I (18f) am confused on how to do my food shop / meal planning whatever... Posted here because I just want some kind woman to guide me. 😊

anothergoodbook · 2023-10-10T01:33:58+00:00

I will go into how I plan and shop and maybe that will help :)

I am planning and cooking for a family of 6. My ideal week (is isn’t often lol) is to have a “theme” for each day. For example: Mondays are crock pot/slow cooker meals, breakfast for dinner, etc.

I have a rotation of 4 weeks of meals so I don’t have to plan and be creative. Then I shop whatever foods are on sale for the week and I stock up on things that way.

To stretch your budget, reuse foods you are making. A lot of meal plans will have you using all different types of foods for every meal and it gets so expensive. But you can roast a chicken (a very good skill to learn) and make 3-4 meals out of it.

My suggestion is if you are cooking only for you… learn the very basic things. Can you make eggs and more than several different ways? That’s a good place to start. If you can buy a very simple cookbook that shows the basics without being overwhelming that can also be helpful. I imagine there are cooking classes online also that could help this this regard.

Another option is a meal planning service like Hello Fresh. They send you the ingredients for the meal and teach you how to cook it. A single friend of mine loves it because it gives her leftovers for lunches the next day. There are lots of other meal planning type options like that as well.

And let me reassure you… not everyone has it figured out and most people who do have it figured out started out where you are. Some days I sit down to make a grocery list and my mind blanks out. There are decent lists out there on the basics your kitchen should just have on hand. You could gradually build that up (like seasonings and baking supplies).

And I promise you will make mistakes and things might burn or taste terrible (whether you did something wrong or not). It’s part of the process. You are failing at it. Hang in there!

princessrorcon · 2023-10-10T01:42:51+00:00

There’s a YouTuber I like who is really good for this kind of thing. Lots of videos on grocery shopping, how to plan for a week of meals, and how to use everything and minimize food waste. His channel is Pro Home Cooks, I’ve learned so much from him!

honeysherbert · 2023-10-13T08:03:50+00:00

Honestly just follow recipes until you can confidently get the flavours to your liking, you don't have to start from scratch. Pick ones from popular blogs with lots of good reviews! I started gathering all my staple ingredients together by picking up whatever I needed for a recipe that week, and one day I just had a stocked pantry and knew what needed replacing that week etc. Just take it one step at a time!

After a few months of following recipes you'll figure out how to tweak flavours to your liking and go off recipe. I've been cooking for my husband a few years now and I can throw most of our favourite dishes together without checking recipes. I don't know if that's a long time but I'm pretty scatterbrained so I call it an accomplishment lol.

I love Jamie Oliver for quick and simple beginner recipes too.

Edit: I won't give advice for meal planning because my system is chaos but I get groceries once a week and it works fine.

Charming_Hall7806 · 2023-10-10T14:38:11+00:00

I know this isn’t the advice you’re looking for but, you’ll figure it out 🤗 once you start cooking for yourself you’ll figure out what items you like to have on hand at all times.

Here’s my list: Chicken boullion Garlic powder Onion powder Paprika Olive oil Onions and potatoes (they keep well if stored properly) Rice Pasta Chicken breasts and thighs (in the freezer) Pork chops (in the freezer) Frozen vegetables Butter Milk

With those items, I can pretty much always throw together a meal without having to go to the store. I love cooking but I’ve recently realized how much I stress myself out by meal planning 6-7 days a week. Having to come up with meals and grocery shop for each of them is exhausting so I’ve cut back to cooking 3-4 times a week

FlouncyMcTwinkle · 2023-10-11T13:39:38+00:00

This is what I have found and what I do.

Decide on a meal plan for the week. We are a family of four and a lot of it is automatic now. Work through the day.

Three of us have breakfast and have certain things we like. It varies at the weekend, so I top up our stocks on those things based on what is in the cupboard. Tea & coffee are breakfast staples so check your stocks of those. And milk.

I have a salad for lunch, partner has sandwiches and some picky bits. Kids have packed lunches for school. So I buy salad stuff, sandwich fillings, bread and snacky bits. Some stuff we all have all the time, other stuff I rotate so its not too boring.

Then its dinner. That's the hardest part for me personally as I find it depressing choosing a weekly menu that everyone will enjoy most of and that isn't too repetitive. What can I cook that already have some bits for? This is the one meal we all have together.

My fiance loves Salmon Linguine. We have it every week. Tuesdays. Salmon, prawns and linguine. I have soooo many different ways of making this meal. Salmon oven roasted, pan fried, tray baked with mediterrean veggies. Pasta plain or green / red pesto, or carbonara, or tossed with parmesan & spring onions. Different veggie side dishes. Salmon and/or prawns can be simply salt n pepper, lemon, garlic, dill, honey & mustard, chive, parsley, chilli, cajun spice, honestly try anything and everything. Last night we had the salmon oven cooked with fresh parsley, (left over from last weeks risotto), seasoned with a little salt and pepper, so relatively little flavourings really. It's really about the salmon being nicely cooked. Pan fried spring greens (left over from Sunday's roast dinner) in butter, with spring onions and lazy garic (oil with pre chopped garlic in you can buy from the supermarket - another staple) and a chopped red chilli. Then I tossed in some prawns and mussels (pre cooked from packets) for literally two mins. That lot all got tossed in with the pasta and served, with the salmon on top, season with parmesan. Another staple in our house, daughter and fiance want it with everything. Always need a block of it and a bag of pre grated too.

Once I've decided what to make, I look at the ingredients I will need, check my stocks and list whatever needs buying. Always we have onions, garlic, potatoes, bread. Over time I have built up, as will you, a huge rack of different spices and herbs and condiments that all just get re-purchased when they are empty. I usually cook too much so that's someone's lunch the next day or frozen for another time.

Then its drinks. Wine & beer, flavoured water and some pop for the kids. Same every week usually. Then snacks and treats. Staples like apples and bananas & crisps & kids favourite treats and then rotate a few additional items

Then household goods. We have a chalkboard for this. Running out of toilet paper, put it onthe board, toothpaste, shampoo, detergent, bleach, salt / pepper, tinfoil etc

Something Always gets forgotten.

Good luck!

talbertmiester · 2023-10-28T02:44:12+00:00

Wow, I just found this sub & I'm excited! I could learn a lot here! I'm only a few years older than you, I've been married 2½ years now. I finally settled on a "Master Grocery List". Each week I check the list and look around at what I have in the house. If I'm low on anything I buy it. I don't have the meal planning part totally down yet, but referring to the grocery list has helped me keep things on hand!

Here's my list: - Fresh veg - Carrots - Celery -Mushrooms - Onions - Garlic - Fruit - Potatoes - Sweet potatoes - Squash - Frozen veg - Peanut butter - Bread - Coffee - Hot sauce - Vinegar - Mayo - Ketchup - Mustard - Rice - Juice/Gatorade - Granola - Peanut butter crackers - Saltine crackers - Spices - Salt - Yeast - Flour - Sugar - Cocoa - Oil - Vanilla - Nuts - Choc chips - Dried fruit - Maple syrup, honey, molasses - Chips - Butter - Yogurt - Eggs - Meat - Diapers - Wipes - Baby soap, lotion, etc - Animal feed - Ziplocs & wraps - Trash bags - Dish soap - Paper towels - Toilet paper - Laundry soap - Body wash - Shampoo - Hand soap - Deodorant - Tooth paste - Flossers - Glasses cleaners - Vitamins - Supplements - Probiotics - Prescriptions - Electrolytes - EmergenC

foxesgloves · 2023-10-31T17:53:17+00:00

I usually plan my shopping around my meals. If your only cooking for yourself or one other person it’s easier to make a bigger batch and eat it over a few days - it’ll save time and money. I try to reuse things too, so I find it easier and cheeper to get a whole chicken, roast it and then add it to my dishes then make a stock out of the carcass than buying (for example) pre prepared chicken breast twice a week.

Try and start with things you know you like to eat and work from there. So for example I like Thai green curry, I’ll get the ingredients for it and then I’ll look at what I’m likely to have excess of. I know I’ll need chicken so I’ll have my roasted chicken, then I’ll need some veggies, most of the spices I’ve built up now as well as the pastes I’ll need. The next day I might choose to use the remainder of the chicken and veg to make a stew with a broth I’ve made from the chicken carcass. So on and so forth. I also meal plan my breakfasts and lunches but I know not everyone does that but I do because it keeps track of my finances and my waistline!

With spices just buy them as and when you need them. You’ll quickly build them up and they’re not expensive, I always check the world food aisles as well as they tend to be cheeper there. My personal go tos are salt, pepper and old bay seasoning (which is excellent on salmon).

You will get there, like I said start with things you know you like!

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