How to Buy Food For People Who Actually Eat

*This is the type of post I avoid reading on other blogs.  It's long and wordy and is about what works for me.  Please don't bother with it if it's not helpful. If you do read it, I've included lots of adorable photos of the kids from way back!

There is one thing about which I am anal-retentively disciplined.  Only one. (It's all I can manage at a time.)
Grocery shopping.
I struggled with this for years, because I quite passionately detest grocery shopping.  It involves spending money, engaging with strangers, and heavy lifting.  Then managing three ruffians in public on top of all that--nightmares ensue!  I've tried various ways of acquiring groceries over the last eleven years.  I even used grocery delivery for a short time.  But, over the last two years I have finally settled into a system that works for me.  I will share it with you today, but take it or leave it.  What's good for the goose is not always good for the gander.

Since I hate this task, I counter-attack the unpleasant variables.  I give you my parameters:

Doing a little grocery shopping of his own.

1)  Get it done as cheaply as possible.
2)  Get it done as peacefully and quickly as possible. (No crowds.)
3)  Do not involve the children or impose upon their school days.

So, where, when, and how do I stay within these parameters?

Where: There is one grocery store in Massachusetts that has the best prices.  One.  Market Basket.  Therefore, going to Market Basket means girding your loins, applying war paint, and braving the hoards of aggressive,  grumpy shoppers.  BUT, if you go at 7 a.m. as soon as the doors open?  Well, you only have a dozen shopping buddies.  And they are much nicer than the 10 a.m. crowd!
So that is When I go.  Every Saturday at 7 a.m.  Habit is essential!  If I don't do it on that day at that time I risk far less efficient shopping, which results in spending too much money and one heck of a cranky headache.  I realize 7 a.m. on a Saturday is not when one wants to be out of bed or doing a chore.  But, right now, it is the best thing for the whole family.  Shopping with the kids is not good.  I can't think clearly and compare prices when they are running around begging for discipline.  And their requests.....well, if I don't warn them ahead of time to NOT. ASK. FOR. A. SINGLE. THING. after much frustration and fussing (on my part) I will eventually buckle and buy them some silly something.  Or we'll all leave the store very near tears.  Or both.  OR if they are perfect angels throughout the trip, I will be so grateful that I'll buy them some silly treat.  Also, going at that time doesn't infringe upon our weekday schedule or take away from any plans we have for the weekend.  It feels so good to get the groceries put away by 8:30 a.m. knowing that our kitchen is fully stocked and ready for whatever the weekend brings.

Nonsense in the kitchen.

The when is directly correlated to the How.  I plan one week menus and shop once a week.*  I plan my menu on Friday nights. I know. So exciting.  But it works.  By Friday I know more or less what our weekend is going to look like.  And I know for sure what the weekdays will hold.  As I plan the menu I build the grocery list adding breakfast and lunch items as I go.  My planning always takes into account what our finances look like from week to week.  I have a cap budget that is the same every week; I aim to spend less than that.  However some weeks need to be lean while some are more lenient.  For instance, if we have a birthday coming up, I'll go extra lean knowing I'm going to make an extra special meal and dessert the following week.  Just stuff like that.

Planning and Saving Strategies

Aren't birthday cakes the whole reason we have birthdays?

Our weeks have settled into a fairly predictable routine.  It's kind of like this: Mondays are always exhausting and B.daddy has a thing that evening, so we all have frozen pizza.  (When I can I'll make these from scratch on Saturday and freeze them.) Tuesday is a CrockPot meal 'cause the kids and I have a thing until 5:30.  Wednesday is leftovers from Tuesday.  Thursday is another big meal, and usually the one night we are guaranteed to be sitting down to a beautifully set table with candles and all bodies present.  Friday is leftovers again, since the kids have a thing that evening.  So really, I only cook-cook twice during the week.  I do it this way because we homeschool, and I get WAY too distracted from my teaching responsibilities when I know there's a delicious meal waiting to be made.  So I know that nine times out of ten, I need to plan on making two large meals each week.  (The summer routine is very different.  I cook smaller meals and more often.  The oven is only used for bread or dessert, we grill a lot, and eat cold pasta salads and fresh veggies.  It is by far the more interesting culinary season in our home.)

Ah, the summer tart!

Saturday and Sunday are more unpredictable.  Between projects, activities, and social engagements I may need to prepare one, two, or no meals.  We guard our Sunday rest and worship...well...religiously, so I try not to plan meals that will require too much time in the kitchen.  It can still be grand and delicious; I just have to plan ahead and do some work on Saturday or pick one of those ingenious recipes that tastes amazing but takes no time at all.

Before I plan my meals I check the sales in meat and produce.  I'll skim the rest of the products on sale for my staple items, but our heavy hitters are meat and produce.

Fresh fruit and homemade bread?  Yes, please!
Oh, and don't forget the cinnamon butter!

Produce is pretty much our snack food.  My kids aren't huge snackers--if they do ask for something I tell them to grab some fruit or veggies.  That way we don't spend very much on snack-type food, and they don't get too full to eat their next meal.  And I consider what is on sale when planning main dishes and salads for supper.
Meat, meat, meat.  We are a carnivorous family.  You know we are having a LEAN week if we have meatless meals.  So my menu plan centers around what meat is the cheapest at the store.  You have to remember that some meats will have a great per pound price, but you're buying the skin and bone as well.  This can make a very big difference in how many portions you can squeeze out of it.  My goal is to spend less than $2 a pound.

Chocolate mornings.

~In my 'hood the best meat per pound is usually chicken.  Whole roasters are the best.  I prepare it as a roast chicken one night, and we pick it clean after dinner.  All that leftover meat can easily make an entire casserole or soup or whatever.  My little trick for having dinner guests and roasting chicken: most kids love the drumsticks.  So I'll do a whole chicken, plus a package of drumsticks.  Makes it all go much further--and drumsticks are cheap.
~Boneless, skinless chicken thighs are great for almost anything.  Works for our family b/c none of us are white meat purists.
~Bone-in ham.  Ham is tricky.  Depending on the preparation and packaging it can either be really cheap or really expensive.  I find the portion that has had almost no processing.  It's just a giant chunk of meat with a big ol' bone in it.  It's an "investment" meat--I cut it up and freeze it. After I cut it accordingly, I can usually squeeze three or four meals out of it--assuming the ham is not the only ingredient in the main dish--and also have the bone w/ a bit of meat on it.  I use the bone portion when I'm making something like Red Beans and Rice or Black-Eye Peas.
~Pork/Pork Chops--depends on the sale price.  Sometimes a pork loin goes on sale and I'll snatch two of those puppies up. Er, piggies?
~Beef--sadly, ground beef is no longer the cheap, meal maker it used to be.  There are two stores--not MB--where I can usually get ground beef for $2.50 per lb. or less.  I'll stock up when I can get to those stores. When I want a semi-fancy dinner though, I'll get a flank-type steak, grill it; slice it, and serve it over a spinach salad w/ crazy-good bread.

As I said in my last post, I make most things from scratch which saves us a lot of dough.
~I try to avoid buying prepared cereals.  We are fully stocked on them right now, because we are gearing up for baby girl's arrival.  But under normal circumstances, I try to stick to oatmeal, eggs, toast, and fruit for breakfast.  Or pancakes if I want to push school back by a couple hours. ;)
~I do buy pretzels and crackers for my two carb-loving men.  They are healthier and cheaper than chips, which is what they'd really love to have.  And Gizmo could eat a constant stream of carbs and still be able to eat supper.
~And regarding carb-lovers, I try to make sure there is bread at supper and alter most recipes to include whole wheat flour.  A side of bread makes the rest of the food go further, and ensures that picky-eating little ones still get a full tummy.  There are plenty of easy breads like cornbread, beer bread, and drop-style biscuits.  But yeast rolls smell soooooooo good in the oven!  Obviously not a gluten-free-friendly tip.
~Veggies--on top of the main dish and bread i like to have two veggie sides. The more choices, the better chances kids will get something they'll eat.

The Rascal has always been my sous-chef.

~As far as cooked veggies go, my kids will eat cooked green beans, corn, peas, and lima beans.  Yep, that's about it!  I get those from the frozen aisle because most vitamins, minerals, and nutrients survive the freezing process better than they do the canning process.  And you get more for your buck that way.  So most of our veggies are consumed raw via snacks, lunch sides, or salads at dinner.
~Potatoes, pasta, and rice.  Three great staples for hearty meals.  Potatoes are pretty self-explanatory.  Roasting them is the best for our fam because "someone", who tends to be our pickier eater, will NOT eat mashed potatoes.  Just as well.  Roasted w/ a touch of olive oil, salt, red pepper, and rosemary is delicious and healthier.  If you've ever eaten my mashed potatoes you know what I mean!
~I like to buy whole grain pasta--such an easy way to get whole grains into another meal.  Sometimes you just have to have pure, white angel hair pasta, but as often as I can we do whole grain pasta.
~Rice is essential in most kitchens, and brown rice is an excellent way to get in more whole grains.  Brown rices are not stripped of their---you know, the stuff that makes them a whole grain. ;)  So that's what I aim for.

Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to plan next week's dinner menu.

*I tried the two week method for several years, planning a two week menu and making one big trip every two weeks.  But I found that I still needed to go to the store on the by-weeks and the cost of that always put me over my budget.  Plus, plans change!  Between the people we feed, the people who feed us, and whatever else comes up last minute--two weeks was too long to try to keep to one plan.  So I figured, adjust the budget to spend the same amount every week, safeguard against those emergency in-between trips, and have a better idea of what we'll actually need on hand.  I waste far less food this way, and I rarely end up with not enough of something.