Things You'll Need:
- A few cookbooks
- Pencil
- Paper
- Calculator (if you are trying to stay within a certain dollar amount)
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Step 1
Open up your cabinets and take stock, what do you have on hand? What are you low on? Do the same for your refrigerator and your freezer. Make sure you are writing this stuff down if you won't remember.
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Step 2
Now gather your cookbooks, notebook and pencil and head to the kitchen table with a cup of coffee or tea. You are FINALLY getting to sit down you might as well enjoy a treat while you work! On one half of your paper label the days of the week, you will use the other half for your grocery list. Now its time to grab a cook book and start flipping through the pages. I keep a slip of paper in my cookbooks with the page number of each recipe that has caught my eye and I haven't tried yet. It saves time looking through the full cookbook and I get to try all of the recipes that I intended to when I first bought the book!
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Step 3
Dinner: When you find a recipe you want to use write it under one of the day labels on your paper. Now look at the ingredients, what do you already have on hand? What do you need to add to your grocery list? I advise having one day of the week with an easy meal such as a pasta dish for those nights where you really don't feel like cooking. It's really that easy, it doesn't take any special talents just a few minutes of your time.
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Step 4
Lunch: This is the meal that most people eat away from their families. Think of the lunch needs of each person in your family. Are you planning on sandwhiches this week or left overs from dinner? If you are making sandwhiches then do you have enough bread? Mayo, mustard or any other condiment? What sandwhich fillings do you need? Do you have bottled water (or whatever your family prefers) to put in their lunch bag or will they just pick something up when they are out? You know the drill, each thing that you need go ahead and write it down on the grocery list. Don't forget to write the amount, you don't want to run out of bread midweek because you neglected to write two loaves down on your list.
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Step 5
Breakfast- In my world this is the easiest meal, we always have a hot breakfast and you will never find us without eggs in the refrigerator. What does your family prefer for breakfast? What is on hand? What do you need? (am I annoying you yet?)
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Step 6
Snacks- What would you like your family to eat for snacks this week? Fruits? Veggies? A nice smoothie? Do I even have to say it??? If you don't have it on hand write it down!
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Step 7
Non Food Items- Take a quick walk around your house, do you have enough toilet paper, paper towels, shaving cream, shampoo, pet food etc.?
If you don't have it...well...you know what to do!
