Meal planning and grocery shopping

I am writing this post even though it may provoke some intense teasing from people, however, if you know me you really shouldn't be surprised.

When I first started doing meal planning it took me A LONG time to do each one. Honestly, over an hour. But each week it got quicker and quicker to the point where it now takes me just a few minutes. I do two week rotations because I find that groceries are cheaper than doing it once a week and I don't really want to be bothered to grocery shop every week. I do however get fruits and veggies once a week.

I like to be very organized and I like things simple. Especially now that I am grocery shopping with a baby in tow (most times) I like to be efficient. I don't like to go to more than two stores -- I go to a cheaper store like Wal-Mart, No Frills, or Food Basics for the regular stuff and then I go to Superstore or Remark to get my produce as the produce from the other stores doesn't last very long and is not high quality. I don't get everything from Superstore or Remark because it would double my grocery bill. 

So to start I skim the weekly flyers to see what is on sale. If there are items I like then I build them into my menu plan and I also go through my freezer to see what items I already have on hand. The great thing these days is most places ad match so if there is something that I like in one store I can still get it at other stores for the same price. For example, last week I bought a box of chicken burgers at Wal-mart for $4 something even though Wal-mart's price was $10 because they were on sale in the No Frills flyer. When I plan on ad matching something I note the price first and also which flyer it was in so at the store I can check the price there. Sometimes it is just cheaper to buy it without ad matching. I know this sounds like a lot of work but honestly it is very simple -- remember I don't like complicated things!

So once I note what is in the flyers I go through my calendar to check what is on the schedule for each day before I make my menu plan from a template that I have in Excel (I love that program and use it whenever possible). By adding events from the calendar I can plan the meal around what we are doing. If I don't have time to make a full meal I will make a quick one or make a crockpot meal. If I have more time I might make a more in depth dinner. Once I make my meal plan I print out two copies, one for the fridge and one to make my grocery list from. 

When I make my list I have it broken down into sections so that I don't get to the other side of the store and realize that I forgot a produce item that was hiding at the bottom of my list. I cross off each meal one at a time on my spare copy once I have added what I need to my list so I never miss anything. If I don't know if I already have something I put a ? next to it and check before I leave. 

Then when I am at the grocery store I can focus on getting my items and getting out of the store. I have tried using my phone for a grocery list to reduce carrying extra paper but honestly I really like the paper. I have had it happen more than a few times where I have accidentally erased half my list on my phone then have no idea what I needed. By having the paper there is no way to erase part of my list!

I also leave some wiggle room so that I can buy things that are on sale (not necessarily in the flyer) to put in the freezer for a later date. You can also see that on my menu plan Thursday nights are listed as Flex nights. Since I don't always feel like eating what is on the menu that night I can pick a different nights dinner and make it that night instead. Or if we end up eating out on a night that I had already bought the groceries for then they don't go to waste because I will have it Thursday night (hopefully that makes sense).

The other thing I keep (also in excel) is a meal data base. I have different categories of meals and I can mix and match especially when we are looking for some new ideas. I also use a board on Pinterest (can't get enough of that site) so that I can keep new recipe ideas handy. I try to add in one every two weeks. 

Maybe this all makes me a nerd, but hey, I'm okay with that. This makes my life much simpler and it helps me to save a lot of $ that is often wasted at the grocery store. What makes it even more simple is that my breakfast is delivered right to my door, no grocery store needed! If you are going to give it a try remember that it will take some time at the beginning. 

If you want a copy of my menu plans send me an e-mail or inbox message with your e-mail address so I can forward it on to you.  

Until next time!

Monsters University

I have been meaning to write this post for a few days but haven't really been feeling well.

Last Monday our founder Aaron Parkinson did a call on our dreams. Society today has been conditioned to scale back their dreams to prevent being let down if they don't come true. What we need to do it condition our society to dream BIG then teach them to make them a reality through hard work with failure not being an option.

So often we set ourselves little goals, or no goals at all. If we don't have goals than we can't fail right? Setting little goals is okay -- as long as those little goals lead to one big goal. For example, if your goal is to lose 50 pounds total, setting little goals of 5 pounds every X number of weeks/months is okay because it makes it realistic and obtainable. But when you have 50 pounds to loose and you say I will only try to lose 5 you are selling yourself short of your potential. This theory can be applied to many aspects of your life. You need to be willing to push yourself to get what you want in life. Things don't come for free, you aren't going to loose the weight just by sitting there wishing you were thinner, and you aren't going to make the income you want to make just by sitting there wishing you had more money. It takes change - but being willing to make that change is where it all begins. The saying goes "the first step is the hardest".

Setting a reason why. This is really important when you are on your journey to accomplishing anything you want to accomplish, your reason why. Things won't always go according to plan on your journey. You will have hard times, and in those times you need something to focus on to get yourself through. This is your reason why. It will push you to reach your goals when you think you have nothing left and cause you to dig deeper. 

I suggest putting your reason why on paper so you can see it when times get tough. You can also make yourself a dream board and post all of the pictures of things you want to accomplish in one spot to refer back to.

So what does all of this have to do with Monsters University???

Well...if you have seen it, you should be able to piece it together, but incase you didn't I will share with you what this all has in common.

At the beginning of the movie, Mike (the green, one-eye'd monster) sets his sites on being a scarer. As the movie plays on you see that he does ANYTHING he can to make his dream come true. He works really hard even when all of the odds are against him -- he still pushes through to make it happen. 

He gets kicked out of the scare program. Most people would accept that as defeat and pick something else...what would you do? Something you worked for your whole life was no longer an option. Would you give up and find something else or would you explore all other options until you found one that would put you back to where you wanted to be?

Too often today we are too scared to jump over the walls that we become comfortable where we are.

If YOU don't make a change, YOU won't get the results. Is that what you want for your life? What are you willing to do to get to where you want to be?