Plan to Prepare and Prepare to Plan
There is one thing I have never taught my body how to do, and that is to figure out at 6 A.M. what it wants to eat at 6 P.M. – Erma Bombeck.
When it comes to efficient grocery shopping, being stuck at home makes it difficult to “wing it” like the late Erma Bombeck (humorist, columnist, and author). This post explains how a little planning can help make meal planning and grocery shopping easier.
Grocery Shopping Made Easy
In the past, I purchased one week’s worth of meals with quick trips in between to the farmer’s market, butcher, or small grocery store. With the stay-at-home order, I purchase more food less often, challenging and requiring much more meal planning. I am on furlough, but other members of the household are in healthcare and essential businesses. I try to comfort their tense work environments by meal planning a healthy, delicious dinner every night. It has been challenging to minimize grocery shopping trips and deal with out-of-stock items.
Meal Planning & Online Grocery Shopping Tips
Thus, I began the Supper Sanity Blog’s inspiration to share my meal planning system and grocery shopping tips. Efficient grocery shopping provides the benefits of fewer trips, healthier meals, new recipes to try, and some sanity to these uncertain times. Let us look back and remember meaningful meals during the lockdown. Making a detailed grocery list ensures that the required items in the meal plan are purchased. Store delivery or pickup provides the advantage of saving time, reducing impromptu purchases, and less exposure to the COVID-19 virus.
Tip
Steps to Make Meal Planning Sanity a Breeze
1. Create a List of Favorite Meals - Cheat Sheets
A cheat sheet provides a quick reference of meal ideas to review for inspiration when you see sale items at the store. It should include a variety of protein, cuisines, and cooking methods.
2. Meal Planning Extra Dinners
Plan a week of meals and snacks before going t the store. I use a weekly planner that is available for purchase. Learn more by visiting the shop page. It guides you through the steps to think through for a weekly menu.
3. Make a Grocery Shopping List
4. Use Online Grocery Shopping with Pickup or Delivery
Most grocery stores have pickup and delivery services. Look at their websites to learn more about the process. If you participate in the store’s loyalty card program, your previous purchases load on the website. This makes grocery shopping very easy. I helped my 80+-year-old mother set up an account with Kroger. She loves it and can’t believe she didn’t try it sooner. She has already done it numerous times and knows how to secure her spot in advance so that she can pick it up once a week.
- Visit your favorite grocery store’s website.
- Shop by placing items from your grocery list in a virtual cart.
- Meet the minimum order limit.
- Choose a curbside pickup time or deliver-to-home time.
- Place your order.
- Continue to add items up to the deadline – many allow you to do this for a certain time before pick up or delivery.
