We meal plan here also, i write down approx 7 diff meals for the week and all the ingredients needed to make them so when i shop i get everything i need. I find we eat better this way, have more variety in our meals and spend less. I try choose things that can be made ahead of time also so i can prepare dinner while the boys are asleep. I hate having to nick to the shop to buy one missing ingredient every few days with two littlies, so this works well for us.