Well one thing that this pandemic situation has created is the opportunity to eat more meals at home. And by more meals at home, I am ALL the meals at home. That has meant several things for our family - 1) we are spending more on food at the grocery and then 2) we are cooking all those meals ourselves. We have gotten carry out from a few restaurants, but the vast majority of our meals have been made by ME at home!
This could definitely be seen as a negative, but I also think it should be looked at as a positive opportunity. We have been able to make some delicious meals and try some new things. My favorite new recipe discovery has been a salmon patty recipe that is delicious - CLICK HERE to check it out. I love salmon and try to incorporate it in our diet about once a week, but sometimes that regular salmon fillet get a little old. If you haven’t already, try to find some new recipes, to switch up our routine and try something new.
Being at home and finding yourself in the kitchen more often, trying to figure out what to prepare can be overwhelming. That is why taking some time and putting together a meal plan for the week and then a grocery list is super helpful. If you haven’t taken the time to meal plan, take a moment when you are getting ready to go grocery shopping to write down meal ideas for the week. I normally try to aim for like 5-7 different meal options for the week. I organize our meals like this: Breakfast (cereal, bagel, eggs, sausage, yogurt, oatmeal), Lunch (sandwich of some type, leftover, fresh veggies and fruit with dip) and then Dinner (the prepared meal I had planned for that day). Since both myself and husband work, we make lunches as easy as possible and then I am normally the one who prepares dinner. I try to include a fruit and vegetable with each meal. Some days the dinner meal option is super easy, like heating up fish sticks and cooked veggies and sometimes it is more in depth like making homemade mac n’ cheese with a side salad. If you need some ideas on some new recipes to try - CLICK HERE for some healthy weeknight meal ideas.
After I write down those 5-7 dinner meal ideas, I figure out what ingredients I need to buy. Then I write those items down on my grocery list. I add in staples that I buy every week - bread, eggs, cheese, milk, bananas, etc. Then guess what, the meal planning and grocery list are both done. I have 7 meal ideas that I can make for dinner throughout the week and then I have a list of things I need to buy at the grocery.
Our routine is that I will go to Aldi and buy as much as I can from my grocery list. Any items that aren’t available at Aldi, I will put on ClickList order and go to Kroger and pick it up. This process has worked super well for us over the past several months. I have been doing this meal planning/grocery shopping routine for several years now to help us stick to a budget. If you are curious about how we budget and meal plan - CLICK HERE for a post I did last year on the topic.
Tips to Remember for Cooking at Home
Write out meal ideas for the week (aim for 5-7 meals).
Use those meals for the start of your grocery list.
Add your weekly staple items to your list.
Head to the store and grab the things you need and stick with your list.
