Menu Making and Grocery Shopping

As I was sitting here thinking about what to write, one of the children reminded me of something I often say to them: Write what you know. And what do I know? Not too much, but since I spent a fair few minutes working on our menu and grocery list yesterday, I thought I'd write about that.

I've used hundreds of different menu planning methods, from just jotting down meals on scraps of paper to specialty forms. Some forms were better than others, but all of them lacked a little something. None of them were quite right for our family.

When we started the South Beach Diet in April I started planning snacks, too, not just meals. And because the SBD is carb-restrictive, I had to ensure that we weren't eating too many servings of carbs on any given day. In order to plan breakfast, lunch, dinner and two snacks, I needed a form with all those fields in it. Then I realized I actually needed two lunches, one for the adults and one for the kids, who are not on the SBD.

So I set to work, designing a form that would allow me to plan two weeks of meals, including all the fields previously mentioned, plus a spot for prep work. I tend to forget to do the prep work unless there's a clear reminder, so this is a must for me. I started with a basic table, then tweaked it each time I made a menu. It took several tries, but I now have a form that fits our needs perfectly.

When I'm menu planning, I start by printing a blank form and filling in any special days, such as birthdays, holidays or days we know we won't be home for dinner. Then I fill in around them, making sure to put easier meals on busy days and ones that will take a bit more work on slower days. Mr. Wonderful cooks on the weekend, so I plan meals he's particularly good at (or ones I'm particularly bad at) on those days. I always gather the masses and ask for suggestions, though most of their suggestions involve pizza or desserts.

Meal inspiration comes from many sources; my cookbook/magazine collection, favorite websites and occasionally, back of the box type recipes. Since we started doing the SBD I've had to be a little more selective, but it turns out that for the most part, we actually like eating this way and a lot of our old recipes can be tweaked to fit our new lifestyle.

After the menu is finalized, I type it into Word and than print it. The printed form is stuck to the side of the fridge. Having it where everyone can see it has two uses. First, it means no more, "Mom, what's for dinner?" Also, it helps keep me on track. Now that's not to say that we never deviate from the list. It's actually very rare that we stick completely to the assigned meals and I'm not against switching the meals around.

I use my handwritten menu for making my shopping list. I start at the top left square, the first breakfast, and work my way across. As I write up the ingredients for each meal, I cross it off the list. When the list is done, I shop my cupboards and freezers for anything I might have forgotten or overlooked. I also keep a notepad on the side of the fridge where we jot down anything we might need the next shopping trip, ie... deodorant, brown sugar, paper towels, etc... So those things need to be added to the shopping list, too.

We shop approximately twice a month, so I plan two weeks of meals at a time. We shop weekly, but every other trip is just a fill-in trip. We buy fresh produce for the week and anything I might have left off the main list. When I make my grocery list I plan the major shopping trip (split up into the three stores I frequent) and the second trip. That way I'm sure to stick to my grocery budget.

In addition to the regular grocery budget, we also have a small clothing budget twice a month. It's very helpful, because with 7 people in the house it seems that someone always needs socks or shoes or something...

Because Mr. Wonderful and I do the Walmart and Meijer shopping without the children (they're open 24 hours!), the next day the kids and I will finish the shopping. We do the clothing shopping and go to Sam's. We also hit the library and do any errands that need to be done, like making the house payment, filling the propane tank for the grill or stopping at the Post Office.

I don't mean to say that my way is right or best for everyone - but it is right for me. So tell me, Dear Readers, what works for you?