If you do your grocery shopping on a weekly basis, one of the worst parts is making the grocery list. Coming up with meals, and figuring out all the ingredients can be a real pain. Today, I’m going to teach you how to make a grocery list, the easy way!
While these tips are mostly for planning a weekly grocery list, some of them can be used for daily shoppers.
1. Get A Grocery List App
Nobody likes forgetting something at the grocery store. I have an excellent memory, but even I’m not immune to forgetfulness. Back in the day, I always brought a written list and checked things off as I picked them up.
These days, there’s an app for that! Several in fact. I use the Our Groceries app and highly recommend it. It is simple to use and allows syncing across multiple devices, which means my wife and I can both add to the same list. It also allows you to create multiple different lists. This app is available on the Apple and Google app stores.
A grocery app is going to serve the same function as a written list did back in the day. You make the list at home, and then cross them off when you pick them up at the store. With the Our Groceries app, you simply touch the item on the list and it disappears.
By utilizing a grocery list app, you can reduce the number of things you forget to buy. That’s one headache avoided.
2. Create A Master Ingredients List
Now that you have a grocery list app, you can start making your list. You could go the old-fashioned route and just look through your refrigerator and pantry to see what you need. However, this can lead to overlooking things and your list coming up short.
Instead of just eyeballing your supplies, make a master ingredients list. This is how restaurants order their stock. Take a page out of the professional’s book and make yourself a list!
Like your weekly grocery list, you can use an app for your master list. You could also use Google Docs. There are plenty of free options out there if you don’t want to use pen and paper.
By having a master ingredients list, you are less likely to overlook any items. The major problem this helps solve is missing products that have run out. When a product is low, it stands out and you know to buy more. When a product is out, you may forget about it.
Here’s a pro tip: organize your list by the location of ingredients in your kitchen. That way you can go right down the line and check things much quicker. All of your pantry items should be listed together, and the same for items in your refrigerator. You don’t want to be going back and forth.
A master ingredients list will also come in handy when it comes to planning your meals, which we will be talking about next.
3. Divide Your Meals Into Categories
Whenever my wife and I plan our meals for the week, we break them down into three main categories: the type of meat, how it’s cooked, and the type of cuisine. With these categories, we are able to plan a variety of meals that will keep dinner interesting and avoid redundancy.
The main three types of meats are obviously beef, chicken, and pork. Seafood is an alternative that we throw in for something different. Another alternative is to ditch the meat completely and have a vegetarian night.
In terms of cuisine, we usually have something Italian at least once a week. Mexican or Tex-Mex is always a must. Asian-inspired dishes are an occasional treat as we aren’t as well versed in that type of cuisine.
Given the theme of this blog, Southern food obviously features prominently in our dinner plans!
One curveball we like to throw in is brinner, aka breakfast for dinner. I have never been a big eater at breakfast, so I don’t often get to indulge in pancakes, waffles, eggs, sausage, or grits. Brinner solves that problem!
How food is cooked is important in planning your meal list. You don’t want fried food every night. Well, you might, but for health reasons, we’ll try to avoid that!
I try to limit our family to one fried meal a week at most. To counter that, I’ll throw in a grilled meal or something roasted in the oven. Alternatively, you can use a smoker or slow cooker.
Using different cooking methods is another way to add variety to your nightly meals. Your tastebuds will thank you.
How To Plan A Grocery List
Now that we have all of our tools and organization tips ready, let’s make a grocery list! First, we need to plan our meals for the week.
Let’s plan six dinners, and leave one night open for going out to eat. For simplicities sake, we’ll go with 2 beef meals, 2 chicken meals, and 2 pork meals. You can always mix it up, and throw in a seafood meal, or increase the number of your favorite meat if you wish.
Chicken Meals
We’ll start with chicken. As a Southerner, I’m gonna throw fried chicken out there to start. That gives us a Southern meal and one that is fried. As I plan the rest of my meals, I’m going to try and avoid fried dishes for the rest of the week.
For this meal, I know I’ll need chicken, flour, and oil at the very least. Depending on the recipe I use, I might need some extra spices, and perhaps buttermilk.
By the way, if you are looking for a good fried chicken recipe, check out my crispy Southern Fried Chicken!
Since my first meal was an unhealthy option, I’m gonna try and do something healthy with the other chicken meal. A grilled chicken salad sounds fresh and delicious. It satisfies the healthy option and gives me a grilled item as well.
For this dish, I know I will need to add some boneless chicken breast to my list, as well as a head of lettuce or salad mix. My other salad supplies will need to be checked as well, such as dressings and various toppings.
Other Meals
Repeat this process with the remaining meats and you will have a balanced list of dinners. You could go with spaghetti and meatballs for an Italian beef dish. For pork, you could try out brinner with some sausage or bacon. The varieties are endless.
These tips should help you make your weekly grocery list. Did I leave anything out? Let me know in the comments down below.
