How do you grocery shop?

I used to put together a menu for a whole week and then do my grocery list from that. Now I shop a few days at a time. It's just the 2 of us and we usually go out once a week or do take out. There was always something getting thrown in the freezer or worse yet I'd cook too much and food would get thrown out. I've found I'm spending less and wasting less since I started shopping for a few days at a time. What works for you?

I put a menu together & then I go to the store & then it all goes to hell in a hand basket, LOL.  Oooo those look good - I could make those and HEY I saw that on Pinterest that would be great on Wednesday and Ooooo fresh whatever  - that would go great on Tuesday....

Epic fail every time, LOL.

I've done the menu for a week and then I've listed my groceries, but not too much lately but I'm going to have to get back to it. Bob is retired as of this weekend so I will be making dinner every night now whereas before I was only having to cook a full meal 3 or 4 times a week. Darn! lol

I only grocery shop once or sometimes twice a week and most of the time that is for fresh foods, bread, milk, eggs, etc.. I like to keep the freezer pretty well stocked with meats and frozen foods plus keep a good stock of canned goods on hand,  so we do our major shopping only 4 or 5 times a year unless there is a good sale on something.

Hi GmawMary

It's just Mr. Molly and I, our four boys have family's and do not live around here and we are both retired.  I have an on going grocery list.  We add to the list as we run out of items that we use.  We usually go twice a week because we both eat a lot of fresh produce.  I keep quite a bit of meat in the freezer and the cupboards are well stocked and seems we can always whip up a meal.  Now we also enjoy going to the local Farmer's Market. I plan a menu but it's not etched in stone.  We sort of go day to day and discuss what sounds good.  We rarely eat out...too much junk out there and we both try to eat healthy.  We both love to cook and not to brag but we are both good cooks. I shop with coupons and also rebate and shop the good deals.  Works for us.

 

Molly

I plan a menu and make my list from that.

I plan my menu for the week according to what meat is on sale...I try to make a couple of things during the week including planned left-overs.  DH is pretty easy to please. 

I also notice that I go to the store more than once a week -- for fresh veggies and fruit -- or the farmers market.

I have a List... Usually just a few items,,,Then when I get to the market,  It is the Bakery 1st, then maybe  the deli,, most times  I don't get anything there except ideas,, then the produce isle,  then I go up and down every isle, trying to get ideas,, then the  meat dept, then Dairy, maybe buy some "pop"  if it isnt to expensive There are things  I get every week whether on the  list or not,,I DO not SKRIMP ON FOOD,, if i WANT IT i GET IT,,,

mY DW and I alternate weks paying,,,  What I can't understand is .. I do the cooking, cleaning, and Shopping,,, When it is Her week ,,She always,, pays less,, than when it is my week..our grocery bill  is usually between 60 and 90 dollars includeing Paper products, 'While we don't eat High on the hog',, we do eat pretty well....

Well I used to bulk shop for groceries. Where I used to go maybe once a month or two or three if that and get a majority of groceries. I would keep stocked up on several basic grocery supplies. I am a back to basic cooker and baker so I can learn to live without a lot of processed prepared foods. I work with more foods on what one would say back to basic foods.But hearty foods to fill the belly and make a meal from.  I down home farm cook making things from scratch. I buy meat from the farmers, or on sale. I can and freeze items from the fields and orchards. I have people that let me glean their gardens for free to use the produce to can or freeze. I get blesed for free with several dozen of eggs from a farmer weekly. So that helps tremendously on the grocery bill. I don't buy prepared foods and seldom any store bought soups. To much sodium. I like homemade soups better. They are more hearty and stretch longer. I do not buy a lot of paper products. Only tp, and table napkins. Though I am debating on making some cloth napkins to have everyone use, since laundry is done daily. No junk food or pop. More homemade cookies, cakes, pies, or brownies around here. But more healthy fruit and vegetables to eat.  Flour, sugar, butter, peanutbutter, shortening, oil, rice, pasta, crackers, and healthy grain cereals are some of the basic foods I like to stay stocked on besides a few beans I can't seem to have the knack to grow in the gardens.

BUT!!! with the ever high cost of groceries, it is getting harder and harder to bulk shop even for some of the basics. I get so floored at only a handful of groceries in 3 to 4 bags and you have $40.00 to $75.00 instantly on what?? That what you once had for a budget on spending for groceries has now tripled in cost. But the paycheck certainly hasn't increased to help balance it out. I buy a lot of dollar tree cleaning supplies. Watch for sales on what food items I do need.

Right now I buy milk, and bread and a few fresh vegetables and fruit weekly. As the gardens and orchards bring on the fruit and vegetables then I don't buy from the store. I also will skip the fruit if I have some canned or frozen from the orchards. TP,cheese, laundry detergant, dish detergant gets bought once month. Sometimes peanutbutter needs put on that monthly list too.  I haven't went majorily grocery shopping in months. I have been litterly making meals out of what is in the cupboards, and freezers.And items from the canning cupboards.  I had majorily stocked up in February on many grocery items needed and have been going strong for a long time off the foods bought then. But Mother's cupboards pantry and freezers are getting tremendously low. That I will hate to see what things will cost to resupply some foods.

I don't plan menus. I go with the flow of the day on what will be fixed for a meal. Only if there is something that has come up in my life, do I sit down and do a meal planning. But that is rare. It's not hard to make a meal from something around here or pull a leftover meal out of the freezer.

I freeze leftovers. Or I turn them into another meal another night. But more freeze leftovers for another time. Nothing is wasted if I can help it. I am glad I know how to back to basic cook and bake. It does help with the grocery bill and helps fill the bellies that no one goes away hungry. But my heart goes out to families that do not know how to do that or was not taught how to cook and bake from scratch. Which reminds me I need to see if there is any flour left stocked in the freezer. I keep wanting to check the last couple days and forget to do it. Homemade cookies and pies have been made a lot lately. That I like to stay stocked up on flour. You can do a lot of things with flour to stretch meals. Rivels, potpie, noodles,biscuits, muffins, and pie dough to think of a few things...

I plan my menu for the week. Make up my list and put it in order of the aisles in the store. I absolutely hate grocery shopping and could not even imagine having to go more than once a week. I have never varied the menu ever, and there is just the two of us. I tried doing a two week thing, and I eat alot of fruit and found out that just does not work for me, as I had afew things spoil before I could get to it. So the weekly works just great.

just the 2 of us here also...and we also do not skimp on what we like....if we like it we eat it...now I do search out good deals....but that isn't always possible...I shop on mondays

we each prepare 2 meals a week....tues and thurs for me and wed and fri for husband...mondays we go out, saturdays you are on your own and sunday I make a large thin crust pizza...half pepperoni and half very veggie

I look at the fliers from the 2 stores I shop at, Sprout's for produce and Fry's for groceries...we make our menu and I make the list from that...

when we make mac and cheese, lasagna or enchiladas we make 2 dishes and freeze one...in foil pans with lids...I buy those at Smart and Final...love it as you can write on the lid what the dish is....lol  so we always have those in the freezer...I buy large packages of 4% ground beef and will make up a big batch of meatballs, bake them then portion them and freeze....or brown the whole package then portion in into 1 cup portions and freeze...or make up 2 oz sliders and portion into 4s and freeze...so we always have those items in our freezer..

Definitely, a menu and a list.

Since it's just me I don't do menus, I just cook what I'm in the mood for.  I keep a "running" grocery list and I shop the sales. I cook at least 5 nights a week and have company a few times a month.  I tried the menu route years ago and found it didn't work for us.  For example if I had chicken planned we would discover we really didn't want chicken that night so my menu planning has always been day to day.

Weekly -- I plan our menu for the week, then make a grocery list from it. I also keep a running list of things we run out of, and add that to it. 

I make a menu for dinner Monday through Thursday, looking through the fridge to see what needs to be used up and pull meat from the freezer.  I make the list from that.  If I get to the store and they have a good deal on meat, I'll stock up and buy as many as they have.  (One of my coworkers calls me Mrs. Max Pack  LOL)

I make a weekly menu and make the grocery list from that. I use an app on my iPod, so there isn't any paper to fool-with at the store. I don't drive myself, so my husband drives and my college boys help me inside the store. This has worked for 25 years, and still going great.