Meal Planning

Meal Prep & Grocery Shopping Tips that Will Actually Make Your Life Easier

Does this sound like you? Exhausted, rushing to the grocery store after work with no shopping list or a real plan for dinner? How many times have you wandered around the store, grabbing anything that looks good, and ended up spending more money than you’d planned?

Thankfully, there’s an easy way to make the entire meal planning and grocery shopping experience so much simpler.

When you start meal prepping (getting a full week of meals ready in a few simple steps), you can say “buh-bye” to those overwhelming evenings and “hellllooo” to a lot more free time. If you’re not sure you can carve out enough time to make all those meals ahead of time, it might feel impossible even to begin. If you’re used to stopping by the grocery store every time you head home from work, won’t it be overwhelming to fill an entire cart?

With these easy steps, it won’t be.

Read on for simple tips so you can make your next trip to the grocery store manageable, productive… and even enjoyable. By knowing what essential ingredients you need, you’ll have the entire shopping process streamlined in no time.

This post contains affiliate links, and I’ll receive a commission at no cost to you if you decide to use them.

Ease Your Way Into Meal Prepping

Meal prepping is all about saving you time, so it’s best to start slow. You’ll immediately see the benefits by easing into meal prep, and you can slowly add more recipes and meals into your plans as you get more familiar with the system. Before you know it, you’ll be skipping those extra trips to the supermarket and saying goodbye to the days when your only dinner options were the fast food restaurants on your way home.

Start with the Basics

There are a few staples you’ll always need to keep on hand for easy meals. With rice, eggs, flour, oatmeal, and a few essential spices, you’ll be able to walk into your kitchen and have all you need for almost every meal on your menu.

If you pick up some frozen chicken and an assortment of veggies, you’ll be even more prepared to create simple, easy, healthy meals for the whole family. This favorite local shopping planner will help you  keep track of where you find the best things. You can also subscribe for free to the vault and get instant access to the entire printables library right here. 

Keep a Balanced Diet in Mind

When you’re planning out your meals, make sure they’re balanced and include a mix of meat, vegetables, fruit, and dairy products.

And here’s a bonus: if you have any leftovers after you’ve shopped for the week and prepared all the ingredients for your meals, you can include them in your meal plans for next week! It’s that much easier to figure out what recipes you should plan for in the future and saves you time and money while avoiding waste.

Make Your Lists Ahead of Time

Step 1: Decide what meals you’re going to make this week.

Step 2: Create a list of ingredients you need for each of those meals.

If a whole week’s worth of groceries is overwhelming, you might want to start out by listing the ingredients for a few meals you’ll have during the week, or only the ingredients you’d need for lunch, for example.

Plan for Everyone Who is Eating

While you’re planning out your meals, make sure you include any special events, dietary needs, or special guests who might be joining you for your meals. (If you know you’ll be dining out with friends, for example, don’t prepare anything for that dinner!)

If any of your family members or guests have dietary restrictions or preferences, take those into account while putting your grocery list together. This will save you from rummaging around in the fridge, hoping the soy milk you bought a few weeks ago is still good. By including them in your plans, you’re instantly a more gracious, considerate host. And it won’t take up any extra time!

When you have more mouths to feed at the table, you’d better have more food to feed them. If you’re planning for house guests, you’re going to need more food purchased, prepared, and served. By meal prepping, this extra work is streamlined right with your weekly prep work and only adds a couple of minutes, tops.

Use Online Resources

To further ease your grocery shopping experience, print out one of the many “grocery list” templates online and use it to organize your shopping list before you ever step foot in the store. Like my blank template that you can use to organize your meals: https://apersonalorganizer.com/meal-planning-organizing-tips/

Online Calendars – Budget

If you’re planning meals on a budget, or with specific fitness goals in mind, check online for different planning calendars and forms. There are tons of handy resources out there that include calorie counters, nutrition calculators, and other tips for dividing your meals into healthy portions, so everything you need to prep for your weekly meals is all in one place.

Organize Your Trip By Aisles

If you can, organize your grocery list in the order, you walk around the store, aisle by aisle. You’ll save time and get everything without having to backtrack.
If you search online, you can find a variety of online templates that divide grocery lists by produce, deli, frozen items, and others.

Organize Your Fridge and Pantry Ahead of Time

By taking the time to organize your pantry, freezer, and fridge, unloading will become a quick and efficient step in your meal prep process.

You’re already purchasing groceries by category, so why get them all mixed up in a chaotic kitchen? By unpacking your groceries by category as well, you’ll save time.

Before you leave for the store (or, while you’re waiting for your groceries to be delivered), take a minute to prep your fridge and pantry so you can unload everything without taking any extra time. Trust me, this will be much easier before you fill your kitchen counters with groceries!

I put together a quick 15-minute cleaning routine if you need a place to start.

Buy in Bulk

Especially if you’re on a budget, you’ll save money and time in the long run if you buy a lot more of one ingredient in bulk, or while it’s on sale.

Be careful to purchase only items that will last longer, like dry or frozen ingredients.

Divide the ingredients so you can store them quickly, then use as needed. As you go forward, you can even include more recipes that use this item since you’ll already have it on hand.

Try New Things

Don’t be afraid to mix things up! Just because you’re keeping your meals simple doesn’t mean they have to be boring. Have a little fun with your next shopping trip by planning for a fun new recipe, or maybe a few fresh spices or other ingredients you’ve never cooked with before.

Sure, you’re not going to like everything you try, but who knows–you might just discover a new favorite.

Meal Planning Organizing Tips

Preparing food every week, no matter how organized your system is, can still get complicated if you’re not sure where to start at the beginning of every week. Luckily, the internet is full of resources to help you get started.

Start by looking for simple calendars that offer meal prep suggestions for a week at a time and follow the tips laid out in the rest of the post! Here is a weekly planner with meals for each day to get you started. You can find and download  all of our organizing printables and get instant access to the vault by subscibing here. Soon, you’ll leave behind those days when you would open the refrigerator and stand there trying to create a meal from the hodgepodge you happened to have available.

This post contains affiliate links and I’ll receive a commission at no cost to you if you decide to use them.

Pick a Meal Prepping Calendar that Fits Your Lifestyle

There are many meal prep planning ideas or printable calendars to help ease your way into the world of eating healthier and saving money.

Free meal-planning templates are available online to help you plan your meals, purchase the groceries you’ll need, and keep your budget in mind the whole time. By using these convenient ways to plan your meals ahead of time, you’ll be able to enjoy more time doing what you want to do.

Some meal prep calendars even provide printable shopping lists and worksheets to make it easier to organize your menus and grocery shopping for the week. You can even find fun, Pinterest-worthy calendars that you can print out and hang up in your kitchen so the family will know which meals are coming up next.

Whether you use a digital meal planning calendar or an erasable, hanging one, you’ll find any tons of options that suite your lifestyle online. Some formats even help you keep track of coupons and remind you which nights you have events, such as kids’ games or meetings, or when you’re hosting guests for dinner.

The Benefits of Planning Meals Ahead

If you’re new to meal planning, it may be best to plan just a couple of days ahead. A calendar helps by providing exact details about a meal rather than leaving you to guess about what you’ll prepare for dinner or any other meal. It also equips you to strategically plan which days are best for you to prepare ahead.

Just like using calendars to map out a vacation, you can also build healthy eating habits by using a calendar rather than simply winging it. You’re more likely to stick to a health or weight-loss plan when you’re prepared in advance.

Trying to lose weight? Pre-planning your meals by using a meal prep calendar leaves the guesswork out of portions and nutrition plans. You’ll have the exact ingredients you need and know what you’ll be eating each day.

Cravings will become a thing of the past because you’ll know what you’re having and when – without having to think about what you “want” instead. The stress of shopping for specific diets is a key reason behind so many people failing in their quest to eat healthier or lose weight.

A meal-prep calendar can eliminate the stress and serve as a valuable tool in meeting your goals. Sometimes the best-laid plans are thrown off, so allow for flexibility in planning your meal calendar.

It’s easier to take up where you left off of your diet by glancing at the calendar you’ve pre-planned. Just make sure you vary up the recipes so that you and your family don’t get sick of one particular meal or menu item, like chicken.

Organize Your List Ahead of Time

You probably already have a grocery list – but is it organized? It can really help if the list is laid out in the order that the store is organized. If the produce section is the first thing you see when you walk in, for instance, then “produce” should be the first category on your list. If you have to, map out your list when you’re in the store itself if you have trouble remembering the layout.

Include coupon notices on your list, too. If you have a coupon for an item, mark it in some way (maybe put a “c” in a circle next to the item) so that you don’t forget. This can be especially handy if you go to a store where you use electronic coupons that are loaded onto your shopping cart where you can’t see them.

If it’s worth it to you, you can forego grocery shopping altogether by ordering your groceries online with a service such as Instacart or Thrive Market. If the time saved is worth the cost of delivery, this can streamline the entire process because all you’ll need to do is order whatever is on that grocery list for the week.

Organizing Your Kitchen Ahead of Time

It’s a good idea to get your kitchen organized. Few things waste time like hunting for items that you can’t find, and few things waste grocery money like buying something you forgot you already had. Keep things like salt, pepper, sugar, and condiments you use a lot within reach of the stove. Canned goods can be kept in the same general area and organized according to type. Pots, pans, and appliances that you use frequently can be stored on the countertop, while less-used ones can go in cabinets.

Use Your Time Strategically

When you prepare the meal, try measuring out ingredients first, then mixing them. Multi-tasking can come in really handy – boil pasta while preparing the salad, or microwave the potatoes while you’re grilling the chicken breasts.

Another idea for quick meal preparation is to use the oven for more than one thing. Many dishes can be tweaked to accommodate a hotter or colder oven setting.

Make ahead whatever you can: chop vegetables and refrigerate them for use during the week, for instance, and make foods that can be used for other dishes during the week. Bake a chicken on Monday night, for instance, and plan for chicken salad on Tuesday. Yesterday’s meal can be your made-ahead ingredient.

When you’re planning your weekly or monthly menus, try to break down some of the meal preparation steps and see who else in the family can take over those tasks.

For instance, if you’re having tacos one night, then assign the grating of the cheese and shredding of the lettuce to one of your kids or your spouse; another family member can get the taco shells out and place on plates; you can be responsible for browning the beef.

Breaking down meals into simple steps that can be shared helps a lot.

Meal Planning: Let’s Make Life Simpler

Do you ever feel overwhelmed with meal planning, grocery shopping, and cooking every week? One thing I see a lot is that clients feel like they live at the grocery store because they’re always running in to grab something they forgot earlier. Trust me; you’re not alone–many of us feel overwhelmed by everything that goes into preparing for meals.

To give you a little boost with this task (because, hey, it’s not going anywhere), I’ve compiled my top tips on menus and meal planning, so you can organize your family meals so everyone eats healthy and you’re not constantly exhausted. Win/win!

Meal prepping is a small way to free up time in your schedule to make room for other family activities and things you love to do throughout the week. But, to meal prep effectively, you need to establish a system and stay organized so you can prep smoothly and quickly, week after week.

Whether you’re sticking to a budget, working with time constraints, trying to eat healthily or simply trying to alleviate stress in your life, meal prepping can be a lifesaver. By thinking ahead, preparing for a bunch of recipes, and keeping resources on hand, you can stay organized and enjoy the time you set aside for meal prepping.

This post contains affiliate links, and I’ll receive a commission at no cost to you if you decide to use them.

Strategic Storage Containers

Before you begin, make sure you have the necessary tools to prep and store the meals on your list. With all of the work and pre-planning that you put into those nutritious and easy meals, you’ll want to make sure you store them in containers that are easy to organize and secure for on-the-go dining.

Nothing is as frustrating as discovering your well-planned and executed lunch is leaking from a supposed airtight container and into your bag or refrigerator. Snap-on lids can be your best friend or worst enemy in a situation such as this.

Choose ultra-sturdy plastic such as those made by Rubbermaid for the best in leak-proof lids and less tendency to crack if dropped or heated at high levels. If you’re worried about the chemical BPA (added to such plastic as water and baby bottles), you may want to opt for glass containers.

To save money in the long run, select meal prep storage containers that will last. Look for FDA labels that say it’s safe to use in the microwave and that freezing temperatures won’t cause cracks. The FDA regulates plastic containers and requires specific tests to be passed by the plastic manufacturers before they allow them to be used for food containers.

Freezing your food is also an option for meal-preppers. Many avoid this type of storage because your food becomes subject to absorbing smells and flavors of other foods and can destroy the quality or visual appeal of the food.

You can protect the quality of the food you prepare by choosing quality freezer containers such as plastic which seal tightly, glass containers such as Mason jars, and zip lock bags.

Make sure that you rotate the freezer meals promptly so they don’t spend too much time in the freezer. Both the flavor and texture of some foods deteriorate rapidly after being exposed to freezing temperatures.

As far as prepping is concerned, slow cookers, blenders, mixers, and whisks are also valuable tools to help the meal prep process go faster. Snack bags will help you break down snacks you purchase in bulk and dry erase markers for containers and sharpies for plastic bags help you identify what you’ve prepared.

My Favorite Meal Prep Time-Saving Hacks

1. Meal prep calendars and grocery lists are valuable assets for planning. They take the hassle out of meal preparation because you’ll be able to glance at each day on the calendar and know exactly what you’re serving your family. Printable grocery lists are also available online and can be organized by aisle or sections of the store.
2. One of my favorite time-saving hacks cuts out the grocery shopping completely! Instead of bringing a grocery list with me to the store, I simply order everything I need through Instacart, Thrive Market, or Prime Now, and it’s delivered to my home! Avoiding the rush and stress of a shopping trip is well worth a few extra dollars to have the groceries delivered, plus I avoid the temptation of buying anything that’s not on my list.
   1. Use Ebates on your online shopping and receive cash back on selected retailers. It’s a win-win!
3. If you live in a larger city, check the deals on Amazon Fresh and Prime Pantry, too! You can get most deliveries brought to your home that same day, so say goodbye to those last-minute “we’re out of bread!” trips.
4. When you return home from the store with your items (or when they’re delivered), sort them on the countertop into what you plan to prepare now – and which you’ll save for later.
5. By washing and preparing your fruits and veggies ahead of time, you can be intentional about using up your produce in healthy, ahead-of-schedule meals. It’s also a great way to stay organized and aware of what you have in your fridge! You can store the prepared items in Ziploc bags or containers in the refrigerator or freezer for instant use later on. I bought two sets of these glass containers and love them.
6. Bake chicken or brown your meat and store in the refrigerator to use for meal prep during the week. Keep in mind that cooked meat will stay fresh in the fridge for about 3 or 4 days. Cooked rice and pasta can also be cooked and stored for instant use.
7. Label everything, so you don’t have to open containers to see what you’ve prepped. A bit of planning and organizing before meal prepping keeps you on track and cuts down on everyday stress.

That’s all I’ve got for today! I can’t wait to see how much simpler your life becomes when you implement these quick tips.