How I Meal Plan & Grocery Shop For The Week

Many of you have recently asked how I grocery shop and meal plan for the week. It’s a discipline that I’ve gotten better at over the years for sure. Before kids, I could decide that day what we’d have for dinner and run into the grocery store to get what we need. Two (soon to be 3) kids later, I certainly don’t have that luxury anymore. 

I’ve mentioned before that the one thing that slows down your productivity is not making small decisions ahead of time. Things like what to wear, when I’m going to workout and what’s for dinner are things that can and should be decided ahead of time. Honestly, not only do I feel better, my whole family does. It’s mostly because we can avoid the whole “what’s for dinner?” back and forth dialogue that never seems to be productive.

What I’ve come to realize this year is that I grocery shop much more intentionally and responsibly when I know what our meals will be throughout the week. Before, I would go the grocery store and pick up the usual items we tend to eat and still end up stopping in the store 2-3 more times throughout the week because I didn’t have everything we needed. Grocery shopping without any purpose aside from solely “having food in the house” was counterproductive. 

Once I based grocery shopping off of my meal planning, life got much easier. 

Consider this post the “how to meal plan and grocery shop every week” guide. 

I used to grocery shop on Sundays and prep meals Sunday evening, but naturally if we had a hectic weekend and I was tired, I ended up playing catch up throughout the week. Now, I plan meals on Friday afternoon, order them on a grocery store app on Friday night, pick them up Saturday morning and prep on Saturday AND Sunday. That way I’m not mentally bombarded and we tend to eat out less on the weekends since there’s food in the house on the weekend.

For meal planning, I plan out meals Sunday to Saturday then rinse and repeat. For peace of mind, I tend to give us 1-2 nights where we do leftovers or eat out to keep things flexible. So all in all I am planning meals for 5 days out of the week. Currently the kids eat lunch at school and Chris takes lunch to work. I try my best to eat lunch at home since I work from home, but it’s easier said than done. When I plan my meals, I tend to be more likely to eat at home. 

Although it’s tedious, me, Chris and the kids tend to eat different meals throughout the work week aside from dinner, so that will reflect in the meal plan below. With that said, once I find the 1-2 things we like to eat, I’m not afraid to repeat them throughout the week. (Especially if we all liked the same thing!)

Here’s an example of what a week of meals look like at my house:

SUNDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: cereal with almond milk
Mattie: fruit & granola
Kids: eggs, turkey sausage and fruit

LUNCH 
Takeout

DINNER
Chris: Chicken, dirty rice and pinto beans
Mattie: Leftover Japanese takeout (salmon)
Kids: Leftover pulled chicken tacos

MONDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: smoothie
Mattie: overnight oats
Kids: fruit with granola and/or cereal

LUNCH 
Chris: takeout
Mattie: leftover pulled chicken tacos
Kids: school

DINNER
Salmon Alfredo pasta with veggies

TUESDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: blueberry muffins with juice
Mattie: overnight oats
Kids: blueberry muffins with fruit

LUNCH 
Chris: turkey sandwich with chips and fruit
Mattie: turkey sandwich with chips and fruit
Kids: school

DINNER
Ground turkey taco bowls

WEDNESDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: smoothie
Mattie: overnight oats
Kids: breakfast sandwich with fruit

LUNCH 
Chris: Leftover pasta with fruit
Mattie: Leftover pasta with fruit
Kids: school

DINNER
Lemon and cilantro chicken thighs with potatoes and veggies

THURSDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: breakfast sandwich with juice
Mattie: overnight oats
Kids: blueberry muffins with fruit

LUNCH 
Chris: turkey sandwich with chips and fruit
Mattie: baked salmon with avocado salad
Kids: school

DINNER
Red beans and rice

FRIDAY
BREAKFAST
Chris: blueberry muffin with juice
Mattie: overnight oats
Kids: breakfast sandwich with fruit

LUNCH 
TAKEOUT

DINNER
Leftovers

SATURDAY
BREAKFAST
Pancakes with sausage and/or egg with fruit

LUNCH 
Turkey sandwich with chips and fruit

DINNER
Salt & pepper wings with fries and veggies

Based off of my meals, here’s what this week’s grocery list looks like:

PRODUCE
Pears
Apples
Grapes
Strawberries
Avocado
Pico de gallo
Spinach
Bananas
Lemon 
Lime
Cilantro
Broccoli
Cherry tomatoes
Green beans

PROTEIN
Ground turkey
Turkey sausage
Chicken thighs
Chicken wings
Frozen salmon fillets
Deli turkey
Eggs

PACKAGED
Chips
Applesauce
Juice boxes
Dark chocolate chips
House Blend coffee K-cups
Blueberry lemonade
Frozen fries
Canned corn
Frozen fruit blend 

And that’s that on meal planning and grocery shopping for the week. Making the grocery list is so simple once my meals are planned. Hopefully, my process helped you – I’m all about implementing a process that makes things easier. Meal planning before I grocery shop does just that.