Food planning is something that I have been doing for years and it just helps us to keep on top of what we need to buy, whilst looking after our health. I have picked up some tricks along the years and I thought I would share them with you. I hope you find this useful and let me know if you have any great suggestions in the comments too.
Joint Shopping List
When we use up an item we need, we add it to our joint shopping list. This way, both of us can see. I find joint lists amazing for sharing things without having multiple lists kept in different places. I use todoist for my lists and I find it amazing as you can put dates on tasks and that really helps to know when we need something by. The app is on my phone and I also use the webpage for looking on my laptop.
Online Food Shop Regulars List
We do our food shop online (which is so much easier). Creating a regulars shopping list like fruit, milk and bread just helps us to add things to our basket effortlessly. We don’t add all the items each week, but it can help not to forget items.
Joint Spreadsheet
We have a “meal plan” spreadsheet on the Google drive that we both have access to. That way, we can see what meals are planned for the week. We can also copy and paste previous meals if we need ideas. In the meal plan, we list the date, day and dinner idea. At the bottom of the spreadsheet I jot down any meal ideas as I think of them in the week. That way I can choose from these if I need inspiration. I also look at our calendar whilst planning what dinners to have so that I don’t plan something lengthy on a day where we are busy.
Lunches And Breakfast
For lunch and breakfast, I don’t really plan as such, but I make sure we have enough cereal, milk, toasted items, fruit, and lunch supplies. We tend to make lunch in the morning if we have time. I’ve started to do this, and it has meant we can get out for a walk at lunch time. I definitely recommend this for saving time at lunch time.
Treats And Dessert
Once I have added all the items for our meals to the basket, I quickly add any snacks, treats or desserts we might need. We tend to have a small amount chocolate after dinner but sometimes I might have a hot chocolate and we might fancy a different type of dessert as a treat.
How do you meal plan?
