Tackling the Chore of Grocery Shopping: One Week in Food

It's Sunday. You're headed to the grocery store. So, how do you shop?

If you're anything like me, you make a list with just the essentials and figure you'll decide on dinner items when you get there. It NEVER works. I end up with freezer-burned meats. And rotten veggies. I over-buy. Or, I under-buy. But I never quite get it right. 

I took a poll in the office (unfortunately, there are only three of us here right now, though). Here are the results:

Peggy plans her meals ahead of time. She sees grocery shopping as a chance to look ahead at the week. She'll be home late Tuesday night: so perhaps a crock pot dinner. Thursday, the entire family is busy until 7:00 so maybe some pizza?  

Jeanette is somewhere in the middle. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. 

And me? Well, I'm a wing-it kind of gal and let me tell you: it does NOT work. I've set a goal, though: start setting the weekly menu AHEAD OF TIME. 

Take a look at what we've got going this week. One suggestion: tie your meals together. Use components of each meal, multiple days during the week. 

Sunday: One large pot of Tomato Sauce for Spaghetti and Meatballs.

Monday: Pot Roast. Before leaving for yoga, I sauteed onions, garlic and carrots, browned a pork roast and put it in the pot with chicken stock, a pureed chili pepper, a little tomato sauce from the night before, a bit of ground cumin, chili powder and salt and pepper. It slowly cooked from about 5:15 to 8:15 and I served it over brown rice. I did wing it, but I had a plan, to cook the roast. 

Tuesday: We're keeping it light with this Mixed Sprout and Avocado Salad, topped with some grilled shrimp (I OBVIOUSLY have Spring on the mind)

Wednesday: Chicken Pot Pie. I'm predicting I'll feel ambitious on Wednesday (hopefully my prediction is correct!) and so I'm going to try out this tasty looking Chicken Sink Pot Pie with Light-Roux Gravy and Herbed Drop Biscuits from Burwell General Store. 

Thursday: Leftover Meatball Sandwiches on toasted Ciabatta with Melted Asiago Cheese. 

Friday: Pizza. I'll make the dough in the morning, let it rise. Use the tomato sauce from Sunday and we'll eat it with some homemade Caramel Milk Stout to celebrate the week's end. 

Saturday: We're going out! However, I'm definitely going to spend some time baking. Take a look at these beautiful desserts...Blood Orange Crostatas. 

So, we'll leave you with this one, tough question: how do you grocery shop? And, does it work well? Is it hugely efficient?