I need a meal planning & food shop routine - sick of going to supermarket everyday!! Please tell me your routines

[Trickymoments]

I know it probably sounds like the easiest thing in the world to most people but I struggle with ADD problems which affect my organisational skills.

I have tried so many times to get organised with meal planning & food shopping but I just can't seem to get in to a routine. As a result I feel fed up that I'm a)wasting too much time & money going to the supermarket every day for what we need & b) that I'm not planning meals well enough to ensure we are all eating healthily.

I work every day until 1.00 & then back to pick up dc's at 3.00. This is a new thing as ds has just started school so at last I have a whole hour & a half to myself each day. I want to get more organised to make better use of this time but am currently spending every day going to get food for that night & other things we've run out of!

I have an autoimmuune condition which can leave me feeling wiped out some days by teatime and so pasta & pizza seem like the easy options but it's bothering me that I'm not doing the best for my kids & myself in terms of food. If doesn't help that they are both quite fussy & like different things so my mind just draws a blank when it comes to planning a week's meals.

I'd be grateful if anyone could share their meal plan and food shop routines as I just can't seem to find something that works for me.

[JustSpeakSense]

Excellent thread marking my place

[Trickymoments]

Thank you for all the replies. I'm making slow progress but am trying to put together a few weeks of meal plans so I don't have to keep thinking of things.

For those of you who shop online with Tesco - is it possible to add what I want to the basket over a few days before deciding on the delivery slot? Also do you have to 'check out' each time you add something? I like the idea of adding things as I think of them.

[FlamingoSnuffle]

sonly you clearly like the thrill of shopping I was like that with pyjama stuff until I realised I could no longer fit it all in a drawer. Then I counted how many pyjama bottoms I had, then I counted my knickers!

Considering there are only 7 days in a week why did I need 40 pair of knickers? It was quite cathartic having a bit clear out.

Food wise, I am loathe to bin food. My Dad worked in Sudan/Ethiopia in the 80's so it was drilled home how there were genuinely children starving in the street where he was. Hence frozen veg, because if I buy fresh green beans I am not going to get through the supermarket portion and there are only so many days in a row where the children will eat green beans.

[sonlypuppyfat]

flamingoSnuffle I'd be scared to! I get my money for the week on Thursday and I have more than enough but I just seem to fritter it away on nothing, socks and shower gels another lipstick etc it's crazy

[FlamingoSnuffle]

sonly Dh and I are strict about money and not wasting it having done that in the past, never debt but just shopped haphazardly and so every year we now look at our finances and how much we have spent.

We shop at Costco and several supermarkets, mainly Tesco and Asda and so can see exactly how much money we have spent on food. It seemed that because we always had excess money each month we never truly had to limit spending on food because we would just buy what we wanted.

When you look at what you spend in a year and divide that down monthly it can be the terrifying wake up call you need. Dig out your receipts and have a look.

[sonlypuppyfat]

See I need to be more organised because I love to pop out and end up picking up silly bits and pieces

[RoganJosh]

Flattened!

[RoganJosh]

In terms of fussiness, we have one who won't eat sauces and one who won't eat lumps of meat so I do a few swaps.

All of us have meatballs, child two has no sauce
All of us have spag Bol, child two has cooked chicken breast from the freezer
All of us have flatterened chicken breast and baked potato, child one has baked beans

[LiveLifeWithPassion]

Get the rest of the family involved.
Find out what they want for dinners this week, let them know that everyone gets their choice and they have to try everyone else's choices.

I always include one pot or one tray in the oven type meals (bbcgoodfood has some excellent recipes) and always have frozen veg in.
Shop on ine day. Online shop is good if you can set that up.

[FlamingoSnuffle]

List meals that you like under different main ingredients, such as chicken and then all the chicken dishes you like, or mince with chilli/spag bol/meatballs etc.

Try to vary what you have in the week so chicken, then veggie, then fish etc.

I do meals that have fresh ingredients the day of my food delivery or 1 or 2 days after such as salad, or veg that doesn't have a great shelf life. Then I do a top up shop if needed for fruit/veg only once a week and only what is on the list.

I have "freezer staples" such as frozen onions, peppers, green beans, sweetcorn, broccoli, cauliflower and food cupboard staples like passata, tinned tomatoes, tinned tuna, thai curry paste, coconut milk.

I have a 3 weekly menu plan which can change depending on the week but it makes life easy. I started with just a weekly plan based on the list I mentioned at the top of this, so instead of having to think of ideas you can easily see what foods you usually cook.

I also batch cook, so spag bol is a 3 family portion meal, which can become ziti (like a lasagne but far easier) I use a food processor to grate carrots, or chop onion if I am doing batches. I use a slow cooker for jambalaya/curry which I double so I have one in the freezer. I also do a base tomato sauce in the slow cooker, perfect it first in a pan then increase the quantity. It is used for pasta with meatballs and pizza base.

We also do the one quarter with no cheese to accommodate one child too, he is fussy but my argument is that he loves 4 meals out of 7 and that the others he will eat as they are ok he just doesn't love them.

[Justwanttoweeinpeace]

And my DS is ultra fussy so when I'm picking things I'm careful to go for versions of things he'll like (shepherds pie vs mousakka vs lasagne) and also things that can be layered up, much like pps basic meals. So he gets the basic carb and protein with a bit of veg. We get the lot with the sauce etc. DH gets more carbs.

[Justwanttoweeinpeace]

Ooh, just to mention that most recipes are under thirty minutes and they're designed to do what I do so you do use up things and you do get a balanced diet.

[Justwanttoweeinpeace]

I have a subscription to a food mag.

I have a core list of things to buy that never changes. Milk, dishwasher stuff etc

Then on top of that I go through the mag and buy the ingredients for about a weeks worth of recipes.

All gets delivered and then I decide what to make on an evening by using the mag. Have to schedule the meat stuff a bit but usually I can give us a choice every evening.

Keeps dinner interesting, keeps me organised and I don't buy loads of extra stuff in the week cos I don't really need to go into the supermarket very often - other than milk / very fresh stuff etc.

Starts out quite expensive as you build your pantry but pretty quickly you find you're only buying fresh stuff. Often I find I have almost everything I need already.

It's how I learnt to cook. I can almost cook anything now.

[bingohandjob]

Online shop, use Ocado/Waitrose as they seem to alternate with good deals/discounts. Bulk buy loo rolls etc in Costco every six months or so. Plan meals. We have a big whiteboard we plan menu on fortnightly basis. Batch cook... Economy Gastronomy is a great recipe book to help plan your meals and shopping and you can grab a cheap copy on eBay. I find I can budget much better shopping online and I check my regular order and add anything last min using app on my phone on bus commute into work. I've grown to hate going supermarket shopping, I feel bombarded with crap!

[Confusednotcom]

When mine were young I had a spreadsheet with me at all times for the supermarket - I listed everything we had in the food cupboard and fridge etc on it in categories so I could read thru the whole thing in Tesco and it would prod me to buy more pesto or tinned peaches or whatever. I also have a list of recipes on my phone under headings like kids meals, family favourites, quick meals etc which I use for inspiration. I shop online and add things on an ad hoc basis as I run out. Basically I write it all down!
It's tricky when you have fussy kids, mine are best at trying new stuff round friends houses and will then report back that they've had eg stuffed pasta and it was nice...

[StarOnTheTree]

I became completely expert in making completely plain meals that I could add things to for different people.

I do this too.

I also think that you can't please everyone all the time so as long as there is something on each meal that each person likes then I don't worry too much. So I'll maybe do a lasagne but leave the cheese off the top of a quarter of it. Then do salad and garlic bread with it so if the fussy one doesn't like lasagne that day they can eat the other stuff. If someone doesn't like peppers then I add them in chunks that can easily be removed.

My DC all like different sauces on pasta so I make batches of cheese sauce, tom sauce, etc and freeze them in small portions. So on a tired night I can just cook a big batch of pasta and add the sauces from the freezer.

As others have said meal planning is the way to go. I have a friend who has never planned meals and has never written a shopping list. She spends a fortune and food and is always having to shop for that night's meal.

[namechangingagainagain]

I have a wipe clean board.... On it goes meals and clubs/work/appointment s. I fill it in every Sunday and go shopping. In order to keep it cheap I Google lidl/aldi offers before I do the list.
A list and a stocked pantry are essential.
There are some meals we have every week.... Homemade pizza. A soup. And I try to do fish and a veggie day once a week.

[OCSockOrphanage]

It's well planned to use what's in season, and cheap, too.

[BabyGanoush]

I don't meal plan as such, but buy pretty much the same every week.

Selection of seasonal fruit
3-4 kinds of vegetable (broccoli, green beans, carrot, cucumber)
Potatoes
Mince (shep pie/bolognaise or chilli)
Chicken breasts (sate, stir fry or roast)
Sausages (bangers and mash.toad in the hole/casserole)
Fish (pan fried with veg/pots or rice and veg)

Buying these kind of basics gives me flexible menu options.

I like that.

[OCSockOrphanage]

Google a book called "What's for dinner?" It's a bit too much for me as I tend to see ingredients and decide there and then, but it is well thought through with a full week's menus and shopping lists for a family of five. Not difficult cooking, and reasonably quick, healthy meals, sensibly budgeted. Might be a good start for you.

[Lunchboxlewiswillyoumarryme]

Ive got 3 vegans,3 vegetarians to feed.plus one is a fussy toad...it's so hard keeping enough fruit and veg in..it dosnt seem to last ,freshness I mean so I end up shopping daily as well.drives me mad.and costs more..getting some good ideas from this thread thou,thanks

[ginorwine]

If they are picky I would add little plates of nuts , cheeses, bread n butter , chick peas from tin , carrots .
They then get to choose healthy bits but are encouraged to eat same as everyone else .
We often have
Risotto - just rice with stock to favour , green beans , chicken whatever we have in .
Spag Bol .
Pasta with pesto and veg
Tortilla wraps where people choose own fillings ( cheeses , chicken , gherkins , peppers , salsa etc)
Fish and chips
Cottage pie
A deli night - buffet
Mac cheese n sausages
Saus mash gravy and green s
Curry
Omelette with salad
Chilli
All these things can have an element of choice if they are picky whilst sticking to one main meal .

[building2016]

I became completely expert in making completely plain meals that I could add things to for different people.

So for instance plain chicken, rice and broccoli (all separate, obviously, we wouldn't want to eat things mixed together, God forbid!) but then a sauce that the adults could put on. It's boring but it gets the job done and then you can do a nice adult meal sometimes with pizza for the kids.

[Trickymoments]

Thank you for all the ideas & suggestions. What do you do if your children are fussy? Mine like not only different things to me & DH but also to each other! It makes it so hard to just make one meal, I could potentially be making 3 variations!

[Suzietwo]

The only way I can make it work is to do it monthly. I'm not exact in what we have, it might say 'pork chips' or whatever but then the rest is flexible. I also stick to the same meal 2-3 times a week - eg fish on Thursday (market day)