Shopping + Meal Prepping
Making dinner used to annoy me a lot. Not because I do not like cooking, but it is always hard for me to choose what to eat. I’m the friend that will never pick the restaurant, unless you have picked a place that isn’t my favorite. Chris and I used to get in real fights over what to eat because when it comes to making a decision I just cant. Don’t worry, at 31 I have grown out of this! Ha jk! I’ve grown out of this for my family, but with friends. YOU WILL STILL HAVE TO PICK.
Now I’m in charge of feeding the four of us. This was a really hard for me at first. That sounds stupid, but all moms have different parts of their routines that did not come natural, but you know change needs to happen so you come up with a plan to make the evening run a little smoother that works for you. That’s the key to success, DO NOT make a plan that isn’t realistic! The key to MY success are lists. I write everything down. I am constantly doing 100 things at a time physically, so if you can only imagine what’s going on mentally. (LOL you don’t want to know.) I’ve created a pack of notepads to help. It includes three notepads with magnets for your fridge. These three lists help me SO much. These three notepads are available in FREE printable form throughout this blog post. I dare you to print one of them if not all of them, try it for week, and I’m sure you’ll be printing new ones for next week.
I used to go to the store 2-5 times a week. I went with a list EVERY TIME. But I was still having to go back for more items. It’s annoying to run into a store with kids for one item. It takes longer to unbuckle them then get the item. And I always end up buying a lot more than that one item. Shopaholic problems. This is when I realized I needed a better plan. Dinner was always going to come at the same time everyday. I needed a new plan to relieve some of my stress scrabbling to plan a dinner daily.
First, before you write your grocery list, write your dinner list. What dinners are you going to make this week? I usually plan for 5-7 meals, depending on what activities we have planned throughout the week. (ex: before Covid we tried to go to every Tasty Tuesday we could. Tasty Tuesday is an event in ABQ every Tuesday at Hyder park. There are food trucks and you picnic with friends. So I knew every Tuesday I wasn’t cooking.) Once you have written out your next 5-7 meals, now you are ready for that grocery list. Get EXACTLY the items you need for these meals. I also like to write out 3-4 big snacks that I can grab and have ready to eat all week
Click here to download this Free Weekly Fridge Inventory Printable!
Once I write the meals and snack down its so much easier to build a successful grocery list! Some weeks I plan the meals for the exact days. Other weeks, i’ll change it up depending on what I feel like that day, BUT its nice to have my list to go reference exactly the options I have. Once you start doing this for a while, you will get into a routine and feel great but also boring, this is when Pinterest is my number 1. When I’m feeling bored or just blah about dinners I will gather 5-10 new recipes of side dishes and proteins to add into the meal schedule. Maybe 2-3 usually stick around and get made more once! But that’s fun of it! Click below for your free Weekly Menu Printable!
The Ultimate list notepad, sits out on my counter all week, I am constantly adding items to it! And at the end of the week, I make a final list! If I do not write things down, then I forget them. Here is another Free Printable! <3
I hope these printables help you get your evenings moving smoothly and into a good routine of shopping. Once I got organized, it made EVERYTHING so much easier and stress-free. The printables are free, try them out and when you realize how much they help, you can make splurge! Here is a quick link to the Notepads!
Always & Whatever
xo