Five Different Ways to Get Organized with Shopping and Meal Planning

Shopping then meal planning with the weekly shopping and planning method

This one works in a similar way to the one above in terms of shopping, only we’ll be doing a bigger shop once a week, and when you get home with what looked good and sparked your creativity, you’ll plan out your meals (roughly) for the whole week ahead.

Pros of this method:

• You can get all your shopping for the week done once.

• You’ll have a rough plan you do just once and that gives you the blueprint for your meals for the coming week.

• You’ll shop based on what looks good and what’s in season, get inspired for meals as you shop.

Cons of this method:

• It’s easier to go over budget since we’ll be picking what looks good before we make a plan, so keep that in mind while you shop.

• Since you’re making the plan ahead of time, you won’t know with 100% certainty what you’ll be in the mood for and unexpected things can come up, but remember to be flexible.

• It’s possible that you’ll shop for too many items and won’t end up eating them all or cooking all your meals as you’ll have leftovers, but after a few weeks you can truly gauge how much you’re eating at home, whether you’re buying too much at the store, or planning out too many meals for the week and just need to reduce your list.

• It’s a bit more time consuming at first, but then saves you a ton of time during the week.

   

Shopping, then Using the Sticky Note Menu Method

When shopping (and you can do this weekly, or more frequently), you’ll probably start getting tons of ideas for meals as you browse in the store. When you come home, simply write down a bullet point list of meal ideas using the ingredients you purchased, and simply stick this on your fridge door. Whenever you’re going to cook, browse the list and find the ideas that you feel like eating, and that will adjust themselves well to the time you have at that moment to cook or assemble your meal.

Pros of this method:

• It’s great when practicing intuitive eating as you’ll be making the meal that will really feel satisfying and nourishing in that moment.

• It’s great when making recipes from cookbooks, websites, or our courses or online program, as you can find a recipe that uses the ingredients you have, and jot down the page number, or store the url in the notes on your phone or in a bookmarks folder. In fact, you can also do the meal list on your phone if this is easier. I like to have it on my fridge door because I have to see it before I open it and this helps me use all the groceries I’ve bought in the most efficient way.

Cons of this method:

• You might have several meals that use the same ingredients and won’t be able to make both, but if this happens, simply add that meal to next week’s list so you don’t forget.

• By shopping once a week and making the plan after shopping, you run the risk of overshopping and going over budget and maybe even having some food waste, so keep this in mind when you shop. You don’t have to get it all this week, you have next week and the week after that.

The planning then shopping method

This is the way I was raised when it came to meal planning. You sit down to plan your meals for the week (you can do this for just a few days as well, and not the full week), check your cookbooks or favorite blogs for recipes you’ve been meaning to try, choose some recipes from our online program, and once your days are filled, make your shopping list with these specific meals in mind.

Pros of this method:

• You’ll be going to the store with a precisely planned list in hand.

• You’ll incorporate new recipes more if you make a plan and space for them in your upcoming week.

• You get all your shopping done at once.

Cons of this method:

• You might plan too many meals and not make space for leftovers, and this might mean overshopping and overspending, and there’s a bigger chance of having some food waste until you get the hang of things.

• You’ll have a specific plan and less space for figuring out what will feel satisfying on any given day, but this has an easy fix, make your meals and days swappable! Think of your plan as a simple sketch. It is when you’re actually getting started with the cooking and choosing for that day, that you’ll draw the final drawing and color it in. Infuse flexibility in everything.

   

The French Way, Daily or Every Other Day Shopping

I’m new at this one, and this is one that I’ve been dying to try out and I’m starting this week. I’ll go into more detail about the why’s soon, because they have to do with so much more than just the food (as is often the case with eating), but I’ll keep you posted on how it’s going and how it compares to the other methods.

In essence, you’ll be doing as the French do, taking far less time daily, to go to the store, and shop for today, maybe also tomorrow if you don’t feel like doing it every day. You’re basically going to the store, already knowing what time you have available today, what you feel like eating and what you have the energy to cook and you let the veggies do the talking, as I like to say. Not that you’ll only be buying veggies, but isn’t it the part of the store most of us love and enjoy? The one that screams of freshness and color?

You might pick out 2 tomatoes instead of a pound, or 4 potatoes instead of the heavy bag. You’ll be so mindful of what ingredients you choose because you know exactly what you have left at home, and precisely what you need and not much more.

Pros of this method:

• It is intuitive eating in action! Your tastebuds, refuelling needs and nourishment needs will be guiding the way along with what looks good and inspires you/ activates your senses. It’s also mindfulness in action! You’ll pay so much more attention as you shop, cook and eat.

• Your shops will be super fast.

• No heavy hauls of groceries.

• If you have a store nearby you can walk there and do a bit of exercise, or listen to your favorite podcasts as you do this daily task.

• You’ll eat more of what’s in season.

• You’ll have practically zero food waste and overspending, because you’ll look at what you have, and only if it’s needed will you go to the store to get what you need.

• You’ll have a clearer picture of your budget and how you use it up when it comes to groceries, you’ll get more familiar with the prices of foods to spot good deals or sales as it’s easier to remember prices when you buy 5 items than when buying a cart full.

Cons of this method:

• You have to go shopping daily and this might not work for you or your schedule.

• You might be caught on a day in which you need to shop because the shelves are empty but you really don’t feel like going.

• You have to find the time and space for this daily or every other day activity. However, in just a few days of trying this out, it’s taken me 10 to 15 minutes at the store, as opposed to the huge chunk of time my weekly shopping used to occupy.

• If you don’t have stores nearby, this might not be practical.

None of these are better over the others, it all boils down to what is right for you at the current moment, and being okay with that changing in the future.

I’ll be sharing more about my least explored of these methods, the French method, in coming episodes.

Tell me what method sounds like it might work for you?

Do you have a method that’s currently working?

Have you tried any that haven’t worked?

Share these with us in the comments below!