Last Saturday, I went grocery shopping for your upcoming Menu Planner's meals. I looked at the list, "shopped" in my own kitchen (checked off what I already had), and then I added what our family personally needed (dog food & kosher salt, for example).
I mapped out my stores, which ended up being Aldi (most items, cheapest items), then Costco (furthest away, a few cheapest items), and finally Fresh Market (closest to home, a few specialty items).
I stuck to the list (NO extra treats, no matter what a great deal they might be!).
I put everything away when I got home and called it a day.
The next afternoon, I made a short list of items from the upcoming meals that I wanted to prep. After I put our daughter down for her nap, I got to work simmering the homemade tomato sauce, chopping veggies for my pot pie, and other such activities. I put my prepped items in containers and clearly labeled them--what they were and what day they'd be used.
Finally, I made a list of when I needed to start each day's meal. If you're making bread, for example, or you want to make the homemade tomato sauce the day you're eating it, you'll need some extra time to prepare your meal. Make a plan of WHEN that should be, and you won't find yourself jittery with hunger and daunted by your prep time at 5:15pm.
This afternoon, I'm taking my daughter to the grocery store with me. In addition to making my list and planning out my stores, I'm going to plan some strategies to keep her busy and happy. This could take up a blog post of it's own, but just to give you some quick ideas for an almost-3-yr-old: We're going right after her nap, so we'll grab a special treat Costco (churro!) when we start. The samples also delight her, so that will keep us busy in store #1. Aldi will need to be a quick second trip, so I'm going to look over the items I plan to get from there really well and think about where they are ahead of time. I'll also come up with a way for my daughter to "help" or a quick game ("I Spy," anyone?) as we quickly go through the store. Fresh Market will be our last stop, and it is a favorite errand spot for my little because she is a coffee-lover. That sample-sized cup of decaf is her holy grail at the end of our adventure.
Saturday & Sunday evenings an hour or two before closing are actually wonderful times to shop--the stores are completely empty. However, I can give my husband some alone-time in the house if I take the kiddo along for an hour or two...so alas, we'll join the Saturday afternoon masses and enjoy our bounty of plentiful Costco samples. :) Happy shopping, my friends!
I mapped out my stores, which ended up being Aldi (most items, cheapest items), then Costco (furthest away, a few cheapest items), and finally Fresh Market (closest to home, a few specialty items).
I stuck to the list (NO extra treats, no matter what a great deal they might be!).
I put everything away when I got home and called it a day.
The next afternoon, I made a short list of items from the upcoming meals that I wanted to prep. After I put our daughter down for her nap, I got to work simmering the homemade tomato sauce, chopping veggies for my pot pie, and other such activities. I put my prepped items in containers and clearly labeled them--what they were and what day they'd be used.
Finally, I made a list of when I needed to start each day's meal. If you're making bread, for example, or you want to make the homemade tomato sauce the day you're eating it, you'll need some extra time to prepare your meal. Make a plan of WHEN that should be, and you won't find yourself jittery with hunger and daunted by your prep time at 5:15pm.
This afternoon, I'm taking my daughter to the grocery store with me. In addition to making my list and planning out my stores, I'm going to plan some strategies to keep her busy and happy. This could take up a blog post of it's own, but just to give you some quick ideas for an almost-3-yr-old: We're going right after her nap, so we'll grab a special treat Costco (churro!) when we start. The samples also delight her, so that will keep us busy in store #1. Aldi will need to be a quick second trip, so I'm going to look over the items I plan to get from there really well and think about where they are ahead of time. I'll also come up with a way for my daughter to "help" or a quick game ("I Spy," anyone?) as we quickly go through the store. Fresh Market will be our last stop, and it is a favorite errand spot for my little because she is a coffee-lover. That sample-sized cup of decaf is her holy grail at the end of our adventure.
Saturday & Sunday evenings an hour or two before closing are actually wonderful times to shop--the stores are completely empty. However, I can give my husband some alone-time in the house if I take the kiddo along for an hour or two...so alas, we'll join the Saturday afternoon masses and enjoy our bounty of plentiful Costco samples. :) Happy shopping, my friends!
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