Meal Planning and Grocery List

My husband and I are working on saving money and eating healthier by eating out less. We have tried meal planning in different ways before, but since we are getting more serious about it, I saw an idea on Pinterest and went for it!

I was thinking of selling this on my Etsy shop [savannahPcards], but because I copied the format from another organizer, I decided it would not be okay to profit off of this! So I am writing here instead – because I am still very proud of how it turned out! [If you would like your own, click this link and purchase hers!]

Usually we focus on planning dinner for my family, because we buy the same sorts of things for breakfast and lunch each week. With this strategy, you plan your meals on the same page as the shopping list.

And if you plan for more than a week in advance, you can print out multiple sheets.

I am thinking I’ll print a new one each week, but to be more environmentally friendly, you could print once on cardstock and either laminate or put in a plastic cover and use a dry erase marker to reuse. My issue with that was dragging around a laminated full-page to the grocery store, because I tend to fold my shopping lists enough that I can fit in a purse or pocket.

Here’s a bigger picture!

I customized it by how I shop.

• Produce is when you first walk in our grocery store, and it’s the biggest section because we buy a lot of produce. Its box is green, because that’s the color produce makes me think of.
• Shelves is the next largest section because there are a lot of shelves. However, we don’t buy as much from here. Noodles, sauce, beans, cereal, etc. The pink outline has no meaning : )
• Bulk/natural is included because we shop at a store with an included Health Market. We buy things like chia seeds in bulk, coconut oil in natural, etc. We certainly don’t buy much here, but it was worth adding. Its outline is brown because nature/natural is brown in my book! (Since I already used green.)
• Meat is slightly bigger. We buy our dinner meats from the meat counter section. Outline is red.
• Dairy is decent-sized because we buy a lot of dairy. Milk, cheese, cheese sticks, yogurt, eggs, taco shells, tea, ham… The outline is yellow kind of like cheese/egg yolks.
• Frozen is blue, and we buy a lot of frozen veggies and sometimes some ice cream or some treat.
• Non-food would be like dog food, trash bags, pharmaceuticals, etc. The outline is black.

Could also include a deli section, but we don’t buy anything from there.

How would you make your list customized for your needs?

Sweet, Healthy Breakfast Treat

Step 1: Spread natural peanut butter or other natural nut butter on one half of a whole wheat tortilla shell (in a half moon shape.)

Step 2: Slice banana and put on peanut butter. (I cut them pretty thick so I could use the entire banana. It was then messier to eat but delicious and nutritious!)

Step 3: Fold in half to cover toppings and cook in a skillet on medium heat.

Step 4: Let cook until there is browning; flip and cook other side the same way.

Step 5: Drizzle with honey and cut into easier-to-eat slices.

Step 6: EAT AND ENJOY!

I have seen an idea for chocolate chips inside with the peanut butter and banana; I didn’t have chocolate chips so I didn’t try that. I added honey instead for the sweetness factor.

Have you ever thought of using tortilla shells as part of a breakfast? 

Breakfast of Champions to keep you Fuller Longer

I work for the public schools, and while I’ve worked on and off doing various things since summer school ended July 3rd, I haven’t had a steady 8-hour job where I have to get up early etc. Today I substituted at a preschool at 7am. Today was the test!

I was able to fit in oil pulling and while I was doing so, I made breakfast. 

Green smoothie + 2 over easy eggs with onions + water. 

Recipe for the green smoothie can be found here. 

Result? I was able to fend off hunger until lunch time at 11:30! (I ate breakfast around 6am.) I’m very pleased. If I eat just one of these items by itself, especially just the onion-y eggs, I get hungry in a few hours. That will NOT fly with my regular job. 

Easy way to make onion-y eggs: 

I keep cut onion in a glass container in my fridge. It’s cut in slices, so in the morning I just cut into little pieces straight into the pan that I’ve greased with a tiny bit of organic, unrefined coconut oil (the same stuff I use for oil pulling.) Then I crack the eggs into the pan (it’s heated up by that time.) Sometimes I make them scrambled, but I’m working on my over-easy skills for my husband’s sake (that’s his favorite). 

Tomorrow I might add toast, because I know you’re supposed to consume the majority of your calories at breakfast time. I just have to make sure nothing too sugary is on the toast so my blood sugar doesn’t crash. 

What do you eat for breakfast? How long does it last?