Last week, I had the brilliant idea to challenge myself to use the same(ish) shopping list all summer to reduce the time I spend on my weekly program, and keep our food budget consistent even though we’re eating more “home meals” than we do during the school year. I planned to start with this upcoming week's plan, but honestly I have too much "inventory" in my kitchen so, I'm supplementing this week and will start the challenge "fresh" the following week (6/26 - 7/3).
My normal weekly planning system starts on Wednesday for a grocery order pick up on Friday. Friday is my food shopping day so that I have all of my ingredients for ingredient prep over the weekend for the following work week. First, I do my Simplify pages and then browse my local food store’s app for weekly specials and deals, then I do my Prepare pages.
Since my food store has Friday specials that I generally use for Friday’s dinner, I can build my order on Thursday night and schedule it for pick-up the next day. If I’m unsure that the pricing will apply accurately, I’ll wait to place the order for the morning (I get up around 5:15) to confirm pricing. In either case, I make my order for pick up in the late afternoon – and I love using drive-up-and-go! A Friday pickup also makes sure I have time to reassess or shop for alternatives before I do any meal or ingredient prep.
It doesn’t take as long as it may sound, and I generally do it when I’m unwinding after work while my kiddo is at swim team practice. Honestly, if I wasn’t doing that, I’d probably be scrolling on Pinterest (which I also do to keep dishes varied week to week), but because I’m wondering what I can make with what I have because I don’t want to go to the store… or going to the store for a handful or fewer of ingredients.
Short story long, I want to free up some time after work so we can enjoy the long days. Thus, I present the Heather’s Unmeasured Summer Meal Planning Challenge:
- Maintain a weekly food budget (under $160), while increasing the number of meals I am planning and buying for.
- Reduce the amount of time I spend on planning and preparing ingredients.
- Clean up my diet and eat less processed food.
How am I going to do it?
- I will stick to the shopping list (for the most part) week after week so my food bill is predictable.
- I will spend time looking up different dishes using similar ingredients so I don’t get into a slump preparing and eating the same foods week after week.
- I will focus on nutrient-dense meals and whole ingredients to reduce snacking between meals.
So.....I know we've just met, but are you with me?
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