Here’s an idea that will help streamline your grocery shopping. First, get a small, portable notebook, and start writing down everything you and your family eat for the next 2 weeks. Write down everything (including restaurant meals): cereal brand names, beverages, lunches including sandwich ingredients, snacks, and dinners including all ingredients.
Next, set up a computer screen (or piece of paper) with the following categories: Produce, Dairy, Meat, Breads/Grains, Canned, Frozen, and Other. Look through your notebook and notice which items are eaten over and over again. Write those items down in the appropriate column.
For example, under the “Produce” category, I would list bananas, apples, grapes, and berries, as those are the items my family always eats, and I don’t want to be caught without them.
When you are done, print out the list. Now you have a basic starting point for every shopping trip. You will need to add to it each week based on what meals you have planned, but you’ll already have the basics covered.
Or, if you don’t want to spend the time to track your family’s food intake for 2 weeks, you can use the printable “Grocery List” download on our website, which you can find here. Either way, you will save time in the long run.