Shopping List

I got a comment/question from someone I don't know! How exciting! People are actually reading!

Rachel wrote: "What does your shopping list look like? I find that I am at the store all the time to get an ingredient here and there. Do you have a master list? "

Here you go, Rachel:


I plan out my meals a month at a time (breakfasts and dinners, although I need to start doing after-school snacks, too.) Each week I sit down with all my recipe books and plans and make a big list. My list is actually printed up in the order of the aisles in the store I go to (usually Super Wal-mart, Sam's and Sprouts.) So I make my list according to what I will be making that week. Then, as I cook throughout the week and realize I need something I add it to the list, which is hanging on a magnet board right in the kitchen. My husband knows that he needs to write anything on the list that he uses up or needs as well, because if it isn't on the list, I don't buy it. And I only go grocery shopping ONCE a week. If we run out of something, I just substitute or make something else. I also tend to buy extra food (as in food storage...a friend once told me my pantry looked like Costco) so that there is always something available to eat if things don't go according to plan. I always have an abundance of staples such as flour, sugar, oatmeal and applesauce as well as protein powder so I never run out.

Here is the list hanging right there under the monthly meal plans for July.

There are things I buy every week regardless of what we are planning for meals. Protein bars, light string cheese, yogurts, weight loss shakes, eggs, peanut butter, chicken breasts, whole wheat bread etc. That way Ryan and I are always prepared for the week.

Hope that all makes sense. And thanks for reading!