Written by tigs01 on 13/01/2011 19:14
I've been food shopping again, and this prompted me to muse on how I work out meals in advance and what I buy in terms of food each week.
I don't sit down and plan an entire week at once, but I know there are people who do. Rather, I pick things up with the idea that this will be several lunches, this is breakfast-type food, that's good for protein and low fat, this is dairy, this is my chocolate for the next few days, that sort of thing.
There are certain items I keep in the cupboards that are quick and easy additions, like loaded baked mashed potato of the instant variety (actually quite good quality stuff, 80 to 100 calories a portion depending on brand), pasta, bread rolls, I always have plenty of spices and herbs available, seasoning mixes to go with various cuts of meat and so on. Dried lentils, dried beans, split peas, to go in soup. Oat So Simple, a whole grain cereal if I feel like a cold breakfast or snack. Low fat or fat free pudding and cocoa.
Fridge-wise, peppers, onions, bacon, Egg Beaters (a 2 egg pot is 1PP as the fat and cholesterol has been removed in advance - great for omelettes and scrambling, or to use in recipes), fruit salad, grapes, salad leaves, coleslaw veggies, avocado, tomatoes, mange tout, soup veggies. I picked up some boneless beef ribs to make a casserole from and some butterfly pork chops to cook with sage and apple and seasoning. Sliced premium ham and chicken for sandwiches, omelettes and snacking on. Baby carrots. Reduced fat grated cheese, Mexican and Italian blends. Fat free cheese slices.
I have a fresh pineapple which I will prepare and pop into small plastic tubs. I bought some salsa mix and some guacamole mix, both of which I can use part of and store the remainder.
In the freezer, I have fish fillets and salmon fillets, ready-seasoned, that take twenty minutes in the oven. Mango chunks, sliced strawberries and blueberries. WW key lime pie and double chocolate cake in individual portions. Peas, corn, edamame, spicy sausage for jambalaya. Lean mince, sliced steak, ground bison.
This means there's always something to have for dinner and lunches, as well as breakfast. I know that whatever I throw together won't be super high in points as I have maybe fifteen to twenty dinners that I tend to trot out fairly regularly. Lunch is either soup, a sandwich or an omelette most days.
We've just had some dim sum, 8PP for the pack. I still have 16 of my dailies left, but I don't feel like a full dinner now. I may dig down into the freezer and find myself a ready meal of some kind. Or a WW pizza! After the dim sum I have the nibbles, so a pizza, some edamame, and a bit of fruit salad sounds like a good idea.
I picked up a few fresh lychees, too, just in case it turns out that fresh ones are actually quite nice, as MrsRhino reckons. *g*
So, how do you plan your supermarket shop? Do you go with a list? Do you know more or less what you'll buy in advance, or are you a browser? I tend towards a bit of both, so it is never a terribly cheap expedition. That said, I tend to spend about the same going once every ten days or so as we used to when we'd go together and do a bigger shop every two to three weeks. The DH hates shopping, so he's quite happy for me to run off with his bank card and do it myself. When we both go, the bill is around $400, maybe $430. On my own, it;s anything from $150-$250. Today's was $171.20. I look for money-off coupons on cat food and dried goods, so I saved a bit on the cat food, the mashed potato and the frozen dim sum.
Going on my own also means fewer naughty nibbles make it in to the trolley! He has crisps and biscuits in the cupboard already so I didn't stock up on those, and we're okay for cat litter and Cokes.
I actually really enjoy shopping....
I don't sit down and plan an entire week at once, but I know there are people who do. Rather, I pick things up with the idea that this will be several lunches, this is breakfast-type food, that's good for protein and low fat, this is dairy, this is my chocolate for the next few days, that sort of thing.
There are certain items I keep in the cupboards that are quick and easy additions, like loaded baked mashed potato of the instant variety (actually quite good quality stuff, 80 to 100 calories a portion depending on brand), pasta, bread rolls, I always have plenty of spices and herbs available, seasoning mixes to go with various cuts of meat and so on. Dried lentils, dried beans, split peas, to go in soup. Oat So Simple, a whole grain cereal if I feel like a cold breakfast or snack. Low fat or fat free pudding and cocoa.
Fridge-wise, peppers, onions, bacon, Egg Beaters (a 2 egg pot is 1PP as the fat and cholesterol has been removed in advance - great for omelettes and scrambling, or to use in recipes), fruit salad, grapes, salad leaves, coleslaw veggies, avocado, tomatoes, mange tout, soup veggies. I picked up some boneless beef ribs to make a casserole from and some butterfly pork chops to cook with sage and apple and seasoning. Sliced premium ham and chicken for sandwiches, omelettes and snacking on. Baby carrots. Reduced fat grated cheese, Mexican and Italian blends. Fat free cheese slices.
I have a fresh pineapple which I will prepare and pop into small plastic tubs. I bought some salsa mix and some guacamole mix, both of which I can use part of and store the remainder.
In the freezer, I have fish fillets and salmon fillets, ready-seasoned, that take twenty minutes in the oven. Mango chunks, sliced strawberries and blueberries. WW key lime pie and double chocolate cake in individual portions. Peas, corn, edamame, spicy sausage for jambalaya. Lean mince, sliced steak, ground bison.
This means there's always something to have for dinner and lunches, as well as breakfast. I know that whatever I throw together won't be super high in points as I have maybe fifteen to twenty dinners that I tend to trot out fairly regularly. Lunch is either soup, a sandwich or an omelette most days.
We've just had some dim sum, 8PP for the pack. I still have 16 of my dailies left, but I don't feel like a full dinner now. I may dig down into the freezer and find myself a ready meal of some kind. Or a WW pizza! After the dim sum I have the nibbles, so a pizza, some edamame, and a bit of fruit salad sounds like a good idea.
I picked up a few fresh lychees, too, just in case it turns out that fresh ones are actually quite nice, as MrsRhino reckons. *g*
So, how do you plan your supermarket shop? Do you go with a list? Do you know more or less what you'll buy in advance, or are you a browser? I tend towards a bit of both, so it is never a terribly cheap expedition. That said, I tend to spend about the same going once every ten days or so as we used to when we'd go together and do a bigger shop every two to three weeks. The DH hates shopping, so he's quite happy for me to run off with his bank card and do it myself. When we both go, the bill is around $400, maybe $430. On my own, it;s anything from $150-$250. Today's was $171.20. I look for money-off coupons on cat food and dried goods, so I saved a bit on the cat food, the mashed potato and the frozen dim sum.
Going on my own also means fewer naughty nibbles make it in to the trolley! He has crisps and biscuits in the cupboard already so I didn't stock up on those, and we're okay for cat litter and Cokes.
I actually really enjoy shopping....
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