' list and work out some meals based on those options, then we plan in a few 'new' dishes from the wishlist. Usually these can be made in double or treble quantities and frozen. Then I do a shopping list for ONLY those items I've run out of. I can't over-buy as we have a small cottage and a medium size freezer, so unless something offlist is a REAL bargain, I have to pass by. I routinely make several batches of homemade soup during the week so husband has a nutritious lunch to take to work, with our homemade bread (& cheese or Quorn slices or Quorn sausages, whatever we have). We've chopped our food bill by two thirds, I'd estimate. Also, it's so damn' rare I throw anything out - if I do it's a stray mouldy mushroom that fell out of the rack, or the herbs from the bottom of the bargain bunch that went brown and soggy. If we could squeeze in a bigger freezer, we would! We do use our neighbours huge chest freezer for homemade goodies, blackberries etc., if they have spare space.

I don't feel mean at all, I feel empowered. We eat well and healthfully and entertain friends regularly - they always come back with alacrity, so we must be doing something right. I do have the luxury of working from home so it's easier for me to keep an eye on the cupboards and the freezer. I always say to husband - don't worry, we'll never starve!!!

I do find it strange to ONLY buy from the weekly list, no deviations at all. It makes me realise how much we've over-bought in the past. But we live and learn!