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Tuesday, January 6, 2009

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.

7 comments:

Loks said...

I found your blog through Rocks in My Dryer. I LOVE your blog. Your ideas are good and strong and hold true. I am a mom of six children. Three are already moved out although one keeps coming home on and off and I find myself scheduling and re scheduling my meals to no frustration. I too plan my meals by the mother and freeze a lot of meals. We are a dairy farm that has to milk cows right near meal time.So having meals ready are helpful.I noticed your groceries is just that food. Or do you include cleaning products and toiletries in your list?

marlyndubay@gmail.com

Kari said...

I started a master list about a year ago. there are several on line to help someone get started. I didn't stick to it though, but it sounded great! I have shifted my planning in other ways that seem to be working for us.
good job though!

Jennifer said...

Thanks so much for posting! This is such a great idea. I love how your ideas (if I would follow through) would save many hours of my time and also relieve a lot of stress. I am going to have to try the once a month grocery shopping.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for sharing. This is a great idea and one that I need to implement.

Manderly Ringor said...

Hi! We have been trying this too...I am excited to read about what you have been doing to perfect this way of shopping. :)

Hillary @ The Other Mama said...

What a great idea and thanks for the details! I would love it if the check out people, baggers, etc.. didn't know my name at the grocery store. And my kids' names- but that's a different subject.
thanks!

Rachel said...

Thank you so much for sharing! I'm super excited to have found your blog. I think it's my new favorite! I've copied a bunch of your recipes and can't wait to try them. I really want to start stocking my freezer, so I'm very interested in your freezer meals.

I'm a former teacher (I retired at the ripe old age of 29...) and when I saw your meal planning - it occured to me that I should think of it like lesson planning! How exciting to be able to put all my energy into planning something and not having to worry about the gov't sticking their nose in! :)

Thanks again,
Rachel
thetrystingplace.blogspot.com