Your time is precious, so spend it where it counts: with your family, not wandering supermarket aisles. To make grocery shopping as streamlined as possible, you need a plan. Follow these simple steps to get your meals organized in advance, so you can enjoy quality time with your loved ones instead of worrying about what's on the menu:
Meal planning takes some extra effort the first time around, but once you have a system and a stockpile of your family’s favourite recipes, you’ll be slashing your shopping time in half. When things get busy at work, or the kids’ extracurriculars start taking over, you’ll be glad you have a plan.
For more meal planning tips, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, where we post new ideas every Friday.
- Decide what’s for dinner every night of the week. Keep your ideas organized with a calendar like this one. If you’re feeling stuck, ask the kids for their input, or check out these easy-to-prepare dinner recipes for inspiration.
- Make a list of all the ingredients you’ll need to make the meals in your plan. Don’t forget to check your pantry to ensure you’re not duplicating items. Add freezer bags to your list in case you want to preserve some ingredients for the end of the week, or save leftovers.
- Reorganize your list to reflect the layout of your grocery store. If fruits and veggies are by the front entrance, put them first on the list; if grains are near the cashier, put them at the end. This lets you make one efficient sweep through the supermarket, instead of backtracking to grab ingredients that were listed in a random order.
Meal planning takes some extra effort the first time around, but once you have a system and a stockpile of your family’s favourite recipes, you’ll be slashing your shopping time in half. When things get busy at work, or the kids’ extracurriculars start taking over, you’ll be glad you have a plan.
For more meal planning tips, follow us on Facebook and Twitter, where we post new ideas every Friday.
