How do you organise food shopping/meal planning?

[beckoes]

im with the above, almost exacly the same as fionaw...except i have heaps of good taste and a few other mags. i pick a few mags and then pick 5 meals from them. have a few weekly items that i get ever week for lunches etc and DH sorts dinner twice a week so i leave that up to him. the supermarket is only round the corner and i find it quite easy and a good little outing for DD an i if i have forgotten anything. if i dont meal plan i find im at the shops every other day!!!

[Netix]

I did try to do meal planning, but didn't really have much luck (okay, admittedly, I don't know how to meal plan ), so I shop for staples in bulk if I can, and what's on special. I think as I shop as to what I have (in terms of fresh items at home) then what else I need for the week's meals. I usually end up underbuying, and have to go a second time during the week, but usually also then need things like nappies (which are the bain of all existence! ). We have a good size pantry, so there is always a good stock of pasta, passata, rice, and a few other things, plus my baking staples. Freezer wise, I try to always have frozen veg (yes, I do buy fresh too), and bread (as when the boy is over it disappears, or if the Man is in a bread mood).

When I get home, I divvy up all the meat, freeze what I'm not going to use in the next few days (see, I do plan!). I freeze everything flat so it defrosts easier (inc sausages, if you freeze them flat on a cutting board or similar, then just bundle them up when they are frozen, you can very easily get however many you want).

Maybe try to get an extra cupboard for all your bulk dry staples?

[~Kim~]

yep me too. I shop once a fortnight on pay week, without Darcy as she adds too many things lol. Preferably without DH also.
As for staples, every fortnight I buy white vinegar, bicarb, flours, eggs, butter, cheese, milk, bread and yoghurt. The rest is what I've planned.
I have a huge list of meals we like - about 60 and just pick what I feel like. Then I get meat to match and veges that are in season and go with most. I don't often cook to a recipe unless it's something I want to try. Any veges left over I make soup with.
I make most of our snacks or we have fruit/yoghurt.
Nate eats exactly what we eat so theres nothing separate for him.
I'm lucky to have a big pantry though so if there is stuff that we use regularly on special I can buy lots. I also have 3 freezer spaces so usually we buy meat in bulk.

[FabFiona]

I should also mention we live in an apartment, so buying in bulk is tricky. We have quite a small pantry so have to be quite frugal with what we can stock up on.

The other advantage to meal planning (while I think of it) is that it keeps food interesting. We often make different things that we haven't made before and stops us getting into a food rut, which means more take away, which means less $$ and likely weight gain. So there are other advantages to food planning which I like to focus on, as it helps me keep on track with it.

[HollyC]

I do an informal meal plan. I think of how many dinners I need to cook for the week and I pick a few dishes.

So this week we have had schnitzel on Monday night, apricot chicken last night and tonight and we are having lasange tomorrow night and probably friday night too. So I just buy the ingredients I need for those dishes.

It doesn't need to be any more difficult than that

[KatieRabbit]

Thanks all. That's what I was wondering, Holly.
How far ahead do people plan- say 5 or 7 days?
And just plan dinners and buy that stuff along with a set weekly list of lunch/breaky/snack food?
I may have a peek at Super Food Ideas. I subscribe to delicious and I love the mag but most of the food isn't practical for dinners for us either in terms of ingredients, cost, availability and personal likes.
I am jealous of Kim's list of 60ish regular meals!

[Laranna]

I shop only once a week so plan for 7 dinners and the weekend lunches. Weekday lunches are just leftovers for DH and sandwiches or something for DS & I. Breakfasts are always the same, cereal or toast or pancakes or eggs so we always have those staples on hand.

[Gigi]

i like the IDEA of meal planning, cooking bulk batches, shopping to suit the meal plan etc.

but i have no idea how to put any of it into practice.

the logistics overwhelm me.

just the maths of working out how much you need for all those meals!

i realise going to the supermarket less times, is more economical, i just don't know how to get from where i am now (shopping chaotically, no meal plan, freezing fish/meat in portions e.g enough for one meal for two adults, and i am lucky enough to have a pantry, so do stock up on dry goods when at a good price e.g tinned fruit)
to
being a person who plans meals, goes to supermarket once a fortnight ONLY, cooks up bulklots, freezes lots of meals, etc.

how did you make the change?
what is the first step?
i am so lost every time i start thinking about this topic.

[Megan]

I've never been one to be organised enough to do a shopping list! DH and I do the grocery shopping together and have a 30min drive to get there, so we discuss what we want for dinners on the way there and buy what we need for those. If regular things we use are on special we also buy those regardless of whether we actually need it that week. We plan for 6 meals for the week because we know one night we will either have take away/go out or just make do with whatever we find in the house.
I would like to be a bit more organised, but it never happens! DH also usually ends up back at the supermarket a day or two later to get a few things we forgot!