Meal Planning Miracle

So, I'm not going to share the numbers here, but last month I spent way more on food for our family than I intended.  We do buy all organic food, but we compensate by not buying much packaged stuff, making things like bread or dressing from scratch, and buying in bulk as often as we can.  I still came in way over my goal food budget.  I emailed my co-authors here and asked for posts on their real food budgets and so hopefully we'll see them soon!  In the meantime I created a very simple chart for myself that has already saved me time, mealtime dilemmas, and definitely money.

My chart looks like this.  I actually just print the blank chart and fill it in, but I typed this week's notes up so you could see how I do it.  This is word for word what I have down this week:

Sunday	Monday	Tuesday	Wednesday
Prep for Today: Prep for Tomorrow: - make chicken stock - thaw beef	Prep for Today: Prep for Tomorrow: - soak cracker wheat - skim stock - soak beans	Prep for Today:  - make crackers Prep for Tomorrow:  - thaw lasagna	Prep for Today: - make Nonie's applesauce Prep for Tomorrow:
Dinner Plan: - whole chicken       garlic       lemon - sweet potatoes       honey       ginger - green salad       lettuce/kale/chard       tomatoes, cuc.       dressing - stuffed artichokes       bread crumbs - leftover homemade ice cream	Dinner Plan: - hamburgers       pickles, tomatoes       lettuce       raw cheese       mustard, ketchup       mushrooms - corn on the cob - leftover sweet potatoes - green salad       lettuce/kale/chard       tomatoes, cuc.       dressing	Dinner Plan: - stew       leftover chicken       chicken stock       carrots, celery       kale/chard/spinach       zucchini, onion       broccoli, garlic       mushrooms        red potatoes - homemade crackers - raw cheese - Melissa's homemade brownies	Dinner Plan: - leftover lasagna - peaches, pears - asparagus

Thursday	Friday	Saturday
Prep for Today: Prep for Tomorrow: - grind and soak tortilla flour - soak beans	Prep for Today:  - make guacamole - make tortillas - start beans 6-8 hrs EARLY Prep for Tomorrow:	Prep for Today: Prep for Tomorrow:
Dinner Plan: CAMERON - pasta        artichoke hearts        peppers         mushrooms        spinach         cream	Dinner Plan: - stuffed tortillas         rice, beans        veggies                zucchini                peppers                onion                tomatoes         guacamole        sour cream or cheese - fruit -  homemade ice cream	Dinner Plan: - out to eat with Cinde and Anai

Ideas for next week:  stuffed peppers, veggie lasagna, stir-fry with rice, homemade pizza, Ariel's avocado pasta

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I know there are fancy websites out there like Plantoeat, which I think is a fantastic idea.  You input your recipes to your calendar and it exports the ingredients to a shopping list for you.  But it poses two problems for me --- one, the recipe importing takes too much time (though once you have a bunch stocked up I'm sure it's an overall time saver), and two, if I get on the computer to do meal planning I will get sucked into other online distractions like email, news, or blog-reading.  That's why I print my own chart off and do everything by hand.

This is a system I know I"ll stick to!  It took me less than a half hour to plan my whole week last night, and to make my shopping list.  Here is what I do:

1. I pick up my organic produce basket from Bountiful Baskets Saturday morning.
2. I note what is in the basket, and what is already in my fridge, and plan the next week's meals Saturday afternoon or evening (or Sunday morning).
3. I fill in the above chart, and as I fill it in I make a shopping list for any remaining necessary ingredients.
4. I go shopping Saturday afternoon or Monday after work.
5. At the store, I don't let myself buy anything that's not on my list (today I passed up 4-5 things I would normally just have thrown into my basket, like...mmm...those strawberries :(  or cottage cheese)  I make an exception if I know it's something we need that I simply forgot to write down, like dishwashing soap.
6. I proceed with my week, carefree and organized.  No hastily concocted meals, no missing ingredients, etc.  And definitely saving money.
7. As the week goes on I remain flexible if necessary, and of course jot down ideas for next week as they come to mind.  

Cameron is a great help with clean-up, and with preparation when he is home on time.  I leave at least one day a week for him to plan, and I pick up the ingredients since he works longer days than I do.

I'm also holding on to all receipts for later accounting.  This month, I want to write up how much I spent on each individual food item and analyze where I can save next month.  Since that will be kind of time-consuming I only intend to do it until I get a good handle on things.

It's been two weeks now, and I'm loving the change!