Meal Planning without the time to grocery shop is hard. However with a supply of pantry staples, it can be done.
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My mother-in-law has an epic pantry. She shops the sales and stocks up (and still shops like she’s cooking for six!). As you might imagine, I’m jealous of her basement shelving with just about any food you regularly use.
Our pantry cannot compare, but I try to keep a hearty supply of items we use regularly, especially when I can buy the item with a coupon and get a great deal. (If you are a Wegmans shopper, see my friend Maura’s website: Happy Day, Happy Deal. Maura gives super tips on couponing and sales and lots of other great money saving tips as well.)
I like to have enough on hand that I can manage for a week with a modified grocery trip or my Five Item Challenge. (Post coming soon!)
Here are my tips:
- Keep a list of go-to meals that your family will eat. ALWAYS have those items on hand. For example, one meal that my kids will eat and takes about 15 minutes to make is my Instant Homemade Mac & Cheese .
- Have a well stocked pantry and freezer of “foundation foods.” You want to have things like pasta, tomatoes, beans, etc and chicken, meat, veggies in the freezer. Ingredients that you can put together to turn into a meal.
- Just because you don’t have time to shop, doesn’t mean you shouldn’t plan your meals. Make sure to layout a menu, just do meal plan based on ingredients you have. (Use my free download or sign up for my mailing list to get instructions on how to make a personalized one.)
- So you can’t avoid a trip to the supermarket, make a quick trip to the store and stick to your list. Try the Five Item Challenge–it really works.
Thinking about Meal Planning, but unsure? Check out my post on Why Meal Planning is a Must for Working Moms.
