I have been getting better at meal planning but I want to try to tie it to the weekly grocery sales. I only go shopping once a week. For Publix, the ad is posted Monday or Tuesday, for a sale that starts Wednesday or Thursday, and I go shopping Saturday or Sunday. It gives me plenty of time. But when I look at the sale ad, I can't think of any good recipes and then I look at websites and see lots of good stuff to try/make but it would be costly to try! Can anyone else commiserate?
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@T.H.O.U.: We get the Sunday paper and sales are usually Sunday - Saturday. We usually meal plan while reading the paper Sunday morning. Depending on if anything good is on sale we meal plan around that or otherwise our freezer stock. We have no issues with frozen meat and it's cheaper to stock up when things go on sale.
One meal a week is usually off the ads.
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@regberadaisy: Yes, we need to stock back up on meat. Luckily we have a deep freezer and a costco membership so that helps a lot.
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I made a list once of all the things that my husband and I liked to eat and cook. I had categories for beef, chicken, pork, seafood, etc. I use this list to come up with menu plans, otherwise it's the same thing every week.
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Also our veggies for the week usually depends on what's on sale otherwise we go to LO's favorites. And we buy whatever fruits on sale that week.
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I think there are websites & apps for coming up with recipes based off the ingredients you have? I usually just buy on sale and freeze or stockpile, otherwise I end up not using stuff up or not cooking.
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@T.H.O.U.: do you have a running list of meals your family likes? If you could organize/index those somehow, tagging them by their main ingredients (chicken, black beans, rice, pasta, tomatoes, etc.) then maybe you could reference that if something is on sale?
There are several websites that do let you search by ingredient as well.I need to get better at doing this. We are buckling down as of August 1st and meal planning is a huge part of that plan!
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I don't usually. I try to meal plan based upon what we have already. If I look at the ads then I will just buy staples that are on sale and use them for future meals because the main store we shop at runs their specials Monday-Sunday (which is a pain in the rear). We bulk buy beef/pork from a butcher and chicken from Costco.
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I'm a Publix girl, too
My strategy is similar - I check out the ad and write down everything that is a really good deal. Then I look at my pantry/freezer list and make meals combining what is on sale with what I have. I have a list of things that DH and I like to eat that I use as a guide and as inspiration.A few years ago I changed my strategy a little more when I started using coupons. Now, I visit http://www.iheartpublix.com and every Monday she posts the upcoming sales ad as a list with any available coupons listed under each item and where to find them (some print, some with what weekly newspaper insert they're from, some are digital). I use her ad match-up to make my shopping list, print or clip my coupons, and then shop. I only buy what is very much on sale but I buy enough to last me until when I estimate it will go on sale again. Then at the beginning of each month (yes, at this point I only have to meal plan monthly) I take a look over my pantry and freezer and meal plan from there. I make a short list at this time of the fresh ingredients or other items I will need to complete my meals and then as the ads are posted that month I look out for these items. When they go on sale I buy them and make the meals off the list that needed them. As the month goes on what I am buying at the store will mainly go to feed us the following month(s). What we eat right now is mostly from previous shopping trips.
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I definetely stock up on meat and freeze, so that helps. I will make my list and then go through Target Cartwheel (my "sale" site) and add items from my menu.
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I don't. I shop at Trader Joe's, which doesn't have sales, and Whole Foods. Occasionally I'll buy sale things at Whole Foods, but that tends to be impulse buys.
I do plan my weekly menus around what's in season, which is less expensive.
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