Meal Plan & Grocery Haul | Part 2

Learn how we plan our meals and shop a month at a time! See how a monthly meal plan & grocery haul saves our sanity, our money, and our time. I have also included a free set of Monthly Meal Plan & Grocery Haul printables to make the process even easier for you!

In Part 1 of my Monthly Meal Plan & Grocery Haul post, I explained why a monthly meal plan and grocery haul is a great idea for families looking to save time and money. Next, I want to show you step-by-step exactly how I implement it in my own home!

For over 2 years I have been planning and shopping for meals only once every 4 weeks, with only a quick trip to the store each week for fresh items. I have managed to streamline my system to make it quick and easy to plan and implement.

In order to make it even easier, I have included my Free Monthly Meal Plan & Grocery Haul Guide for you. It is full of practical templates that you can use to plan your meals!

1. Begin meal planning by taking inventory

Before you begin to plan your meals, you need to see what foods you already have in stock in your home. By using these items up you will reduce waste and save yourself from buying what you already have.

With the inventory printable in hand, go through your fridge, freezer, and pantry. At the same time, take note of any items that you have that you can use for the month ahead.

While doing this, you may notice you are low on certain staple items (ie. bread or peanut butter). Jot those items down on the Restock section of the printable.

While you are taking inventory, you may come up with a few meals you can make with the items you find. Write these under the Meal Ideas heading. You can use these ideas later when you plan your meals for the month.

2. Check sales for your meal plans and grocery haul

If you are planning your month close to your shopping day, you are able to look up any sales that might be worthwhile.

I use the Flipp app to help make this quick and easy (not an ad). It allows me to choose the store or the item I am looking for and see if it is on sale. For this reason I highly recommend it, especially for items that are more expensive or that you are buying a lot of.

3. Brainstorm meals

This is where the real planning begins. On your brainstorming sheet, or a regular piece of paper, write down 20 meals you would like to have this month. I only plan for 5 nights each week to accommodate for leftovers / eating out, etc. This may sound daunting, but it doesn’t have to be! To help, I have included some hints to help the process run quickly and smoothly

• You don’t need a new meal every day! We do pasta once a week, so I write ‘pasta and sauce’ down 4 times (once for each week). On busy months, I will do lots of repetition, like taco nights, pizza nights, etc.
• Use Pinterest to search for ingredients that you already have on hand to help find recipes you could make. Then pin them to a board (mine is called ‘Meals This Month‘ where I collect all the recipes I plan to use).
• Be realistic. If you don’t like to cook or have very little time to make dinners, don’t plan a ‘from scratch lasagna’! Keep it simple! I literally plan frozen pizza and veggies for nights the kids have swimming lessons.
• Take family requests into account (ie. a burger night, or salmon sheet pan meals). It helps kids feel involved and know they have at least one meal to look forward to 🙂
• Don’t forget to keep meals healthy and varied. I try to serve fish at least once a week, and a veggie night once a week, for example. Accommodate for diet/health plans too!
• Include known holidays, birthdays, or special events for the next 4 weeks. A birthday? What meal will you have that day?

4. Write up meal plan & grocery haul shopping list

The next step for your monthly meal plan & grocery haul is to plan your weeks and your grocery haul.

1. Take your brainstorm list and divide it into 4 weeks (5 days per week). Be sure to jot down beside the recipe where it is sourced from (so you can easily find it when you need it!)
2. Now go through each meal. On the ‘Fresh Groceries’ section, write any produce/fresh items that you need to buy that week for your recipe.
3. Write the rest of the ingredients you need to buy on your shopping list. You may either write it all down on one sheet at first, or write it directly on your shopping list (which is divided out by store and aisle, to help streamline your actual shopping experience)
4. Add any breakfast, lunch, and snack items that you will need each week (ie. school lunches, summer picnics, breakfast staples). Also include any toiletry, cleaning, or other general household items you may need as well.

5. Time to shop!

Now that you’ve got a month’s worth of meals planned out, and your shopping list is organized by both store and aisle, you are ready to hit the stores!

A few hints to make this less painful:

*Don’t shop at the busiest time of day! I try to go first thing Saturday or Sunday morning, or even a weekday, to avoid the weekend crowds!

*Don’t shop hungry! Have a meal before you go, and carry a healthy snack and water in your purse. This is because the hungrier you are, the more inclined you will be to buy the 3 kg bag of M & M’s at Costco (I speak from experience, people!)

*Plan an easy dinner that night. It’s a big haul, and a lot of groceries to put away. Of course you’re not going to want to begin a complex meal after doing all that. Plan for a frozen meal, takeout, or something really simple.

*While shopping, circle any items that were out of stock. That way you remember to pick them up at another store on your list / another day.

You did it!!

You have successfully begun reducing stress and saving time and money! In addition, you now know everything you will be eating for the next 4 weeks, and you have time to relax and put your feet up (hopefully!!). Post your meal plan up in your kitchen, and rest assured you can quickly choose a meal and have everything you need to make it each night!

Naturally, it will take a bit of trial and error to get used to the best way to do the monthly meal plan & grocery haul for you and your family. But if you stick with it, I don’t think you’ll be disappointed!

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