Transferring The Menu Plan To The Grocery List

Jennifer from Extreme House Wifeing asked how I handle monthly grocery shopping and if I have a list on my blog. While I've blogged about my shopping quite a bit, I've never really given a whole list. So I thought it would be nice to put together and have all the information in one place.

After I finish the monthly menu planning, I look through the list one more time and see if there are any special ingredients required for the month that I don't ordinarily buy. If there are, I write them in on my Master Grocery List. (My master list is made up of all the regularly used ingredients and items that we use in a month.)

Once I've added the special purchases to the list, I go through and check off all the regular ingredients we'll need. It took a few months to get the hang of this, but after plenty of trial and error, I'd have to say that 90% of my list is the same every month. The only real variation is when I run out of longer-lasting products or when I have some leftovers from the previous month.

My grocery list is broken down into sections based on the aisles at my regular grocery store. The list also includes the regular shelf price of many items. I use the sales ad to go through and adjust or add prices wherever needed. Then, I total up the groceries based by section, and finally get a grand total of what I estimate the bill to come in at. Usually it ends up being lower then my figure due to unadvertised sales. (Adding them up by sections helps me to keep a mental tally as I go through the store and it helps keep me on track.)

So, here is the monthly grocery list that corresponds with this month's menu plan, which I posted here yesterday.

Produce

• 1- 5 lb. bag apples
• 1- lb. grapes
• 3 lbs. bananas
• 1 bunch celery
• 2 lbs. carrots
• 3 green peppers
• 3 zucchini
• 1 bunch parsley
  
• 2 garlic
• 3 lb. bag onions
• 10 lbs. potatoes
• 1 small ginger root
  
• 1 lb. mushrooms
• 1 lettuce
• 1 lb. pears
• 1 wonton wrappers
• 5 lb. clementines

Breads

• 1 hamburger buns
• 2 whole wheat bread

Snacks

• 2 wheat crackers
• 1 saltines
• 2 graham crackers
• 1 pretzels

Meats

• 5 lb. chicken breasts
• 5 lb. chicken pieces
• 5 lbs. ground beef
• 1 lb. turkey cutlets
• 1 pkg. Italian sausage
• 2 bacon
• 5 lbs. ground turkey
• 1 turkey lunch meat
• 1 pepperoni

Baking

• 1 maple syrup
• 10# white flour
• 10# wheat flour
• 1 sugar
• 1 brown sugar
• 1 baking soda
• 1 powdered milk
• 1 olive oil
• 1 canola oil

Cereal

• 2 quick oats

Coffee Aisle

• 1 coffee
• 2 peanut butter

Beans & Grains

• 3 elbow macaroni
• 2 spaghetti
• 1 lasagna noodles
• 1 egg noodles
• 1 brown rice
• 1 black beans
• 2 garbanzo beans

Spices

• Black pepper
• cumin
• Italian seasoning
• Thyme
• Paprika

Canned/Miscellaneous

• 8 tomato sauce
• 8 tomato paste
• 10 diced tomatoes
• 10 canned fruit
• 2 applesauce
• 4 Jell-O
• 1 mayonnaise
• 1 Ranch dressing
• 1 ketchup
• 1 tamari
• 4 tuna
• 2 salsa
• 1 raisins

Frozen

• 3 peas
• 3 corn
• 3 broccoli
  
• 2 spinach
• 1 mixed veggies
• 2 stir-fry veggies
• 2 cauliflower
• 1 sherbet
• 3 smoothie fruit
• 2 frozen melon
• 2 brussel sprouts

Dairy

• 6 4-pk. yogurts
• 2 32oz. plain yogurt
• 2 sour cream
• 1 ricotta cheese
• 5 butter
• 4 doz. eggs
• 3 cream cheese
• 10 sharp cheddar cheese blocks
  
• 4 mozzarella cheese blocks
  
• 1 Parmesan cheese
• 1 whole milk
• 1 cottage cheese

I realize sizes are not included for the most part, and that my wording is not very pretty, but I was only thinking of my sanity. If you want more specifics, just email me and I'll get them to you.

The total for this month's list is $301.02. Out of my $350 budget, that leaves me almost $50 for necessary produce and dairy items throughout the month.

Monthly grocery shopping really works for me! Stop by Shannon's blog for more WFMW.